Slow And Thorough Or Fast And Extensive But Superficial

[kriswillems]

I am reading children's books to study Thai (to get a bigger vocabulary and learn how to construct sentences). Some people on this webboard adviced me to read a lot (thanks Meadish) and it has proven to work.

But I am having the following problem:

If I read the books only once I can't remember all the new words in there. I need to read the books many times to remember the words and to know how they are used. This is a pretty boring activity, but if I don't do it I forget most of the words I've just learnt.

Another approach would be not to care too much about that and never go back to the same book. This way I would see many more new words. I would need to use my dictionary a lot, but probably I would not be able to remember most of the words. I've never tried this approach.

What is in your opinion the best way to extend my vocabulary?

- read every book many times and makes sure I remember most of the new words?

or

- read a lot (much more), never go back to the same book, and remember only a few words (per chapter)?

Thanks for your advice.

[aanon]

I am reading children's books to study Thai (to get a bigger vocabulary and learn how to construct sentences). Some people on this webboard adviced me to read a lot (thanks Meadish) and it has proven to work.

But I am having the following problem:

If I read the books only once I can't remember all the new words in there. I need to read the books many times to remember the words and to know how they are used. This is a pretty boring activity, but if I don't do it I forget most of the words I've just learnt.

Another approach would be not to care too much about that and never go back to the same book. This way I would see many more new words. I would need to use my dictionary a lot, but probably I would not be able to remember most of the words. I've never tried this approach.

What is in your opinion the best way to extend my vocabulary?

- read every book many times and makes sure I remember most of the new words?

or

- read a lot (much more), never go back to the same book, and remember only a few words (per chapter)?

Thanks for your advice.

hi there,

interesting question. what i find works for me is to read widely and not look up every word. often one can make a pretty good guess from the context (eg. word X is an adverb describing the way the guy was walking) and that's enough to enjoy the story. after a while some words will begin to appear familiar, because of this reading, or because you realise that you've heard people use this word before. and then there is a natural curiosity as to the meaning of the word, so i look it up.

this way i end up looking up words that i have seen or heard multiple times (so they are useful words to know) and i tend to remember the meanings better this way than if i just looked up everything.

so that's what i do now. to be honest, though, i must say that for about the first 6 months of learning thai i looked up a LOT of words. i think that helped get to a critical level of vocab that is necessary to be able to guess other words from context.

another way to go might be to read a story (or a page) without using the dictionary, underline words you know, then try to have a guess at what's being said. look up two or three words and see if that makes you change your guess. if they seem like handy words to know, write them on some flashcards. use the flashcards to learn a number of words you can handle every week. then, if you come back to read the story again, you will at least have some more words you can underline (because you know them now) and you'll feel like you're making progress. you could even put some short sentences or phrases onto flashcards.

if you can, try to intersperse this stuff with periods of just switching off and watching tv, listening to songs, talking to people etc.

all the best.

[sutnyod]

Do you generally LIKE reading? Or are you a person who needs to HEAR first? Or what about reading a word and then writing it and musing about it? I think it all hinges on how good you know yourself and your learning patterns. Learning should NEVER be taken serious, but should give you if not fun at least a deep sense of satisfaction. Learning a new language is such fun... First you have this language-mush and you cannot even distinguish single words.... Then you catch some words and finally everything. Our brain values this understanding process usually as a reward. So maybe you need a bit of that, too.

[meadish_sweetball]

Both aanon's and sutnyod's points are excellent.

For me personally, I found that a very tedious method paid off really well, that of underlining everything I did not know, and looking it up.

When I started to study English at university level this was my approach. I read two complete novels in English, underlined everything I did not know, and looked it up and wrote it down. Then I crammed those lists until I knew them by heart. Doing so meant I could pass the third year university vocabulary test with distinction, only in my first year.

It wasn't fun per se, but I was very motivated and did not know how tough the course would be. So by exaggerating in the early stages, I got an excellent start that helped me throughout my entire first year.

With Thai, I have tried the same approach, but realized it was not quite as effective due to the fact that I read so much slower in Thai and have more trouble memorizing the spelling of words. Still, it is one way of doing it that does pay off in the long run. No word or expression you learn is wasted. Even though most of us do not talk about peat bogs, awnings, oriels and brush control in our everyday lives, they do come up every now and then (if not in conversation, so in the news), and you never know what comes in handy until you're in that very situation.

If you want my suggestion, I think you should re-read the books you enjoy the most, the ones that feel the most worthwhile, look up and memorize the vocabulary and possible also the sentence structures in them. As for the ones you find to be a struggle, just do them once. That way you will not lose motivation, and your active vocabulary will also reflect the things that you find interesting.

[kriswillems]

I am still at the level where I have to guess for the meaning of many words. Most of the times my guesses are correct. But I always check with a dictionary. While studying Thai I learn a lot of English. English is not my native language and having studied at a technical school I almost didn't get any English in school (2 hours per week, 3 years). The fact that many Thai language books and dictionaries are in English is an extra complication. When I talk Thai I sometimes think in English (or Tinglish, i.e. Thai-English).

I usually study during the evening before going to sleep. My wife confirmed that at this moment I talk in Dutch, English and a bit Thai in my dreams... and the last one she can understand. I am getting worried now

I am serious about studying Thai (serious in the English meaning of the word). I don't look at it as being only fun. I've ever lived 1 year in Thailand without knowing any Thai and I really want to change that when moving to Thailand in August. I think studying Thai is interesting and I am getting addicted to it.

My brain works rather analytically (i am an engineer) and I am not very good at languages, so I guess I better stick to the "slow and thorough" way of studying (as I am doing now). I progress slowly this way. It takes me 1 month to read 50 pages (small font) at 3 pages per day. But I guess it's the best way (for now). I am only 34 but I feel I am much slower at studying than before.

Thanks to all for your advice. I don't have much experience with studying languages and the advice I got in the past on this webboard was really useful.

[aanon]

I am serious about studying Thai (serious in the English meaning of the word).

that gave me a good laugh

don't worry about starting late or going slow, language is a race of endurance. also, if you're going to claim that you're no good at languages, try not to post in near-perfect native-level English!

all the best.

[sutnyod]

When I started to study English at university level this was my approach. I read two complete novels in English, underlined everything I did not know, and looked it up and wrote it down.

Meadish, I think I got some of your books!!! Do you want them back?