Once a week I meet my School of Speaking students online.
We have a lesson, we chat, they ask questions…
Here’s one I got this Saturday…
“What does this word mean?”
Good question.
But I didn’t know.
I mean, I knew the word.
I knew how to use the word, pronounce the word, etc.
But it’s definition… hmm, that was hard.
And that’s my dream for you!
Be the native speaker; not the talking dictionary.
Here’s how….
Word Crime #3
How do you learn a new word?
Do you…. open the dictionary?
Perfectly normal.
Most students do that.
But I say, that’s not learning the word; that’s learning the definition.
And you don’t want to learn the definition.
Because…
Does the definition help your understand the news?
Does the definition help you speak without pauses?
No.
When you learn the definition, you’re like the amateur on the golf course who tries to remember the voice of his instructor, “Head down…. elbow straight… knees bent….”
Conversation is lightning fast.
You’ve got to immediately SEE the word.
Immediately FEEL the word.
There is no time to remember long, confusing definitions.
Have you already made connections between words and definitions?
Break them!
Do you want to learn a new word?
Never make the connection between the word and the definition in the first place.
Sure, you can look at the definition once or twice, that’s fine.
But don’t memorize it and don’t make that connection permanent.
So what should you connect the word to?
Several things.
The best place to start: connect it with a picture.
This is my Visual Brain Power method.
I teach you all about it my new guide.
CLICK on the link to download it for free: https://letter.mrvig.com/visual-brain-power