在本站的留言板上，Hmy提出了如下四方面的问题：
1. 在学习中我投入了较多的精力，但是进步却不是很大，我都会去背诵书中给的生语和短语的例句。我目前的阶段记忆起这些例句非常容易，只要看两遍就能记住，但是我现在困惑的是，为什么自己不会去造这些句子，其实看过这些例句后我会发现并没有什么生词，但是却不会自己组织句子。还有就是这些新学词组，我想在生活中应用上，但是在写作中或是口语中老是感觉用不上，是不是因为这些词组我还不够熟练，所以从大脑里面提练不出来？这个问题是不是在大量阅读后能够解决。在阅读的过程中这些字或词看的频率高了就会记住？
2.下面我谈谈听力方面的问题。我不太喜欢听，也许是因为有时听不懂就有点想放弃了，所以听力一直是我的弱项，但是听你的节目或是网院老师的节目是没有问题的，我指的是那些大的电台节目听不太懂。
3.关于写作，我能按照书上的要求写出文章，但是我老是觉得写得不够漂亮,我向孙盈也请教过这个问题，她说我是阅读量少了，读得多了就知道如何去写。是这样吗？
4.再谈谈我的口语吧，昨晚跟你交流过，自我感觉挺不好的，也许有些紧张，但是在日常生活中我敢于去说，不太怕“丢脸”。
不知大家看完后作何评论？下面我就谈一谈我对Hmy问题的解答，希望能抛砖引玉：
1、Hmy提出的第一个问题的核心是词汇的问题，那么我就仔细谈一谈怎么样算是掌握了一个新的单词——
“To ‘know’ a word in a target language as well as the native speaker knows it may mean the ability to:
(a) recognize it in its spoken or written form; 能听会认
(b) recall it at will; 不假思索，脱口而出
(c) relate it to an appropriate object or concept; 知道单词内涵和外延
(d) use it in the appropriate grammatical form; 掌握单词在不同时态的变形
(e) in speech, pronounce it in a recognizable way; 正确发音
(f) in writing, spell it correctly; 正确拼写
(g) use it with the words it correctly goes with, i.e. in the correct collocation; 使用合适的单词与其搭配
(h) use it at the appropriate level of formality; 在恰当场合中使用
(i) be aware of its connotations and associations.” 掌握其引申义
– Michael Wallace, Teaching Vocabulary (Heinemann Educational Books, 1982:)
是不是很有挑战性呢？不过，Wallace提出的这个标准不是针对所有英语单词的，否则拥有世界第一大词汇量的英语将会成为最难以掌握的一门语言。所以还有必要引出“Passive vocabulary”和“Active vocabulary”的概念：
So how do we define active and passive knowledge of vocabulary?
I think if a word is in our active knowledge, we are able to use it in writing and in speaking. This knowledge probably fulfils all, or at least most, of the categories identified by Wallace. We tend to think of passive knowledge as meaning that we recognise the word in written and spoken contexts, and understand from the context what it means. However, we might be able to pronounce a word, but not spell it, in which case it is only partially in our active knowledge. We might also only be able to use a word in certain circumstances, but be unsure of its use in other contexts. So, you see there is not a very clear divide between active and passive knowledge of a word. They are two extremes on a sort of continuum, so that there are degrees of active and passive knowledge. The general distinction between them tends to be whether or not you can use the word, rather than just understand it.
简而言之，passive vocaluary是我们能认识、听得懂但是不一定会拼写、懂搭配、能应用的词！但是 active vocabulary 就是我们能够做到Wallace提出的9点标准的词汇，比如几乎每个人都会说“OK”，大家都懂其含义，都能脱口而出，随时应用，这就是Active Vocabulary.
所以，我想要跟Hmy指出的是你一定要对你所掌握的词汇有一个清醒的认识，有多少单词是active，又有多少是passive，一个人的英语水平的高低完全取决于他的 active vocabulary 的储备，因为在实际应用中，你能够脱离字典说和写出来的英文才是你的真实水平——这也从反面印证了死记硬背一本字典然后对外宣称其词汇量高达十万的人有多么无聊，给他一个小时，命题作文，他要是能把他背的十万单词灵活运用、笔走龙蛇、妙笔生花才能真正让人敬佩。
Hmy，我的建议是，你在阅读的时候要把重点放在生单词是如何在句子、语篇中发挥其作用的，真正掌握Wallace提出的对一个单词的“九会”才能算是功成圆满。
那么在哪些单词上下功夫算是没白花力气呢？就是要广泛接触各种英文阅读、听力材料，如果一个单词经常出现，即所谓的“高频词汇”，那么这个词你就必须做到“九会”，“九会”的单词量逐渐大了，应用起来也就真正得心应手了！
2、Hmy的第二个问题是听力，VOA、BBC等外电她觉得有困难，我认为这个问题的核心在与目标的确立，请看我的分析：
我们在生活中无时不刻不在确立目标–达成目标–确立新目标，这个过程中最重要的是确立目标这个环节，如果目标订立得太高或者太低，对于整个过程的实现都是起反作用的。
英语学习的不同阶段，听力材料的选择是不一样的，你不能要求一个初学者去听明白VOA Standard English；你也不能要求一个具备高级英语水平的学习者从英语儿歌中寻求挑战。
Hmy目前所处的阶段应该说是 intermediate level，再向上发展成 upper-intermediate 或者 advanced level，就必须在选择听力材料上下功夫。
请大家站在英语老师的角度做一做下面这个练习：
1. I take language into account when selecting listening materials, and I prefer a text the language of which is:
A. exactly at the current level of the students.
B. slightly above the current level of the students.
C. slightly below the level of the students.
2. I take length into account when selecting listening materials, and I prefer
A. a short text of, say, half a minute or less.
B. a long text of, say, more than two minutes.
C. a text of between half a minute and two minutes.
3. I take content into account when selecting listening materials, and I prefer a text the content of which contains:
A. information my students are very familiar with.
B. concepts totally unknown to my students.
C. topics interesting to my students and some information that is new to them.
4. I take the use of visual support material into account when selecting listening materials, and I prefer a text illustrated by:
A. some pictures, graphs or charts.
B. no pictures, graphs or charts.
5. I take the style of delivery into account when selecting listening materials, and I prefer a text spoken by:
A. RP speakers.
B. speakers with regional accents.
6. I take the speed of delivery into account when selecting listening materials, and I prefer a text spoken at:
A. normal speed.
B. slower than normal speed.
7. I take spontaneity into account when selecting listening materials, and I prefer a text which is:
A. totally spontaneous.
B. scripted, but produced as close as possible to spontaneous speech.
C. totally scripted and clearly spoken in full grammatical sentences.
8. I take the quality of production into account when selecting listening materials, and I prefer a recording which contains:
A. distracting background sounds.
B. tolerable background sounds.
C. no background sounds.
做完了吗？请看评讲：
There are no fixed answers to this exercise, and different teachers who teach different students at different schools will naturally make different choices. However, there are still a few principles for a teacher to apply when he tries to select for his students suitable listening materials. The eight questions in this exercise in fact cover the eight essential factors any teacher should take into account when selecting listening materials.
1. Language is often the first thing many teachers would consider. Whilst you do not want the language to be beyond the level of comprehension of your students, you do want them to learn something, so the language should provide a challenge to the students so that they feel they gain something new from it and really use their listening skills to the full.
2. As for length, a listening text of between half a minute and two minutes is in most cases suitable. If it is too short, it will not allow the students enough time to get used to the topic or speaker’s voice or tone. If it is too long, it might put too much train on the students, who can be easily distracted or demotivated due to boredom or tiredness.
3. In terms of content, there is little doubt that a listening text which is interesting and thought-provoking is best for the students, for only such a text can stimulate them to try all the means to extract the meaning. Students are not motivated to listen to something they already know and might be demotivated if the concepts are beyond their understanding. They should listen to something that interests them and contains some new information for them to find out.
4. A listening text illustrated with some pictures, maps or charts is often desirable, as it can give the students useful visual support, especially when the topic is unfamiliar. This graphic material can also be very useful to the teacher in designing tasks, such as labelling a map or a picture, interpreting information in a graph, giving a suitable caption to a picture or drawing.
5. With regards to the style of delivery, students should be introduced to the listening texts spoken with a variety of accents rather than being limited only to those with the standard one, so as to prepare them to understand different people in real-life situations.
6. Remember that texts spoken at a speed slower than the one normal for its purpose, will lose a great deal of its natural rhythm and intonation, and therefore leave the students with a wrong impression of “real” spoken language.
7. The degree of spontaneity of a listening text largely depends on the level of your students, but remember that the eventual aim is to understand and produce natural spontaneous speech.
8. As you probably noticed in your examination of authentic Chinese speech, it is difficult not to have some background noise. The problem with the classroom situation is that the quality of recording or playing equipment might already place a strain on the listener, which could be aggravated by undue background noise on the tape. However, unobtrusive background sounds, such as music, traffic, people around speaking quietly, weather conditions, can add a realistic flavour to the context and also give an indication of the physical setting.
也许这大段的英文让你头痛，不过 no pain, no gain，这“八大因素”直接影响了你在进行自我听力训练时的效率。
一言以蔽之，VOA, BBC是肯定要听的，但是属于“泛听”的范畴，听大意，不求甚解。
“精听”的材料不妨选择外研社出版的 Listen to this 这套教材，难易梯度编排得很到位，我三年前接触到该书时颇有“豁然开朗”的感觉，用一个暑假的时间听完了初级和中级，听力和口语上了一个大台阶。
请注意，听力和口语不能“分而治之”，必须结合起来学习。我会在今后陆续推出有关听力和口语的评论文章，敬请关注！
3、Hmy的第三个问题是写作：
写作是一个人语言综合素质的体现，不论是母语还是外语，语言测试中的“压轴戏”都是写作题，由此可见写作的重要性。
回想我们学习汉语写作，在“精读”了语文课本中大师的佳作之后，我们还通过报纸、杂志、广告等等传媒去领略汉语的精妙，加上平时写日记、写记叙文、议论文、说明文、散文、杂文、诗歌等等问题的磨练，再在语文老师的悉心评改下，我们的汉语水平才能够达到目前的状态，但距离语言大师的水准仍然有很远的路要走……
所以，阅读只是“刚起步”，还要不断地去实践。我每天读两千字的英文，一定也要写至少五百字的英文才能算是心安理得，写完一稿还很不够，第二天要自己修改，或者发给老师让老师修改，然后仔细对比差异，取长补短。
写作和口语一样，不去写永远不知道该向哪个方向努力，不让老师评改也永远不知道自己写的到底差在哪儿。好比一个人练习武功，不去和别人切磋，怎么知道自己是否进步了呢？
你也许会说，我身边没有水平特别高的人，我该怎么办？
去论坛！！！
国内也好，国外也罢，自从因特网“飞入寻常百姓家”，英语论坛再也不是稀缺资源。北外网院的学生可以直接找内部论坛负责写作课程的老师要求批改习作。广大英语爱好者也完全可以找到诸如“China Daily”论坛等等聚集了国内很多英语高手的网上社区，勇敢一点，去跟他们过过招，虚心求教，融入到那里的学习氛围中去，一定会有想不到的收获。
4、Hmy，我听了你的口语，感觉很不错，的确敢于开口，这一点非常重要。当然，遣词造句方面，还是有提升的空间。希望你多多参与我的VOB节目，也希望你能把口语和听力练习结合起来学习，定能事半功倍！
January 5th, 2008 at 10:40 am
[...] 谈英语词汇的“九会” 兼答Hmy问 (10) [...]