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  • Hey hey hey, what's up? It's your favorite American English teacher here

  • My name is Gabby if you didn't already know and this is go natural English today

  • I want to share with you some tips for using a

  • monolingual dictionary

  • in English that means English to English

  • not English to Spanish English to Portuguese English to Arabic English to Turkish or whatever your native language may be this is the

  • universal English dictionary monolingual means one language English to English

  • So it's very important that you start using a monolingual dictionary

  • and you throw out your bilingual dictionary because we need to develop your

  • thinking skills in English

  • Why?

  • because when you're always

  • Translating from English to your native language from your native language back into English it takes a long time

  • So if you're participating in a conversation in English or trying to participate you can't just be like hey guys wait wait wait

  • Can you just stop?

  • while

  • I check my dictionary because I'm not sure what you said so everybody just stop talking because I need to translate this real quick

  • Okay, got it now. Let me translate my thoughts from my native language back into English, okay guys

  • I'm ready to actually respond now. It doesn't work like that especially

  • in fast conversations

  • maybe in a meeting or like a

  • high-powered business situation you need to be ready to respond and in order to respond you first have to

  • Understand so we need to get your thinking skills going in

  • English fast the best way to do that or one of the best ways is to use a monolingual dictionary

  • Now some people say

  • But Gabby, it doesn't work when I look up a word in a monolingual dictionary

  • It just gives me more

  • Words that I don't know so I still don't understand the word that I looked up and now I feel even more

  • Confused because all the other words are new and I'm confused and now I feel really dumb and bad

  • And why did I even try guys?

  • Relax, it's gonna happen. Do you remember the last time in your language in your native language that you didn't know?

  • What a word meant I'll give you an example in English okay. I learned a new word the other day

  • amortization

  • What does it mean? Well I?

  • Kinda sorta thought I knew what it meant

  • But I looked it up and even after I looked it up in an English English dictionary

  • I did something else I looked for examples of how it is used on

  • Websites, and I did something else I looked for images

  • Through Google Images so I googled this word

  • And then I looked at pictures to see how it was visually

  • Described and this is an awesome way for you to clarify any doubts about a new word is

  • Use Google images and also look at how the word is used in

  • Context on other websites so that you have a variety of diverse

  • and

  • numerous sources of information not only your one monolingual dictionary

  • But now you have the whole internet. Oh my gosh. The Internet's pretty awesome

  • I don't know if you've heard of it

  • but it's a great place to find out more information about words and

  • meanings of things you can learn anything on the internet even English, okay, so

  • Use all of the tools out there and don't give up if you don't succeed

  • Right away you have to try and try again

  • If you don't get the meaning right away just

  • Breathe and keep looking for information, or you know just let it go because it actually takes several

  • recurrences of the word several times

  • to learn a word

  • By heart to really understand the meaning and to remember that word so it's okay

  • It's okay, if at first you don't

  • Quite understand the meaning of the word, and you can't remember it at all

  • So just relax and keep going with English keep reading keep listening

  • And maybe make a note of those words

  • That you'd like to look up that you'd like to learn more about and trust me with this

  • Positive attitude and not giving up of just keeping going day after day you're going to improve quickly

  • You're already improving. You're watching go natural English you're doing the right thing

  • So thank you so much for watching if you liked this

  • Tip on how to learn English how to think in English?

  • then you would love my video on how to stop translating in your head and

  • Think in English right up there. You can watch it and make sure if you have not subscribed to go natural English

  • subscribe by clicking the big red subscribe button

  • And that will give you a little notification when I make new videos or tips like this so thanks again for watching

  • And I'll see you again in another video soon mwah bye for now

Hey hey hey, what's up? It's your favorite American English teacher here

Subtitles and vocabulary

Click the word to look it up Click the word to find further inforamtion about it