Different Vocabulary Understanding About Chinese And Canadian

  Now I still remember the class about vocabulary, Dr.Douglas gave us the meaning of those vocabulary, and we guess what's the vocabulary. I just work out about 20%. It's not because I don't know these words. Because this words in my mind is not that meaning. 
  We learned these vocabularies on the class by English. But I can't really understand it in English way. I still need to check Chinese-English dictionary to figure out what is the meaning. So that cause the I almost can't get words on that class. But I really know these words. And even putting these words in a sentence and cross them then let me choose one from a lot of vocabularies(include the one have crossed) and put it in sentence. I can pick the one which you just crossed. It's just like workbook. I still can do much better. So in my opinion, it's not about if I remember it or not, it's about the way I understanding the words. I means we-Chinese. Because I show this ppt to a lot of Chinese people. Almost of them have the same problem. Let me show some example to make this more easy to understand. For example. on that ppt, Dr.Douglas define challenge like this:•a new or difficult task that tests sb’s ability and skill •an invitation or a suggestion to sb that they should enter a competition, fight, etc.  As i said, I learn it from Chinese-English dictionary. To make it easy to understand, let's do it like this. In the Chinese- English dictionary: challenge means XXX( some Chinese translations)  Then i put the XXX in Chinese dictionary, it says XXX means (i) enrage Sb to fight with you . (ii) defiance (iii) incite Sb in competitions. It's totally different from English meaning. But we still say " I challenge to swim across some river." It still make sence in my mind. And also make sence in Chinese. I don't know how to explain this.And i do another things. I put the challenge in Chinese-English dictionary then i have the XXX(Chinese translations) then i put the XXX in a Chinese-English dictionary. It says:"to challenge to a fight or contest"  
  Then I know why this happen. I can do the quiz on book because the sentences are English and the vocabularies are English. So at first I only think in English. Then i understand the meaning of the sentence in Chinese way.  It's not about i translate every words in Chinese and understand.  I just read and think in English  but I still understand in Chinese mind. Because the all things in know it in Chinese way. Even I read in English. Because I knew these thing when I am a child and in Chinese way. (It's very hard to describe, But if you have learned a second, try to do a quiz like i said, you will understand). Then i start to pick one words can put in. I translate these words in Chinese. And I have known the meaning in Chinese. So it's very easy to do.  But if you do it like class. I still reading and thinking in English. And I still understand in Chinese. Then you want me to find one English word. I just can think in English. That become Chinese sentence that never a Chinese words fit  that meaning. So I can't translate in English again. Then I can't do it.
  So it's not about only think in English. Of course, you can only think in English. But the all thing you think you know it in Chinese way. It's just like you know rice in Chinese. You eat it everyday. When you talk about rice. The rice means the days you eat in China. How it feel , how it taste. Thses feels are in Chinese way. When a Canadian talk about rice. You know the things But when you think it, It still the things you know in Chinese.
  Until now, I think I finally figure out why that happened. English just like a cover on the all the things I know, Then I can recognized them in English way. But I still know the things in Chinese way. So it's not because I don't know these words. Because this words in my mind is not that meaning in Canadian minds.