學(xué)習外語(yǔ)的簡(jiǎn)單方法
Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Benny the Irish polyglot of Fluent in 3 months.
編者按：本文作者Benny，一位在3個(gè)月內便通曉多種語(yǔ)言的愛(ài)爾蘭人。
When I was 21 years old, the only language I spoke was English. I had done quite poorly in languages in school and believed that I was too untalented and even too ‘old’ to consider ever speaking a foreign language, even basically.
我到21歲還只會(huì )說(shuō)一種語(yǔ)言，那就是英語(yǔ)。在學(xué)校的時(shí)候，我就在語(yǔ)言學(xué)科上學(xué)得很不好，以至于我認為自己完全沒(méi)有什么語(yǔ)言天賦，甚至認為自己太老了，學(xué)不會(huì )外語(yǔ)，即使是基礎的外語(yǔ)也學(xué)不會(huì )。
Now seven years later I speak eight languages fluently and can get by quite well in several others. In my day-to-day life I almost never speak English and my travels and scope of friendships have been greatly enriched because of this.
然而七年后的今天，我卻可以流利地說(shuō)八種外語(yǔ)，另外還有幾種外語(yǔ)說(shuō)的也不錯?，F在我在日常生活中基本都不說(shuō)英語(yǔ)了，而且由于會(huì )多種外語(yǔ)而大大擴展了我的朋友圈子。
How I reached this stage was not by studying a lot or investing thousands in software or courses. It was by applying the simple principles outlined here.
有人要問(wèn)我是如何做到在短時(shí)間內精通多種外語(yǔ)的？我沒(méi)有經(jīng)過(guò)大量的學(xué)習，沒(méi)有花錢(qián)買(mǎi)各種各樣的學(xué)習軟件，也沒(méi)有參加各種培訓班。我只是很好的應用了以下這幾條原則:
Having the right learning approach
制定恰當的學(xué)習規劃
What mostly surprises people is my confidence that anyone can reach a high level of fluency in a language in just a few months. Many of us will have studied a language for years in school and are barely able to string a sentence together, so this idea might sound nothing short of arrogant.
我認為任何人都有可能在短短幾個(gè)月內精通一門(mén)語(yǔ)言，人們通常會(huì )驚訝于我為何如此自信。鑒于大多數人在學(xué)校學(xué)了多年的外語(yǔ)之后往往還只會(huì )簡(jiǎn)單的拼出一句話(huà)，我的這個(gè)觀(guān)點(diǎn)可能會(huì )顯得有點(diǎn)自夸。
However, considering what you are actually doing in school; a couple of hours of theory, using the language unnaturally for exam purposes, and some half-interested homework – this barely adds up to a few weeks of real work even over half a decade.
但是，想想看我們在學(xué)校學(xué)外語(yǔ)時(shí)都是怎么學(xué)的？幾個(gè)小時(shí)的理論，為了通過(guò)考試而機械地去練習外語(yǔ)，以及一些沒(méi)有興趣投入的家庭作業(yè)...。按照這樣即使學(xué)了好多年，真正學(xué)習的時(shí)間加起來(lái)也不過(guò)幾個(gè)禮拜而已。
After just two months living in Budapest, with no previous exposure to the language, I was ready to be interviewed entirely in Hungarian on video. I am not smarter or more talented than anyone else who might attempt this, but I am much more committed and serious about reaching my goals.
我以前從未接觸過(guò)匈牙利語(yǔ)，但在布達佩斯生活了僅兩個(gè)月后，我就可以用匈牙利語(yǔ)進(jìn)行視頻對話(huà)。我并不比其他任何人更聰明或更有天賦，我只是更堅定于更認真地對待自己想要達到的目標。
You don’t have to devote your life to the language, but you must invest at least an hour a day, ideally more, which involves focused use of the language.
你不必把全部精力都投入到學(xué)習外語(yǔ)，但必須保證每天至少花一個(gè)小時(shí)，超過(guò)一個(gè)小時(shí)當然更好，來(lái)專(zhuān)注于練習這門(mén)外語(yǔ)。
Casual interest can only get you so far – if you just ‘want’ to speak a language, that gives you no edge. Who wouldn’t want that? To make real progress, that want has to become a need.
With focus and your full attention you can learn much quicker
僅僅是興趣愛(ài)好不會(huì )有很大的進(jìn)展——如果你只是“想要”說(shuō)一門(mén)外語(yǔ)，這沒(méi)有給你任何界定。誰(shuí)不想要多說(shuō)一門(mén)外語(yǔ)呢？想要真正有所進(jìn)展的話(huà)，那這個(gè)“想要”就要變成“需要”。
全神貫注會(huì )讓你學(xué)得更快
And there is only one way the language will become a true necessity: you need to start speaking it with other people, now.
Stop learning the language, and start speaking it!
有一個(gè)方法可以把外語(yǔ)變成真正的必需：假如你現在就要用外語(yǔ)和別人交流。
不要再學(xué)外語(yǔ)了，開(kāi)始說(shuō)出來(lái)吧。
If I had to summarize what definitely separates those who fail in attempts to reach conversational fluency and those who succeed, based on my experience of meeting thousands of language learners, it is simply the fact that the latter group actually use the language. Not for exams, not for listening to podcasts or reading, but to communicate with human beings.
我接觸過(guò)數千個(gè)學(xué)外語(yǔ)的人，他們都想要達到能用外語(yǔ)進(jìn)行流利對話(huà)的目標，但有的失敗了有的成功了，如果要我說(shuō)這兩類(lèi)人的主要區別是什么，我會(huì )說(shuō)一個(gè)簡(jiǎn)單事實(shí)就是后者真正的去使用外語(yǔ)了，不是為了考試，不是為了聽(tīng)廣播或者閱讀，而是用外語(yǔ)去和別人交流。
If your goal is to be able to read perfectly or understand the radio perfectly, then lots of reading and listening will be precisely what you need.
如果你的目標是能夠完全讀懂外文資料或者完全聽(tīng)得懂外語(yǔ)廣播，那么你要做的就是大量的閱讀以及聽(tīng)力練習就夠了。
However, to speak well, you need to speak often! You can’t avoid this, it’s kind of the whole point!
但如果你想要把外語(yǔ)說(shuō)好，那就需要經(jīng)常的說(shuō)外語(yǔ)！這是免不了的，這就是說(shuō)好外語(yǔ)的關(guān)鍵。
Seriously, stop studying the target language so much! A language can’t be treated like a subject in school such as history or biology; in the real world you cannot ‘fail’ when you make a certain number of mistakes. Other people are very helpful when you are genuinely trying to speak with them.
說(shuō)真的，不要過(guò)多的去悶頭學(xué)外語(yǔ)了！你不能把一門(mén)外語(yǔ)看作是類(lèi)似于諸如歷史或生物這類(lèi)學(xué)校里的學(xué)科來(lái)學(xué)習；在現實(shí)生活中，沒(méi)有規定說(shuō)你說(shuō)外語(yǔ)的時(shí)候錯了多少次就算是不及格。如果你誠心用外語(yǔ)去和別人交流，那么他們對于你學(xué)外語(yǔ)是非常有幫助的。
People told me that in Berlin I would find it hard to convince Germans to not speak English to me all the time, but even when I was initially struggling they would be very helpful and patient with me as I spoke. They could see that I was serious about speaking their language and rewarded me for my efforts.
有人告訴我在柏林你會(huì )發(fā)現很難讓德國人不和你說(shuō)英語(yǔ)，不過(guò)我剛開(kāi)始德語(yǔ)還不太好時(shí)，就算我磕磕碰碰的用德語(yǔ)和他們交談，他們也會(huì )很樂(lè )意的幫助我而且會(huì )很耐心的和我交談。他們能看得出來(lái)我是認真地在說(shuō)他們的語(yǔ)言，而且還會(huì )對我做出的努力進(jìn)行鼓勵。
I can assure you, if you start speaking now with the little you know, you will indeed make mistakes but other speakers and natives will forgive you for this and you will realize that you always had the ability to communicate and get your point across.
我敢肯定，可能對某門(mén)外語(yǔ)你只會(huì )一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)，但如果你現在就開(kāi)始盡自己所能去說(shuō)這門(mén)外語(yǔ)，剛開(kāi)始你肯定會(huì )犯一些錯誤，但是其他人以及以此為母語(yǔ)者不會(huì )因此而怪你的，而且你會(huì )發(fā)現自己總是有能力來(lái)進(jìn)行交流并且能表達出自己的觀(guān)點(diǎn)。
Thanks to this practice, any studying you do will be focused on real use of the language relevant to your life, rather than theoretical applications recommended in generic courses.
這樣的練習，會(huì )讓你的學(xué)習側重于在日常生活中真正的使用外語(yǔ)，而不像一般的學(xué)習課程那樣側重于理論上的應用。
Don’t wait to finish the course – take matters into your own hands!
不要坐等課程結束——自己動(dòng)手才最重要！
What so many courses miss is that no matter how much you study, unless you start to use the language with others on a regular basis, it will have no real context in your mind and it’s very hard to make any real progress.
大多數外語(yǔ)課程都容易忽視的一點(diǎn)就是，不管你學(xué)的再多，你的意識中都不會(huì )有一個(gè)真正意義上的語(yǔ)言環(huán)境存在，這樣就很難取得實(shí)質(zhì)上的進(jìn)展。除非你開(kāi)始定期的運用外語(yǔ)來(lái)和別人交流。
I know people who are like walking dictionaries – they know the most obscure words in the foreign language and can explain precisely how the grammar works. And yet they are still not confident enough to speak.
我知道有些人很喜歡口袋字典——這些人知道那些最生僻的詞匯都是什么意思，他們講起語(yǔ)法來(lái)頭頭是道。但他們還是不能自信的張口說(shuō)外語(yǔ)。
One of these was another foreigner I lived with in Spain who could run circles around me if you put the two of us in an examination. Despite this, Spaniards I met when we were together would tell me that I spoke much better than he did. I wasn’t thinking too much about saying things perfectly – I just let the conversations flow.
在西班牙的時(shí)候，我和另一個(gè)外國人住在一起，如果我們倆去參加考試的話(huà)，他能把我甩得幾丈遠。但西班牙本國人還是覺(jué)得我說(shuō)得比他好的多。我并沒(méi)有考慮太多怎樣說(shuō)才最完美，我只是讓對話(huà)能順利地轉起來(lái)。
People focused on perfection still need to learn ‘just a little more’ and they’ll be ready ’some day’. There are seven days in a week and ’some day’ isn’t one of them!
人們總想要完美，總覺(jué)得還需要學(xué)的“再多一點(diǎn)”，然后“總有一天”他們就學(xué)好了。但你要知道，一個(gè)星期有七天，沒(méi)有哪一天叫做“總有一天”。
Those with much less theory behind them, but more experience actually speaking, will outdo the academics every time. This has nothing to do with natural talent, it’s about simply opening your mouth and really using the language.
任何時(shí)候，雖然缺少理論知識但具有更多實(shí)際說(shuō)外語(yǔ)經(jīng)驗的人永遠都勝過(guò)那些學(xué)院派。這和天賦沒(méi)什么關(guān)系，只在于是否去張嘴說(shuō)出來(lái)以及真正去使用外語(yǔ)。
A language is a means of communication. If you think of it as a list of vocabulary to learn off, or a table of grammar to memorize, you are missing the point entirely.
語(yǔ)言是交流的工具。如果你把它看成是大量的詞匯去學(xué)習，或者是語(yǔ)法表格去死記硬背，那你就大錯特錯了。
When you start practicing, you will improve on your speaking skills dramatically. It won’t be easy, but once you accept that you simply cannot skip the stage of making mistakes and try to enjoy it, then the mistakes will disappear quicker.
你一旦開(kāi)始練習說(shuō)外語(yǔ)，就會(huì )顯著(zhù)提高自己說(shuō)外語(yǔ)的水平。當然這不會(huì )很簡(jiǎn)單，但是只要你能意識到犯錯誤階段是不可避免的而且嘗試著(zhù)去好好體驗這個(gè)階段，你會(huì )發(fā)現很快就不會(huì )再犯錯誤了。
You don’t need to travel to speak the language
不必出國也可以學(xué)好外語(yǔ)
Successful language learners don’t aim to speak well some day – they use it now. Make all of your focus on immediate use of the language. Study can help, but it is most effective when it has immediate applications.
成功的外語(yǔ)學(xué)習者不是只盯著(zhù)將來(lái)能說(shuō)好外語(yǔ)的目標——而是現在就使用外語(yǔ)。把你的所有注意力都集中到立即使用外語(yǔ)。學(xué)習是有幫助的，但最有效的是能立即去應用它。
Find natives and other learners to practice with and arrange to meet up with them immediately. It will be hard at first, but you need real pressure if you want to make real progress.
找一些外語(yǔ)的母語(yǔ)者以及其他在學(xué)這門(mén)外語(yǔ)的人一起練習，安排一些和他們即時(shí)的面對面交談。一開(kāi)始這會(huì )比較難，但是如果你真想學(xué)好外語(yǔ)的話(huà)是需要一些壓力的。
Rather than downloading podcasts and buying too many courses, meet up with actual people and use the language! A few resources I like to use include:
不要再去下載聽(tīng)力材料或者買(mǎi)各種各樣的學(xué)習教程了，找一些人去使用外語(yǔ)當面交談！我個(gè)人比較喜歡以下的一些資源：
Meetup.com for language meet-ups in major cities. You can also read advertisements in newspapers and your local library to see if people meet up interested in speaking the language you want to.
- Meetup.com，通過(guò)這個(gè)網(wǎng)站可以在各大城市找到一起說(shuō)外語(yǔ)的人。你也可以通過(guò)報紙上的廣告或者當地圖書(shū)館來(lái)尋找有興趣一起說(shuō)外語(yǔ)的人。
Join Couchsurfing and host foreign travelers in your home. The same site also has international meetings and a feature to search your city for people who speak a particular language.
- 注冊Couchsurfing會(huì )員，并在家里招待一些同樣注冊會(huì )員的外國旅游者。同時(shí)你也可以在這個(gè)網(wǎng)站上搜索在你的城市說(shuō)某外語(yǔ)的人群。
You can also find native speakers online and practice over Skype, through many language learning social networks available for free online.
- 你也可以在互聯(lián)網(wǎng)的各種語(yǔ)言學(xué)習社區找到那些母語(yǔ)者并通過(guò)Skype與他們在線(xiàn)交談。
You can do this in your home town.
在自己的家鄉你就能做到這些。
The only reason I feel that travel really does make a difference for some people is because of the pressure to perform being constantly there.
我覺(jué)得出國旅行唯一的不同就在于你會(huì )有一直處在外語(yǔ)環(huán)境中的壓力。
But many expats still waste the opportunity. I met a man who had been living in Prague for ten years and still didn’t speak any Czech, even though his own children did. He had created a bubble of his mother tongue that ‘protected’ him via his social circle and routines.
但是，雖然身處異國仍然有很多移居國外的人會(huì )浪費這種機會(huì )。我曾碰到一個(gè)人，他在布拉格住了十年但一點(diǎn)都不懂捷克語(yǔ)，但他的孩子們都會(huì )說(shuō)捷克語(yǔ)。他就是通過(guò)自己的社交圈子人為把自己封閉在只說(shuō)母語(yǔ)的環(huán)境中。
If he can do this in a foreign country, why can’t we do it from home with a foreign language? You don’t have to avoid your mother tongue (that is not a realistic solution for many due to work and family / friends), but you can create a ‘bubble’ where everything you do is in the target language, even if just for that hour a day.
他在外國都能這樣創(chuàng )造一個(gè)母語(yǔ)環(huán)境，我們在家為什么就不能自己創(chuàng )造一個(gè)外語(yǔ)環(huán)境呢？我們沒(méi)必要完全避開(kāi)母語(yǔ)（由于工作、家庭、朋友的關(guān)系這也不太現實(shí)），但是我們可以創(chuàng )造一個(gè)做什么事都使用外語(yǔ)的封閉環(huán)境，即使是每天只這樣做一個(gè)小時(shí)也可以。
A positive attitude is the key
積極的態(tài)度是關(guān)鍵
No matter what language I learn, I always try to look at my cup as ‘half full’. It’s possible to answer this post with a list of reasons why learning a given language would be too hard for you, but this bogus focus on excuses is what actually makes it hard for many people.
不管我在學(xué)哪門(mén)外語(yǔ)，我總會(huì )把自己看作是一個(gè)“半滿(mǎn)”的杯子（譯者注：我總認為自己還很有遺力來(lái)學(xué)會(huì )這門(mén)外語(yǔ)）。你可以有充足的理由來(lái)回復這篇文章說(shuō)自己為什么學(xué)不會(huì )某外語(yǔ)，但找出這諸多借口恰恰就是大多數人學(xué)不好外語(yǔ)的原因所在。
You can also make it easy by deciding to have a positive attitude accompany you in your language learning journey.
在學(xué)習外語(yǔ)的過(guò)程中，如果你能保持自己積極的態(tài)度，這會(huì )讓你的學(xué)習變得更加容易。
This positive attitude creates a feedback loop in your mind where you will look for more evidence to support the idea that it isn’t that bad after all and this will further fuel your openness to learn more without creating any invisible barriers. Progress will flow and you’ll be speaking confidently before you know it.
這種積極的態(tài)度會(huì )在你的意識中形成一個(gè)良性循環(huán)，你會(huì )找到更多的證據來(lái)證明其實(shí)學(xué)外語(yǔ)一點(diǎn)都不難，這就更進(jìn)一步為你今后能無(wú)障礙的學(xué)習別的外語(yǔ)奠定了一個(gè)良好的開(kāi)端。這樣你的外語(yǔ)水平就悄悄地在一天天進(jìn)步，你還沒(méi)來(lái)得及意識到自己就已經(jīng)能很自信的說(shuō)外語(yǔ)了。
So stop reading about it, stop listening to others doing it, and stop over-studying and dreaming about ’some day’. It’s time to get out there and speak it!
所以說(shuō)，不要再閱讀什么外語(yǔ)學(xué)習材料，不要再聽(tīng)別人講怎樣學(xué)外語(yǔ)，不要再悶頭學(xué)習外語(yǔ)而期待著(zhù)“某一天”自己就學(xué)會(huì )了?，F在就開(kāi)始，走出去并張開(kāi)嘴巴說(shuō)外語(yǔ)吧。
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