外語學習攻略：6種技巧簡化英語學習過程

And if you』re thinking of traveling or studying abroad, learning a new language is imperative.如果你想出國旅遊或留學，學習一種新語言是勢在必行的。

Actually speaking a foreign language fluently takes a lot of hard work and practice. Even if you study every day, it can take years to master some languages. Meanwhile, you start to get frustrated at your lack of progress and you want to give up.事實上講一門流利的外語需要很多的辛勤努力和實踐。即使你每天學習，掌握某一門語言也要花數年的時間。與此同時，你開始因進步遲緩而變得沮喪，你想放棄了。

Don』t.千萬不要！

There are all kinds of rewards associated with speaking a second language. Not just intangible rewards, like being able to chat with locals when you travel, but psychological and health rewards as well. Studies show that being able to speak a second language may help you multitask and prevent dementia.講第二門語言，有各種各樣的回報。不僅僅是無形的回報，比如旅行時你能夠與當地人交流，而且還有心理和健康方面的回報。研究表明，能說第二門語言可以幫助你培養一心多用以及預防老年痴呆。

So if you want to reap all of the benefits of speaking a second language, how can you continue working on your language skills without getting burnt out? Here are 6 tips to simplify your language learning.所以如果想收穫說第二外語的種種好處，在你抓狂以前，在語言技能訓練上你要怎樣繼續努力？這裡有6個技巧可以簡化你的語言學習。

1. Have a Word of the Day.今日一詞

Trying to learn everything at once and getting overwhelmed by the sheer number of words in your new language can be overwhelming. Sometimes, even if you do learn new words, you forget them quickly because you haven』t heard them enough in context.馬上著手學習和面對學習新語言的大量辭彙要承受的巨大壓力，這真的讓人感到不知所措。有時候，即使你確實學到了新單詞，你很快就會忘記它們，因為你在語境中聽得還不夠多。

One way to get around this problem is to keep a few new words in your vocabulary by using them on a daily basis. Since it takes an adult an average of 150 times to learn to use a new word properly, having a Word of the Day or several words can help build your vocabulary.一種解決這類問題的方法是通過每天使用新辭彙來記憶它們。成年人平均要150次才學會合理地使用一個新詞，一天學一個或幾個新詞可以幫助你積累辭彙量。

You can do this one of two ways. One, you can keep a running list of words you』d like to learn and designate one to be the word of the day. Or, two, you can wait for new words to come up organically in conversation, and then try to use the new word several times.有兩種方法可以做到。一是把你想學的單詞做成單詞列表，並指定一個單詞為「今日一詞」。另一種是你可以等候出現在談話里的新單詞，然後試著用上幾次新單詞。

2. Speak the language as much as you can (especially with native speakers).儘可能多地講這種語言（特別是與母語人士）

It goes without saying that the best way to learn how to speak a language is to actually speak it. Reading and studying grammar books will only get you so far.不用說，學習如何說一門語言的最好方式是說這門語言。閱讀和學習語法只會讓你遠離語言的實質。

And yet, it』s so easy to get trapped in the 「not-good-enough」 mindset, where you don』t speak because you think you don』t speak well enough. And then your speaking doesn』t get better.除此之外，你還很容易陷進「不夠好」的心理模式，有了這種心理之後你就不會開口說，因為你認為自己講得不夠好。於是你的口語就得不到提升。

So make an effort to communicate with native speakers of your language. You』ll learn a lot more in a 5 minute conversation with a native Spanish speaker than you will from another English speaker who』s had 2 years of college Spanish. Try to spend 80% of your time speaking with those who speak the language better than you.所以努力與你所學英語的母語人士交流。與本土西班牙人聊5分鐘對話，比起和那些來自英語國家在大學裡學了兩年的西班牙語的人交流，你學到的會更多。試著把80%的時間花在和比你講得好的人交談。

3. Listen to foreign language radio or TV, even as background noise.聽外語之聲或看外語電視，即使是作為背景音也好。

Part of learning to speak a foreign language properly is learning the intonations and rhythms of the words. In French, for example, you can』t put the emphasis on different words in a sentence to vary what you mean (like you can do in English). And it』s easy to distinguish beginner students from near-native speakers by listening for the ones who pronounce French like it』s English.正確地學習講外語，其中一部分是學習語調和單詞的節拍。例如在法語里，你不能和學習英語一樣，把重點放在句子里的不同單詞上來改變你的意思。而且初級學習者和本土母語人士很容易區分開來，因為有些人的法語是英語形式的。

The remedy to that is to listen to the language as much as possible.補救的辦法是儘可能地多聽。

Try to hear the pacing of the words, how they』re pronounced in different contexts, and what the different intonations are. How does the language sound when the speaker is excited, or angry, or asking an accusatory question? Even listening to the language in the background will help you to pick up information on how the language is spoken.試著聽話語的速度，它們在不同的語境中是如何發音的，又有哪些不同的語調。當說話人興奮、或憤怒、或是指責時，語言又會是怎麼樣的呢？即使是聽當作背景音的語言，也會幫助你感知到語言的特點。

4. Look up words you don』t know in a monolingual dictionary.在單語詞典里查找你不認識的詞

Figuring out the meaning of words can be tricky in a foreign language, since direct and accurate translations don』t always exist. While getting the word for physical objects, like milk or desk, might be straightforward, translating concepts can be a lot harder.對於一門外語，找出單詞意義可能是件棘手的事，因為直接和準確的翻譯並不總是存在。用直觀物體對應這個詞，如牛奶或書桌，可能簡單明了，但翻譯概念是難上加難。

By looking words up in a monolingual dictionary, you can make sure that the word or phrase you choose actually means what you think it does.通過在單語詞典里查找單詞，你能保證你選擇的單詞或短語實際上表達了你想的意思。

5. When you make a mistake, immediately try to correct yourself. 當你犯了錯誤時，試著立即糾正自己。

Lifehack recently published an article stating that if you mistype a word, you should delete the whole word before retyping it correctly to reprogram your brain to do it properly the next time. The same goes for learning a language.Lifehack上最近發表了一篇文章，文章指出如果你打錯了一個字，在重打之前你應該刪除整個詞，這樣下次你才正確。對於學習一門語言是同樣道理。

If you misspeak, and catch your mistake, immediately correct yourself by repeating the sentence correctly. It will help you program your brain to avoid making the same mistake again, and solidify the grammar rules in your mind.如果你說錯了，逮住你的錯誤，立即糾正自己的錯誤，把這個句子正確地再說一遍。它將幫助你的大腦避免再犯同樣的錯誤，並將語法規則紮根在你的腦海里。

6. Carry around a notebook and write down new words you learn.隨身攜帶一個筆記本，寫下你學習到的新單詞

If you』re in the beginning stages of learning a language, this process might be too overwhelming, since you』re learning new words all the time. But once you get to an intermediate or advanced level, your learning process slows down. In the beginning, you progressed easily because you were learning simple verb tenses and lists of super useful vocabulary that you use every day – hello, 「How are you?」, 「Can I have a pen, please?」 – and when you get past that stage, the learning suddenly gets more difficult.如果你處在學習一門語言的開始階段，這個過程可能很有壓力，因為你總是在學習新單詞。但是一旦你達到了中級或高級水平，學習過程將會減慢。剛開始，你很容易就有進步，因為你在學習簡單的動詞時態以及每天使用到的超級有用的一系列辭彙，像「你好」、「你好嗎？」、「請問，我可以借支鋼筆嗎？」——當你過了這個階段，學習突然間變得困難了。

When you』re advanced, keeping a record of the words you learn can also help you from getting frustrated and thinking that you aren』t learning anything new. As long as you use the language, you』ll always be progressing.當你到了高級水平，記錄好你學習的單詞，你就不會沮喪，更不會說自己沒學習到新東西。只要你在使用這門語言，你就永遠都在進步。