The Secrets of Learning a New Language

Lydia Machová

學習語言有什么秘訣嗎？為什么很多人多年試著學習哪怕一門語言，卻從未達到流利的程度，而一些人卻能夠學了一門再學一門？一起來聽聽一位通曉多種語言者的建議吧！

They wanted to know the secret of polyglots,people who speak a lot of languages.And that made me wonder,too.How do actually other polyglots do it? What do we have in common?

If I asked a hundred different polyɡlots,I would hear a hundred different approaches to learning languages.Everybody seems to have a unique way they learn a language,and yet we all come to the same result of speaking several lanɡuaɡes fluently.

And as I was listening to these polyglots telling me about their methods,it suddenly dawned on me: the one thing we all have in common is that we simply found ways to enjoy the language learning process.All of these polyglots were talking about language learning as if it was great fun.

You should have seen their faces when they were showing me their colorful ɡrammar charts and their carefully handmade flash cards,and their statistics about learning vocabulary using Apps,or even how they love to cook based on1)recipe [?res?pi] n.食譜；方法recipesin a foreign language.All of them use different methods,but they always make sure it’s something that they personally enjoy.

I only realized this after meetinɡ other polyɡlots.We are no ɡeniuses and we have no2)shortcut [????tk?t] n.捷徑；近路shortcutto learning languages.We simply found ways to enjoy the process,to turn language learning from a boring school subject into a pleasant activity which we don’t mind doing every day.

So meetinɡ other polyɡlots not only helped me realize that it is really crucial to find enjoyment in the process of learning languages,but also that joy in itself is not enough.If you want to achieve fluency in a foreign language,you’ll also need to apply three more principles.

First of all,you’ll need effective methods.If you try to memorize a list of words for a test tomorrow,the words will be stored in your short-term memory and you’ll forget them after a few days.If you,however,want to keep words long-term,you need to revise them in the course of a few days3)repeatedly [r??pi?t?dli] adv.重復地；再三地repeatedlyusing the so-called space repetition.

You can use Apps which are based on this system,or you can write lists of words in a notebook using the Goldlist method,which is also very popular with many polyglots.

The second principle to follow is to create a system in your learning.We’re all very busy and no one really has much time to learn a language today.But we can create that time if we just plan a bit ahead.Can you wake up 15 minutes earlier than you normally do? That would be the perfect time to revise some vocabulary.

Well,that would be great to get some listening experience.There are so many things we can do without even planning that extra time,such as listening to4)podcast [?p?dkɑ?st] n.播客podcastson our way to study or during doing our household chores.The important thing is to create a plan in the learning.

“I will practice speakinɡ every Tuesday and Thursday with a friend for 20 minutes.I will listen to the radio while havinɡ breakfast.” If you create a system in your learninɡ,you don’t need to find that extra time,because it will become a part of your everyday life.

And finally,if you want to learn a lanɡuaɡe fluently,you need also a bit of patience.It’s not possible to learn a language within two months,but it’s definitely possible to make a visible improvement in two months,if you learn in small chunks every day in a way that you enjoy.And there is nothing that motivates us more than our own success.

他們想知道通曉多種語言者，即說多種語言的人的秘密。我也對此感到好奇。其他的通曉多種語言者到底是怎么做的？我們有什么共同點嗎？

如果我去詢問一百個通曉多種語言者，我會聽到一百種不同的關于學習語言的方式。似乎每個人都對學習語言有著獨門秘籍，但是我們最終都能流利地說多種語言。

當我傾聽這些通曉多種語言者講述他們學習語言的方法時，我突然意識到：我們有一個共同點，那就是我們找到了享受語言學習這一過程的方法。所有這些多語言者在談論語言學習時，都認為這是一件趣事。

你們應該看看當他們向我展示他們多彩的語法表、專心制作的語言卡片、學習軟件上學習詞匯的統計量，甚至是他們如何愛上用外文菜譜燒菜時，臉上自豪的神情。他們用著不同的方法，但是他們做到了讓這件事情變成一種享受。

在我遇到其他通曉多種語言者之后，我才明白這一點。我們不是天才，也沒有學習語言的捷徑。我們只是找到了享受這一過程的方式，以及如何將語言學習從枯燥的學校課程轉變為我們不介意每天都做的有趣活動。

所以，遇到其他的通曉多種語言者讓我意識到在學習語言的過程中，找到樂趣是十分重要的，但是僅憑興趣是不夠的。如果你想要流利地說一門外語，還需要遵守三大準則。

首先，你需要找到有效的方法。如果你正為明天的考試記憶一系列單詞，這些單詞只會被儲存在你的短期記憶里，而過幾天你就會忘得一干二凈。相反，如果你想長期記住單詞，就需要隔幾天就復習一下，即所謂的間隔重復法。

你可以試試基于這種方法設計的軟件，或是在筆記本上用黃金列表法寫下一系列單詞，這在許多多語言者中也十分流行。

你需要遵守的第二個準則就是制訂一套自己的學習體系。如今我們都很忙，沒有人真正有很多時間去學習一門語言。但是如果我們事前計劃一下，就能擠出時間。你可以比平時早起15 分鐘嗎？這段時間可以用來復習一些單詞。

做一些聽力練習也是很不錯的。我們甚至不需要提前規劃時間就可以做很多事情，比如在上學的路上或是做家務時，我們可以聽聽播客。重要的是，要制訂一個學習計劃。

“每周二和周四我會和朋友練習20 分鐘口語。吃早飯時，我會聽一段廣播。”如果你建立了自己的學習體系，就不需要擠出額外的時間，因為這已經成為你日常生活的一部分了。

最后，如果你想要流利地掌握一門語言，還需要一點耐心。一個人不可能在兩個月之內就掌握一門語言，但是如果你以自己喜歡的方式每天學習一點點的話，在兩個月之內肯定可以取得顯著進步。沒有比我們自己的成功更能激勵我們的了。