學(xué)語言你必須知道的十件事

You have decided to learn another language. Now what? On our recent live chat our panellists first piece of advice was to ask yourself: what do you want to achieve and by when? Donavan Whyte, vice president of enterprise and education at Rosetta Stone, says: “Language learning is best when broken down into manageable goals that are achievable over a few months. This is far more motivating and realistic。”

You might be feeling wildly optimistic when you start but aiming to be fluent is not necessarily the best idea. Phil McGowan, director at Verbmaps, recommends making these goals tangible and specific: “Why not set yourself a target of being able to read a newspaper article in the target language without having to look up any words in the dictionary?”

1.制定現(xiàn)實(shí)而具體的目標(biāo)

你已經(jīng)決定要學(xué)習(xí)一門外語。現(xiàn)在要如何做呢?在我們最近的在線聊天中，我們的嘉賓所給的第一條建議就是問問自己：你想要達(dá)成一個(gè)怎樣的目標(biāo)以及何時(shí)達(dá)成?來自羅塞塔石的企業(yè)教育協(xié)會(huì)副主席多諾萬·懷特(Donavan Whyte)說，學(xué)習(xí)語言最好的辦法是將學(xué)習(xí)目標(biāo)分成幾個(gè)易處理的階段目標(biāo)，這些目標(biāo)要能夠在數(shù)月之內(nèi)達(dá)成。這個(gè)方法具有激發(fā)性同時(shí)也更容易實(shí)現(xiàn)。在開始學(xué)習(xí)一門語言的時(shí)候你可能會(huì)過于樂觀，但把目標(biāo)設(shè)為能流利使用該門語言可能不是最好的做法。Verbmaps公司的主管菲爾·麥高恩(Phil McGowan)建議將學(xué)習(xí)目標(biāo)具化為實(shí)際且具體的目標(biāo)：“為什么不設(shè)定這樣一個(gè)學(xué)習(xí)目標(biāo)，即能夠在不查閱字典的情況下，閱讀目標(biāo)語言的報(bào)紙文章呢?”

2. Remind yourself why you are learning

It might sound obvious, but recognising exactly why you want to learn a language is really important. Alex Rawlings, a language teacher now learning his 13th language, says: “Motivation is usually the first thing to go, especially among students who are teaching themselves。” To keep the momentum going he suggests writing down 10 reasons you are learning a language and sticking it to the front of the file you are using: “I turn to these in times of self-doubt。”

2.提醒自己學(xué)習(xí)的目的

這問題的答案看起來似乎很明顯，但能夠準(zhǔn)確地認(rèn)識(shí)到自己學(xué)習(xí)一門語言的目的是很重要的。語言學(xué)教師艾利克斯·羅林斯(Alex Rawlings)，目前正在學(xué)習(xí)他的第十三種語言，他說：“確定學(xué)習(xí)動(dòng)機(jī)是首先要做的事情，尤其對那些自學(xué)外語的學(xué)生而言。” 他建議學(xué)習(xí)者寫下十個(gè)學(xué)習(xí)這門語言的理由，并把它貼在學(xué)習(xí)文件夾的首頁，以此保持學(xué)習(xí)的動(dòng)力：“當(dāng)我開始懷疑自己的時(shí)候，我就看看這些當(dāng)初學(xué)習(xí)的理由。”

3. Focus on exactly what you want to learn

Often the discussion around how to learn a language slides into a debate about so-called traditional v tech approaches. For Aaron Ralby, director of Linguisticator, this debate misses the point: “The question is not so much about online v offline or app v book. Rather it should be how can we assemble the necessary elements of language for a particular objective, present them in a user-friendly way, and provide a means for students to understand those elements。”

When signing up to a particular method or approach, think about the substance behind the style or technology. “Ultimately,” he says, “the learning takes place inside you rather that outside, regardless of whether it’s a computer or book or a teacher in front of you。”

3.集中精力學(xué)習(xí)那些你想要學(xué)習(xí)的東西

關(guān)于如何學(xué)習(xí)語言的討論通常都變成關(guān)于所謂傳統(tǒng)學(xué)習(xí)方法和技術(shù)學(xué)習(xí)方法之間的辯論。對于Linguisticator公司的主管亞倫·羅爾比(Aaron Ralby)來說，此類辯論都沒有抓到重點(diǎn)：“問題并不是關(guān)于在線學(xué)習(xí)和離線學(xué)習(xí)，亦或使用應(yīng)用程序?qū)W習(xí)或使用書本學(xué)習(xí)，而應(yīng)該是我們在面對一個(gè)特定的學(xué)習(xí)目標(biāo)時(shí)，如何收集學(xué)習(xí)所需的素材，并將這些材料以對用戶友好的方式呈現(xiàn)，并提供給學(xué)生理解這些材料的方法。” 當(dāng)決定使用某種特定的方法時(shí)，要思考這種方式方法或技術(shù)背后的內(nèi)容實(shí)質(zhì)。“最終，” 他說，“學(xué)習(xí)是發(fā)生在你的內(nèi)心而非外部環(huán)境當(dāng)中，無論你面對的是電腦、書本還是老師。”

4. Read for pleasure

For many of our panellists, reading was not only great for making progress, but one of the most rewarding aspects of the learning experience. Alex Rawlings explains that reading for pleasure “exposes you to all sorts of vocabulary that you won’t find in day-to-day life, and normalises otherwise baffling and complicated grammatical structures. The first book you ever finish in a foreign languages is a monumental achievement that you’ll remember for a long time。”

4.快樂閱讀

對于我們當(dāng)中眾多的小組成員來說，閱讀不僅對學(xué)習(xí)進(jìn)步大有裨益，而且是這次學(xué)習(xí)的經(jīng)歷中對我們最有益的方面之一。艾利克斯·羅林斯解釋說快樂閱讀能“將你沉浸在眾多日常不會(huì)使用到的詞匯之中，并且將那些令人疑惑和復(fù)雜的語法結(jié)構(gòu)常態(tài)化。你完整閱讀的第一本外語書籍是個(gè)值得紀(jì)念的成就，這會(huì)是一個(gè)很難忘的經(jīng)歷。”

5. Learn vocabulary in context

Memorising lists of vocabulary can be challenging, not to mention potentially dull. Ed Cooke, co-founder and chief executive of Memrise, believes that association is key to retaining new words: “A great way to build vocabulary is to make sure the lists you’re learning come from situations or texts that you have experienced yourself, so that the content is always relevant and connects to background experience。”

5. 在語境中學(xué)習(xí)詞匯

記住一大堆單詞是很困難的，更不要說這可能是一個(gè)相當(dāng)無聊的過程。Memrise 公司的聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人兼首席執(zhí)行官艾德·庫克(Ed Cooke)認(rèn)為聯(lián)想是記憶單詞很重要的方法：“建立詞匯庫的一個(gè)重要方法是確保你現(xiàn)在學(xué)習(xí)的那些單詞都是來自親身經(jīng)歷的場景或閱讀的文本，這樣的話記憶的內(nèi)容就會(huì)與經(jīng)驗(yàn)背景聯(lián)系起來。”

6. Ignore the myths: age is just a number

You are a monolingual adult: have you missed the language boat? Ralby argues “a key language myth is that it’s harder as an adult”. Adults and children may learn in different ways but that shouldn’t deter you from committing to learning another language. “Languages are simultaneously organic and systematic. As children we learn languages organically and instinctively; as adults we can learn them systematically。”

If you’re still not convinced of your chances, Ralby suggests drawing inspiration from early philologists and founders of linguistics who “learned dozens of languages to encyclopaedic levels as adults”。

6. 無視那些迷思：年齡只是數(shù)字

你是一個(gè)只會(huì)一種語言的成年人：那么你是否已經(jīng)錯(cuò)過了學(xué)習(xí)一門新語言的時(shí)機(jī)了呢?羅爾比說“關(guān)于語言學(xué)習(xí)的一個(gè)重要的迷思就是，成年更難學(xué)會(huì)新語言。” 成年人和兒童可能在學(xué)習(xí)的方法上不一致，但這并不應(yīng)該成為阻礙你學(xué)習(xí)另一門語言的障礙。“語言是有機(jī)和系統(tǒng)的。兒童學(xué)習(xí)語言的方法是有機(jī)和直覺的;而成年人學(xué)習(xí)語言是系統(tǒng)的。” 若你還對此觀點(diǎn)抱有疑惑，拉爾比建議從古代哲學(xué)家和語言學(xué)創(chuàng)始人身上尋找啟示，“這些博學(xué)者都是在成年的時(shí)候?qū)W會(huì)眾多語言的。”

7. Do some revision of your native language

Speaking your first language may be second nature, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you understand it well. Kerstin Hammes, editor of the Fluent Language Blog, believes you can’t make good progress in a second language until you understand your own. “I think understanding your native language and just generally how language works is so essential before you launch yourself at a bunch of foreign phrases。”

7. 要多復(fù)習(xí)自己的母語

說自己的母語可能是人的第二天性，但這并不意味著你很好地理解這門語言。流利語言博客的編輯克里斯汀·哈梅斯(Kerstin Hammes)認(rèn)為除非你很好地理解了自己的母語，否則無法在第二語言的學(xué)習(xí)上得到進(jìn)步。“我認(rèn)為理解自己的母語以及理解語言如何運(yùn)作，這一點(diǎn)在你學(xué)習(xí)一堆外國語詞匯之前是很重要的。”

8. Don’t underestimate the importance of translation

Different approaches may be necessary at different stages of the learning process. Once you have reached a certain level of proficiency and can say quite a bit, fairly accurately, Rebecca Braun, senior lecturer in German studies at Lancaster University, says it is typical to feel a slowing down in progress. “Translation,” she says, “is such an important exercise for helping you get over a certain plateau that you will reach as a language learner ... Translation exercises don’t allow you to paraphrase and force the learner on to the next level。”。

8. 別低估了翻譯的重要性

在學(xué)習(xí)語言的不同過程中，我們可能需要使用不同的學(xué)習(xí)方法。一旦你達(dá)到了一定的學(xué)習(xí)水平，口語不錯(cuò)，準(zhǔn)確度也還行的時(shí)候，蘭卡斯特大學(xué)德語研究高級(jí)講師麗貝卡·布勞恩(Rebecca Braun)說到了這個(gè)階段，翻譯練習(xí)在幫助作為語言學(xué)習(xí)者的你跨越一個(gè)難以進(jìn)步的穩(wěn)定時(shí)期是非常重要的……翻譯練習(xí)不允許你進(jìn)行闡釋，這會(huì)迫使學(xué)習(xí)者進(jìn)入到更高一級(jí)的水平。

9. Beware of fluency

Many of the panellists were cautious of the F-word. Hammes argues not only is it difficult to define what fluency is, but “as a goal it is so much bigger than it deserves to be. Language learning never stops because it’s culture learning, personal growth and endless improvement. I believe that this is where learners go wrong”。

9. 當(dāng)心流暢性

很多嘉賓對于“流暢”這個(gè)詞都持謹(jǐn)慎態(tài)度。哈梅斯認(rèn)為這不僅僅是因?yàn)楹茈y定義這個(gè)詞，還因?yàn)樽鳛閷W(xué)習(xí)目標(biāo)，這不應(yīng)該要把它置于如此高的地位。學(xué)習(xí)語言的過程從未終止，這是因?yàn)檎Z言學(xué)習(xí)的過程也是文化學(xué)習(xí)的過程，也是個(gè)人的成長，它會(huì)一直不斷的提升。我認(rèn)為這就是英語學(xué)習(xí)者弄錯(cuò)的地方。

10. Go to where the language is spoken

It may not be an option for everyone but Braun reminds us that “if you are serious about learning the language and getting direct pleasure from what you have learned, you need to go to where that language is spoken”。

Travel and living abroad can complement learning in the classroom: “The books and verb charts may be the easiest way to ensure you expose yourself to the language at home, but the people and the culture will far outclass them once you get to the country where your language is spoken。”

10. 去到說目標(biāo)語言的地方

不是所有人都能做到這樣，但布勞恩提醒我們說，“若你認(rèn)真對待你所學(xué)的這門語言，同時(shí)能夠在學(xué)習(xí)它的過程中得到快樂，那么你應(yīng)該到說這語言的地方去。” 旅行和住在外國能夠有效地對課堂學(xué)習(xí)進(jìn)行補(bǔ)充：“在家手看書本和詞匯表可能是讓你置身于目標(biāo)語言環(huán)境的最簡單的方式，但是該語言環(huán)境中的人和文化都在書本之外，除非你到說這種語言的國家去。”