Becoming bilingual opens up a whole new world—a world of different people of different cultures, of different emotions.

學(xué)會(huì)一門外語(yǔ)、擁有雙語(yǔ)能力會(huì)為你展一個(gè)全新的世界：不同的人，不同的文化，不同的情感。

Learning a second language has many cognitive benefits. For example, learning a new language has been shown to delay Alzheimer’s, boost brainpower, reduce cognitive biases, and even increase concentration and the ability to tune out distractions. Your ability to build better habits will improve by learning a new language.

從認(rèn)知的角度來(lái)說(shuō)，學(xué)一門第二外語(yǔ)有很多益處。比方說(shuō)，有研究顯示學(xué)習(xí)一門新語(yǔ)言可以延緩老年癡呆癥，可以提高大腦能力，可以減少認(rèn)知偏差，甚至還可以增強(qiáng)注意力避免分心。學(xué)會(huì)一門新語(yǔ)言，可以培養(yǎng)很多好習(xí)慣。

But, more so than cognitive effects, the ability to speak a second language has a ton of social benefits. There’s bliss in hing the ability to order food in the waiter’s native language, to eesdrop on people in an elevator, to impress natives by speaking with and understanding them.

不過(guò)學(xué)一門新語(yǔ)言的好處可不僅僅是認(rèn)知效果。學(xué)會(huì)一門第二語(yǔ)言還有很多的社會(huì)效益。在國(guó)外的餐廳你可以使用服務(wù)員的母語(yǔ)點(diǎn)餐，你可以偷聽(tīng)電梯里人們的外語(yǔ)交談。和當(dāng)?shù)厝私涣鲿r(shí)，你會(huì)說(shuō)他們的語(yǔ)言能聽(tīng)懂他們的意思，也會(huì)給他們留下深刻的印象。這些想想是不是就覺(jué)得很心？

The coolest thing about learning your second language is that it makes learning a third, fourth, or fifth language much easier. The challenge isn’t in learning a new language, but rather learning how to learn a language. Once you know the techniques, you’ll be able to apply the same grammatical patterns and language techniques in every new language you learn.

我覺(jué)得學(xué)第二語(yǔ)言最酷的事情是：學(xué)會(huì)了它會(huì)讓你學(xué)第三、第四甚至第五語(yǔ)言的過(guò)程更容易。你所面臨的挑戰(zhàn)不是學(xué)會(huì)一門新語(yǔ)言，而是學(xué)會(huì)如何學(xué)語(yǔ)言。一旦你掌握了技巧，你就可以把同樣的語(yǔ)法模式和語(yǔ)言技巧應(yīng)用到你想學(xué)的任何一種新語(yǔ)言上。

Why most people are wrong about language learning

大部分人對(duì)語(yǔ)言學(xué)習(xí)的誤區(qū)

I studied spanish for several years in high school, and even got good grades on national exams. But one day, when I actually tried to speak the language, I suddenly realized. Four years of studying Spanish in school, and I couldn’t even order a burrito.

我在高中的時(shí)候?qū)W過(guò)幾年的西班牙語(yǔ)，還在全國(guó)性的考試中拿到了挺高的分?jǐn)?shù)，但有一天，當(dāng)我想說(shuō)西班牙語(yǔ)的時(shí)候，我突然意識(shí)到：在學(xué)校學(xué)了四年西班牙語(yǔ)的我，連點(diǎn)份玉米煎餅都不會(huì)。

So what went wrong? According to official standardized tests, I was an expert in Spanish. But I couldn’t even do the most basic of tasks!

到底哪里出問(wèn)題了？根據(jù)官方標(biāo)準(zhǔn)測(cè)試的結(jié)果，我可是西班牙語(yǔ)的專家呀！但我卻無(wú)法用西班牙語(yǔ)來(lái)進(jìn)行最基本的交流。

The fact is that we not taught languages in the ideal way. Students study languages in huge groups and think that a few worksheets and grammar exercises will be enough to learn a language. Yet almost no one actually learns to speak.

事實(shí)是在學(xué)校老師教我們語(yǔ)言的方式并不是理想的學(xué)習(xí)方法。大部分的學(xué)生都是在班級(jí)里一大群人一起學(xué)語(yǔ)言，我們以為一些語(yǔ)法練習(xí)題，就夠我們學(xué)會(huì)一門語(yǔ)言。其實(shí)我們基本沒(méi)有學(xué)習(xí)如果去說(shuō)這門語(yǔ)言。

In actuality, by doing worksheets, we are practicing for just that—for worksheets. But if you want to learn to speak, well, you actually he to practice by speaking.

實(shí)際上，練習(xí)題的方法，只是讓我們完成練習(xí)。但如果你想要學(xué)會(huì)口說(shuō)，你其實(shí)需要通過(guò)講話的方式來(lái)練習(xí)。

So when people try to learn to speak a language out of a book, I try to show them that they won’t achieve their goals that way. If you want to speak, you he to practice speaking. And if you want to speak a language rapidly, well, you he to start speaking. A lot.

所以每次我遇到想通過(guò)一本書(shū)學(xué)會(huì)一門語(yǔ)言的人，我通常都會(huì)告訴他們：這種方法無(wú)法讓他們實(shí)現(xiàn)語(yǔ)言學(xué)習(xí)的目標(biāo)。如果你想要說(shuō)，你就要通過(guò)口語(yǔ)練習(xí)。如果你想讓自己說(shuō)得非常流利，那你就要始大量的口語(yǔ)練習(xí)。

The Basic Strategy Of Rapid Language Learning

快速語(yǔ)言學(xué)習(xí)的基本策略

Learning a language can seem daunting, so I’m going to provide an overview of the general strategy, before we get into the specifics.

學(xué)習(xí)一門語(yǔ)言似乎讓人畏懼，所以我們先來(lái)看看基本策略，然后再詳細(xì)說(shuō)明。

1. Get the right resources for learning: A grammar book, memorization software, and films/books.

找到學(xué)習(xí)的正確資源：一本語(yǔ)法書(shū)，一個(gè)記憶軟件，若干電影或書(shū)籍

2. Get a private tutor. You want one for at least a month. I recommend four hours/day.

請(qǐng)一位私人教師。你至少需要私人教師陪練一個(gè)月時(shí)間，我建議每天四小時(shí)。

3. Attempt to speak and think only in the new language. Every time you can’t remember a word, put that word into your memorization software. Practice your vocabulary daily.

試著只用這門新的語(yǔ)言說(shuō)話和思考。每當(dāng)你想不起一個(gè)單詞的時(shí)候，把那個(gè)詞輸入你的記憶軟件。每天進(jìn)行詞匯練習(xí)。

4. Find friends, language partners, and other speakers of the language. Once you can he basic conversations with your p