我們每個人幾乎都要學(xué)習(xí)一門新的語言。對于我們小伙伴來說，英語學(xué)習(xí)顯得尤為重要。

今天的TED演講為大家?guī)韺W(xué)習(xí)一門新的語言的秘密。

-TED英語演講-

I love learning foreign languages.

我喜歡學(xué)外語。

In fact, I love it so much that I like to learn a new language every two years,

實(shí)際上，這種癡迷讓我 每兩年就想學(xué)一門新的外語，

currently working on my eighth one.

現(xiàn)在我正在學(xué)第八門外語。

When people find that out about me, they always ask me,

當(dāng)人們得知此事后，總是問我，

How do you do that? What’s your secret?

“你怎么做到的？你的秘訣是什么？”

And to be honest, for many years, my answer would be,

說實(shí)話，這么多年來， 我的回答總是，

I don’t know. I simply love learning languages.

“我不知道啊。我只是喜歡學(xué)語言?！?/p>

But people were never happy with that answer.

但是人們從來都不會對 這個回答感到滿意。

They wanted to know why they are spending years trying to learn even one language,

他們想知道為何他們花了多年 試著學(xué)習(xí)哪怕只有一門語言，

never achieving fluency,

卻從未達(dá)到流利的程度，

and here I come, learning one language after another.

而我卻能夠?qū)W了一門再學(xué)一門。

They wanted to know the secret of polyglots,

他們想知道多語言者，

people who speak a lot of languages.

即說多種語言的人的秘密。

And that made me wonder, too,

我也對此感到好奇，

how do actually other polyglots do it?

其他的多語言者到底是怎么做的？

What do we have in common?

我們有什么共同點(diǎn)嗎？

And what is it that enables us

是什么讓我們

to learn languages so much faster than other people?

較之他人能夠更快的學(xué)習(xí)語言？

I decided to meet other people like me and find that out.

我決定見見其他像我一樣的人， 并試著找尋背后的答案。

The best place to meet a lot of polyglots

能夠遇到很多多語言者的最佳地點(diǎn)

is an event where hundreds of language lovers

是聚集了數(shù)百名多語言者的地方，

meet in one place to practice their languages.

他們在那里進(jìn)行練習(xí)。

There are several such polyglot events organized all around the world,

世界各地有許多類似的多語言者活動，

and so I decided to go there

所以我決定去看看，

and ask polyglots about the methods that they use.

打聽一下他們各自使用的方法。

And so I met Benny from Ireland,

我遇到了來自愛爾蘭的本尼，

who told me that his method is to start speaking from day one.

他告訴我他用的方法是 從第一天就開始說出口。

He learns a few phrases from a travel phrasebook

他從一本旅游指南上學(xué)了一些詞組，

and goes to meet native speakers

然后就去見母語者，

and starts having conversations with them right away.

立馬和他們展開對話。

He doesn’t mind making even 200 mistakes a day,

他不介意一天犯 200 個錯誤，

because that’s how he learns, based on the feedback.

因?yàn)檫@就是他 基于反饋的學(xué)習(xí)方式。

And the best thing is, he doesn’t even need to travel a lot today,

最棒的一點(diǎn)是， 如今他甚至不需要出游，

because you can easily have conversations with native speakers

因?yàn)槟阒恍枰粼趷芤獾姆块g中，

from the comfort of your living room, using websites.

就能在網(wǎng)絡(luò)上和母語者進(jìn)行交談。

I also met Lucas from Brazil

我還遇到了來自巴西的盧卡斯，

who had a really interesting method to learn Russian.

他學(xué)習(xí)俄語的方法很有意思。

He simply added a hundred random Russian speakers on Skype as friends,

他就在 Skype 上隨機(jī)添加了 上百個說俄語的人，

and then he opened a chat window with one of them

然后打開其中一個人的聊天框，

and wrote 'Hi' in Russian.

用俄語寫下“嗨”。

And the person replied, 'Hi, how are you?'

然后對方回復(fù)，“嗨，你好嗎？”

Lucas copied this and put it into a text window with another person,

盧卡斯了復(fù)制這段話， 再把它發(fā)給另一個人，

and the person replied, 'I’m fine, thank you, and how are you?'

然后另一個人回復(fù)， “我很好，謝謝，你怎么樣？”

Lucas copied this back to the first person,

盧卡斯又把這段話復(fù)制發(fā)給第一個人，

and in this way, he had two strangers have a conversation with each other

這樣，他就讓兩個陌生人 在完全不知情的情況下

without knowing about it.

展開了交談。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

And soon he would start typing himself,

過不了多久，他就可以自己打字了，

because he had so many of these conversations

因?yàn)樗戳四敲炊嗟膶υ挘?/p>

that he figured out how the Russian conversation usually starts.

已經(jīng)知道俄語的交流 大概是怎么開始的了。

What an ingenious method, right?

很聰明的辦法，是吧？

And then I met polyglots who always start by imitating sounds of the language,

此外，我還遇到了總是從 模仿聲音開始學(xué)習(xí)語言的多語言者，

and others who always learn the 500 most frequent words of the language,

從學(xué)習(xí) 500 個最常用詞 開始的多語言者，

and yet others who always start by reading about the grammar.

以及總是從學(xué)習(xí)語法開始的多語言者。

If I asked a hundred different polyglots,

如果我去詢問一百個多語言者，

I heard a hundred different approaches to learning languages.

我會聽到關(guān)于學(xué)習(xí)語言方式的 一百種不同的答案。

Everybody seems to have a unique way they learn a language,

每個人似乎都對學(xué)習(xí)語言 有著獨(dú)門秘笈，

and yet we all come to the same result of speaking several languages fluently.

但是我們最終都能 流利的說多種語言。

And as I was listening to these polyglots telling me about their methods,

當(dāng)我傾聽著這些多語言者 講述他們學(xué)習(xí)語言方法的時候，

it suddenly dawned on me:

我突然意識到：

the one thing we all have in common

我們有一個共同點(diǎn)，

is that we simply found ways to enjoy the language-learning process.

那就是我們找到了享受 學(xué)習(xí)語言這一過程的方法。

All of these polyglots were talking about language learning

所有這些多語言者 在談?wù)撜Z言學(xué)習(xí)的時候，

as if it was great fun.

都表現(xiàn)得像那是一種趣事。

You should have seen their faces

你們應(yīng)該看看當(dāng)他們

when they were showing me their colorful grammar charts

向我展示他們多彩的語法表，

and their carefully handmade flash cards,

專心制作的語言卡片，

and their statistics about learning vocabulary using apps,

他們語言學(xué)習(xí)軟件上的統(tǒng)計(jì)量，

or even how they love to cook based on recipes in a foreign language.

甚至他們是如何愛上用外文菜譜 燒菜時，臉上自豪的神情。

All of them use different methods,

每個人都用著不同的方法，

but they always make sure it’s something that they personally enjoy.

但是他們做到了 讓這件事情變成一種享受。

I realized that this is actually how I learn languages myself.

我意識到，這實(shí)際上也是 我學(xué)習(xí)語言的方式。

When I was learning Spanish, I was bored with the text in the textbook.

當(dāng)我學(xué)習(xí)西班牙語時， 我對書本上的文章沒什么興趣。

I mean, who wants to read about Jose

我想說，誰想學(xué)胡賽

asking about the directions to the train station. Right?

是怎么問去火車站的路的啊。對吧？

I wanted to read 'Harry Potter' instead,

相反，我想讀《哈利·波特》，

because that was my favorite book as a child,

因?yàn)檫@是我孩童時期最喜歡的書，

and I have read it many times.

而且我已經(jīng)閱讀了很多遍。

So I got the Spanish translation of 'Harry Potter' and started reading,

所以我買了本西語版的 《哈利·波特》開始閱讀，

and sure enough, I didn’t understand almost anything at the beginning,

毫無疑問，最開始我?guī)缀跏裁炊伎床欢?/p>

but I kept on reading because I loved the book,

但是我堅(jiān)持讀了下來， 因?yàn)槲蚁矚g這本書，

and by the end of the book, I was able to follow it almost without any problems.

直到讀完此書，我基本可以 不費(fèi)力的跟上故事情節(jié)。

And the same thing happened when I was learning German.

同樣的事情也發(fā)生在我學(xué)德語的時候。

I decided to watch 'Friends,' my favorite sitcom, in German,

我決定看我最喜歡的電視劇 《老友記》的德語版本，

and again, at the beginning it was all just gibberish.

同樣的，最開始我基本上聽不懂。

I didn’t know where one word finished and another one started,

我不知道一個單詞在何處結(jié)束， 另一個單詞在何處開始，

but I kept on watching every day because it’s 'Friends.'

但是我堅(jiān)持每天觀看， 因?yàn)檫@是《老友記》。

I can watch it in any language. I love it so much.

我可以看不同的語言版本。我太喜歡這部劇了。

And after the second or third season,

在看完兩季或三季之后，

seriously, the dialogue started to make sense.

說真的，我能漸漸聽明白對話了。

I only realized this after meeting other polyglots.

在我遇到了其他多語言者之后， 我才明白這一點(diǎn)。

We are no geniuses

我們不是天才，

and we have no shortcut to learning languages.

我們也沒有學(xué)習(xí)語言的捷徑。

We simply found ways how to enjoy the process,

我們只是找到了 享受這一過程的方式，

how to turn language learning from a boring school subject

以及如何將語言學(xué)習(xí)從 一項(xiàng)枯燥的學(xué)校課程

into a pleasant activity which you don’t mind doing every day.

轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)橐豁?xiàng)你不介意 每天都做的有趣活動。

If you don’t like writing words down on paper,

如果你不喜歡在紙上寫單詞，

you can always type them in an app.

那你可以在軟件里面打單詞。

If you don’t like listening to boring textbook material,

如果你不喜歡聽無聊的課程材料，

find interesting content on YouTube or in podcasts for any language.

你總是可以在 YouTube 上或 播客里找到任何一種語言的有趣內(nèi)容。

If you’re a more introverted person

如果你是個內(nèi)向的人，

and you can’t imagine speaking to native speakers right away,

不愿意馬上就和母語者交談，

you can apply the method of self-talk.

你總可以和自己練習(xí)對話。

You can talk to yourself in the comfort of your room,

你可以在自己的房間里， 對自己說話，

describing your plans for the weekend, how your day has been,

描述你的周末計(jì)劃， 一天過得怎么樣，

or even take a random picture from your phone

甚至是從你的手機(jī)里 隨便選一張照片，

and describe the picture to your imaginary friend.

然后把它描述給你想象中的朋友。

This is how polyglots learn languages,

這就是多語言者學(xué)習(xí)語言的方式，

and the best news is, it’s available to anyone

而好消息是，這種方法對每個

who is willing to take the learning into their own hands.

想要自主學(xué)習(xí)語言的人 來說，都是可行的。

So meeting other polyglots helped me realize

所以，遇到其他的 多語言者讓我意識到

that it is really crucial to find enjoyment

在學(xué)習(xí)語言的過程中，

in the process of learning languages,

找到樂趣是十分重要的，

but also that joy in itself is not enough.

但是僅憑興趣是不夠的。

If you want to achieve fluency in a foreign language,

如果你想要流利的說一門外語，

you’ll also need to apply three more principles.

還需要遵守三大準(zhǔn)則。

First of all, you’ll need effective methods.

首先，你需要找到有效的方法。

If you try to memorize a list of words for a test tomorrow,

如果你正為明天的考試復(fù)習(xí)， 要去試著記住一系列單詞，

the words will be stored in your short-term memory

這些單詞只會被儲存在 你的短期記憶里，

and you’ll forget them after a few days.

而你過幾天就會忘得一干二凈。

If you, however, want to keep words long term,

相反，如果你想長期記住單詞，

you need to revise them in the course of a few days repeatedly

就需要隔幾天就復(fù)習(xí)一下，

using the so-called space repetition.

用所謂的間隔重復(fù)法。

You can use apps which are based on this system such as Anki or Memrise,

你可以試試基于這種方法 設(shè)計(jì)的軟件，譬如 Anki 或 Memrise，

or you can write lists of word in a notebook using the Goldlist method,

或是在筆記本上用“黃金列表”法 寫下一系列單詞，

which is also very popular with many polyglots.

這也在許多多語言者之間十分流行。

If you’re not sure which methods are effective and what is available out there,

如果你不確定什么方法是有效的， 以及現(xiàn)在有些什么方法，

just check out polyglots’ YouTube channels and websites

那么就去看看多語言者的 YouTube 和主頁，

and get inspiration from them.

你可以從那里獲得靈感。

If it works for them, it will most probably work for you too.

如果這些方法對他們適用， 那么可能也對你適用。

The third principle to follow

你需要遵守的第三個原則

is to create a system in your learning.

就是制定一套自己的學(xué)習(xí)體系。

We’re all very busy and no one really has time to learn a language today.

如今我們都很忙，沒有人真正 有時間去學(xué)習(xí)一門語言。

But we can create that time if we just plan a bit ahead.

但是如果我們事前計(jì)劃一下， 就能擠出那個時間。

Can you wake up 15 minutes earlier than you normally do?

你可以比平時早起15分鐘嗎？

That would be the perfect time to revise some vocabulary.

這段時間可以用來復(fù)習(xí)一些單詞。

Can you listen to a podcast on your way to work while driving?

你可以在開車去上班時 聽一段博客嗎？

Well, that would be great to get some listening experience.

這可以算是很不錯的聽力練習(xí)。

There are so many things we can do without even planning that extra time,

甚至不需要提前規(guī)劃時間， 我們也可以做很多事情，

such as listening to podcasts on our way to work

比如在上班的路上或是做家務(wù)時，

or doing our household chores.

我們可以聽聽播客。

The important thing is to create a plan in the learning.

重要的是，制定一個學(xué)習(xí)計(jì)劃。

I will practice speaking every Tuesday and Thursday

“我要在每周二和每周四和朋友

with a friend for 20 minutes.

練習(xí)20分鐘口語。

I will listen to a YouTube video while having breakfast.'

吃早飯時，我要 聽一段 YouTube 視頻?！?/p>

If you create a system in your learning,

如果你建立了自己的學(xué)習(xí)體系，

you don’t need to find that extra time,

就不需要擠出額外的時間，

because it will become a part of your everyday life.

因?yàn)檫@已經(jīng)成為 你每日生活的一部分了。

And finally, if you want to learn a language fluently,

最后，如果你想要 流利掌握一門語言，

you need also a bit of patience.

還需要一點(diǎn)耐心。

It’s not possible to learn a language within two months,

一個人不可能在兩個月之內(nèi) 就掌握一門語言，

but it’s definitely possible to make a visible improvement in two months,

但是如果你以自己喜歡的方式 每天學(xué)習(xí)一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)的話，

if you learn in small chunks every day in a way that you enjoy.

在兩個月之內(nèi)肯定可以 取得顯著的進(jìn)步。

And there is nothing that motivates us more

沒有比我們自己的成功更能

than our own success.

激勵我們的了。

I vividly remember the moment

我清晰的記得，當(dāng)我第一次

when I understood the first joke in German when watching 'Friends.'

看懂德語版《老友記》 里面的笑話時的情形。

I was so happy and motivated

我十分開心，備受鼓舞，

that I just kept on watching that day two more episodes,

又忍不住多看了兩集。

and as I kept watching,

隨著我不斷觀看，

I had more and more of those moments of understanding, these little victories,

我能看懂的片段越來越多， 這些小小的成就

and step by step, I got to a level where I could use the language

積少成多，使我可以自由熟練的

freely and fluently to express anything.

使用這個語言去表達(dá)任何事物。

This is a wonderful feeling.

這種感覺太棒了。

I can’t get enough of that feeling,

這種感覺總是讓我意猶未盡，

and that’s why I learn a language every two years.

就成了我每兩年 就學(xué)習(xí)一門語言的原因。

So this is the whole polyglot secret.

這也是所有多語言者的秘密。

Find effective methods which you can use systematically

找到你可以在一段時間內(nèi) 系統(tǒng)使用的有效方法，

over the period of some time in a way which you enjoy,

而且你還很享受這個過程，

and this is how polyglots learn languages within months, not years.

這就是多語言者在數(shù)月而非 數(shù)年內(nèi)就能學(xué)會語言的秘訣。

Now, some of you may be thinking,

你們中的有些人可能會想，

That’s all very nice to enjoy language learning,

“享受語言學(xué)習(xí)固然美好，

but isn’t the real secret that you polyglots

但是真正的秘密 難道不是你們多語言者

are just super talented and most of us aren’t?'

天生就比我們 更擅長學(xué)習(xí)語言嗎？”

Well, there’s one thing I haven’t told you about Benny and Lucas.

先別急，關(guān)于本尼和盧卡斯， 有件事我還沒說。

Benny had 11 years of Irish Gaelic and five years of German at school.

本尼在學(xué)校時學(xué)習(xí)了 11 年的 愛爾蘭蓋德爾語和 5 年的德語。

He couldn’t speak them at all when graduating.

而當(dāng)他畢業(yè)時，卻還完全不會用。

Up to the age of 21, he thought he didn’t have the language gene

直到 21 歲，他都認(rèn)為 自己沒有語言天分，

and he could not speak another language.

也學(xué)不會其他的語言。

Then he started to look for his way of learning languages,

然后他開始找尋適合 自己的語言學(xué)習(xí)方式，

which was speaking to native speakers and getting feedback from them,

那就是和母語者交談， 并從他們那里得到反饋，

and today Benny can easily have a conversation in 10 languages.

而今天本尼可以毫不費(fèi)力的 用 10 種語言進(jìn)行交流。

Lucas tried to learn English at school for 10 years.

盧卡斯在學(xué)校學(xué)了 10 年的英語。

He was one of the worst students in class.

他是課堂上最差的學(xué)生之一。

His friends even made fun of him

他的朋友們甚至取笑他，

and gave him a Russian textbook as a joke

給了他一本俄語教材，想看他笑話，

because they thought he would never learn that language, or any language.

因?yàn)樗麄冋J(rèn)為他永遠(yuǎn)也不可能 學(xué)會俄語，或是任何一門外言。

And then Lucas started to experiment with methods,

然后盧卡斯開始試驗(yàn)其他方法，

looking for his own way to learn,

尋找適合自己的學(xué)習(xí)方式，

for example, by having Skype chat conversations with strangers.

比如，用 Skype 和陌生人聊天。

And after just 10 years,

僅僅 10 年后，

Lucas is able to speak 11 languages fluently.

盧卡斯已經(jīng)可以流利的說 11 種語言。

Does that sound like a miracle?

這聽起來是不是很神奇？

Well, I see such miracles every single day.

如果是這樣，那么 我每天都會看到類似的奇跡。

As a language mentor,

作為一名語言教師，

I help people learn languages by themselves,

我?guī)椭藗冏詫W(xué)語言，

and I see this every day.

我每天都能看到奇跡發(fā)生。

People struggle with language learning for five, 10, even 20 years,

有些人 5 年、10 年甚至 20 年 都在語言學(xué)習(xí)中掙扎，

and then they suddenly take their learning into their own hands,

然后他們突然就能夠?qū)W(xué)習(xí) 掌握在自己的手中，

start using materials which they enjoy, more effective methods,

開始使用他們感興趣的材料， 更加有效的方法，

or they start tracking their learning

或是開始記錄自己的學(xué)習(xí)進(jìn)度，

so that they can appreciate their own progress,

這樣他們才能肯定自己的進(jìn)步。

and that’s when suddenly

就在這段時間，

they magically find the language talent that they were missing all their lives.

他們突然神奇般的找到了 自以為一直欠缺的語言才能。

So if you’ve also tried to learn a language

如果你也曾試著學(xué)習(xí)一門語言，

and you gave up, thinking it’s too difficult

然后你因?yàn)樗y了，或是

or you don’t have the language talent,

覺得自己沒有語言天賦而放棄了，

give it another try.

再試試吧。

Maybe you’re also just one enjoyable method away

或許你離熟練的說一門語言 只差一種合適的，

from learning that language fluently.

讓你樂在其中的方法。

Maybe you’re just one method away from becoming a polyglot.

也許你離成為一名多語言者， 只差那一種方法。

Thank you.

謝謝。