“如何學習外語”是每一個語言學習者努力探究的問題。這個領域的牛人都有著自己獨到的學習方法和堅持不懈的精神。我們就來看看來自不同國家的教師、學習者和語言學者的做法吧。

I am often asked by learners， including my clients， what is the best way to practise and consequently improve their English language skills. My response often varies depending on who the learner is. I try to advise them taking into account their learning methods， general interests and time they have available to dedicate to their learning.

However， I feel that great advice to learners can also come from other learners and not just teachers. There isnt only one approach to learning a language and whilst a teacher/coach can provide the tools to facilitate learning， ultimately its up to the learner to work out what works for them.

So I decided to ask some of my clients if they would be willing to share their experiences oflearning and practising their language and what tips they would offer their fellow learners in the form of a guest post on this blog.

The first client I asked was Alessandra who seized the opportunity with great enthusiasm. I have been teaching Alessandra online for just under a year. She is a corporate lawyer based in Milan. We have a conversation class once a week. Alessandra is passionate about learning the English language and is a joy to teach. I have pleasure in introducing you to Alessandra.

經(jīng)常有學習者問我如何學英文，當中也包含我的客戶，那么練習和提高英語語言技巧的最佳方法是什么呢？我的回答取決于學習者是誰。我試著建議他們考慮自己的學習方法、興趣愛好和能花費在學習上的時間。

但是，我也意識到真正好的建議也許來自于學習者本身而非老師。學習英文并非只有一個辦法，而老師或教練只是起到提供工具促進學習的作用，最終還是要靠學習者個人去找到對自己來說行之有效的方法。

于是我決定來問問我的一些學員是否愿意分享他們學習、練習語言的經(jīng)驗，我邀請他們作為我博客的嘉賓來和其他學習同伴分享一些學習技巧。

第一位學員是Alessandra，她對于此事抱有極大的熱情。我在線教Alessandra英語已有一年。她在一家米蘭的公司做律師。我們每周進行一次對話課程。Alessandra對學習英文充滿熱情而且她也愿意分享。在此我很榮幸地把Alessandra介紹給大家。

Alessandra

Ive been asked by my lovely English teacher， Shanthi to write about my learning process and what makes it （hopefully） a success and-above all-a pleasure. I studied English for 8 years at school-a long time ago. After graduating from university， I tried not to lose my English but it was not always easy. I didnt have classes or online courses until 2012 when a South-African company took over the company I was working for and my boss organized a two-month English course for all the directors of the board. On that occasion， I found out that I remembered something and could speak， but I was no longer able to listen to the radio or watch TV and really understand the language. What a disappointment！

First of all， I must say that Im a mature student. I have a job， a family， a life to live， but about a year ago I started to feel the need to improve my English， which used to be good but not perfect. I wanted to be understood when being abroad， to write an e-mail without panicking and to understand most of （not all） the contents of a newspaper. So， I set out to do things which I believe is what my fellow learners should do.

Alessandra：我敬愛的老師Shanthi邀請我分享一些我個人的學習過程以及我是如何從中獲得成功以及快樂的。很久以前，我在學校里學習英文長達八年之久。當我從大學畢業(yè)后，我試圖不丟下英文，然而我發(fā)現(xiàn)這很難實現(xiàn)。在這之前我沒有上任何英語課程或在線課程，直到2012年，我所在的公司被一家南非公司收購，新老板為公司董事會所有管理者組織了一個為期兩個月的英語課程。從那以后，我突然發(fā)現(xiàn)我還記得一些英文而且還能開口說英文，但我無法用英文聽廣播，看電視，沒有辦法真正理解這門語言。多么令人失望??！

首先，我必須要說我是一個很成熟的學生。我有工作，有家庭，有自己的生活要過，我的英文之前雖不算完美但也是不錯的。但是一年前我開始感受到我還是需要提高我的英文。我希望我出國時別人能聽懂我說話，發(fā)郵件時不用感到恐慌，看報紙時至少大部分內容能看懂（我不要求全部）。于是，我決定做三件事，我想我的英語學習同伴們也應該這樣做。

1 Find a teacher

找一個老師

The teacher is， in fact， essential to your learning process. He or she must understand your needs and keep your interests high and your enthusiasm alive， especially when youre tried or discouraged. Your teacher must know what to do or what not to do to make you feel confidient and still eager to learn.

事實上，老師是你學習過程中必不可少的。他或她必須明白你的學習目的，保持你的學習興趣高漲，維護你的學習熱情，尤其是當你感到累了或泄氣的時候。老師必須知道如何使你感到自信并渴望學習，什么能做，什么不能做，你的老師都要清楚。

2 Find something you like and do it in English

找到你喜歡做的事情，然后用英文去做

The second advice I want to share with my fellow students is this：find something you really like and do it in English. I love TV dramas， biopics， TV series and entertainment shows like Graham Norton or The David Letter man Show. I started to watch them in English with Italian subitles， then with English subtitles and， now， I watch them without snbtitles！ After a while I found myself able to capture the deeper meaning of the dialogue and， as an old Italian proverb says， “Ive started to understand not only the language but the culture behind it（the dialogue）.”

我想分享給同伴們的第二條經(jīng)驗是：發(fā)現(xiàn)你喜歡做的事情，然后用英文去做。我喜歡看電視劇、傳記片、娛樂節(jié)目，比如格拉漢姆·諾頓脫口秀，戴維脫口秀。于是我開始看英文版帶意大利語字幕的這類節(jié)目，之后看帶英文字幕的，現(xiàn)在，我看不帶字幕的。經(jīng)過一段時間，我發(fā)現(xiàn)我可以理解對話中更深層的意義，正如一句古老的意大利諺語所說：“我不僅能理解語言本身，還開始理解其中的深層文化內涵。”

3 Establish a routine

建立程序

I have an “English” routine. Just as athletes run or swim every day not to lose their fitness， I watch English TV every evening. It doesnt matter whether its Downton Abbey or The Graham Norton Show， I just feel better if I listen to or watch just a little bit of my favourite programmes. When I feel too better if I listen something new， I simply watch an episode or an interview Ive already seen and liked， in order to enjoy myself without being a lazy student. Learning English seriously is not for sissies， so come on， get to work and very soon youll find yourself captured by the new， different， amazing and fasciating world of words.

我有一套自己的英語“例行公事”。就像運動員每天跑步或游泳以保持身材一樣，我每天晚上看英語電視節(jié)目。無論是《唐頓莊園》還是格拉漢姆·諾頓脫口秀，只要我看一下，哪怕是一點點我喜歡的節(jié)目，我就感覺非常不錯。當我感覺很累不想看新東西時，我會看一看之前看過的比較喜歡的電視劇片段或采訪，這樣做的目的時使自己再享受的同時不至于變成懶學生。學習英文嚴格地說不是膽小鬼得游戲，所以，加油朋友，趕快開始行動起來，很快你就會發(fā)現(xiàn)自己沉浸在一個新的、不同的、美妙無比的文字世界里。