Matthew Youlden speaks nine languages fluently and understands more than a dozen more。 In fact， for the longest time I didn’t even know he was British。 When I told Matthew how I’ve been struggling to merely pick up a second language， he had the following advice for me。 If you believe that you can never become bilingual， take note！
This might sound obvious， but if you don’t have a good reason to learn a language， you are less likely to stay motivated over the long-run。 Wanting to impress English-speakers with your French is not a very good reason； wanting to get to know a French person in his or her own language is another matter entirely。
“I tend to want to absorb as much as possible right from the start。 So if I learn something I really， really go for it and try to use it throughout the day。 For me it’s about actually putting what you’re learning into practice – be that writing an email， speaking to yourself， listening to music， listening to the radio。 Surrounding yourself， submerging yourself in the new language culture is extremely important。”
“I always have at the back of my mind that it’s adapting your way of thinking to the way of thinking in that language。”
“我总是感觉，脑海里的思考都要转变成这种语言文化。”
3、FIND A PARTNER
3、找到你的小伙伴
Matthew learned several languages together with his twin brother Michael （they tackled their first foreign language， Greek， when they were only eight years old！）。 Matthew and Michael， or the Super Polyglot Bros。 as I’d like to now refer to them， gained their superpowers from good-ol’， healthy sibling rivalry：“You have someone with whom you can speak， and that’s the idea behind learning a language。”
If you make conversation a goal from the beginning， you are less likely to get lost in textbooks。：“You’re learning a language to be able to use it。 The creative side is really being able to put the language that you’re learning into a more useful， general， everyday setting – be that through writing songs， generally wanting to speak to people。 You don’t necessarily have to go abroad； you can go to the Greek restaurant down the road and order in Greek。”
Using your new language in any way is a creative act。 The Super Polyglot Bros。 practiced their Greek by writing and recording songs。 Think of some fun ways to practice your new language： make a radio play with a friend， draw a comic strip， write a poem， or simply talk to whomever you can。 If you can’t find a way to have fun with the new language， chances are you aren’t following step four。
The key to learning as quickly as a child may be to simply take on certain childlike attitudes： for instance， lack of self-consciousness， a desire to play in the language and willingness to make mistakes。 New research cannot find a direct link between age and the ability to learn。 As kids， we are expected to make mistakes， but as adults mistakes become taboo。 When it comes to learning a language， admitting that you don’t know everything （and being okay with that） is the key to growth and freedom。 Let go of your grown-up inhibitions！
Willingness to make mistakes means being ready to put yourself in potentially embarrassing situations： talk to strangers in the language， ask for directions， order food， try to tell a joke。 The more often you do this， the bigger your comfort zone becomes and the more at ease you can be in new situations：
“At the beginning you’re going to encounter difficulties： maybe the pronunciation， maybe the grammar， the syntax， or you don’t really get the sayings。 But I think the most important thing is to always develop this feel。 Every native speaker has a feel for his or her own language， and that’s basically what makes a native-speaker – whether you can make the language your own。”
You must learn to look before you can draw：“We’re able to pronounce anything， it’s just we’re not used to doing it。 For example the rolled r doesn’t exist in my form of English。 When I was learning Spanish there were words with the hard r in them like perro and reunión。 For me， the best way to go about mastering that is actually to hear it constantly， to listen to it and to kind of visualize or imagine how that is supposed to be pronounced， because for every sound there is a specific part of the mouth or throat that we use in order to achieve that sound。”
If you can’t watch and imitate a native-speaker in person， watching foreign-language films and TV is a good substitute。
要是身边没有老外供你观察，看电影和电视剧也是不错的选择。
9、TALK TO YOURSELF
9、自言自语
“It might sound really weird， but actually speaking to yourself in a language is a great way to practice if you’re not able to use it all the time。” This can keep new words and phrases fresh in your mind and build up your confidence for the next time you speak with someone。“
You are not going to annoy people by speaking their language poorly。 If you preface any interaction with， “I’m learning and I’d like to practice…” most people will be patient， encouraging and happy to oblige。
We’ve gone into HOW to start learning a language， but are you still on the fence about WHY to learn？ Matthew has one last point to make：
我们已经探讨了怎么开始学外语，可你是不是还停留在为什么要学外语？马修还有一个观点：
“I think each language has a certain way of seeing the world。 If you speak one language then you have a different way of analyzing and interpreting the world than the speaker of another language does。 Even if they’re really closely-related languages such as Spanish and Portuguese， which are to a certain extent mutually intelligible， they are at the same time two different worlds – two different mindsets。 “
“Therefore， having learned other languages and been surrounded by other languages， I couldn’t possibly choose only one language because it would mean really renouncing the possibility to be able to see the world in a different way。 Not in one way， but in many different ways。 So the monolingual lifestyle， for me， is the saddest， the loneliest， the most boring way of seeing the world。 There are so many advantages of learning a language； I really can’t think of any reason not to。”
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发表于 2015-10-29 18:03:48
