會9國外語的超級學霸 看他怎麼學

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!

馬修·約登能流利說9門語言，還能聽懂另外十幾門！其實很長時間我都不知道他是英國人。我連學一門外語都覺得超吃力，後來他給我以下的要點。如果有和我一樣覺得自己沒天賦學得累的人，開始筆記吧！

1. KNOW WHY YOU’RE DOING IT

1.弄清學外語的目的

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.

這聽起來好像沒什麼，但如果沒有好的理由，你就非常可能在這場長跑中掉隊。爲了炫技而想要學法語，這可不是啥好理由；而想學會法語去了解法國人，這就另當別論了。

2. DIVE IN

2.潛心修行

“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.”

“從下決心學的那一刻，我就開始用全身心吸收。所以我一開始學習語言，就會一整天都使用它，比如寫郵件、自言自語、聽音樂等，把自己完全丟進那個語言文化環繞起來的環境裏。這個非常重要的。”

“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.”

“我總是感覺，腦海裏的思考都要轉變成這種語言文化。”

3. FIND A PARTNER

3.找到你的小夥伴

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.”

馬修有好幾種外語都是和他雙胞胎兄弟邁克爾一起學的（他們8歲就學了希臘語）！我爲什麼要強調這對超級學霸兄弟，因爲總覺得他們之間的良性競爭關係，對學習特別有幫助。

4. KEEP IT RELEVANT

4.學百遍不如用一遍

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.”

建議你一開始就把交流放進目標，這樣就不會陷在教科書裏了。“學語言的目標是爲了使用它，最好是創造性地把它融進日常生活中。可以是寫歌詞、挖掘和人說話的渴望。你甚至不必一定去國外，比如學希臘語就只要找到當地的希臘餐館，用希臘語點單。”

5. HAVE FUN WITH IT

5.遊戲學習

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.

用各種方式學外語本身是個非常有創意的事，這對學霸兄弟學外語時會用它來寫歌和錄歌。想個適合你自己的有趣的方式：和朋友一起做個廣播劇、畫連環畫、寫詩歌，或者和任何一個你能溝通的人聊天！你要是覺得找不到適合你的，那也許你沒有按第4條做。

6. ACT LIKE A CHILD

6.像小孩一樣去學

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 mistakesbecome 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!

快速學習語言的訣竅，是要有小孩一樣的態度：即時、無知、愛玩、犯錯。沒有研究能證明學習能力和年紀的直接關係，但小孩子願意犯錯，成年人卻包袱太重，怕犯錯怕笑話！當你要學好一門語言，就要承認和接受自己如孩子般無知，這是獲得成長和自由的關鍵點。所以，讓顧忌和做作去死吧！

7. LEAVE YOUR COMFORT ZONE

7.離開你的舒適區

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:

經過上一步，意味着你做好準備可以面對尷尬：和陌生人聊天、問路、點菜、開始講笑話。突破越多你的舒適區就越大，在各種情境裏就更加應對自如：

“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.”

“一開始你會遇到一些難題：可能是發音，可能是語法，或是你還沒學到的表達方式，重要的是培養自己的感覺。所有人說自己的母語都會有語感，能不能把外語學成母語，關鍵就看有沒有這個語感了！

8. LISTEN

8.仔細聽

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.”

人在學會畫畫之前，一定先學會觀察：“要相信你有能力掌握所有發音方式，不過沒有習慣而已。舉個栗子，英語裏沒有R的大舌頭音，我學西班牙語時就遇到perro或reunión這種需要捲舌才能發出的單詞，我找到最好的學習方法就是不停地聽別人說。先聽，然後想象這個音是用口腔的那個部位發的，再模仿。

If you can’t watch and imitate a native-speaker in person, watching foreign-language films and TV is a good substitute.

要是身邊沒有老外供你觀察，看電影和電視劇也是不錯的選擇。

9. TALK TO YOURSELF

9.自言自語

“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.“

聽起來可能有點怪，但在你沒法整天使用這門語言的時候，自言自語是練習的好辦法。”讓新的單詞、詞彙經常跳躍在你的腦海裏，下次開口聊天前你也會更有準備！

10. RELAX!

10.心態放輕鬆

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.

你不會因爲講得不好就惹人厭煩的，如果聊天開始前你說：“我正在學，非常希望練習……”大多數人都會很耐心，樂意鼓勵和幫助你的。

BUT WHAT’S THE POINT?

但是有什麼意義呢？

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:

我們已經探討了怎麼開始學外語，可你是不是還停留在爲什麼要學外語？馬修還有一個觀點：

“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. “

我認爲每種語言都有其特定的認識世界的方式。不同的語種，會讓你們有不同的對世界的分析和認知。即使是兩種相似度很高的語言，如西班牙語和葡萄牙語，在某種程度上確實互通，但同時他們又代表兩個不同的世界——不同的思維方式。”

“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.”

“因此，學會了不同語言，置身在不同的文化，我很難再選擇單語言的生活方式，因爲這意味着你將放棄另一種看世界的方式，不僅一種，而是很多種。對我而言，單語種的生活是最悲哀、最孤獨、最無趣的了。學習外語的好處如此之多，我真的想不到不去學的理由。”