Seven Common Misconceptions About Language Learning學習外語的7種錯誤觀念

世界上的語言超過6 000種，在經濟全球化的今天，學好外語對我們來說很重要。要學好外語，首先，我們要破除7種錯誤觀念。

1. Language learning is difficult

外語很難學

It is only difficult to learn a language if you dont want to. Learning a language takes time， but is not difficult. You mostly need to listen and read. Just keep doing it， and soon you feel the satisfaction of understanding another language. Before you know it， you start speaking.

如果你不想學，那么外語的確很難學。學語言要花時間，但并不難。你要做的主要就是聽和讀。只要不斷地聽和讀，很快你就會對你所學的外語感到得心應手，并在不知不覺中你就會說了。

2. You have to have a gift for learning languages

學外語必須要有天賦

No， you dont. Anyone who wants to， can learn. In Sweden and the Netherlands most people speak more than one language. They cant just all be gifted at languages. Foreign athletes in North America usually learn to speak English faster than people in more formal learning environments. In language learning it is attitude， not aptitude， that determines success.

不對。不管是誰，只要想學，就能學會。在瑞典和荷蘭，很多人不止會講一種語言。他們不可能都有語言天賦。北美的外國運動員學會說英語的速度往往快于那些在正規的教學環境中學習英語的人。學習外語，重要的是態度，而不是天賦。

3. You have to live where the language is spoken

必須住在母語國家才能學會外語

Some immigrants to North America never learn to speak more than halting English. Yet some living in other countries can speak flawless English. With the Internet， language content is available to anyone with a computer or a phone. Where you live is not an obstacle to language learning.

一些來到北美的移民最終也只會說磕磕巴巴的英語。但在其他國家生活的一些人卻能把英語說得很流利。現在有了互聯網，只要有臺電腦或一部手機，任何人都可以接觸到語言材料。所以，住在哪里已經不再是學習外語的障礙。

4. Only children can learn another language well

只有孩子才能學好外語

A research has demonstrated that our brains remain plastic well into old age. Adults who lose their eyesight have to learn a new language， braille， for example. Adults have a wide vocabulary in their own language and are better language learners than children. Adults only need the childs willingness to experiment and desire to communicate， without the fear of ridicule.

有研究表明，人類大腦的可塑性能一直保持到老年。成年人在失明后能學會盲文就是一個例子。成年人掌握了大量的母語詞匯，學外語比孩子更有優勢。成年人需要做的只是像孩子那樣樂于嘗試，渴望交流，并且不怕被嘲笑。

5. To learn a language you need formal classroom instruction

只有通過正規的課堂教學才能學會外語

A classroom is an inefficient place to learn a language. The more students in the class， the more inefficient it is. Languages cannot be taught; they can only be learned. Theoretical grammatical explanations are hard to understand， hard to remember， and even harder to use. Drills are annoying to most people. A majority of school kids graduate unable to communicate in languages that they have studied for 10 or more years.

對語言學習來說，課堂教學是一種低效的方式，而且班里的人數越多，就越低效。語言不是教會的，而是學會的。理論性的語法講解讓人難以理解，難以記住，更難以運用，而練習對大部分人來說是枯燥無味的。結果是，很多學生在學習了10年甚至更長時間的外語后，還是不能用它進行交流。

6. You need to speak in order to learn

必須通過說才能學會外語

Speaking the language is usually the goal of language learning， but speaking can wait. Once you have acquired the language， you will find the opportunity to speak. When you are learning the language it is more important to listen. Trying to just pick up a few “handy” phrases to say is likely to just get you into trouble. If you meet a native speaker， you will inevitably spend most of your time listening unless you already know the language. In brief， you do not need to speak in order to learn， you need to learn in order to speak.

能說外語一般是外語學習的目標，但“說外語”可以先等一等。一旦你學會了一門外語，自然會有說的機會。學外語時，更重要的是聽。只是記住幾個常用的句子就去說，往往會讓你陷入麻煩。如果你遇到一個外國人，你將主要是聽對方說，這是難免的事，除非你已經學會了對方的語言。總之，不必為了學而去刻意說外語，而應該為了會說去學外語。

7. I would love to learn but I dont have the time

很想學外語，但沒時間

How about the time you spend waiting in line， commuting， doing things around the house， going for a walk？ Why not use that time to listen to a language on your phone？ Once you get started， even 10 or 15 minutes a day will soon grow to 30 minutes a day， or one hour. If you believe you will achieve significant results， and if you enjoy doing it， you will find the time.

在排隊、坐車、做家務或者散步的時候，你有時間嗎？為什么不在這些時候用你的手機聽聽外語呢？開始的時候，即便你每天只能聽10或15分鐘也沒關系，不久后你自然就能延長到30分鐘甚至一個小時。只要有信心，你就能獲得巨大的進步；只要你喜歡這樣做，你自然就能夠找到學習的時間。

Word Bank

content /'k?ntent/ n. 內容；目錄

obstacle /'?bst?kl/ n. 障礙；阻礙

It was another obstacle he had to go over.

inefficient /'?n?'f??nt/ adj. 效率低的

drill /dr?l/ n. 訓練；練習