“Excuse me, how can I learn English?”
（中英文对照）
A few simple tips for improving your English
One of the most often asked questions of foreigners in China is, “How can I improve my English?” As a foreign teacher in China I hear it on the bus, walking down a street, in restaurants. With millions of students enrolled in English classes and many more doing tutoring and after school classes, this is an important question. There are some obvious answers to this question; study harder, participate in class, practice speaking English as often as possible. And although these answers may not seem to exciting, they are important for learning any new skill. So to build on these examples, I am going to add some answers that I usually give when asked this question.
Rule number one: don’t be shy. If you are the person on the bus, street or restaurant asking how you can improve your English, you are on the right track. The only way to improve your speaking is by speaking. Don’t worry about a bad accent or forgetting words or not being understood. If you can come up with a word or two, you can usually make yourself understood. If you can put together a sentence, try using it. In class, when your teacher asks a question, answer in complete sentences, not one-word answers. If you have a friend who speaks English, practice with them. Many Chinese students are good at reading and grammar, but when it comes to opening their mouths and actually speaking, they freeze up. Don’t let this be you.
Try to immerse yourself in English whenever possible. Watch English movies, listen to English radio programs. The Internet is a great resource for this. You can download radio and TV programs and listen to them at your convenience. Downloading children’s TV shows can be a great way to learn English. One good way to improve your English listening comprehension is to find English movies with Chinese subtitles. Watch the movie once with the subtitles, then a second time without subtitles, and see what you can understand. In this way you can often pick up on modern English idioms and sayings, which is very important for understanding a language. Also reading English language newspapers online is good because they often use fairly simple language which can be understood by most readers.
English songs can also be a great way to remember vocabulary. If words are connected to something fun in your mind, or something with a purpose, it can help you remember. Christmas songs can help you remember vocabulary that has to do with Christmas, such as candy, tree, family, gifts, etc. Children’s rhymes can also help you remember vocabulary, because the rhythm and the rhymes can help jog your memory.
Of course, it’s always important to try and have fun with English. If it is a chore, something you don’t like doing, it will be hard to improve your English. But if you can have fun, watching movies, singing songs, playing games and talking with friends, you will be excited and look forward to learning English. So keep on speaking and practicing, and soon maybe you will be offering, not asking for, advice on improving your English.
翻译:
“我如何才能学好英语？”是一个在中国的外国人经常会被问到的问题。作为一个“老外”，作为一个在中国教英语的外国教师，无论是在公共汽车上，还是在散步的时候甚至是在吃饭的餐馆，我都会听到这样的问话。这对于众多的学习英语课程的学生和刚刚在学校毕业要做英语教师的人来说是一个很重要的问题。对于这个问题有一些最基本的解决办法，比如努力学习、在课堂上多做练习，尽可能的多的练习说英语。虽然这些答案听起来不是那样新颖，但是这些方法确是对学习任何一种新的技能都是至关重要的。在这些观点的基础上展开来谈，讲一些关于我在被问到这些问题是所作的一些回答。不要害羞。如果你是那种可以在公共汽车上，马路上或者餐馆中问别人如何提高英语的人，你能在这些地方提问是一件正确的事情。唯一能够提高你的口语表达能力的途径就是开口说话。不要怕自己的发音不好，或者忘词，或者是别人根本听不懂你说的话。如果你能想起一两个词，别人就能听懂你的意思。可是如果你能把它连城一句话，你就要诗着去用一下它。当老师在上课的时候问你问题的时候，你要用一句话而不是一两个词去回答。如果你有一个讲英语的朋友，你就要经常同他去练习。许多许多中国的学生很擅长阅读和语法，可是一旦要开口说话就没办法了。你千万不能这样。 只要又可能什么时候，你要试着让你自己沉浸在英语当中，看一场英语电影或者听英语的广播节目。在这方面网络是一个很好的资源，你可以下载一些广播或电视节目，在你有时间的时候就欣赏一下。下载一些儿童英语短剧是一个很好的学习英语的方法。一个很好的提高英语听力理解的方法是看中文字幕的英文电影。第一次看的时候有中文字幕，再看的时候没有中文字幕，看看你能看懂多少。这样，你可以经常掌握当前的英语习惯用语和口语表达方式，这对掌握一门语言是非常重要的。还有，阅读在线英语报纸也是一中很好的方法，因为，这上面的新闻都是用一些简单易懂的词句。英文歌曲也是一个非常好的记忆单词的方法，如果在你头脑中的词汇是和一些很有趣的或有一定主题的事情结合在一起的，将会对你记忆单词很有帮助。比如圣诞歌曲有助于你记住和圣诞有关的词汇，像糖果、家庭、礼物、圣诞树等等。孩子们的韵律感也有助于单词的记忆，一位押韵和节奏可以使记忆变成轻松愉快的事情。当然尝试着把英语和一些有趣的事情结合起来是很重要的，因为如果是和一些琐碎的你不喜欢的事情在一起，你的英语水平是不会借助它而得到提高的。可是如果你可以借此娱乐，看电影、唱歌、玩游戏，或者和朋友聊天，你就会喜欢和愿意去学英语。坚持去说和练习英语，那么，不久的将来你可能会告诉别人如何学英语而不再是到处去问如何学英语。 |
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