苗淑華

In this article， we share our techniques for improving your motivation for learning English as a foreign language. We used them all the time when we were learning English and we still use them when we need to boost our motivation in areas other than English.

在本文中，我們會(huì)分享提高英語這門外語的學(xué)習(xí)積極性的技巧。當(dāng)我們學(xué)習(xí)英語的時(shí)候，我們一直在使用這些技巧，當(dāng)我們需要在英語以外的領(lǐng)域提高我們的積極性時(shí)，我們?nèi)匀灰盟鼈儭?/p>

Imagine Yourself in the Future

想象一下未來的你

Imagine you can talk to native speakers just like you talk in your first language. Imagine other people wanting to speak English as well as you do. Imagine the possibility of writing e-mail to people from all over the world.

想象一下，你可以像用母語說話一樣和以英語為母語的人士交談。想象一下其他人和你一樣把英語說得那么好。想象一下給世界各地的人寫電子郵件的可能性。

It is helpful to read an article about the advantages of knowing English well. You should know that it is possible to learn English really well. Just look at other people who have done it.

讀一篇關(guān)于學(xué)好英語的好處的文章是很有幫助的。你應(yīng)該知道學(xué)好英語是可能的，看看其他已經(jīng)做到了的人。

Remember that You Are Already Good

記住，你已經(jīng)很好了

You already know some English （youre reading an article in English right now）. Thats a big success！Now its time for more successes. Time to start using powerful methods of effective learning. Time to gain an impressive knowledge of English.

你已經(jīng)懂一些英語了（你現(xiàn)在正在讀一篇英文文章）。這是一個(gè)巨大的成功！現(xiàn)在是取得更多成功的時(shí)候了;是開始采用高效學(xué)習(xí)方法的時(shí)候了;是獲得令人印象深刻的英語知識(shí)的時(shí)候了。

Remember There Is a Lot That You Dont Know

記住，還有很多你不會(huì)的

You are good， but your English probably isnt perfect. You probably cant understand English-language TV， read books in English， talk to native speakers easily， write letters without mistakes， etc.

你很好，但你的英語可能不太好。你可能看不懂英語電視、讀不懂英語書、不容易和英語母語者交談、寫不了沒有錯(cuò)誤的信等等。

You should never think your English is perfect. Even if you are the best student in your class， always try to find your weak areas and work on them. When youve learned to speak English well， your problems will be quite small： punctuation2， rarely used grammar structures， rare words， understanding “street language”. Right now， your problems are probably more basic： mistakes in pronunciation， small vocabulary， grammar problems with the present perfect tense and conditional structures.

你千萬不要以為你的英語很好。即使你是班上最好的學(xué)生，也要努力找出薄弱環(huán)節(jié)并加以改進(jìn)。當(dāng)你學(xué)會(huì)說好英語后，標(biāo)點(diǎn)符號(hào)、很少使用的語法結(jié)構(gòu)、很少使用的單詞、理解“街頭語言”都不成問題。現(xiàn)在，你的問題可能更多的是基礎(chǔ)知識(shí)方面：發(fā)音錯(cuò)誤、詞匯量小、現(xiàn)在完成時(shí)態(tài)和條件句等語法問題。

Use English Whenever You Can

盡量多用英語

Probably the most important way to improve your motivation is to use English.

也許提高學(xué)習(xí)英語的積極性最重要的方法就是使用英語。

Using English is fun. It is simply very enjoyable to use your English to read a good book， understand a song， watch an interesting movie， get an answer to a computer problem， exchange e-mails with a native speaker， etc. The more you use English， the more you will want to use it.

使用英語很有趣。僅僅讀一本英語好書、聽一首歌、看一部有趣的電影、回答一個(gè)電腦問題、和一個(gè)英語母語者交換電子郵件等等，都是非常有趣的。你用英語越多，就越想用英語。

This is great， because using English is learning English. When youre reading an interesting article or watching an exciting movie， you are using your English， but you are also learning new words and phrases. When youre writing a message on an English-language discussion forum3， you are using your English， but you are also practising your writing.

這很好，因?yàn)槭褂糜⒄Z就是學(xué)習(xí)英語。當(dāng)你讀一篇有趣的文章或看一部激動(dòng)人心的電影時(shí)，你在用英語，但同時(shí)你也在學(xué)習(xí)新的單詞和短語。當(dāng)你在一個(gè)英語論壇上發(fā)布一條信息時(shí)，你正在使用英語，但同時(shí)也在練習(xí)寫作。

But using English can also improve your general attitude4 to English and increase your motivation to study English in other ways. For example， if you see that your knowledge of English pronunciation helps you understand a movie or speak more clearly， you will be motivated to study pronunciation even more. If you see that checking your sentences in a search engine lets you write error-free e-mail messages， you will want to keep doing that.

但是使用英語也可以提高你對(duì)英語的基本態(tài)度，增加你學(xué)習(xí)英語的積極性。例如，如果你發(fā)現(xiàn)你的英語發(fā)音知識(shí)有助于理解一部電影或（英語）說得更清楚，你將更有動(dòng)力學(xué)習(xí)發(fā)音。如果你發(fā)現(xiàn)在搜索引擎中檢查句子可以讓你寫沒有錯(cuò)誤的電子郵件，你會(huì)愿意繼續(xù)這樣做的。

Talk to People About English

用英語與人們交談

This is a very simple method， but it is very effective.

這是一種非常簡單的方法，但非常有效。

You usually talk about things which interest you. But the opposite is true， too. If you start talking about a boring subject， you will begin to get interested in it.

你通常會(huì)談?wù)摳信d趣的事情，但反過來說也對(duì)。如果你開始談?wù)撘粋€(gè)無聊的話題，你會(huì)開始對(duì)它感興趣。

Imagine you are studying a subject that you hate. You are bored and tired， but you have to pass the test tomorrow. If there are people near you， you have two choices： You can tell everybody how much you are suffering5 or you can tell those people about the things youve learned. If you choose the first option， you will only feel worse.

想想你正在學(xué)習(xí)一門討厭的學(xué)科。你很厭倦、很累，但是你明天必須通過考試。如果你身邊有人，你有兩個(gè)選擇：你可以告訴每個(gè)人你有多痛苦，或者可以告訴他們你學(xué)到的東西。如果你選擇第一個(gè)選項(xiàng)，你只會(huì)感覺更糟。

If you choose the second choice， and start a conversation on the “boring” subject， you will begin to look at it in a totally different way. Suddenly it will become a subject worth talking about—an interesting subject.

如果你選擇第二個(gè)選項(xiàng)，開始關(guān)于“無聊”這個(gè)話題的對(duì)話，你將開始以完全不同的方式來看待它。突然間，它將成為一個(gè)值得談?wù)摰脑掝}——一個(gè)有趣的話題。

How can you begin such a conversation？ If youre studying English， you can surprise another person by talking to him/her in English. Say （in English）： Hi， Im studying English and I hate it. Or you can say （in your first language）： Hey， Ive learned 50 English words today. Do you know whats the English word for...？ If there are no people near you， you can telephone or send an e-mail message to your friend.

你怎么能開始這樣的談話呢？如果你在學(xué)英語，你可以用英語和他人交談，給他/她一個(gè)驚喜。（用英語）說：嗨，我在學(xué)英語，我討厭它?；蛘吣憧梢哉f（第一語言）：嘿，我今天學(xué)了50個(gè)英語單詞。你知道……用英語怎么說嗎？如果附近沒有人，你可以打電話或發(fā)電子郵件給朋友。

What will your friends say？ Probably they wont be very interested， but it doesnt matter！The important thing is this： After talking about English， you will study it with more passion. Try it.

你的朋友會(huì)怎么說？也許他們不會(huì)很感興趣，但沒關(guān)系！重要的是：講完英語后，你會(huì)更有激情地學(xué)習(xí)它。試試看吧。

Find a Friend Who Is Learning English

找個(gè)學(xué)英語的朋友

If you can find a friend who is learning English and is on a similar level of skill， you will be in an excellent situation：

如果你能找到一個(gè)學(xué)習(xí)英語的朋友，并且他有著相似的技能水平，那么你將處于一個(gè)非常好的境地：

○you will have someone to talk about English with. These conversations will increase your interest in English.

●將有人和你談?wù)撚⒄Z，這些對(duì)話將增加你對(duì)英語的興趣。

○learning English will be easier， because you will be able to discuss your problems with your friend.

●學(xué)習(xí)英語會(huì)更容易，因?yàn)槟憧梢院团笥延懻撃愕膯栴}。

○you will study English more， because you will want to be better than your friend.

●你會(huì)學(xué)習(xí)更多的英語，因?yàn)槟阆氡饶愕呐笥褜W(xué)得更好。

Remember That Learning English Requires Action

記住學(xué)習(xí)英語需要行動(dòng)

We have said this many times. One small action is more powerful than reading hundreds of articles. Yes， we know it is very hard to do things， even if they are good for us. We humans are lazy. That is why not many people speak English well.

我們已經(jīng)說過很多次了。一個(gè)小行動(dòng)比閱讀數(shù)百篇文章更有力。是的，我們知道事情很難做，即使它們對(duì)我們有好處。我們?nèi)祟愂呛軕卸璧?。這就是為什么沒有很多人英語說得好的原因。

Still， we hope you can do the things we talk about in our English learning method—not only read about them. You will be successful only if you change something about your life.

盡管如此，我們還是希望你能用我們的英語學(xué)習(xí)方法按我們所說的做——不僅僅是閱讀一下。只有改變你的生活，你才會(huì)成功。

Dont put it off. Begin now.

不要拖延?，F(xiàn)在就開始。

1. motivation [? ? ?] n. 動(dòng)機(jī);積極性

2. punctuation [? ? ?] n. 標(biāo)點(diǎn);標(biāo)點(diǎn)符號(hào)

3. forum [? ? ?] n. 論壇，討論會(huì)

4. attitude [? ? ?] n. 態(tài)度;看法;意見

5. suffer [? ? ?] vt. 遭受;忍受;經(jīng)歷;vi. 遭受，忍受;受痛苦