是不是特别羡慕别人的外语讲得和母语一样好？
学习一门外语并不难，但是做到精通却并非易事。学习外语的人，都有个终极目标，那就是能把外语说得像母语那样好！那如何才能做到这一点？
语言学者MarcGreen熟练掌握6种语言，他在演讲中总结了3个技巧，帮助我们掌握精通外语的方法，一起来看看吧~
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双语字幕
英文字幕
讲者简介
MarcGreen
语言学者，精通六种语言，Marc热爱语言的研究，语言在当地方言中的表现，以及语言在诗歌和民歌中的表达
演讲要点
3个外语学习TIPS
Thefirstis:workoneliminatingyouraccent.
1.努力消除自己的口音。
Thesecondareatofocusonisusingverbsandexpressionsthatlocalsuse.
2.多用当地人才会用的动词和表达方式。
Thethirdareatoworkonisadoptingculturaltraits.
3.努力适应文化特点。
英文演讲稿
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MystorystartsinMoscow.Iwas15yearsold.MybestfriendandI,wewerepartofagroupofWesterners,visitingtheSovietUnion.Thiswasin1987,afewyearsbeforethefallofthecommunistregime.
Weweregivenanofficialtourguidewhowasassignedtous.Andthetourwouldstartinthemorning,andwewerecheckedintoourhotelroomsforthenight.Myfriendsaidtome,”Let’sgooutsideandlookatthecity.”Ithoughtitwasagreatidea.Dumbidea.
Sowegrabbedourcoats,andwesnuckoutpastsecurityandintothestreet.Wefoundtheentrancetothemetro.TheMoscowundergroundtransportationsystemisthedeepestoneintheworld.Theridedowntheescalatortookafullminute.
Onceweweredownthere,myfriendheadedrighttoanopentrain,andIpulledhimbackandsaid,“Wait!Let’swritedownthenameofthestationsowecanfindourwayback.”SoIhadanotepad,andItookanotepad,andIwrotedownthelettersofthestation,andwehoppeddownthetrainandwentontrainhopping.Andthatwasfunbecause–Well,actually,itwasweird.
Therewerealotofpeople,probablyallcominghomefromwork.Theywerealldressedinbrownandgrayclothes,anditlookedvery,verydifferentfromwhatwewereusedtoathome.Butthestationswerelovely.Therewerestationswithstatues,withpaintingsonthewall,andglassdisplays.Itwasreallylikemuseums.Wewouldneverhaveexpectedthat.
Andeverythingwasperfectlyclean.Well,whatwasweirdthoughisthatthepeople–nobodyseemedtospeak,andeveryoneseemedtobelookingatusanditkindofweirdedusout.Soafterabout20-30minutes,we’dhadenoughandwewantedtogohome.Ishowedmynotetosomeoneandtheydirectedmeoverthere.
Thenoverthere,Ishowedmynotetoanotherperson,andtheydirectedustotheotherway.Andthenathirdpersondirectedussideways.Thatwasalittleconfusing.Aw,thenIsawit.Overthestairs,thesign.ItturnedoutIhadwrittendowntheRussianwordfor“Exit.”
Soweheadedupstairsandwefoundataxi.Thatwasgreat.Andwetoldthedriver,youknow,“IntouristHotel,”andthenhewaswillingtotakeus.AndIremembersittingnexttothedriver,handinghim50rubles.Andhelookedatmeandhesaid,(Russian)No,dollar!FiftydollarsThatwaslikeIdon’tknow20timesthatamountorsomething.
Thatwasnotanoptionforus.Sowehadtogetoutofthetaxi,andhedroveaway,leavingusstandingthere.Itwasacoldnight,andyouknoweverythingwasstrangeforus,andwewereteenagers,andwewereprettynervous,didn’tknowwhattodo.Well,westartedwalking.Wewalkedtotheendoftheblock.
Weturnedthecorner.And200yardsinfrontofus,theIntouristHotel.Well,thisexperienceaffectedmeintwoways.ThefirstisthatanytimeafterthistripthatIwouldhearanyonespeakRussian,Iwasjustcringe.Andthesecondoneisthatittaughtmetheimportanceofunderstandingthelocallanguagewhenyou’retraveling.Anditactuallyledtomelearninganotherfourlanguagesfluentlyoverthefollowingyears.
Now,beforeIgoon,I’dliketoknowintheaudience–CanwehavealittlebitoflightmaybeintheaudienceI’djustliketoknowwho’s–Byashowofhands,whoisnotanativeEnglishspeakerItmustbe99%.Anyonewhodoesn’tspeakEnglish,standup!Allright,soIcanassumeallofyouhave,youknow,gonethroughtheprocessoflearningalanguage.
AnybodywhospeaksthreeormorelanguagesWow,that’smaybe70%.Fourormorelanguages,anyoneThat’sstillquiteabit.AnyonespeakfiveormorelanguagesWow,comeseemeduringthebreak.Tome,learningalanguageis—forme,it’slikeadeckofplayingcardslyingfaceddownonthetable.
Asyoustartlearningandunderstanding,thecardsstartopeningupforyou.Nowthere’snostandardwayofclassifyingthis.Butasyoulearn,youreachcertainmilestones.Andthefirstonewouldbewhenabout25%ofthecardsareturnedup,youreachlikeabasiclevel.Atthislevel,youhaveabasevocabulary,somegrammar,andyou’reabletohavemaybeverysimpleconversationsandcommunicatealittlebit.
Andyourstudygoesonuntilyoureachthismagicalpointoffluency,whatwecallbeingfluentinthelanguage.Nowwhatdoesitmean,beingfluentinalanguageItmeansthatyou’veturnedupmorethan50%ofthecardsinthedeck,andthatisthepointwhereyouhave–
wherethelanguagebecomespartofyoursubconscioussothatevenifyoudon’tuseitanymorefor10yearsorlonger,youwillnotforgetit.Youcangetbackintoitwithinavery,veryshorttime.
Sothisisalevelwhereyou’recomfortablethinkinginalanguage,andcomfortablecommunicatinginalanguage.Now,somepeoplegoonand,youknow,reachlikeamasterylevel.Bythattime,youknowclassicliteratureintheotherlanguageandhavemaybein-depthknowledgeofspecializedfields.That’softenthepointtakeninacademia.
Forme,whenIlearnedmyfirstforeignlanguage,IhadaheadstartbecauseIwasborntoaGerman-speakingmotherandanAmericanfather.Now,whenIwasababy,Ididn’treallyunderstandthatwhatmyparentswerespeakingtomeweretwoseparatelanguages.ButbythetimeIwastwoyearsold,Ihadfigureditallout.
WomenspeakonlyGerman.MenonlyspeakEnglish.Imaginethefunmyparentshadwhentheyintroducedmetocouples.Beingabilingualwasactuallyprettyhelpfulinlearningmyfirstlanguage.Itdefinitelyhelped.
Ifyou’re–Butitalsogavemesomethingelse.Itgavemetwoidentitiesandtheabilitytoswitchbetweenthem.Whenyou’reanativespeakerofmorethanonelanguage,thenyourpersonality,yourhumor,yourvaluesystem,theychangeasyouswitchlanguages.Thiscanhavehugeadvantages.
Imean,somestudieshaveshownanincreasedproblem-solvingabilityorevenahigherresistancetoAlzheimer’sdisease.ButwhatI’malmostinterestedinisthatit’sactuallygivenmealotofsocialbenefits.Whenyou’reanativespeaker,thenyoufeelathomeamongnativespeakersorinaculture,andalsonativespeakersacceptyouasoneoftheirs.
NowisthisonlyrelevanttonativespeakersAndthat’sthebigquestion.Butwouldn’titbecoolifapersonlearningaforeignlanguagecouldactuallydevelopanotheridentityandactuallyenjoythesocialbenefitsofanativespeakerthatgobeyondcommunicationskills
Well,that’swhathappenedtome.Iwasabletodothat,andIwanttoshowyoufrommyexperiencehowIthinkthiscanbeachieved.
Soifwesaythisgreenareahereisthelevelofthenativespeaker,thefirstthingtonoteisthatonyourwaytoreachingfluency,thereisnotreallyanyshortcut.TherearesomemethodsthatyoucanusesuchastheBurritoPrinciplewhereyouidentify20%ofthemosteffectivematerialstostudy.
Therearesomeapps,likestufffortime-spacedlearning,thatincreasevocabularyretention.Theysavealittletime,butintheend,there’snowayaroundworkingwiththematerial,practicingit,untilyoureachthefluencylevel.
Butthesecondthingtonoteisthatgoingfromfluencytomasteryisamuchslowerprocess,anditrequiresproportionallymoreeffort.That’swhymostpeople–theyjuststopatfluency.TheyknowhowtospeakEnglish,goodenough,andtheydon’tevenattempttoventureon,andIcanunderstandit.
Butthegoodnewsis,togetthebenefitsofanativespeaker,atanative-speakerlevel,youdon’thavetogothroughmasteryintheacademicsense.Infact,youcanskipthisstepaltogether.Soifyouthinkaboutit,therearemanynativespeakersdonothaveanin-depthknowledgeofspecializedfieldsorsophisticatedvocabulary.
So,that’snotreallywhatisrequired.SohowdoyoudoitWhatisrequiredWell,Iwanttogiveyouthreeareastofocusonwhenyou’relearningandinteractingwithnativespeakers.Thefirstis:workoneliminatingyouraccent.I’mawareIsaideliminating.Itshouldbeatleastminimizingit.
Thisis,inmyopinion,themostoverlookedaspectoflanguagelearningtoday,butit’salsothemostimportantonetoreachwhatIcallanative-speakerleveloraspeaker-likelevel.
Ifyoucommunicatewithoutanaccentoralmostwithoutanaccent,thischangeshownativesbehavetowardsyouunconsciously,anditalsogivesyouanabilitytoadapttoanewself-image.
ThebestwaythatI’vefound–thebestexerciseI’vefoundtoimproveyourpronunciationiswhatIcalltheperfect-sentencetechnique.
Whatyoudoisyoufindanativespeakertohelpyou,andyoutakeabookintheforeignlanguage,youopenitatarandompage,andyoureadthefirstsentence.Then,youaskanativespeakertorateyouonobviousaccent,slightaccent,noaccent.
Thenthenativespeakerwillreadthissentencebacktoyou.Youhavetolistencarefullyandthenyourepeat.Andyourepeatthisprocessoverandoveruntilthenativespeakertellsyouthathecannolongerhearanaccentwhenyoureadthesentence.
Now,Irealizeitcantakeaverylongtimeevenjusttogetonesentenceright.ButIpromiseyouifyouarepersistent,andifyoupatientlyworkonthis,you’llbeamazedbywhathappenstoyouraccent.
Thesecondareatofocusonisusingverbsandexpressionsthatlocalsuse.Now,weallknowthesituationthatvocabularycanberegion-specific.Like,intheUS,youuse“standinline.”IntheUK,you“queue.”That’sallgood.
Butsometimes,thespokenwordissodifferent,thespeechissodifferentfromwhatyougetintextbooks,thatthebooksarealmostuselessifyouwanttoconversewithnatives.Iwanttogiveyouanexample.
IntheFrenchlanguage,therearewordslike“letravail,”whichis“mywork.”AFrenchpersontalkingtohisfriendwouldprobablysay“monboulot,”whichisacompletelydifferentword.Thesamefor“theclothes,”“levestments,”butyou’llhear“lefringues.”Ormoneyis“l’argent,”butpeoplesay“lefric,”“lesou,”ormanyotherexpressionsforthis.
So,obviouslyI’monlyscratchingthesurfacehere.Buthereyouactuallyhavetolearnallofthesewordsandexpressionsonebyone.Andofcourse,youhavetointeractwithnativestodothat.Butafteryoureachacriticalmassthatyou’recomfortablewith,it’llactuallybeeasierwhenyouencountersomethingnew.
You’lljustpickitupinonego,likenativespeakerswould,whohearwordsorexpressionsthattheydidn’tknowbefore.
Thethirdareatoworkonisadoptingculturaltraits.WhatdoImeanbythatSoletmeaskyou:whatdoesthisgesturemeantoyouAnyItalianshereOK,now,dependingonwhatcultureyou’refrom,thiscouldmeansomethingrude,oritcouldjustmeanit’ssomethingincredulous,like,“Whydidyoudothat”Or,“Howcouldyou”Oritcouldjustbesignalingfood,“Givemefood!”Interesting!
IntheMiddleEast,thisisjustastandardwayofsignaling“Please,wait!”Sothesekindoftraitsyouhavetointernalize,andsometimes,they’rehardtospot,andittakesalotofactivelistening.Iwanttogiveyouafewmoreexamples.
SoimagineIamwiththreeofmyfriends:anAmerican,aGerman,andaFrenchman.And,like,we’rewalkingandmaybetheAmericanbumpshishead,andhisinitialreactionmightbe,“Ouch!”That’showyousayitinEnglish.
ButtheGermanthat,youknow,gets,Idon’tknow,elbowedinthecrowd,hewouldsay,“Ow-ah!”AndtheFrenchpersonmightsteponthenailandsay,“Ay!”Sothis,ofcourse,inyourtargetlanguage,thisissomethingyouhavetoobserveandalsointernalize,andithastobecomepartofyou.
IfagainI’mwiththesethreefriends,andIsitwiththem,andlet’ssayIservethemtea,andIasktheAmerican,“Wouldyoulikeabiscuitwithyourtea”Andifheanswersintheaffirmative,hemightsay,“Uh-huh!”
AndIcanasktheGerman,“Doyouknowwhatteathisis”He’llsay,”Mm-hmm!”AndthenIasktheFrenchman,“Doyoulikethis”He’llsay,“Hmm!”Sothesedifferences,theyreallyrequireactivelistening.
SoallofthesethreethingsthatItoldyouwhichispronunciation,andcolloquialspeechandadoptingculturaltraits,theyallrequirethatyouinteractwithnativesasmuchaspossible.Ideally,youshouldfullyimmerseyourselfintheculture.
Nowifyouhavethechancetoliveabroadforawhile,thatwillbegreat.Ormaybeliveamongnativesinyourhometown.
Perhapsjusthavearomanticrelationship,orevenjustspendtime,youknow,withco-workers.So,romanticrelationships,Icoulddoawholetalkaboutthat.Thatworksreallywellforthesethings.Butyeah–Sothiswillbedifferentforeverybody,ofcourse.Butevenwhenyou’renotaroundnatives,yourlearningmustnotstop.
BecausewhatyoucandoisyoucanwatchTVshowsandfilms,youcanmimicthecharacters,youcanwritedownanythingthatyouhaven’theardofbefore,andpracticethat.Ialsowanttoencourageyoutolearnthelyricsofsongs.
Songsarereallygreatbecausetheytellstories.Andtheynotonlyhelpyourpronunciationwhenyousingthem,butifthey’reemotional,theycananchortheseexpressionsintoyouractivevocabulary.Andit’slikespeakingalldayandreallyusingtheexpressionsunconsciously.
It’sagreatway.Somusic,definitely.Theotherthingyouneedtomovetowardsnative-speakerstatusistherightmindset,andabeliefthatifyousoundlikeanative,expressyourselflikeanative,talklikeanativeandactlikeanative,you’llactuallyachieveanative-likelevel.
SoifIcouldonlyleaveyouwithonethingtoday,itwouldbe:workonyourpronunciation.Becausepronunciationhelpsanystageofthelearningprocess,evenintheverybeginning.It’llspeedupeverything.Anditalsoisthekeytoreachinganative-speakerlevel,oralmost-native-speakerstatus.
SobeforeIgo,I’dliketotellyouhowIwasabletoovercomemyfearoftheRussianlanguage.Itwasavery,veryelegantsolution.ImarriedaRussiangirl.AndInowhavelittlekidsinmyhomethatspeakRussiantomeeveryday.SoIwanttothankyou.
AndbeforeIgo,Ijustwanttowishyou…(Spanish).Alotofsuccesswithyourlanguagestudies…(French).Itwasapleasuretopresentforyoutoday…(Hebrew)Iwishyoulotsofsuccesswithyourstudies.(Yiddish)Thankyouforlistening.Goodlucktoyoualland….(Russian).