不花钱就学会四门外语的秘诀

 　　If you've always wanted to speak another language, or just want to understand your Spanish boyfriend, then you're in luck.

　　如果你想学会说一门外语，又或者仅仅是想听懂你西班牙男朋友说的话，那么恭喜你了。

　　Thanks to the internet, it's become easier and easier to learn a new language - and you don't even have to pay a penny.

　　有了互联网，学外语变得越来越简单，甚至还不需要花钱。

　　You can watch foreign films on Youtube or streaming sites, order books from every country in the world and chat online.

　　你可以在Youtube和其他流媒体网站上看外语片，上网订购外语书籍，和外国人网上聊天。

　　不花钱就学会四门外语的秘诀

　　Millions of language learners now also use Duolingo, a free app which treats learning¹ like a game. Practicing earns you points and unlocks² new levels of vocabulary.

　　现在数百万语言学习者都在使用“多邻国”（Duolingo），一款免费的应用软件。用它学外语就跟玩游戏似的，用户要通过不断的练习赚得点数来解锁新词。

　　We asked one super user³, Matthias Salzger, about his experience and what tips he has for beginners.

　　马蒂亚斯?萨尔泽格是其中一位超级用户。在我们的采访中，他谈到了自己的学习经历，并为初学者提供了些小窍门。

　　'Thanks to my online Spanish, I was top of my class'

　　“多亏我在网上学习了西班牙语，现在我是班上的第一名。”

　　I started using Duolingo in June 2013. After seeing it in a Youtube video I thought: “It would be cool to speak some Spanish.” Soon I was hooked⁴.

　　我是在2013年6月开始用“多邻国”的。那时我在Youtube上看到一个介绍“多邻国”的视频，心想：“如果会说点西班牙语，那一定很酷。”很快我就沉迷其中了。

　　I learnt all of my early Spanish on Duolingo. In fact, I switched schools in the autumn of 2013 and found out I had learned⁵ in three months on Duolingo what my new classmates had in three years. I passed a test the school required me to take with flying colours and quickly was at the top of my class.

　　我用“多邻国”完成了西班牙语入门。2013年秋我转学了，然后我发现我在“多邻国”上仅仅用了三个月就学会了同学们三年才学会的东西。我出色地通过了学校安排的测试，很快就成了班上的第一名。

　　Besides Spanish , I learnt some Italian on Duolingo, what I believe to be almost conversational⁶ Esperanto , and a good chunk⁷ of my French.

　　除了西班牙语，我还在“多邻国”上学了一些意大利语。我认为意大利语是日常对话中使用最多的语言。我的法语也有很大一部分是在在“多邻国”上学的。

　　Duolingo can only get you so far. After you’ve got the basics, read. And then read some more. Skip the children’s books and start with the stuff⁸ that you’re actually interested in. Other than that, try watching a movie or a TV series.

　　但“多邻国”的帮助也是有限的。在“多邻国”上只能学到基础知识，以后就要靠阅读了。要在这一过程中逐渐扩大阅读量。阅读时跳过那些儿童书籍，直接找你感兴趣的东西来读。此外还可以试着看看外语电影或电视剧。

　　The most important tip in my opinion is to do what’s fun for you.

　　在我看来学外语最重要的一点就是，要用你感兴趣的方法来学。

　　I guess my level in Spanish now is around B1-B2 (intermediate). I didn’t get there with Duolingo alone. I also read quite a bit, watched some cartoons in Spanish and attended a language school in Spain for two weeks.

　　我估计我的西班牙语水平在B1和B2级左右（中级水平）。这不完全是在“多邻国”上学的。我还阅读了很多文章，看了一些西班牙语的动画片，还在西班牙的一所语言学校学了两星期。

　　But you don’t need expensive programs like Rosetta Stone, a private teacher or even language classes. The really important factor is that you stay motivated and stick with it.

　　你不必花很多钱购买“如师通”软件（Rosetta Stone）、请私人老师或是报班上语言课，但最重要的是你要一直有动力，要坚持学下去。

　　Matthias’ 7 tips for learning a language:

　　马蒂亚斯学外语的7个小窍门：

　　1. Set yourself a goal

　　给自己设定目标

　　This goal could be finishing the Duolingo tree, or being able to speak with your friend in their native language. Work every day at it!

　　目标可以是完成“多邻国”的任务树，也可以是达到能与外国朋友对话交流的水平。每天向着自己的目标迈进吧！

　　2. Team up with other learners

　　和其他学习者相互促进

　　When using Duolingo, don’t forget to use the sentence discussion⁹ and read the grammar notes too. The discussion boards are also worth taking a look at (only available in the web version).

　　在用“多邻国”的时候，别忘了看讨论区和别人的语法笔记。讨论区真的很值得一看（这个功能只在网页版上才有）。

　　Ask questions, look for people to learn alongside¹⁰ with and if you’re already there check out Lingots For Stories, a weekly writing challenge managed by myself and other great Duolingo members.

　　记得多多提问，还可以和别的学习者结伴学习。如果你都做到了，不妨参加一下“写故事赚点数”（Lingots For Stories）的活动吧。这是我和其他优秀学习者一同发起的写作比赛，每周举行一次。

　　3. Start reading

　　学会阅读

　　Check out your local library or the internet (a lot of books can be found as pdf downloads). Now here comes what might seem like a bizarre¹¹ tip: don’t use a dictionary!

　　去你所在地的图书馆看看，或者直接在网上阅读（很多书可以以pdf的格式下载下来）。我还有个建议，可能听起来会有点奇怪：阅读时别查字典！

　　Instead, try to understand the word from its context¹². This might be incredibly hard in the beginning, but I promise it gets easier. You won’t forget the words, as you might if you just look them up. And don’t worry about getting it wrong as you’ll encounter¹³ the word again and correct your mistake.

　　别用字典查词，而是根据上下文理解单词的意思。可能刚开始会读得很艰难，但是我保证到后面会变得越来越容易。如果你只是查字典的话，很容易就把这个单词的意思忘了，但是用这种方法就不会。你也不必担心判断错了词义，因为你还会在下文里遇到同样的词，到时可以纠正自己的错误理解。

　　4. Watch films

　　看电影

　　Try watching a movie or TV series. You can stream it online. If you can’t do that legally, see if the movies you own have an audio¹⁴ track in your language of choice. Youtube is also a great source for foreign language material.

　　试着看看外语电影和电视剧吧。你可以直接在网上观看。如果没有正版片源，就找找这部片有没有那门语言的音轨。Youtube上也有很多外语学习的资源。

　　5. Follow your interests

　　根据自己的兴趣去学

　　I’ve tried reading children’s books in Spanish but found them so boring that I never got past the first few pages. Then I read Ficcionesby Jorge Luis Borges, which is quite a difficult book, and I loved it. As a rule of thumb, if you wouldn’t read or watch it in your native language, you also shouldn’t in your second language.

　　我曾经尝试阅读过西班牙语的儿童书籍，但这实在是太无聊了，我看了几页就看不下去了。后来我看了《博尔赫斯小说集》（Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges），虽然阅读起来很难，但很对我的口味。一般来说，对一本书或一部电影如果你连母语版都提不起兴趣，那么就别尝试外语版了。

　　6. Chat

　　和外国人聊天

　　If you know somebody who speaks the language you’re learning you should definitely¹⁵ try to get them to talk with you.

　　如果你正在学一门外语，又刚好认识说这门语言的人，那么你当然得想办法和他们说说话。

　　7. Be patient

　　保持耐心

　　The cost of learning a language isn’t money but your time. It can take years.

　　学一门外语不一定要花钱，但一定要花时间。有时甚至会花上几年。

　　Don’t expect a language course to just shove¹⁶ the knowledge into your mouth. You have to earn it.

　　别以为报外语班就一定能学到知识，一定得有自己的努力才行。

　　Vocabulary

　　with flying colours: 出色地；成功地

　　As a rule of thumb: 根据经验；一般说来

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 unlocks   

v.开锁( unlock的第三人称单数 )；开启；揭开；开着，解开

参考例句：

• Appropriate and thoughtful self assertion unlocks talent, setting achievement in motion. 适当和周到的自我主张解锁人才，设置运动的成就。 来自互联网
• Then, the specific IP address unlocks the services and temporarily grants access. 然后，特定的IP地址解锁服务，临时同意访问。 来自互联网

3 user   

n.用户，使用者

参考例句：

• The company is the biggest user of oil.该公司是最大的石油用户。
• The umbrella keeps the rains off the user.雨伞使撑伞人免受雨淋。

4 hooked   

adj.钩状的，弯曲的

参考例句：

• I first got hooked on scuba diving when I was twelve. 12 岁时我开始迷上了带水肺潜水。
• He hooked his arm round her neck and pulled her head down. 他一只胳膊钩在她的脖子上，把她的头拉低。

5 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

6 conversational   

adj.对话的，会话的

参考例句：

• The article is written in a conversational style.该文是以对话的形式写成的。
• She values herself on her conversational powers.她常夸耀自己的能言善辩。

7 chunk   

n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量）

参考例句：

• They had to be careful of floating chunks of ice.他们必须当心大块浮冰。
• The company owns a chunk of farmland near Gatwick Airport.该公司拥有盖特威克机场周边的大片农田。

8 stuff   

n.原料，材料，东西；vt.填满；吃饱

参考例句：

• We could supply you with the stuff in the raw tomorrow.明天我们可以供应你原材料。
• He is not the stuff.他不是这个材料。

9 discussion   

n.讨论，谈论；论述

参考例句：

• It is certain he will come to the discussion.他肯定会来参加讨论。
• After months of discussion,a peace agreement is gradually taking shape.经过几个月的商讨，和平协议渐渐有了眉目。

10 alongside   

adv.在旁边；prep.和...在一起，在...旁边

参考例句：

• There was a butcher's shop alongside the theatre.剧院旁边有一家肉店。
• Alongside of him stood his uncle.他的身旁站着他叔叔。

11 bizarre   

adj.奇形怪状的，怪诞的

参考例句：

• They saw a bizarre animal in the lake.他们在湖中看见一个奇怪的动物。
• The building was of bizarre construction.这建筑构造奇异。

12 context   

n.背景，环境，上下文，语境

参考例句：

• You can always tell the meaning of a word from its context.你常可以从上下文中猜出词义来。
• This sentence does not seem to connect with the context.这个句子似乎与上下文脱节。

13 encounter   

v.遇到，偶然碰到；遭遇；n.遭遇；意外的相见

参考例句：

• It was a bloody encounter between the two armies. 这是那两军之间的一次激烈的遭遇战。
• A fortunate encounter brought the two friends together after a long separation.两位老朋友长期分离这次才有幸相遇。

14 audio   

n./adj.音频(响)(的)；声音(的)，听觉(的)

参考例句：

• Often,the meeting is recorded on audio or video media for later reference.通常这种会议会以视频或者音频形式记录下来，供以后查阅。
• You don't even have to pay for audio programs.你大可不必为自己听这些节目付费。

15 definitely   

adv.一定地，肯定地；明确地，确切地

参考例句：

• The team will definitely lose if he doesn't play.如果他不参加比赛，这个队肯定会输。
• I shall definitely be home before six o'clock.6点以前，我一定回家。

16 shove   

vt.乱推，乱塞；vi.用力推，挤；n.猛推

参考例句：

• She will not shove the heavy load onto others.她不愿意把重担推给别人。
• Help me shove this furniture aside.帮我把这家具推到一边去。