译文/星絮
7 Tricks To Learn Any Language In 7 Days (From The Superpolyglot Twins Who Did It)
当你去另一个国家旅行时就必须去学那个国家的语言吗？会十种语言、住在柏林的语言达人双胞胎，接受一周学习一种语言的挑战。我们能从他们的学习当中学到什么呢？
Do you really have to travel to another country to learn the language? The 10-language twins undertook the challenge of learning a language in a week in Berlin, their city of residence. What can we learn from how they learned?
一周之内可能发生些什么事呢？如果你想在七天之内达成一个目标，你有多大的雄心勃勃去完成这个目标呢？这些是多语言双胞胎马修和麦克尤登，在他们决定在一周内学习土耳其语，向自己提出的问题。他们试图想把自己从现代日常生活中的注意力涣散，和责任中解放出来，只是为了把八小时填鸭式的学习时间导入他们每天程式化的生活当中。这就是我观察世界上最能干的一些语言学习者而学到的七件事情。
What’s possible in a week? If you dedicated seven days to the achievement of one goal, how ambitious could you make this goal? These were the questions that the multilingual twins Matthew and Michael Youlden posed themselves when they determined to learn Turkish in one week. They would attempt to liberate themselves from the distractions and responsibilities of modern-day life in order to cram eight hours of study time into their daily routine. Here are the seven things that I learned by observing some of the world’s most capable language learners.
1、要知道为什么
课堂学习要点: 在最开始的时候，就清楚地定义好你的目标，然后为完成这个目标画好线路图。
这个双胞胎给自己的挑战，要在一周内学习一种语言是为了更好地伸展他们的能力，然后的问题就是要选择哪一种语言。土耳其语展示出的似乎是一种天然的选择，在德国首都有接近30万人讲土耳其语，在克罗兹堡和新克尔恩地区分布了不少带有土耳其装饰的商店，要真实地了解这些临近的居民区的环境，就需要先懂得土耳其语。
1. Get To Know Why
Lesson learned: Clearly define your goal at the very beginning and then plot a route towards this goal’s achievement.
The twins set themselves the challenge of learning a language in a week in order to stretch themselves, and then it was a question of choosing which language to learn. Turkish presented itself as a natural option; there are nigh on 300,000 Turkish speakers in Germany’s capital, and the areas of Kreuzberg and Neukölln are dotted with stores adorned with signs in Turkish. Truly understanding one’s environment in these neighbourhoods requires one to first understand Turkish.
2、要贴粘纸贴
课堂学习要点：在你第一时间，就用新的语言在你所处的环境的地图上标注好标签，这样就能在你日常生活中，建立起并且加固被动的联想。
双胞胎学习过程运作的第一步就是整个房间里贴满了粘纸贴，这几乎像一个仪式一样，双胞胎兄弟把每一个标贴的东西都在字典里专研并找出它相应的土耳其语的名称。在一个小时的时间里不可能完成一些枯燥的任务，只能冲泡一杯咖啡，或者关掉一盏灯，不会有第一步的展示，至少有三个不同的词语和这个行动相关联。
2. Get Sticky
Lesson learned: Map and label your immediate environment in the new language from the very first moment. You’ll build and reinforce associations passively while going about your daily life.
The first operational step in the twins’ learning process was to decorate the entire apartment with sticky notes. This had an almost ceremonial touch to it as the twins delved into dictionaries and proceeded to label everything with its corresponding Turkish name. Within the space of about an hour it was impossible to carry out any menial task, be it making a coffee or flicking off a light switch, without first being presented with at least three different words related to this action.
3、找一个伙伴
课堂学习要点：没有比有一对同伴，拥有共同的目标更好的激发动因了，无论你这个动机是来自于竞争还是相互责任感的意识，这个学习伙伴的存在只是让你有可能更加努力地运用恰当的压力来保持你的正确轨道。
双胞胎兄弟存在的重要性立刻显而易见，因为马修和迈克委派了用粘纸贴装饰房子的责任，这个简单的任务却被持续的小测试搞得引起争论，好像一个要扑倒另一个。事实上是他们分开了，有一点不同，学习不同的主题意味着双胞胎的每一个人，都成为另外一个知识的来源，问题再一次要怎么说？是令人惊讶的遇见通常有一个答案。一周结束时，最令人意想不到的时刻是，当双胞胎兄弟简单地将日常的对话用土耳其语讲出来，一个问另一个是要茶还是要咖啡，要准备做晚餐了，或者是第二天什么时候离开。
3. Get A Partner
Lesson learned: There are few better motivations than a peer with the same goal. Whether you’re motivated by competition or a sense of mutual responsibility, the mere presence of a learning partner is likely to exert just the right amount of pressure to keep you on track.
The importance of the other twin’s presence became immediately apparent as Matthew and Michael delegated responsibilities for rooms to decorate with sticky notes. This simple task was augmented by continuous little tests that they would spring on one another, and the fact that they split up their day slightly differently and studied different topics meant that each twin became a source of knowledge for the other; the questionhow do you say that again?was met surprisingly often with an answer. The most extraordinary moment came towards the end of the week when the twins simply switched their everyday conversations to Turkish, asking one another if they wanted tea or coffee, were ready to cook dinner or when they were going to leave the house the next day.
4、准备小小的动机
课堂学习要点：在你通往目标的路上，需要一些里程碑，这些里程碑能组成一些小小的挑战——真实的生活在语言里相互作用，比如 - 迫使你准备好的关于地点的单词，去解决它们。完成以后带给你的满足感，将激励你走向更高的高度。
马修和麦克在整个一周里，经历了无数的微小的挑战。第一天，他们的土耳其朋友到访，用土耳其语跟他们打招呼，并夸奖他们，那么快就能用第一个单词和词组了。然后他们学习了水果的名称和数字，从一到十亿，所以他们就可以去克罗兹堡的市场了（虽然他们还必须避免购买90万种金橘）。虽然是疙疙瘩瘩，第一次能够用土耳其语进行实用性的交流，他们露出自豪的微笑，在回家继续深入学习之前，升起明显的成就感。
4. Prepare Mini-Motivations
Lesson learned: You need landmarks on your route towards your goal. These landmarks can consist of small challenges - real life interactions in the language, for example - which force you to prepare areas of vocabulary to overcome them. The gratification that will come with their completion will serve to spur you on to ever greater heights.
Matthew and Michael had numerous micro-challenges throughout the week. On the first day they were visited by a Turkish friend who greeted them in Turkish and complimented them on how quickly they’d picked up their first words and phrases. They then learned the names of fruits and the numbers from one to a billion so that they could visit the Turkish market in Kreuzberg (although they refrained from purchasing nine hundred thousand kumquats). Displaying their haul after their first functional exchange in Turkish, they beamed with pride and a palpable sense of accomplishment before marching back home to study further.
5、把语言吃下去
课堂学习要点：找到一个方法，把你做的每件事都联系到学习上去。你的脑海里要布满食物、音乐和电影，即使是休息的时间，脑子里也要准备好语言，也许就能触发更多有兴趣的领域和动机。
这周我们第二次去见他们兄弟俩是待了24小时，发现他们取样了几十种不同的土耳其小吃。就像孩子去上学前，仔细的看着背包里谷物食品包装袋，吃点心时仔细阅读包装袋上的营养说明和提供的各种特别成分分析。在八小时里，这双胞胎兄弟俩没有一刻是把自己从语言学习过程完全移开的。虽然这学习的强度会衰退或流动，但不会完全消失。
5. Eat The Language
Lesson learned: Find a way to tie everything you do to learning. Surround yourself with the food, the music and the films, so that even in your downtime you can prime your mind towards the language and perhaps trigger further areas of interest and motivation.
On our second visit to the brothers’ apartment 24 hours into the week, we found them sampling dozens of different kinds of Turkish snacks. Like kids staring at the backs of cereal packs before heading to school, the nutritional information and various special offers and competitions on the packaging were analysed during snack breaks. There was no moment of complete removal from the language learning process during the eight hours that the twins had allotted to it. The intensity ebbed and flowed, but it never dissipated entirely.
6、用你已知的
课堂学习要点：学习过程越深入，学习的内容越容易记住。通过类似于画出平行线，并把你已学会的语言和正在学的新的语言做对比，会让你找到很多乐趣。
双胞胎中的一位最常说的就是，“嗯，这个有一点像在…？”他们不断使用现有的知识，来支持正在学习并日益增长的土耳其语的相关知识。这些不同词语的词源不仅如火花般令活力四射，而且新词像编织进入了相互关联的网，肯定不容易忘记。甚至如果你学习第二门语言，很可能碰到的新单词和你的母语有相同的词源。
6. Use What You Already Know
Lesson learned: The greater the depth of processing, the more likely the information will be remembered. Find pleasure in drawing parallels and making comparisons between the language(s) you already know and your new language.
One of the twins’ most common phrases was,“ah, that’s a bit like in … ?”They were constantly using their existing knowledge to support the ever-growing knowledge of Turkish. Not only did this spark some energetic exchanges regarding the etymology of various words, but it also ensured new words would never be forgotten once woven into their web of associations. Even if you are learning your second language, you will likely come across words that share common origins with words in your native tongue.
7、变化是生活的调料
课堂学习要点：你有自己绘制的学习路线，也有自己喜欢的方法，但一定要尝试新的事情，新一种语言也像你的母语一样有很多资源。
双胞胎兄弟，花了很多的时间，完全专注在书本上，在他们的电脑上及他们的应用软件上，通过热切的练习，有轻重也有急缓，但在另外的时间里面，发现他们在繁忙地搜索土耳其电台，并且在网络上撰写土耳其足球赛。学习语言无定法，也没有任何工具，或者老师能够手把手地教你达到令人崇拜如朝圣般的流利程度。语言是听、说、读、写，每一块都有核心技能，并且需要大量潜在的输入，所以你还会制约自己只会母语一种语言吗？人们通常会在一周语言学习班里和老师交谈，但是然后就几乎不再和其他语言的母语者接触了，也不接触一些他们所要学习的语言的媒体或广播。每天都尝试一些新事物吧，哪怕是听一首庸俗的歌，读一些刊有和你政见不同的文章的报纸，为孩子们写些小故事，试着在剧院表演一些即兴演奏或者在做饭的时候和自己说说话。在你的语言学习中，加点佐料，添点特色味道吧！
7. Variation is the spice of life
Lesson learned: So you have your route plotted and an idea of your favored methods, but do remember to try new things; your new language has just as many sources as your native language.
The twins spent a lot of time engrossed in books or on their computers and apps, flicking and swiping their way through exercises eagerly, but at other times they were to be found searching busily for Turkish radio stations and write-ups of Turkish football games on the web. There is no definitive method to learn a language, nor any tool or teacher that will single-handedly deliver you to the holy grail of fluency. Language is written, spoken, read and heard. Each of these areas is considered a core skill within which there are myriad potential inputs; would you restrict yourself to one in your native language? All too often, people enter their weekly language class to converse with their teacher, but then barely have any contact with other native speakers or the media being broadcast in their target language. Try something new every day. Listen to a cheesy song, read a newspaper article from a newspaper whose politics differ from your own, write a story for kids, attempt some improvised theatre and talk to yourself while cooking. Spice it up and add some flavour to your language learning!
原文链接：https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/learn-any-language-in-your-hometown?bsc=engmag-a58-vid-bv17-turkishweek-cd-xo-ob&btp=1_eng_out_cd&utm_campaign=cd_engall_gen_cxo_turkishweek_premium&utm_content=7+Tricks+To+Learn+Any+Language+In+Just+7+Days&utm_medium=CON&utm_source=outbrain&utm_term=Guardian+-+World
作者：Ed M Wood
“本译文仅供个人研习、欣赏语言之用，谢绝任何转载及用于任何商业用途。本译文所涉法律后果均由本人承担。本人同意简书平台在接获有关著作权人的通知后，删除文章。”
译者注：原文（英文）是选自《卫报》的一个链接，一份电子杂志，但是因我没有花钱订阅《卫报》，通常只有当天的文章可以打开，所以我把原文一并列上，逐段翻译，以供参考。
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