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學外語最棒的方法
以下有兩項有效的英語學習法，和你們分享：
一、從錯誤中學習
害怕犯錯可以帶來健康的學習習慣，但是這個學習方法也可帶來很大的傷害。舉例來說， 如果你的鋼琴老師，教你不斷地背下每一首曲子，背下不同曲風的規則，然後筆試如果你記錯一個音就扣一分來算出的你的鋼琴程度，在練琴課中只要彈錯一個音同學就會嘲笑你，你覺得你會繼續向這位老師學琴嗎？如果你的籃球教練只要你背下所有的運球與投籃技巧，背下所有的策略，然後筆試評量你的籃球程度，偶爾得讓你實際打球，投不進球同學就在一旁開你玩笑，相信你一定會立馬尋找別的籃球教練。
很遺憾的是，這樣的現象存在於台灣補習班與學校很久了。填鴨式教學並無法真正的帶來語言學習上的成功，唯一的成功法則是要透過經驗，這就是經驗學習法。它有著一個非常簡單的成功公式：成功＝練習＋時間。你每天多增加一些不同形式的英文經驗，你就會多進步一些，唯一會讓你退步的事就是不去使用它。學習語言是一趟永續的旅程，很單純的，只要一步一步地往前走， 你就一定會達到你的目標。
這是人們學習藝術最自然的方式，而語言就是一門藝術。 死背硬是沒有用的！台灣，儘管種種的的努力，還是缺乏在英文上的發展。只要學生們繼續責怪他們自己就是學不好英文，他們就會繼續花錢去補習。所以解答是什麼呢？
在做中學、犯錯、然後在錯誤中學習。面對每個沒有進的罰球，成功的籃球員會怎麼做？他會從中學習，讓下一球會更接近成功，也如同羅斯福的名言：「沒有什麼事情叫做犯錯，只有在成功前的嘗試。」
你害怕犯錯嗎？犯一些錯吧！然後你就可以看到它們帶你一步步更靠近成功；再犯一些錯吧！ 然後你就會發現，這些害怕就會消失。概念就是這麼簡單，這就是經驗學習法。
二、用耳朵學英文
另一個普遍補習班都忽略的學習關鍵:：語言是經由耳朵學習的。看看所有台灣人學台語的過程，就會發現這個不爭的事實。在台灣有上百萬的台灣人會說台語，但是你有看過台語字嗎？你有背國台語的單字、文法嗎？你有考過台語檢定嗎？現在再看看最「成功」的英語班，是一堂課中有上百位的學生，由一位台灣老師說著中文，學生們在台下猛做筆記中文筆記，這合乎邏輯嗎？
事實上，除了曾住在國外的台灣人外，台灣人非常有可能一生不曾聽過自然使用的英文。即使參與外師的英文課，在教學時他們會用比較慢的語調、比較清楚的咬字，和選擇比較簡單的字來溝通。另外在看電影與影集時，耳朵並不會發生任何功用，因為你會不自覺地看著中文字幕。如果一位老師在課堂上放全英文無字幕的 TED Talk，讓學生們聽完 20 分鐘後，大部分學生們的情緒反應會是： 無聊、挫折、羞愧甚至生氣，全都是負面的。為什麼呢？因為他們專注在聽不懂的部分，而不是帶著正面的情緒專注在聽得懂的部分。如果你可以教自己放鬆情緒，繼續地聽，很快地你就會發現你的聽力會有跳躍式的進步。有上百位的學生，由一位台灣老師說著中文，學生們在台下猛做筆記中文筆記，這合乎邏輯嗎？
事實上，除了曾住在國外的台灣人外，台灣人非常有可能一生不曾聽過自然使用的英文。即使參與外師的英文課，在教學時他們會用比較慢的語調、比較清楚的咬字，和選擇比較簡單的字來溝通。另外在看電影與影集時，耳朵並不會發生任何功用，因為你會不自覺地看著中文字幕。如果一位老師在課堂上放全英文無字幕的 TED Talk，讓學生們聽完 20 分鐘後，大部分學生們的情緒反應會是： 無聊、挫折、羞愧甚至生氣，全都是負面的。為什麼呢？因為他們專注在聽不懂的部分，而不是帶著正面的情緒專注在聽得懂的部分。如果你可以教自己放鬆情緒，繼續地聽，很快地你就會發現你的聽力會有跳躍式的進步。
The Path to Self-Reliant Skill-Development & Growth.
What is the best way to study a 2nd language?
There are two things you can and must change about your methodology of study immediately.
1. Learn From Mistakes
While the fear of mistakes leads to extremely healthy study habits, the method of study one chooses can actually harm progress. For example, if you wanted to hire a piano teacher and you interviewed a prospect that suggested studying the history of piano construction, the biographies of great composers and to copy musical sheets over and over again but would not let you actually play the piano because you would not be perfect (ahhh, those shameful mistakes), would you hire that teacher? Likewise, if you were looking for someone to coach your basketball team and all he did was test you on game theory, you would look elsewhere.
Unfortunately, this is exactly what is happening in Taiwan’s buxibans and schools. Cramming for tests will not lead to success. The only path to fluency available is experience. We call it Experiential Learning. It’s a very simple formula for success: Practice + Time. This cannot be stressed enough. Every day you experience some form of English, you improve. The only way to devolve your skills is to stop experiencing the target language. Learning a language is a never-ending journey. Simply keep putting one foot in front of the other and you will reach your goals.
This is the natural way people learn art-based subjects and language is most definitely an Art. Cramming is just not going to work and it hasn’t worked. Taiwan, for all its efforts, is sorely lacking in its English development. As long as the student keeps blaming him/herself for failure, he/she will keep spending money on cram schools. So what’s the answer?
Learn by doing. Make mistakes and learn from them. Everytime a basketball player misses a foul shot, he learns from what he did wrong and comes closer to success the next time. Or to quote the late great Theodore Roosevelt, “There are no such things as mistakes, just early attempts at success.”
Afraid of making mistakes? Make some and see how those can lead to small successes. Make more and your fear of them will disappear. It’s that simple. That is experiential learning.
2. Learn By Listening
There is one more key aspect to learning languages that cram schools are not paying attention to: Language is learned through listening. Look at the local language of Taiwanese as a perfect example of how we learn language with our ears. Millions of people speak Taiwanese and yet, there is no written form of it. Taiwanese is proof positive that we learn language with our ears. And yet, the most successful classes (by numbers, not proficiency) are those huge 100+ student classes taught by a Taiwanese teacher in which he/she lectures in Mandarin. Students take copious notes while listening to Mandarin. How on earth is this effective?
In fact, unless a Taiwanese person has lived overseas, it is highly unlikely that they’ve ever listened to naturally spoken English their entire lives. Aside from classes taught by local teachers, western teachers speak slowly and choose simplified vocabulary to make their points. Additionally, when watching TV or movies, the subtitles dominate the operating system that is the brain and no listening is done. If a teacher were to put a TED Talk on in the classroom and leave the students to simply listen to it, the emotional reactions would be all negative, from boredom, to frustration to even anger. Why? The students would be focusing on what they didn’t understand instead of having a positive emotional reaction to what they did. If you could teach yourself to relax emotionally and just keep listening, you would quickly discover that your listening abilities would improve.
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