相信我的读者都知道，这是我在亚洲生活的第十个年头。我曾经在日本生活了一段时间，之后搬到香港，然后又再搬到日本，这些都是让我深受启发并为之着迷的经历。
As regular readers will know, it was recently the 10th anniversary of my first move to Asia. Living in Japan, then Hong Kong and now Japan again has been an enlightening and enthralling experience in many ways.
其中当然不乏各种挑战以及潜在的文化陷阱。适应一个新的文化以及一系列全新的生活模式确实给我这个新移民不少挑战。在众多的文化和交际的困难当中，作为一个在异邦的外国人，毫无疑问地，最大困难肯定是掌握当地语言的基本沟通水平了。
It has not, however, been without its various challenges and potential pitfalls. Adapting to a new culture and new set of daily rules and routines presents a number of tough tasks to the uninitiated. Chief amongst all the various cultural and communicative issues you will confront as a foreigner in a foreign land is, undoubtedly, mastering a basic level of communication in the local language.
不用说，学习一门外语算是一个人面对的最大挑战了。一般来说，这不只是简单的学习几个单词就能解决的问题。你必须驾驭这个语言当中细微的差别以及一些语言习惯。这可以很难，取决于你来自于哪里，以及你正准备学习什么样的语言。
Without a doubt, learning a foreign language is one of the biggest challenges a person can face. Often, it is not simply about learning the words. One must also master the nuances and mannerisms of the language too. This can be very difficult, depending on both where you come from, and what language you are trying to learn.
简单来说，有些语言对一些来自某些国家的人来说会比较容易。比如，在断断续续地学了日语5年之后，如果1级相当于母语水平，5级相当于一个初学者，我的日语水平只是介于3级和4级之间。相比之下我的一个中国朋友却仅仅学了六个月便通过了以高难度著称的日语能力考试（Japanese Language Proficiency Test）一级水平。
In short, some languages are easier than others for people from certain countries.For example, After 5 years of on and off study of the Japanese language, my ability sits somewhere between levels 4 and 3, with level 1 being considered equal to a native speaker and level 5 being a novice. Compare this to a friend of mine from China who passed the notoriously difficult Japanese Language Proficiency Test Level 1 after just 6 months of study.
现在，她坦承自己在那六个月没有过过“学习以外的生活”，但即使这样，要在半年之内驾驭一种新语言到母语水平也仍然像一种“不可能完成的任务”吧？
Now, she herself freely admitted to me that she “basically didn’t have a life outside of studying” for those 6 months, but even so, to master a new language to a level equivalent to a native speaker in just half a year seems unbelievable.
那么她成功的秘诀在哪里呢？
So what was her secret?
除了超乎常人的努力之外，她的母语是普通话，尽管跟日语不是完全相同，但是日语和汉语使用着相近的书写系统（译者注：这里指的是两种语言中的汉字），而且很多汉字词的意思都是相近的。所以她学日语的时候就很有优势。
Well, aside from an incredible work ethic, she also benefited from the fact that Japanese and her native Putonghua use the same writing system and often the meanings of the kanji characters are similar, if perhaps not exactly the same.
同理，母语是英语的人很容易学会法语、西班牙语和意大利语。毕竟，它们和英语都有一个共同的祖先——拉丁语，约2000年前罗马帝国的语言。
It is for the same reason that English speakers are more easily able to pick up languages such as French, Spanish and Italian. After all, along with English they all share a common ancestor, Latin, the language of the Roman Empire, some 2000 years ago.
但在选择留学的时候，我们并不总像我的中国朋友那样幸运，或者许多能说流利的西班牙语的美国朋友、甚或是可以说英语和法语双语的加拿大朋友那样能到一个和自己母语相近的国度留学。
But when choosing to study abroad, we aren’t always as fortunate as my friend from China, or as my many American friends who are also fluent in Spanish nor my Canadian friends who are bilingual English and French speakers.
对于选择留学的学生来说，语言关无疑是他们需要克服的所有障碍当中最难跨越的了。
For students choosing to study abroad, language often presents the most difficult of all the many barriers that must be overcome.
对于想到美国或者英国留学的中国学生来说，英语就无疑是他们最棘手的难题。
In the case of Chinese students wishing to study in the US or the UK, it is English that is the tricky foreign language in question.
那么，留学生如何能够加快他们的学习，以足够明白他们同学所说的话，并能够流利地和他们互动交流呢？
So, what can students do to accelerate their learning, and acquire the necessary fluency to understand and interact with their peers as quickly as possible?
首先，正如俗话说的“近朱者赤、近墨者黑”，我想起数年前一位东京朋友的故事。她原本因为“工作假期”（译者注：即旅行者出于补贴旅行费用的目的而在签证颁发国边打工边旅行）和提高英语水平的目的而需要在澳大利亚工作一年。然而当她回到东京与我去喝咖啡的时候，我很无语地发现她的英语水平只提高了一丁点儿。她却很兴奋地告诉我她现在能说一口相当流利的韩语了。
Firstly, as the old saying goes “you need to make friends in the right places”.I recall a story a friend of mine from Tokyo told me years ago. She had gone to Australia for a one year working holiday, with the intention of improving her English, yet when she returned to Tokyo and I met her for a coffee I was stunned to see that her English had only shown a slight improvement. However, she was delighted to tell me that she had become a fairly fluent speaker of Korean.
怎么会这样呢？一个日本人在澳大利亚生活之后韩语却变流利了？
How was this possible? How could a Japanese living in Australia become a fluent Korean speaker?
最简单的答案就是，她带着迷之微笑告诉我，她在澳大利亚生活的时候交了一位韩国男朋友。
The simple answer, as she herself told me with a beaming smile, she had found a Korean boyfriend while living in Australia.
结果，她在一个韩国餐厅工作，而且她的大部分空余时间都跟男朋友在韩国人社区度过。换句话说，与其说她浸泡在英语当中，还不如说她把自己浸泡在韩语当中，她的韩语水平就显而易见地突飞猛进咯。
As a result of this, she had been working in a Korean restaurant and spent most of her free time hanging out with her beloved’s friends in the city’s Korean community. In other words, rather than immerse herself in English, she had immersed herself in Korean, as a result, her Korean speaking ability improved considerably.
这又把我带回中国人出国留学的主题上来了。当我住在爱丁堡的时候，我发现中国学生都很内向。他们很友好和亲切，但在社交上，他们花了大部分时间用自己的语言跟他们的同胞交流。因而，他们使用英语的能力就受到了影响。
Now, this brings me back to the subject of Chinese who study abroad. When I lived in Edinburgh, I noticed that the Chinese students tended to keep to themselves. They were always friendly and cordial, but socially, they spent most of their time with their own kind and speaking their own language. Their ability to use English suffered as a result.
因此，我要再三强调的是，当你在外国学习的时候，尽可能地跟当地人呆在一起。掌握一门新的语言就是要尽量多地在不同的真实场景使用这门语言。
So, when you find yourself studying in a foreign country, and I cannot emphasize this enough, spend as much time with local people as you can. The best way to master a new language is to use it as often and in as many different authentic environments as you can.
其次，也是相当重要的是，不要害怕犯错误。母语是英语的人在说话的时候也经常会犯语法和发音的错误。作为一个非母语的学习者，你所犯的一些轻微失误都是可以原谅的。没有人会期望你什么都会说，但只是一个简短的、友好的聊天都会让你的能力有很大的飞跃，更重要的，当然是提高你说英语的自信心了。
Secondly, and equally importantly, don’t be afraid of making mistakes. Even native speakers make frequent grammar and pronunciation errors when they speak. As a non-native speaker, you will usually be given quite considerable leeway in this regard. Nobody expects you to know it all, but even just a short, friendly chat can make a big difference both to you ability and more importantly, your confidence.
