如何避免在英语学习中犯错

苗淑华

Learners make mistakes and reinforce1 them because they produce sentences too carelessly or too early. You will avoid mistakes if you follow a couple of rules：

学习者犯错并错得根深蒂固是因为他们造句时太粗心或太草率。如果你遵循以下几条规则，就能避免出错：

1. Use simple language. Some beginners try to build very complicated sentences with things like the present perfect tense or conditionals. They make horrible mistakes. Dont do this！If youve just started to speak or write in English， you should say what you can say （simple sentences that you have seen many times）—not what you want to say （complicated sentences）. You may feel youre talking like a child or that you are not expressing your thoughts， but dont worry about that. Right now， your goal is not to express your thoughts freely; your goal is to learn the language.

1. 使用簡单的语言。有些初学者试图用现在完成时态或条件句来构建非常复杂的句子。他们犯了可怕的错误。这样不行！如果你才刚开始说或写英语，应该说些你会说的（你见过很多次的简单句子）——而不是你想说的（复杂句子）。你可能觉得自己说话像个孩子，或者没有表达出自己的想法，不要担心。现在，你的目标不是自由表达你的想法，你的目标是学习这门语言。

2. Be slow and careful. In the beginning， you should write very slowly. If you need 2 hours to write an e-mail message with 10 correct sentences， thats okay. Thats how long it should take if youre just starting to write.

2. 慢一点，仔细一点。开始的时候，你要慢慢地写。如果需要两个小时来写一封有十个正确句子的电子邮件，那也没关系。刚开始写作，的确是要花这么长时间。

Why should it take so long？ Because you should read your sentences many times， looking for mistakes. You should correct your own sentences frequently. You should check if your sentences are correct by using a dictionary and the Web. And you should look for example sentences to imitate.

为什么要花这么长时间呢？因为你要多读几遍写出来的句子，找出错误，要经常改正自己写的句子，用字典和网络检查这些句子是否正确，并寻找可以模仿的例句。

When youre speaking， its okay to build a sentence for some time in your head before you open your mouth.

当你说（英语）的时候，开口之前先花点时间在脑子里造一个句子是没关系的。

3. If youre not sure how to say something， dont say it. （This applies to both grammar and pronunciation.） If you cant say something correctly， its almost always better not to say it. You dont want to teach yourself the wrong way to say it. You can try to look for the correct sentence in a dictionary or on the Web， but when speaking， usually you dont have time for that. So its a good idea to say something else—something that you know is correct. It can even be something on a different subject.

3. 如果你不知道怎么说，就不要说。（这一点既适用于语法，也适用于发音。）如果你无法说出正确的句子，那就最好不要说，你也不想学到错的句法吧。你可以试着在字典或网上寻找正确的句子，但当你说（英语）时，通常是没有时间去找的。所以说点别的东西是个好主意——说点你知道是正确的内容，甚至可以是不同主题的东西。

4. Know where you can screw2 up. Sometimes learners dont even realize how different English is from their native language. When speaking， they translate word for word from their native language， and they think their sentences are okay.

4. 知道哪里会搞砸。有时学习者甚至不知道英语和他们的母语有多大的不同。当他们说（英语）时，会逐字逐句从母语翻译过来，而且还认为他们的句子是对的。

When reading or listening to English， use the “pause and think” technique： Pay close attention to things like word order， articles， prepositions， and tenses. Compare sentences in English with equivalent sentences in your native language. Notice the differences in words and in word order. This will make you more careful when speaking in English， because you will realize which parts of your sentences can be wrong and should be double-checked.

在读或听英语时，使用“停顿思考”技巧：注意词序、冠词、介词和时态。将英语句子与自己母语中对等的句子进行比较。注意单词和词序的区别。这会让你在说英语时更加小心，因为你会意识到说的句子中哪些部分可能是错误的，要反复检查。

5. Dont worry about fluency. Fluency is easy to achieve by simply talking. If you practise speaking， you will be able to speak faster and faster. In high school， I achieved pretty good fluency in a month by talking to my English teacher （a native speaker） about two hours a week. Thats only 8 hours of talking.

5. 别担心流利度。简单的谈话很容易说得流利。如果你多练习口语，就能说得越来越快。在高中的时候，我一个月内通过每周两个小时与英语老师（一个母语为英语的人）交谈，（口语）达到了相当好的流利程度，那还只是练了8个小时的对话。

It is much better to be slow and correct than be fluent and make a lot of mistakes. Why？ Because if you are slow and correct， you can easily improve your speed and become fluent and correct. But if you are fluent and make a lot of mistakes， it is much harder to fix your mistakes and become fluent and correct.

慢而準确比流利却犯很多错要好得多。为什么呢？因为如果你速度慢而准确，可以很容易提高语速，变得流利、准确。但是如果你很流利，但犯很多错，就很难改正错误，变得流利、准确。