4. Submerge yourself

　　4. 让自己完全浸入

　　Being able to speak a language is not related to how smart you are. Anyone can learn how to speak any language. This is a proven fact by everyone in the world. Everyone can speak at least one language. Whether you are intelligent, or lacking some brain power, you are able to speak one language.

　　能否讲一种语言，和你是否聪明无关。任何人都可以学习如何说任何一种语言无关。这在世界范围内都是得到证实的。每个人都能讲至少一种语言。无论你有多聪明，还是智商不是太高，你都能说一种语言。

　　This was achieved by being around that language at all times. In your country, you hear and speak your language constantly. You will notice that many people who are good English speakers are the ones who studied in an English speaking school. They can speak English not because they went to an English speaking school, but because they had an environment where they can be around English speaking people constantly.

　　之所以能这样，是因为你一直被这种语言所包围。在你的国家，你不停的听到并且说自己的语言。你会发现那些英语说得很好的人都是在说英语的学校里面的。他们能说英语并不是因为是去了一家说英语的学校，而是因为他们有一个环境可以让他们不断说英语。

　　There are also some people who study abroad and learn very little. That is because they went to an English speaking school, but found friends from their own country and didn't practice English.

　　当然，也有人去了国外，但是学到的东西却很少。这是因为他们去了一所说英语的学校，但是周围的朋友都是来自自己的国家并且都不说英语。

　　You don't have to go anywhere to become a fluent English speaker. You only need to surround yourself with English. You can do this by making rules with your existing friends that you will only speak English. You can also carry around an iPod and constantly listen to English sentences. As you can see, you can achieve results by changing what your surroundings are. Submerge yourself in English and you will learn several times faster.

　　要想能够流利说英语，你并不是非得去某个地方。只要你能够背英语围绕就行。要达到这种效果，你可以和你现在的朋友约定只说英语。你可以还随身携带一台iPod，不断地听英语句子。正如你所看到的，您可以通过改变你周围的环境实现预想的效果。让自己沉浸在英语当中，你将会学得快几倍。

　　5. Study correct material

　　5. 使用正确的学习材料

　　A common phrase that is incorrect is, "Practice makes perfect." This is far from the truth. Practice only makes what you are practicing permanent. If you practice the incorrect sentence, you will have perfected saying the sentence incorrectly. Therefore, it is important that you study material that is commonly used by most people.

　　有句话可能有失偏颇：“熟能生巧”。练习只能让你永远停留在练习。如果你练习一个不正确的句子，那么你还会一直不正确下去。因此，你必须选择大多数人选用的材料。

　　Another problem I see is that many students study the news. However, the language they speak is more formal and the content they use is more political and not used in regular life. It is important to understand what they are saying, but this is more of an advanced lesson that should be studied after learning the fundamental basics of English.

　　另外一个问题是，我发现很多学生都去学习新闻素材。然而，他们所学的语言听起来就更正式，他们使用的内容就更有政治的意味，并且在日常交流中不常使用。去理解他们说什么很重要，但是比之更重要的是在学习了语言基本知识之后去接触更高级的语言知识。

　　Studying English with a friend who is not a native English speaker is both good and bad. You should be aware of the pros and cons of speaking with a non-native speaking friend. Practicing with a non-native person will give you practice. You can also motivate each other and point out basic mistakes. But you might pick up bad habits from one another if you are not sure about what are correct and incorrect sentences. So use these practice times as a time period to practice the correct material you studied.

　　和一个非英语母语的朋友一起学习英语有利也有弊。你应该意识到这种利弊。和非英语母语的人练习可以是一次练习的机会。你也可以彼此激励，指出基本的错误。但是如果你不知道一个句子正确与否，你就有可能从另外一个朋友那里带走一些坏习惯。可以把这部分的时间利用起来去练习正确的素材。

　　In short, study English material that you can trust, that is commonly used, and that is correct.

　　简而言之，应该去学习那些你放心的，常用的并且正确的材料学习。

（编辑：何莹莹）