I’ve spent the last few years traveling and living abroad, and during that time I’ve talked to a lot of people who spoke English as a foreign language.
我花了几年的时间在国外旅游和生活，那段时间我同很多把英语作为外语的人交谈过。

After talking to thousands of foreigners in English I’ve noticed several things that they do that hurt their progress as a language learner. Here are the top 7:
同成千上万个外国人用英语交流后，我发现作为一个语言学者，他们总能做出一些损害他们学习进步的事情来。这里主要有七点;

1. Don’t Be too Ashamed to Speak
1. 不要太害羞以至于不能开口说

There is only one way to learn how to speak English, and that is to open your mouth and speak English! The only way you will ever get better at speaking is by speaking, and speaking a lot!
学习怎样说英语只有一种方法就是张开你的嘴，说英语！唯一能让让你的口语变好的方法就是说英语，说的越多越好！

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not absence of fear. – Mark Twain
勇敢是抵抗恐惧,克服恐惧,而不是逃避恐惧——马克·吐温

You can make excuses for why you don’t want to speak, like saying that you’re too embarrassed to speak, but these won’t get you any closer to your goal of achieving English fluency. It doesn’t matter if you have no vocabulary, or if your pronunciation isn’t perfect, you need to open your mouth and speak if you want to improve.
你可以为你为什么不想说英语找借口，就像你说你太尴尬了以至于不愿意说，但这并不会让你实现口语流利的目标。没有词汇量是没有关系的，或者你的发音不是很完美，如果你想提高口语，你只需要张的嘴说出来。

What ever you do, don’t say that you can’t speak English because this will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. By believing that you can’t speak English you close your mind to trying, and never give yourself the opportunity to improve. The only way to improve your English is to practice it, no matter how bad you may or may not be at it.
无论你做什么也不要说你不会说英语，因为这将会成为事实的预言。你相信自己不会说英语，你就会封锁你的大脑不去尝试说，也不给自己机会去提高。提高英语的唯一方法就是不断的练习，无论你的口语有多差。

2. Don’t Be Afraid of Making Mistakes
2. 不要害怕犯错

Another thing you shouldn’t do when speaking English is to be afraid of making mistakes. Part of being human is making mistakes and sooner or later you’re going to have to accept the fact that you’re not perfect and that you will always make mistakes. The only way you can avoid making mistakes is by not trying at all. If you follow this approach you’ll avoid making mistakes, but you’ll never improve either.
说英语时另外一件不应该做的事情就是害怕犯错。大部分的人都在犯错，迟早要接受你并不完美、总会犯错的事实。你能避免犯错的唯一方法就是不再尝试。如果你跟着这个方法走，你将避免犯错，但是你再也不会提高了。

I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. – Michael Jordan
在我的职业生涯中，我投篮不中超过9000次，输过300多场比赛。曾有26次人们对我抱有期望相信我能在紧要关头挽回败绩但我却没能做到。在我人生中，我一次又一次的失败，这正是我成功的原因。—迈克尔·乔丹

This may seem counter-intuitive, but you should try making as many mistakes as possible. If you are making mistakes that means you are actually speaking English and improving. If you aren’t making mistakes every day then you aren’t speaking enough. Of course, you shouldn’t intentionally make mistakes, and you should try to be aware of your mistakes so you can learn from them and improve your skills.
这可能看起来是违反直觉的，但是你应该尽可能的尝试多犯错。如果你在犯错，这实际上意味着你的口语在提高。如果你每天都没有犯错，说明你说的还不够。当然，你不应该故意犯错，你应该尝试着去意识你的错误，这样你才能从中学习并提高你的口语技能。

Grammar is the last thing you should be worried about when speaking English. You don’t need to have perfect grammar in order to communicate with someone in English. Native speakers aren’t going to judge you for having bad grammar, they are going to be more focused on understanding your meaning and continuing the conversation. As long as you speak clearly and confidently, it doesn’t matter if you use the wrong article, adjective ending or sentence order.
说英语时，语法应该是你担心的最后一件事。为了用英语跟他人交流，你不需要有很好的语法。本土说英语的人不会因为你法语差来评判你，他们会更加集中精力去理解你的意思，继续你们的谈话。只要你能够说的很清楚很有自信， 即使你用错冠词、形容词结尾或者句子顺序都是没有关系的。

Many language programs put too much emphasis on grammar and not enough emphasis on speaking. They spread the idea that you have to know all the grammar rules before you can start speaking, which can have the effect of reducing your confidence when you finally start speaking. This is backwards. You should learn to speak first to build your confidence, and then work on correcting your grammar after you’ve reached a basic level of fluency.
许多语言教学过多强调语法而没有足够的强调口语。他们向你灌输开口说英语之前要了解所有语法规则的思想。导致你终于开口说英语的时候，自信心却降低了。这种方式实际上反了。你应该先大胆说，建立自信，然后在口语达到一定流利程度之后再纠正语法。

Everybody makes mistakes, even native speakers of English. Nobody is born speaking perfect English; fluency is something that takes time and hard work to achieve. There are many Americans who go through 13 years of schooling and still don’t learn how to speak English properly.
每个人都会犯错，甚至母语是英语的人。没有人天生就能说一口流利英语，这是需要花很多时间和努力才能实现的。许多美国人经过13年的教育，也仍然没有学好怎样得体地说英文。

So don’t be discouraged by your mistakes. Learn to embrace them and value them for the role they play in your learning.
因此不要因你犯的错误而灰心。学着去喜欢犯错，在学习的过程中重视犯错起的作用。

3. Don’t Apologize For Your Level
3.不要对你所处的水平感到抱歉

Something that really annoys me when I’m talking to someone in English is when they apologize for how much English they speak. I’ve never been offended by someone’s level of English, and I don’t get upset when someone makes mistakes. If you talk to someone and they do get offended or upset because of your level of English they are an evil person who probably tortures kittens in their spare time.
当我用英文跟别人交流的时候，有些事真的让我很厌烦，有些人说英文的时候会对自己的口语水平感到抱歉。我从未因一些人的英语水平而生气，当别人犯错的时候我也并不生气。如果有人会因为你的口语水平不佳而感到生气或是不高兴，那么他们可能是那种在业余时间虐待小猫的坏人。

Most of the people who apologize for their level of English feel like they should speak better than they do. Its fine to think this, but don’t get upset at yourself for not knowing more than you do. Achieving fluency in any language is a process that takes time, and you can’t expect to become fluent overnight. Whether you’ve been studying English for years or only for a few months, you’ve put in a lot of work to get where you are, so don’t underestimate yourself.
大部分对自己的口语水平感到抱歉的人都是觉得自己的口语能说的更好。如果能这样想肯定是最好，但是不要因为不知道怎么表达自己想要说的而灰心。任何语言要达到流利的程度都需要花时间，你不能指望一夜之间就能变得很流利。无论你已经学英语学了几年或是仅仅只几个月，你投入了大量的努力去达到你想要程度，因此不要低估自己的能力。

4. Don’t get frustrated with yourself
4. 不要对自己泄气

Learning English will come with a certain amount of frustration. At some point you will come to a stage where you won’t be able to fully express yourself like you would be able to in your native language, and there will be times when you won’t be able to find the right word to say.
学英语期间，你肯定会有挫折感。有时你会感到自己不能像使用母语那样，用英语表达自己所想，并且找不到合适的英文单词去表达。

Nearly everyone who learns English goes through this phase; it’s just a natural part of the language learning process. This stage may last only a few weeks if you are completely immersed in English, but it could last years if you only use English twice a week at your language school. The only way to overcome this frustration is by practice, practice, practice.
几乎每个学习英语的人都会经历这个阶段；这是在学习语言的过程中很自然的一个部分。如果你全身心的投入在英语中，这个阶段可能会只持续几个星期；但是如果你每周只说两次英语，那么这个阶段会持续很长时间。克服这种挫败感的唯一方法就是不断的练习，练习，练习。

Keep in mind that this frustration isn’t because you’re not smart enough, or because the language is too difficult, it is something that many people have to go through. By embracing this frustration and feeling it more intensely through increased exposure you can pass through this stage more rapidly.
牢记于心，这种挫败感并不是因为你不够聪明或是因为这个语言太难，这是许多人都要经历的一个阶段。接受挫败，通过不断地增强练习强度来深切感受这个阶段，你才会快速克服这个阶段。

5. Don’t take it personally when people don’t understand you
5. 当别人没有理解你的时候不要把它看成是别人针对你

At some point in your English speaking career you are going to speak to someone who, no matter how hard you try just cant seem to understand you. Due to the large number of English speakers in the world, there are a wide range of accents, some of which are hard to understand. I for one have a hard time understanding some Australian accents and most Irish accents.
说口语的过程中总会遇到一些人，无论你多么努力尝试去表达但是他们就是听不懂你的意思。因为世界上说英语的人数量繁多，地方口音比较繁杂，有的非常难懂。我曾有一段时间很难听懂澳大利亚口音和大多数爱尔兰口音。

You’ll have this problem a lot when talking with people who aren’t used to dealing with foreigners. If they don’t have this experience they will be used to hearing English spoken in a very specific way, and they won’t have any frame of reference when talking to you. Realize that this isn’t a reflection of your language skills, but rather a reflection of this person’s lack of exposure to different people.
当和那些很少接触外国人的母语人士聊天时，你会经常遇到这个问题。如果他们没有和外国人聊天的经历，他们会习惯性的期待你用他们的方式来说英语，而且和你说话时他们不会有任何参照。你要意识到他们的反应并不是对你的语言技巧的反应，而仅仅反映出这个人欠缺和不同的人交流的经历。

This can also happen when talking to English learners who have a lower level of English than you. They won’t be able to understand everything you say because of your more advanced vocabulary. Try to remember that you were once at their level and not everyone is at the same place on their language journey.
当同英语水平比你差的英语学习者谈话时这种情况也会发生。因为你掌握的词汇更高级，他们听不懂你在说什么。试着去相信你曾经也是那个水平，而且不是每个人学习语言的人都有相同的语言水平。

6. Don’t compare yourself to other English Speakers
6. 不要同他人对比

No matter what level your English is at, you had to work hard to bring yourself to that level. Be proud of what you’ve accomplished and don’t be too concerned with what other people think about it. They don’t know how many hours you’ve had to work to get to where you are, they don’t know all the struggles you’ve been through to get there.
不论你的英语水平在什么级别，你都需要努力让自己达到更高的水平。为你所达到的水平感到光荣，不要过度的关心他人怎么想。他们不知道你究竟花了多少时间才达到现在的水平，他们也不知道你达到这种水平经历了多少苦难。

This also means you shouldn’t go around comparing yourself to other people. Everybody is different; some people learn languages more easily than others and some people have spent more time working to improve their English. Just because your friend who lived in London for 3 years can speak really well doesn’t mean that you’re not on the right path.
这也意味着你不需要同其他人对比。每个人都不同，相对于其他人，一些人学习语言更轻松，而另一些人则需要花更多的时间来提升英语。也许你的朋友在伦敦住了三年就能说一口流利的英语，但这并不意味着你的方法不对。

Some people like to see others fail, and by paying any attention to these people you are just feeding their negativity. Any time you spend worrying about what they think of you is time wasted that could be better spent by working to improve your English.
一些人喜欢看他人失败，这些人引起了你的注意，你只是吸收了他们消极的一面。无论什么时候你花时间去担心他们怎么想，你都是在浪费时间，最好的还是利用这个时间来提高你的英语。

7. If you are fluent, or just think you are, DON’T GET COCKY (ARROGANT)
7. 如果你的口语很流利或是你这样觉得，不要骄傲

“Life (English) is a Journey Not a Destination.” This part was written by Justin.
“生活（学英语）就像是一场旅行，不必在乎目的地。”—贾斯丁

English is not a chip in your brain. It’s a learning process. Maybe this is gonna seem harsh, and definitely a bit paradoxical, but for the rare English Jedi breed, they realize that there’s never really perfect fluency, only the impassioned and ever-approaching journey toward it.
英语并不是大脑中的芯片。而是一个学习过程。也许这看起来很难，甚至有点似是而非，但对于少数真正享受学习英语的人来说，永远没有完美的流利，只有努力无限向它靠近的学习旅程。

This means that when you finally become fluent, (whatever that really means to you or to the world), you shouldn’t adopt the attitude of somebody who thinks “I already learned English” because there are some fundamental problems and limitations that come from this assumption. Here are just a few:
这意味着当你最终能流利地讲英语的时候，无论这对你或世界有什么意义，你都不应该像某些人一样，认为“我已经完全掌握了英语”，因为这种假设显然会带来一些原则问题和限制。下面有几条：

You’re living a lie because you never stop learning a language. It is like calling yourself a fully-realized human being. There’s always the next level up, and the current level always needs practice.
你活在谎言中，因为你不可能停止学习语言。这就像称自己是无所不知的人类一样。总会有更高的水平，而你目前的水平也是需要不断练习的。

The learner tends to get lazy, and it’s a universal fact about any learning process, that if you aren’t growing, you are probably getting worse.
学习者往往会变懒，而且这在学习进程中有一条普遍定律：如果你没有进步，你很可能是在退步。

The inflated ego prevents you from recognizing the final 5 or 10% that separates you from the master jedi breed of English speakers.
自负会让你无法学习到那5%或10%能让你成为英语大师的知识。

There is a tendency to treat other English learners (or people who are learning their language) in a condescending, totally idiotic way, forgetting what it is like to learn because they themselves are no longer connected to their own learning process.
趋向以一种高人一等的态度对待其他英语学习者（或者学习自己语言的人）是愚蠢的，这种人已经忘记了什么是学习，因为他们再也联系不到他们自己的学习过程了。

Cultural Understanding: You can know everything about grammar, but that doesn’t mean you are fluent. You need to be constantly connected to the source of the language (culture) so that it flows from who you really are.
了解文化：你对语法了解甚广，但这并不意味着你的口语很流利。你需要把语言的本源（文化）联系起来，这样你才能自然地讲出这门语言。

So there you have it, 7 things not to do when speaking English. Now that you know what not to do, go out there and speak English!
现在你知道了说英语的“7不”法则。知道了什么不能做，就放开说英语吧。