VOA慢速英语2019 伟大的语言交流的五个技巧（在线收听）

Five Tips for Great Language Exchanges

Harry Qiu began learning English as a young boy in Shanghai, China. Over the years, he became fluent, and later came to the United States for college.

邱瑞（Harry Qiu）小时候在中国上海学习英语。多年来，他变得流利，后来到美国上大学。

Qiu now attends Dickinson College in the state of Pennsylvania, where he studies international relations.

邱先生现在就读于宾夕法尼亚州的狄金森学院，在那里他研究国际关系。

There, he is learning two more languages – Russian and Japanese. And through the school, he gets to talk one-on-one with native speakers on Skype. For example, when he meets with his Japanese partner, Qiu helps his partner practice English. His partner helps him practice Japanese.

在那里，他正在学习另外两种语言-俄语和日语。通过学校，他可以与Skype上的母语人士进行一对一交谈。例如，邱在与日本伙伴见面时，邱帮助他的伙伴练习英语。他的伴侣帮助他练习日语。

We call this a language exchange.

我们称之为语言交换。

Such exchanges can be one of the best ways to improve your conversation skills. Qiu says they have given him the chance to experience the difference between real life conversation and classroom learning.

此类交流可能是提高会话技巧的最佳方法之一。邱说，他们给了他机会来体验现实生活中的对话和课堂学习之间的区别。

Colleges and universities are not the only places offering language exchanges.

高校不是唯一提供语言交流的地方。

Today, there are many websites and apps designed to connect language learners around the world. Popular sites like Conversation Exchange, Lingo Globe, Easy Language Exchange and The Mixxer offer an almost endless number of partners to choose from.

如今，有许多网站和应用程序旨在连接世界各地的语言学习者。对话交流，Lingo Globe，Easy Language Exchange和Mixxer等热门网站为您提供了几乎无限的合作伙伴供您选择。

But doing an exchange without knowing what to expect can sometimes lead to wasted time. So today, we have five tips for how to have a great language exchange.

但是在不知道会发生什么的情况下进行交流有时会浪费时间。因此，今天，我们有五个技巧来进行良好的语言交流。

Tip 1- What to ask yourself

提示1-问自己

Experts say the first step is ask yourself some important questions.

专家说，第一步是问自己一些重要的问题。

Todd Bryant is a language technology specialist who runs The Mixxer, a website with more than 35,000 active users. The free service began at Dickinson College. But it is meant for people around the world looking for practice partners.

托德·布莱恩特（Todd Bryant）是一位语言技术专家，他经营着Mixxer网站，该网站拥有超过35,000个活跃用户。免费服务始于迪金森学院。但这是为全世界寻求实践合作伙伴的人们而设计的。

Bryant says the most important question to ask yourself is why you want to learn the language.

科比说，问自己一个最重要的问题是为什么要学习这种语言。

People who have a serious reason for learning a language are usually more dependable exchange partners. These reasons can include, for example, moving to another country or using the language for work. Less serious reasons might be wanting to meet new people or use the language for an overseas vacation.

学习语言有严重理由的人通常是更可靠的交流伙伴。这些原因可能包括，例如，搬到另一个国家或使用该语言上班。不太严重的原因可能是想结识新朋友或使用该语言去海外度假。

Another question to ask yourself, Bryant says, is how much free time you really have.

科比说，另一个要问自己的问题是您真正有多少空闲时间。

"And then also think about how much time you're willing to spend on this so you can then find a good match. ‘Are you willing to spend an hour or two more per week to do this?'"

“然后再考虑您愿意花多少时间在此上，这样您就可以找到合适的人选。‘您愿意每周花一两个小时来完成一次吗？”

In addition, consider your preferences. Are you looking for speaking practice or do you prefer written messages? If you are seeking speaking practice, would you rather have video meetings or meet in person?

此外，请考虑您的偏好。您是在寻找口语练习还是更喜欢书面信息？如果您要练习口语，是愿意参加视频会议还是亲自见面？

Knowing your preferred method will help you choose the right website or app. Some websites, for example, list people's cities, so you can easily make plans to meet partners in person. Others do not.

了解您的首选方法将帮助您选择合适的网站或应用。例如，某些网站列出了人们所在的城市，因此您可以轻松地制定计划以亲自见面。其他人没有。

Tip 2 - Find the right partner

秘诀2-寻找合适的合作伙伴

Now, you are ready for tip 2 - finding the right partner.

现在，您已准备好技巧2-找到合适的合作伙伴。

As I said earlier, many of these websites can have hundreds of partners to choose from in the language you want to learn. So how can you limit your search?

正如我之前所说，这些网站中有许多可以提供数百种合作伙伴供您选择想要学习的语言。那么如何限制搜索？

Bryant says, when reading profiles, look for some important signs.

科比说，在阅读个人资料时，会寻找一些重要标志。

"People who have been on the site and have been active and have a reason to learn the language are much more likely to be good partners than people who have been on the site for a week and don't really have their profile filled out and haven't been active and are learning six languages."

“在网站上活跃并有理由学习该语言的人比在网站上一周但没有真正填写个人资料的人更有可能成为良好的合作伙伴。一直没有活跃，正在学习六种语言。”

Another thing to keep in mind is that it is better to find at least two exchange partners. People lead busy lives and one person may not be available every week.

要记住的另一件事是，最好找到至少两个交换伙伴。人们过着忙碌的生活，每周可能没有一个人陪伴。

Tip 3 - State your expectations

提示3-陈述您的期望

Once you do find a person who seems like a good fit, be clear about what your expectations are in the first email. That's tip number 3.

找到确实合适的人后，请在第一封电子邮件中明确说明您的期望。那是小费号码3。

Explain to the person things such as how long you'd like meetings to be and how often you'd like to meet. And, for example, if you plan to meet in person, say if you are fine with noisy places or only quieter places.

向人们说明事情，例如您希望开会多长时间以及您想开会的频率。并且，例如，如果您打算亲自见面，请说您在嘈杂的地方还是安静的地方都可以。

Bryant says expressing expectations in advance will give the partnership a higher chance of going well. But, he notes, avoid being too rigid. For example, if you're hoping for Wednesday nights every week, you'll have better luck if you state other times that also could work for you.

科比说，提前表达期望将使合作伙伴关系发展的机会更大。但是，他指出，请避免过于僵化。例如，如果您希望每周星期三晚上，那么如果您声明其他时间也可能对您有帮助，那么您会更好。

Greg Scott is a Japanese-to-English translator based in Australia. He wrote for Lingualift.com about his early days of learning English . In the story, he noted that it was easier for him to have unplanned Skype meetings with his exchange partner because of his busy work schedule. But this plan was something both partners agreed on.

格雷格·斯科特（Greg Scott）是澳大利亚的日语到英语翻译者。他为Lingualift.com写了他早期学习英语的文章。在故事中，他指出，由于他的工作繁忙，与计划外的交流伙伴进行计划外的Skype会议比较容易。但是这个计划是双方共同商定的。

Tip 4 - Come prepared

秘诀4-准备好

Now, let's say you have secured a partner and your first meeting is in a few days. You are ready for tip 4: prepare ahead of time.

现在，假设您已经确定了一个合作伙伴，几天后您的第一次见面。您已准备好技巧4：提前做好准备。

Before each meeting, prepare some questions on a topic of your choice. That will give you the chance to look up related words as well as think about your own answers.

在每次会议之前，请针对您选择的主题准备一些问题。这将使您有机会查找相关单词以及考虑自己的答案。

Preparing topics ahead of time will also help you avoid having nothing to say at your meetings, notes Bryant.

科比指出，提前准备主题还可以帮助您避免在会议上无话可说。

"Otherwise, you might find yourself 10 minutes in and you've already gone through the ‘What do you do for a living?' and ‘if you like to travel' kind of questions and you have nothing else to say."

“否则，您可能会发现自己在10分钟之内就已经经历了'您以谋生为目的吗？' 以及“如果您想旅行”这类问题，您无话可说。”

Or, you'll find that you keep talking about the same things at every meeting, which you want to avoid.

或者，您会发现自己在每次会议上都在谈论相同的话题，这是您想要避免的。

Tip 5 – Focus on communication

技巧5 –专注于沟通

Now we move to tip 5 – focusing on communication.

现在我们转到技巧5 –专注于沟通。

One thing to keep in mind during meetings is that the main goal is conversation practice. So i t's important to let your partner speak freely, even if they make mistakes.

会议期间要记住的一件事是对话的主要目标。 因此，即使您的伴侣犯了错误，也要让您的伴侣畅所欲言，这一点很重要。

Bryant recommends giving only one or two corrections after each piece of dialogue.

科比建议每次对话后只进行一两次纠正。

Qiu says he corrects a partner only if the person is struggling to think of a word or cannot finish a sentence.

邱说，只有当一个人想一个单词或不能完成一个句子时，他才会纠正伴侣。

"If they are trying to speak fluently, you don't really want to disturb that tempo...so you just definitely keep them speaking."

“如果他们想说流利的话，那么您真的不想打扰这个节奏……所以您绝对要让他们讲话。”

Qui's advice to people who want to try a language exchange is simple: Don't be afraid to make mistakes!

Qui对想要进行语言交换的人的建议很简单：不要害怕犯错误！

重点词汇：

Words in This Story：

fluent - adj. able to speak a language easily and very well

practice - v. to do something again and again in order to become better at it

conversation - n. an informal talk involving two people or a small group of people

app - n. a computer program that performs a special function

tip - n. a piece of advice or expert or authoritative information

preference - n. a feeling of liking or wanting one person or thing more than another person or thing

rigid - adj. not willing to change

translator - n. a person who changes words spoken or written in one language into a different language

focus - v. to direct your attention or effort at something specific

dialogue - n. a piece of conversation between two or more people