They say that children learn languages the best. But that doesn’t mean that adults should give up. We asked some of the polyglots in TED’s Open Translation Project to share their secrets to mastering a foreign language. Their best strategies distill into seven basic principles:

　　1. Get real. Decide on a simple, attainable goal to start with so that you don’t feeloverwhelmed. German translator Judith Matz suggests: “Pick up 50 words of a language and start using them on people — and then slowly start picking up grammar.”

　　2. Make language-learning a lifestyle change. Elisabeth Buffard, who in her 27 years of teaching English has always seen consistency as what separates the most successful students from the rest. Find a language habit that you can follow even when you’re tired, sick or madly in love.

　　人們常說(shuō)小孩子學(xué)外語(yǔ)最厲害，但這并不是說(shuō)成年人就該放棄了。我們向TED字幕翻譯計(jì)劃的多語(yǔ)使用者請(qǐng)教了掌握一門(mén)外語(yǔ)的秘訣。他們的方法可以提煉成7條基本法則：

　　1. 投身于真實(shí)語(yǔ)境。從定一個(gè)簡(jiǎn)單、可實(shí)現(xiàn)的目標(biāo)開(kāi)始，那樣你就不會(huì)找不著方向。德語(yǔ)翻譯朱迪思·馬茨建議：先找50個(gè)外語(yǔ)單詞，用它們來(lái)跟別人交流，然后慢慢地學(xué)習(xí)語(yǔ)法。

　　2. 讓外語(yǔ)學(xué)習(xí)成為你的生活習(xí)慣。伊利莎白·布法爾德教了27年英語(yǔ)，她一直認(rèn)為正是習(xí)慣使得成功的學(xué)生從其他人中脫穎而出。培養(yǎng)學(xué)習(xí)外語(yǔ)的習(xí)慣，能讓你不管累了、病了還是墮入愛(ài)河了，都會(huì)去學(xué)習(xí)。

　　3. Play house with the language. The more you invite a foreign language into your daily life, the more your brain will consider it something useful and worth caring about. “Use every opportunity to get exposed to the new language,” says Russian translator Olga Dmitrochenkova. Label every object in your house in this language, read kids’ books written in it, watch subtitled TED and TEDx talks, or live-narrate parts of your day to an imaginary foreign friend.

　　3. 和語(yǔ)言玩過(guò)家家。你越多地讓外語(yǔ)進(jìn)入日常生活，你的大腦就越會(huì)認(rèn)為它有用并給予關(guān)注。“利用好每一個(gè)接觸新語(yǔ)言的機(jī)會(huì)，”俄語(yǔ)翻譯歐嘉·迪米特羅肯科娃說(shuō)。用那門(mén)語(yǔ)言做成標(biāo)簽貼在家里的每一樣?xùn)|西上，讀用那門(mén)語(yǔ)言寫(xiě)的童話，看有字幕的TED演講，或者跟你想象中的外國(guó)朋友講述一些一天里發(fā)生的事。

　　4. Let technology help you out. Dmitrochenkova has a great idea: “A funny thing like resetting the language on your phone can help you learn new words right away,” she says. Ditto for changing the language on your browser. Or you can seek out more structured learning opportunities online. Dutch translator Els De Keyser recommends Duolingo for its gamified approach to grammar, and Anki for memorizing vocabulary with its “intelligent” flashcards.

　　4. 用科技幫助學(xué)習(xí)。迪米特羅肯科娃有一個(gè)很好的方法，她說(shuō)：“重新設(shè)置手機(jī)語(yǔ)言就能讓你馬上學(xué)到新單詞。”你也可以改瀏覽器的語(yǔ)言，或者在網(wǎng)上找一些更系統(tǒng)的學(xué)習(xí)資源。荷蘭語(yǔ)翻譯埃爾斯·德凱瑟建議用“多鄰國(guó)”像玩游戲一樣學(xué)習(xí)語(yǔ)法，用Anki的智能卡片背單詞。(多鄰國(guó)：英語(yǔ)為Duolingo，是一個(gè)免費(fèi)語(yǔ)言學(xué)習(xí)網(wǎng)站;Anki：一款幫助記單詞等的軟件，通過(guò)記憶卡片呈現(xiàn)。)

　　5. Think about language-learning as a gateway to new experiences. To Spanish translator Sebastián Betti, learning a language has always been about focusing on the experiences that the new language would open up, from “visiting theme parks, attending air shows, enjoying cowboy poetry and folk-rock festivals, to learning about photo-essay techniques.” In other words, he thinks of fun things that he wanted to do anyway, and makes them into a language-learning opportunity. Many of our translators shared this advice. Italian and French translator Anna Minoli learned English by watching undubbed versions of her favorite movies, while Croatian translator Ivan Stamenković suddenly realized he could speak English in fifth grade, after years of watching the Cartoon Network without subtitles. So the next time you need a vegan carrot cake recipe, find one in the language you’re trying to learn.

　　5. 把外語(yǔ)學(xué)習(xí)看作通往新世界的大門(mén)。西班牙語(yǔ)翻譯巴斯蒂安·貝蒂認(rèn)為，外語(yǔ)學(xué)習(xí)就是著眼于外語(yǔ)帶來(lái)的新的體驗(yàn)，包括“游覽主題公園、觀看現(xiàn)場(chǎng)表演、欣賞牛仔詩(shī)歌和民謠搖滾音樂(lè)節(jié)、學(xué)習(xí)攝影技術(shù)”。換句話說(shuō)，他找出他想做的、好玩的事，然后把這些事變成學(xué)習(xí)外語(yǔ)的機(jī)會(huì)。我們很多翻譯都提到了這點(diǎn)。意大利語(yǔ)和法語(yǔ)翻譯安娜·米諾里通過(guò)看她喜歡的英語(yǔ)原版電影來(lái)學(xué)英語(yǔ)，而克羅地亞語(yǔ)翻譯伊凡·斯達(dá)門(mén)科威克小時(shí)候看過(guò)很多年沒(méi)有字幕的卡通頻道，之后在5年級(jí)的時(shí)候，他突然發(fā)現(xiàn)自己會(huì)說(shuō)英語(yǔ)了。所以你下次需要一份素蘿卜蛋糕的食譜的時(shí)候，找一份用你想學(xué)的語(yǔ)言寫(xiě)的吧。

　　6. Make new friends. Interacting in the new language is key — it will teach you to intuitively express your thoughts, instead of mentally translating each sentence before you say it. Find native speakers near you. Or search for foreign penpals or set up a language tandem online, where two volunteers help one another practice their respectivelanguages.

　　6. 交新朋友。用新語(yǔ)言交流很關(guān)鍵，能教會(huì)你直接用外語(yǔ)表達(dá)自己的想法，而不是在腦子里翻譯一遍后才說(shuō)出來(lái)。在自己身邊找一些說(shuō)那種語(yǔ)言的母語(yǔ)人士，或者在網(wǎng)上找外國(guó)筆友和語(yǔ)伴，兩個(gè)人自愿地互相幫助練習(xí)對(duì)方的語(yǔ)言。

　　7. Do not worry about making mistakes. One of the most common barriers to conversing in a new language is the fear of making mistakes. But native speakers are like doting parents: any attempt from you to communicate in their language is objective proof that you are a gifted genius. They’ll appreciate your effort and even help you.

　　7. 不要害怕說(shuō)錯(cuò)。外語(yǔ)對(duì)話最大的障礙就是害怕說(shuō)錯(cuò)。但是母語(yǔ)人士就像溺愛(ài)孩子的父母一樣，他們會(huì)覺(jué)得你每一次嘗試說(shuō)他們的語(yǔ)言都是你天資聰穎的客觀證明。他們很欣賞你的努力，甚至還會(huì)幫助你。

　　Nervous about holding a conversation with a peer? Try testing your language skills with someone a little younger. “I was stoked when I was chatting with an Italian toddler and realized we had the same level of Italian,” recalls German translator Judith Matz.

　　跟同輩交流很緊張?那就和比你年輕一點(diǎn)的人練習(xí)外語(yǔ)。“當(dāng)我跟一個(gè)說(shuō)意大利語(yǔ)的小孩聊天時(shí)，我發(fā)現(xiàn)他的意大利語(yǔ)水平跟我一樣，我頓時(shí)非常開(kāi)心，”德語(yǔ)翻譯朱迪斯·馬茨回憶到。

　　And be patient. The more you speak, the closer you’ll get to the elusive ideal of “native-like fluency.”

　　要有耐心，你說(shuō)得越多，你就會(huì)越接近“像母語(yǔ)一樣流利”這個(gè)模糊的概念。

　　And to talking to people your own age.

　　跟和你年齡相仿的人聊天。