It s often much easier to motivate yourself to work if you have something to aim for. Goals can be short or long term. A short term goal in learning English might be to learn enough to be able to book a hotel room. A longer term aim could be to attend a University in a foreign country, or get a 6.5 on the IELTS exam.

　　设定目标

　　每个人都是如此，当心中有了追求的目标，就会不断激励自己朝着目标前进。而设定英语学习的目标可以分为长期或短期。所谓短期目标是一些短期内在英语上能取得的进步，比如在一个星期内学会用英语预定酒店。而长期目标就是在一段时间后你在英语上所期望的得到的提高，比如6个月后去外国读书或者是3个月雅思取得6.5 分。

　　1.2 Be Prepared to Work Hard

　　Learning a language is generally not easy. Most people have other things to do in their lives apart from learning English. You need to realize this and be patient with regard to your progress. But you won t achieve much if you don t put in the effort. We can provide you with quality instructors. However, your progress depends a lot on you.

　　准备努力学习

　　总的来说，学习外语是不容易的。许多人除了学习英语还有很多其他的事情要做。所以你要意识到你的进步不是一时之间可以完成的，但如果你不努力，想有所成绩是不太可能的。我们可以给你们最优秀的老师，但你的进步更大程度上取决于你自己。

　　1.3 Make Time 白领英语

　　Many of us lead busy lives and find it hard to fit new things into an already established routine. Learning English can be requires discipline. You need to set aside time for your learning and be prepared to study during that time. Putting things off because you re too tired is ok every now and then, but it shouldn t become a habit. Make English an indispensable part of your schedule.

　　安排时间 白领英语

　　我们很多人都挺忙，觉得在平时忙碌的工作中再学点新东西很困难。英语学习是要有原则的。你必须留出时间来学习英语，而且在这段时间你所做的就是学习。当你感觉太累的时候休息一下是可以的，但是这不能成为一种习惯。要把英语当成你日常生活中不可缺少的一部分，不能随便放弃。

　　1.4 Ask Questions

　　We don t expect students to be sponges. You can t expect to absorb everything and not have any questions to ask. Don t be afraid to ask questions. Our teachers are here to help.

　　学会提问 白领英语

　　我们并不期待我们的学生 是一块海绵，你不可能吸收所有的东西而不提出任何问题。不要害怕提问，我们的老师随时欢迎你的提问并会帮助你的。

　　1.5 Do Some Extra-curricular Work

　　Having a teacher to instruct and guide you is vital. However, you can also study independently in fact; this will be more likely to make you a successful language learner. Don t wait until it s time for class to pull out your English books.

　　做一些课外作业

　　有个老师来指导你学习是很必要的。但是你要知道学习是一种独立的行为，如果你能自主学习的话，你会学的更好。不要等到上课了才把你的课本拿出来。

　　1.6 Watch English Movies

　　This is a great way to pick up colloquial English and practise listening. You don t need to be able to understand every word to understand what is happening in a movie. Turn on the English Subtitles to help with understanding - this is a great way to practice reading also. Choose movies that you are more likely to be able to follow. Movies with short dialogue, separated by long sequences of no dialogue are ideal, as they allow time to absorb the language. Romantic movies tend to fall into this category.

　　看英语电影

　　用看英语电影来练习口语与听力是个好办法。要了解电影情节你其实并不需要很清楚的知道每个单词，但附上英语对白的话能帮助你更好的理解，这也是锻炼你阅读的一个很好的办法。电影要选你比较能够理解的。对白比较短的电影是不错的，因为它能给你足够的时间去理解消化你之前所听到的。爱情片通常就是这种形式。

　　1.7 Listen to English Music

　　Music can be a fun way to learn English. The next time you re at a Karaoke bar or maybe at home singing in front of your TV, try singing an English song. This is a great way to practice putting some emotion into your English and will really improve the way other people perceive your meaning when you re speaking English to them.

　　听英文歌

　　听英文歌学习英语是很有趣。下次你可以尝试在卡拉OK或在自己家唱英文歌。当你在和别人用英语对话时注入一些感情的话会有助于别人更好地理解你。

　　1.8 Reading

　　Reading is a fantastic way to learn new vocabulary. Try reading short stories rather than long novels. These are often broken down into short chapters which can be read and then analyzed for language. Don t feel that you have to understand every word. Try to get the general meaning. Underline unknown words and try to guess their meaning from context. You can use your dictionary later to look them up and check if you were right. Use graded readers. These tend to have questions designed to test comprehension of what you have just read.

　　阅读

　　阅读对于扩大词汇量是一个很不错的方法。试着读一些短篇小说，这些小说都由短的篇章组成，对于学习语言是很有帮助的。你不需要完全理解文章中的每一个单词，了解大概意思就可以了。把你不懂的单词划上线，然后根据上下文来猜这些词的意思。之后，你再可以查查字典看这些词是什么意思，看你猜的对不对。此外，也可以使用分级读物，里面的问题可以测试你的阅读能力。

　　1.9 Go to English Corners

　　There is a rich English Corner tradition in China. Public places such as bookstores or parks often tend to have free English corners. Don t be shy. Go along and take part. Ask questions. Meet people just like you who are interested in learning English.

　　参加英语角

　　英语角在中国很流行。像书店、公园都有免费的英语角可以参加。不要太害羞，要大胆的参与，多问问题。认识那些和你一样对学习英语感兴趣的人。

　　1.10 Use the Internet

　　The internet is a fantastic invention, which has changed the way we live our lives. While it is fantastic to be able to read the People s daily or chat with friends online, it is a waste if we don t use the medium to learn English. Here at English First, we offer a full suite of blended online learning applications. But, in addition to that, there s plenty you can do on your own.

　　利用互联网

　　互联网是一项伟大的发明，它已经大大改变了我们的生活方式。互联网使我们可以在线读报，随时跟别人聊天，如果不运用互联网来学习的话那将是一个很大的浪费。在EF英孚教育，我们提供一整套网上英语学习设备。但是要补充的是，你自己还可以运用其他很多资源来学习英文。

　　1.11 Read English Newspapers

　　There are numerous newspapers which provide a rich source of interesting and varied reading materials.

　　阅读英文报纸

　　有很多报纸为我们提供了丰富有趣、各式各样的内容。

　　1.12 Listen to Radio

　　Virtually every radio station in the world is up for grabs with the Internet. Don t just be content with the VOA or BBC world service. There are many other interesting alternatives. Try listening to radio from around the English speaking world.

　　听收音机

　　现在基本上所有的广播都可以在互联网上收听到。不要只满足于听VOA或是BBC，其实我们有其他 很多选择。试着收听不同英语国家的英文频道。

　　1.13 Chat

　　You can use MSN, yahoo and other chat programs to chat in English. Rather than firing up QQ the minute you switch on your PC, try finding some of your English speaking friends. If you have Skype, encourage your friends to get it too and call them for free using your computer.

　　聊天

　　你可以用MSN，雅虎或其他聊天软件用英语聊天。不要一打开电脑就上QQ，可以试着找找说英文的朋友。如果你有Skype，鼓励你朋友也申请一个，和你朋友一起在网上用英语语音聊天。

　　1.14 Don t be Self-conscious

　　There are a few old-fashioned methods which might sound quirky but can work:

　　Improve your pronunciation:

　　Use a mirror to practice making difficult English sounds; Record yourself speaking English and listen afterward, paying attention to stress, intonation and problem phonemes.

　　Think in English:

　　Have an imaginary conversation in English. Think through what you re going to say.

　　Speak to your friends in English:

　　不要太害羞

　　这里有一些老套但非常有效的方法：

　　提高你的发音能力:

　　对着镜子练习平时感觉很难发的音。自己说英语的时候录下来，注意重音，音调，和比较难发音的音素。

　　试着用英语思考:

　　用英语思维，想想你要说什么，可以想象着用英语对话。