说和写能害了你的英语
本文英语原文You can damage your English by writing and speaking 节选自 antimoon，略有删改并增加中文译文
练习英语怎会适得其反？
How practice can damage your English
If you ask “How can I learn to speak English better?”, many people will tell you “Practice, practice, practice”. “Speak and write in English whenever you can”, they’ll say. All English classes are full of activities which involve speaking and writing. You produce sentences when you do an exercise in your textbook, when your teacher makes you speak in class, or when you have to write a homework assignment. 如果你问：「我怎麼学才能说好英语？」很多人会叫你「多练，勤练」。他们会说：「要多找机会写英文，说英语」。英语课充满了说和写的活动。当你做课本上的习题，当课堂上你的老师叫你说，当你要作一篇文章，你都在造句子。所有这些活动理应帮助你改进英语的。
Practice can be very useful. It’s even necessary to learn English well. So what’s the problem? The problem is that for many learners, speaking or writing means making a lot of mistakes. Some people make a mistake in every sentence! 我们都同意练习可以很有用。而且要学好英语必须练习。但问题在哪里呢？问题是对很多学习者而言，「说」和「写」等於「犯很多错误」。有些人甚至句句都错！
Suppose you are writing an e-mail message in English. Your English is not perfect and you want to write the message quickly. You write (incorrectly): “ I want speak English ”
不妨想像这情况：你在写英文电邮，而你的英语不完美，你又想快点写完。你写了（不正确的）：I want speak English.
When you write a sentence, you also read it. So the incorrect sentence becomes “toxic input” for your brain. The next time you write a message, you will be more likely to write “ I want finish ” or “ I want be happy ”. Why? Because “ I want speak English ” is fresh in your head — you recently used it! And when you write “I want
Every time you write or speak with mistakes, you reinforce those mistakes. As you repeat your mistakes, you develop bad habits. If you make a lot of mistakes, practice becomes a harmful activity because it teaches you more bad English than good English. Some learners make so many mistakes that the more they practice, the worse their English becomes! 你要是不犯错太多，你就可以用英语说和写，从中只会获益；但假若你屡屡犯错，每次你一说、一写，你都在巩固你的错误。当你说或写时，就会一直重覆错误，你的不正确习惯就变得更牢固。 巩固了的错误，成為你写英语的方式。所以你写得愈多，你的英语愈差。有些学习者的坏习惯太根深蒂固，再多的改正也似乎补救不了。
且慢，不是说熟能生巧吗？
What about “learning from your mistakes”?
The only way you can learn something from your mistakes is when somebody corrects them. If you say an incorrect sentence, and if someone points out the mistake and tells you the proper way to express your meaning, then your knowledge of English increases. You may therefore think that speaking or writing with mistakes is not so bad because it is a chance to fix your errors and learn something new. Unfortunately, this is true only if you have a checker — a competent person who will correct your mistakes. If you don’t have a checker, speaking or writing with mistakes will only give you bad habits. 你必须明白说和写不会改善你的文法或词匯。这道理很简单：你能从心内学会新字吗？假使你不会用英语说「再见」，你能自己创造出来吗？当然不能。你只能靠读和听英语来学。
如果你的英语句子有错，那表示你不懂这些话如何用英语表达。你需要学会如何表达，但你不会从说和写学会，你一定要读和听正确的英语句子。此外别无他法。你可以迟点才说和写——当你可以造正确的英语句子，并且想更流利时。
那麼「从错误中学习」呢？
你从英语说写中学习的唯一途径，就是有人指正你的错误。要是你说了一句病句，你的老师指出错误，并教你恰当地表达意思的方式，你就增进了英语知识。
If you’re thinking that an English teacher could be your checker, consider this:
*)One example I remember in particular was when my non-native English teacher had my class write a movie summary. My summary was about Star Wars: A New Hope and I decided to put my teacher to a little test: I included the entire Star Wars “opening crawl” (the introductory text that “crawls” across the screen when the movie starts) as the second paragraph of my essay, word for word. I wasn’t very surprised when I got the essay back: my teacher had marked two grammar errors in that paragraph! I was smart enough not to tell him who the real author of these “errors” was.
- Many teachers (especially non-native speakers) are simply incompetent. Sometimes they will find “errors” in correct sentences or suggest bad alternatives. I couldn’t count the number of times it happened to me in high school.*
- Most teachers correct only the biggest mistakes and ignore the rest. The reason is simple: class time is limited. If they corrected every mistake of every student, they wouldn’t be able to teach their lessons. You could get some kind of private tutor, but how much would it cost to have him correct everything you write and say in English?
What about “random native speakers”? This category includes any native speakers who are not your teachers: your American friends, Australian penpals, native speakers on Internet forums, or just regular people around you, if you are in an English-speaking country. Can they be effective checkers?
Not likely. In general, native speakers will not correct your mistakes! As long as they can understand what you mean, they will completely ignore all your mistakes in grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. For example, the message below is perfectly understandable and could easily pass uncorrected:
I am want make question for knowing how to able speak English proper way. I need of a internet learn book for American word of slang. I will thank your help for life.
Why is that?
As a case in point, I get a lot of e-mail from English learners. I love English and I like correcting mistakes. But I almost never point out mistakes. Why? Because if I did, it would often take me 10 more minutes to reply to a message. And I usually don’t have 10 more minutes.
- Correcting mistakes requires not only great English skills. To correct someone, you have to pay attention to what he says or writes. If something is wrong, you have to think of a better way to say it. Correction takes time and effort. And people are lazy and don’t have the time to fix someone else’s sentences. It’s much easier to ignore the mistakes and keep the conversation going.
- It’s always stressful to tell someone that they made a mistake. Many native speakers will be afraid of an awkward social situation and when you make a mistake, they will pretend that nothing has happened.
Besides, even if you had a checker who gave you great feedback whenever you spoke or wrote an English sentence, you would have another problem: what to do with the feedback. If someone gives you a list of 20 mistakes that you made in the last 10 minutes, what are you going to do with it? Seeing or hearing the corrected version of your sentences may not be enough to “overwrite” the bad English you put in your head by saying incorrect sentences. How are you going to make sure these 20 mistakes don’t turn into bad habits? There are ways to do it – the best one is probably to add the corrected versions of your sentences to your SRS and review them many times – but this certainly takes time and effort.
Related pages For a more in-depth discussion, read “Mistakes in language learning” and this forum topic.
In conclusion, “learning from your mistakes” sounds good, but it is hard to do in practice, because making mistakes is not enough — you still need somebody to give you feedback. And you need a system for putting that feedback in your head.
If you’re thinking that an English teacher could be your checker, consider this: 你或因此以為说话犯错并无大碍，因為这给你机会改正错处、学习新知识。但很可惜的是，这个学习法需要有一个有能力、又会改正你的错误的人才行。
- 英语教师：
- 第一个问题是，你的英语教师通常每周只有数小时有空。在这短短数小时中，教师能改正的病句有限——很可能少於100。但要是你真心想英语进步，你要比这方法更快得多地获得知识。显然你不能单靠课堂说话作為学习途径。（有些长时间密集课程有更好成效，但这些课程不但昂贵，而且对学生或上班人士不可行。）
- 第二个问题是，教师不会把你所有错误都改正。他们不会什麼都注意到，也无时间逐一改正错误。更何况不少教师（特别是非母语的）本来就能力不足，有时甚至批评好的句子，或给出的改正有错。
- 英语母语者（非教师）：这类人包括你的美国朋友、澳洲笔友、网上论坛的母语者，或是你身处英语国家的话，包括你周遭碰到的普通人。一般而言，母语者不会改正你的错误！只要他们弄懂了你的意思，他们会完全忽略掉你的语法、词匯、发音错误。例如，以下一则讯息完全可以理解，错误容易被忽略过去：
I am want make question for knowing how to able speak English proper way. I need of a internet learn book for American word of slang. I will thank your help for life.
原因何在？
- 第一、很多母语者觉得，指出以英语為外语的人犯错是不礼貌的。告诉别人他们错了，会製造尷尬气氛，绝大多数母语者都会避免。
- 第二、凡人皆懒。指正错误、提出改正是件难事，在学习者犯错极多时尤其如此。相比起来，不理会对方错误、继续谈话就容易得多。如果你诚恳地问母语者（比如在Antimoon论坛上），有时他们会改正你，但那是特例，并非常规。
「从错误中学习」这方法看似很好，但实行不易，因為单单犯错不够——你还需要有人给你反馈。而要找一个有能力的人帮助你实在困难。还有，即使你有一个教师一天24小时都能帮助你，自己说有错的话也不见得会收效，因為你所犯的每个错误（不论改正与否），都会教你坏的英语。
（更深入的讨论，请参看语言学习中的错误和这个讨论串。）
解决方法：停止犯错！
Solution: Stop making mistakes!
We have said that when you practice, you reinforce your mistakes, and that you cannot rely on feedback from other people. We have also said that you need practice to learn English. 我们说了你练习时就在巩固你的错误，你又不能依赖别人反馈；我们也说了你学英语就需要练习。
There is a simple solution to this paradox: Never make mistakes! Before you conclude that we have completely lost it, please read what one of us (Michal Ryszard Wojcik) has written about his experiences: 这个两难有个简单方法解决：永远不要犯错！先别下定论说我们糊涂，请看以下我们其中一个(Michal Ryszard Wojcik)写的亲身经验：
It is close to the truth that I have never written an incorrect English sentence.我从未写过一句错的英语句子，这是很接近事实的。
I knew many grammatical structures and I used only those that I knew. My sentences were similar to sentences which I knew to be correct. I followed good examples, so all my sentences were good.我知道了很多语法结构，而我只用自己所知道的。我的句子与自知正确的句子相似。我以良好范例為榜样，故此我的句子都是好的。
In the beginning, I could write only very simple sentences, but all the simple sentences were correct. Then as I advanced, I added more and more complicated structures, and again all my sentences were correct.最初我只能写很简单的句子，但这些简单句子全都正确。到我学得更深，我加入了愈来愈复杂的结构，我的句子同样也都正确。
Because of this approach, I was never reinforcing bad habits. I never had any bad habits! From the beginning, I copied only correct sentences. With every sentence that I wrote, I reinforced my good habits.靠著这套方式，我一直未巩固任何坏习惯。我从未有过坏习惯！自始我就只模仿正确句子。我写的每一句，都巩固自己的好习惯。
You can speak and write with almost no mistakes, too.你也能说和写而几乎不出错。
常见问题
「不过要是我害怕犯错，我永远开不了口！」“But if I’m afraid of making a mistake, I will never open my mouth!”
You will not be afraid to make a mistake if you know how to say things in English. You will know how to say things in English if you get enough input — that is, if you keep reading and listening to correct English sentences. Input gives you intuition. After a while, many correct English phrases will sound correct to you — you will intuitively know that they’re correct because you will have seen them or heard them many times. Because you will be sure they’re correct, you will not be afraid to say them.第一，试试用说话无误规则使你更為谨慎。要是你仍然犯很多错误（每三句就有超过一个错误），或是你觉得那些规则令自己失去动力，也许现在你不应开口说。反过来，试著读和听英语，获得更多输入。
Don’t believe that it’s possible? Consider that you probably already have an intuition about some simple English sentences. “I don’t like it” and “Give it to me” probably sound correct to you, while “I don’t likes it” and “Give it to I” sound wrong. Why do they sound wrong? Because you’ve been reading and listening to English. All you have to do is keep getting input, and you’ll have the same intuition about other sentences. 你愈早明白英语不是只说就能好，你愈早有真的进步。
「但你不能学习任何事物而不犯错！」
当然，人不完美，有些错误会发生。但请相信我们——你可以学习英语而几乎不犯错。如何做到？你可以把好句子填进你的脑中，并模仿它们。你可以单单跟从好的例子。
要是你写和说的句子像正确的英语句子（比如在书上、字典中、或从母语者听到的），那麼很难会犯错！
一些人有时会说学语言的过程中必定有很多错误，因為他们觉得学语言和学游泳、学开车、学营商一样。但彼此其实差别很大，因為当你脑中有正确句子，模仿起来就容易（比起模仿好的泳姿容易多了）。学语言唯一难以模仿的就只有发音。（更详细分析请见此文。）
「我可以故意犯错吗？」
可以。有时你会说或写些你认為是错的东西。你想学会一句话英语怎麼说，你可以这样做。例如，如果你在跟母语者说话，你可以这样做：
- 和对方说：「I'm not sure how to say this in English, but ...」（我不肯定这话英语怎麼说，不过……），然后说你的那句话（很可能是错的）。
- 对方可以告诉你如何正确地用英语说。
- 学习那句话的正确说法。
要注意，这技巧是安全的，仅当
- 你肯定自己要是错了，对方一定会改正你的错误；
- 你只是偶然才使用。
错误和发音
“I make a lot mistakes when I speak English—what should I do?”
- Definitely get a lot of input. If you make mistakes in your English sentences, that means you don’t know how to say things in English. You need to learn how to say them. You won’t learn that by speaking or writing. You must read and listen to correct English sentences. There is no other way.
- Try to be more careful — use the rules of error-free speaking and writing.
- If you still make a lot of mistakes, you probably shouldn’t open your mouth just now. Switch to writing, which gives you time to “pause, think and research” and lets you develop your English in a safe, comfortable way. If you can’t help but make a lot of mistakes when writing, try a “silent period”: stop speaking and writing, and spend a month or two getting input only.
“But you cannot learn anything without mistakes!”
Of course nobody is perfect and some mistakes will occur. But this doesn’t mean that we should just give up and ignore the problem of mistakes completely. When you look at English sentences produced by learners, there is a big difference between a learner who carelessly writes (or speaks) sentence after sentence, and a learner who is trying to avoid mistakes. Although you cannot avoid all mistakes, you can eliminate more than 90% of them by getting lots of input and being very careful when writing or speaking.
“Can I ever make a mistake on purpose?” Yes. Sometimes you can say or write something which you think is wrong. You can do it if you want to learn how to say something in English. For example, if you are talking to a native speaker, you can do this:
- Say “I’m not sure how to say this in English, but ...” and then say your sentence (which is probably wrong).
- The other person can tell you how to say it in English correctly.
- Learn the correct way to say the sentence.
Notice that this technique is only safe if:
- you are sure that the other person will correct you if you make a mistake
- you use it only occasionally
我们说明了有错误的说和写会使你的文法和词汇变差。但同样的事情也会发生在你的发音上。
假设你和某人用英语谈话。你不知道一个字的发音，於是以自己的发音说了。这样，你习惯於你的不正确发音。你一而再地把那个字唸错。你得了一个错误的发音习惯。
依我们所见，发音应该是你学英语的第一步。你如果先做别的，做的时候多会牵涉到说话。（注意，即使你仅仅在读书，你也常会张口诵读或心中默读句子。）如此一来，你就在以坏的发音说话，教了自己坏的习惯。
所以，要是你真的想避免错误，必定要在做别的事前学习英语发音，尤其一定要在开始说话之前。你第一次开口时，应该知道（差不多）所有你说的话怎麼发音。
学习英语发音与学习文法和词汇不同，过程中必定会有很多错误。你的脑和你的肌肉一定要适应发出新的声音。这需要练习，也常会有不少出错。不过，趁未养成一些恶劣的习惯前，首先把发音照顾好是最佳办法。