Benny Lewis speaks six languages fluently.
本尼·刘易斯能流利地说六种语言。
"French and Spanish, English, German, and Brazilian Portuguese..." he ticks them off for me. "And Esperanto."
他向我列举了这六种语言：“法语、西班牙语、英语、德语、巴西葡萄牙语……”，“世界语”。
That last one is a made-up language, or a "constructed international auxiliary language," meaning it was designed to help people from different nations without a common tongue communicate.
最后一个世界语是一种虚构语言，或者说是“构造出来的国际辅助语言”，意思是这种语言的设计旨在帮助来自不同民族无法说同一种语言的人交流。
Lewis is the author of the new book "Fluent in 3 Months: How Anyone at Any Age Can Learn to Speak Any Language from Anywhere in the World." The title pretty much says it all. He believes — strongly — that with the correct approach and enough practice, anyone can master a foreign language in as little as three months.
刘易斯出版的新书《3个月流利说一门外语：在世界各地任何人无论多大如何学会说任何一门语言》，标题说明了一切。他坚信：方法正确、多加练习，任何人都可以在短短三个月的时间掌握一门外语。
"There's almost an
epidemic of people thinking they don't have a language gene," he says. "So many people end up learning a second language but never speaking it."
“很多人觉得自己没有语言基因，这种观点非常流行” 他说。“因此，很多人到最后虽然学了第二语言但从来不开口说。”
Here are some of his best tips for learning a language in three months:
这里是他分享的三个月学习语言的一些最好技巧：
Speak the language out loud from day one
从学习语言的第一天就大声说出来
Beginners shouldn't be afraid of mispronouncing things or sounding unpolished, Lewis says. It's most important that they start practicing — aloud — right away.
刘易斯说，初学者不要担心读错或发音不够标准。最重要的是开始练习口语，立刻大声说出来。
Learn practical phrases first
首先学习实用短语
New language learners should aim for phrases like "bathroom where?" that will help them communicate about basic needs. "That's not very eloquent, but it's totally understandable," Lewis notes.
初学者应该瞄准像“bathroom where?” 这类的短语口语练习，这将有助于他们对于基本需求进行沟通。“这样的表达并非很有说服力，但是大家完全可以理解你要表达的意思，” 刘易斯说。
Forget about learning strict grammar
不要绝对死学语法规则
As part of getting basic vocabulary and phrases down, Lewis says people shouldn't worry too much
initially about learning the rules of grammar. Those can be filled in later.
刘易斯说，记住基本的词汇和短语，在初学语法规则上大家不应该太担心这点。这些是可以后补的。
Practice by Skyping with a native speaker
和说母语的人视频聊天进行口语练习
One of today's best language learning tools, Lewis says, is the Internet — specifically video chats like Skype. Using these free services, an English speaker in New York can easily get free or cheap conversational lessons from a native speaker of another language elsewhere in the world.
刘易斯说，现如今学习语言最好的工具是互联网，特别是像Skype 这类网络视频聊天工具。使用这些免费服务，可以很容易地和纽约人或世界其他地方的人免费或非常廉价地进行会话课程口语练习。
Listen to local radio stations
收听当地广播
Another option for immersing yourself in a foreign language is to stream radio from a country that speaks it. To do this, Lewis recommends checking out TuneIn, an online
repository of radio stations from around the world.
把自己沉浸在外语环境中的另一个选择就是收听该国家广播。对此刘易斯建议查看TuneIn，这是收藏世界各地在线广播的资源库。
Practice a one-minute introduction to yourself
做个一分钟介绍自己的口语练习
One of Lewis's favorite tricks for beginners is to have them write out a short introduction to themselves, and then work on translating it with a native speaker. This relatively quick activity teaches plenty about basic vocabulary and phrases.
刘易斯最喜欢介绍给初学者的技巧，就是让他们写一段简短的自我介绍，然后找说外语母语的人翻译。这种方法能相对比较快地教你学习很多基本的词汇和短语。
Check out free language-learning tools online
选择免费在线语言学习工具
Duolingo is one of Lewis's favorites, as well as italiki, an online site that connects you with native speakers for personal language lessons.
Duolingo是刘易斯最喜欢的在线语言学习工具之一，还有在线学习站点italiki，你可以联系母语者进行个人语言课程学习。
Be prepared to put in a lot of time and practice
准备投入大量时间进行练习
Lewis believes that people who are willing to study a foreign language full-time could reach a B2 level in just a few months. On the other hand, he thinks the same level could be achieved in a year or two with one to two hours of practice each day.
刘易斯认为，愿意投入一切时间学习一门外语的人，在短短几个月的时间语言水平就能达到B2等级（欧洲语言水平参考标准）。每天练习一到两个小时的话，他认为在一两年的时间语言水平也能达到该水平。
Don't aim for perfection
不要追求完美
The problem that most beginners run into, Lewis argues, is that they become so focused on reaching a perfect end-stage that they get discouraged and never get past the early stages. The best way to deal with this? Get comfortable with mistakes, and don't try to be perfect.
刘易斯认为，大多数初学者遇到的问题是大家过于专注学习结果达到完美的程度，他们气馁，永远也跨越不出初学阶段。处理这个问题的最好方法是什么呢？允许自己出错，不要追求完美。
