“如何学习外语”是每一个语言学习者努力探究的问题。这个领域的牛人都有着自己独到的学习方法和坚持不懈的精神。我们就来看看来自不同国家的教师、学习者和语言学者的做法吧。

I am often asked by learners， including my clients， what is the best way to practise and consequently improve their English language skills. My response often varies depending on who the learner is. I try to advise them taking into account their learning methods， general interests and time they have available to dedicate to their learning.

However， I feel that great advice to learners can also come from other learners and not just teachers. There isnt only one approach to learning a language and whilst a teacher/coach can provide the tools to facilitate learning， ultimately its up to the learner to work out what works for them.

So I decided to ask some of my clients if they would be willing to share their experiences oflearning and practising their language and what tips they would offer their fellow learners in the form of a guest post on this blog.

The first client I asked was Alessandra who seized the opportunity with great enthusiasm. I have been teaching Alessandra online for just under a year. She is a corporate lawyer based in Milan. We have a conversation class once a week. Alessandra is passionate about learning the English language and is a joy to teach. I have pleasure in introducing you to Alessandra.

經常有学习者问我如何学英文，当中也包含我的客户，那么练习和提高英语语言技巧的最佳方法是什么呢？我的回答取决于学习者是谁。我试着建议他们考虑自己的学习方法、兴趣爱好和能花费在学习上的时间。

但是，我也意识到真正好的建议也许来自于学习者本身而非老师。学习英文并非只有一个办法，而老师或教练只是起到提供工具促进学习的作用，最终还是要靠学习者个人去找到对自己来说行之有效的方法。

于是我决定来问问我的一些学员是否愿意分享他们学习、练习语言的经验，我邀请他们作为我博客的嘉宾来和其他学习同伴分享一些学习技巧。

第一位学员是Alessandra，她对于此事抱有极大的热情。我在线教Alessandra英语已有一年。她在一家米兰的公司做律师。我们每周进行一次对话课程。Alessandra对学习英文充满热情而且她也愿意分享。在此我很荣幸地把Alessandra介绍给大家。

Alessandra

Ive been asked by my lovely English teacher， Shanthi to write about my learning process and what makes it （hopefully） a success and-above all-a pleasure. I studied English for 8 years at school-a long time ago. After graduating from university， I tried not to lose my English but it was not always easy. I didnt have classes or online courses until 2012 when a South-African company took over the company I was working for and my boss organized a two-month English course for all the directors of the board. On that occasion， I found out that I remembered something and could speak， but I was no longer able to listen to the radio or watch TV and really understand the language. What a disappointment！

First of all， I must say that Im a mature student. I have a job， a family， a life to live， but about a year ago I started to feel the need to improve my English， which used to be good but not perfect. I wanted to be understood when being abroad， to write an e-mail without panicking and to understand most of （not all） the contents of a newspaper. So， I set out to do things which I believe is what my fellow learners should do.

Alessandra：我敬爱的老师Shanthi邀请我分享一些我个人的学习过程以及我是如何从中获得成功以及快乐的。很久以前，我在学校里学习英文长达八年之久。当我从大学毕业后，我试图不丢下英文，然而我发现这很难实现。在这之前我没有上任何英语课程或在线课程，直到2012年，我所在的公司被一家南非公司收购，新老板为公司董事会所有管理者组织了一个为期两个月的英语课程。……