學語言遇到障礙了？你可能掉進了這3個陷阱

1. The Critical Period Hypothesis
關鍵期假說

Some have said that if you don’t learn a language when you’re young, the chances you can do it when you’re older fade dramatically.
有些人說，如果你不在小的時候學一門語言，那你以後學會這門語言的可能性就會隨着年齡增大急劇下降。

The critical period hypothesis, as they call it, is not quite right. It’s true that a child can and does learn a language quickly, but it’s far from true that an adult cannot.
而這種所謂的關鍵期假說，其實並不對。的確，小孩子學語言的速度很快，但這並不是說成年人就學不了。

The brain is malleable, and changes with every experience, every new piece of knowledge.
大腦是可塑的，它能隨着每一點新體驗、每一份新知識而變。

Neuroscientists have discovered just how adaptable the brain is, defined as neuroplasticity, and it shows not only that we can learn at any age, but that we should be continuously learning.
神經學家們已經發現了大腦的這種可變性，並將它稱爲神經彈性，這個發現表明：我們不光能在任何年齡學習，而且我們應該不斷地學習。

2. The Fluency Illusion
流利幻覺

Another common mistake that creeps up in language learning, and learning in general, is that it can or should be easy. It’s not.
另一個關於語言學習（以及學習本身）的常見誤區，是大家覺得它應該很容易。但它不是。

The fluency illusion is a bias that creeps in when we don’t have trouble recalling something.
流利幻覺是一種偏誤，當你能不費力地想起什麼時，這種偏誤就會出現。

If you read the translations of a few words, repeat them to yourself a couple of times, and think that that’s enough, then you’ve succumbed to this illusion.
如果你讀出一個新單詞的釋義，並自己重複幾次，然後就覺得記住了，那你就中了這種幻覺的下懷。

Real learning means testing yourself, it means coming back the next day and trying to think of the translations without looking.
真正的學習意味着檢驗你自己，意味着你應該在第二天試着不看材料就想起這個釋義。

To learn is to struggle.
學習是一種掙扎。

3. A Fixed-Growth Mindset
固定型思維與增長型思維

Carol Dweck has studied the way people look at their intelligence and abilities.
卡羅·德威克研究了人們如何看待自己的智商與能力。

For some, they see a static, unchanging aspect of themselves.
一些人把自己看成靜態的、不變的。

This fixed mindset causes people to think that they are as smart, and as capable as they’re ever going to be.
這種固定的思維模式讓這些人覺得自己的聰明程度和能幹成都永遠只能是這樣。

The other type of mindset Dweck has studies is the growth-mindset.
而德威克研究的另一種思維方式就是增長型思維。

People who live with this view believe they can get better, they can become more intelligent.
有着這樣思維方式的人覺得他們能變得更好，他們認爲自己能變得更聰明。

They see problems as challenges to be overcome, they see failures as lessons to be learned.
他們把問題看做要克服的挑戰，他們把失敗當成學習的材料。

Take a growth-mindset to learning a language.
學語言的時候應該用這種增長型思維。

Seek out the challenges, make it hard on yourself, stretch beyond your capacity.
尋找挑戰，故意刁難自己，然後拓展你自己的能力。