亚伯拉罕·林肯曾道：“一个人无法通过今日的回避来逃脱明日的责任。”故而，今日便是开启英语提高之旅的绝佳日期。但该从何起步？在本文中，我将细细阐述福州西湖国际学校的学习哲学。
Abraham Lincoln once said, “You can not escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.”  So today is the perfect day to start improving your English.  But where do you start?  In this article I will explain the FLIS philosophy.


据一名拥有英语文学硕士学位的科学教师（依其意愿匿名）所述，提高英语最好的方式即“与他人谈话”。此言非虚。许多教育者都认同，提高外语的最好方式，便是在与母语者交流中直接应用该外语。但若你无法找到一名母语者，也可以在微信或其他社交媒体app上，寻觅同样热爱学习英语的伙伴。大家可以在咖啡馆或餐厅每周举行聚会，并规定在相聚时只能以英语进行沟通。
According to one science teacher with a master’s degree in English Literature, who wished to remain anonymous, the best way to improve is to “talk to other people.”   And indeed, it’s true.  Most educators agree that the best way to improve your use of a foreign language is to engage that language directly with native speakers.  But if you can’t find a native speaker, groups of people who share your passion for learning can be created on wechat or other social media apps.  These groups can meet every week at a coffee shop or restaurant, and members of the group agree to use only English when they meet.



Langports.com列出百余种提高英语的方法，包括看英语电影、听英语新闻、读书、使用Skype软件与外国人线上交流等等。国外也有一些网站，专为正寻觅线上沟通的外语学习者所打造，帮助他们找到可以通过Skype或其他聊天软件进行外语沟通的伙伴。
Langports.com lists over a hundred ways to improve your English, including watching English movies, listening to English news, reading books and using skype to talk to foreigners online.  There’s a website called conversationsexchange.com that was set up specifically for people who are looking for language partners to have online conversations using skype or other chat applications.



试着用一个笔记本记下你所学的新词汇。好好整理、随身携带。时不时翻阅笔记本，看看学过的每个单词。这样一个笔记本能巩固你所学的知识，让你保持更好的学习习惯。给自己一个长期目标，试着紧盯目标进行实践。当笔记本越变越厚、达成你定下的目标时，你会为自己感到骄傲的。
Try keeping a notebook of new words you learn.  Make sure you organize it and keep the notebook handy.  Sometimes go through the notebook, looking at each word you’ve learned.  Just having it near you will keep your learning habit strong.   Give yourself a long-term goal and try to stick to it.  You will feel proud and accomplished as your notebook expands and the number of words you learned reaches your goal.


结语前，我想提及一项个人衷心推荐方法：唱歌！我发现学习外语歌曲后，发音有极大改善。事实上，我发现自己的德语发音在学习法语后改善了不少！聆听并努力模仿其他语言的发音，能够使你的耳朵变得更灵敏，这也能助你随心所欲地发音，说得更地道。此外，熟记歌曲乐趣无穷，也能让你在KTV大展身手。只是，确保不要走调哦！
Before I finish, I want to mention something close to my heart: Singing!  I have found that my pronunciation has improved greatly by studying music of foreign languages.  In fact, I found my pronunciation of German improved when I studied French!  Just listening and trying to copy the pronunciation of other languages can make your ear better, and with a good ear you can sound like whoever you want.  Plus, memorizing songs is fun and makes you look great when you go to KTV.  Just make sure you’re in tune!