Ever heard of an Ironman Triathlon? It’s an extreme long distance race that incorporates a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bicycle ride and then a full 26.2 mile marathon. All in one day. Competitors have a mere seventeen hours to complete every gruelling stage of this mammoth challenge and, not surprisingly, it’s considered one of the most intense one day sporting events in the world. The brave souls who finish report that it stretches, pulls and pounds every muscle, ligament and tendon in the body and leaves your lungs feeling like they’re about to burst out of your chest. Sounds like something you want to do?
你有没有听说过铁人三项比赛？那是一个极长距离的比赛，包括2.4英里的游泳，112英里的自行车骑行还有一个长26.2英里的马拉松，都在一天内得完成。参赛选手只有17个小时去完成这天人三项中每个极具挑战的步骤，这毫无疑问的是世界上最具难度的一日体育竞技项目。那些经历过铁人三项的参赛选手，都有过在比赛最后感觉浑身肌肉都拉开的感觉。怎么样？听完介绍有没有想去试试？
If we’re honest, most of us would opt for a slightly more sedate way to keep in shape than to put ourselves through the sheer hell of an extreme triathlon. And, of course, this is reflected in how the majority of us approach language learning. We take a lesson or two a week. We sometimes try to watch a movie in our target language. We feel confident that a little-by-little approach will eventually pay off.
如果我们讲实话，绝大多数人都会采用一种相对平稳的方式去锻炼身体，不会去这样拼命参加铁人三项。当然这也表明我们对待语言学习的态度。我们每周上1,2节课，偶尔看个外语电影去学习，逐渐地，我们感到一点点累积起来的进步。
This approach is perfectly sensible and, provided that we make a long term commitment, is a sure fire way of gradually learning a language. We find it easy to learn new vocabulary a few words at a time or to slowly become confident using a new tense over several weeks of occasional practice.
这个方法其实很好用，让我们通过不断积累，在长时间内逐渐学好外语。我们发现通过采用每天学几个单词的方法，来坚持几周下来，确实有效果。
But what if we punctuated our easy and relaxed learning habits with something a bit more intense every now and again? What if we threw ourselves into mentally demanding language challenges that pushed our brains the way Ironman triathletes pushed their bodies? Instead of slow and incremental changes in our language skills over several months, we would expect a giant leap forward; a tangible change in our language skills over the space of not years but weeks.
但是设想如果我们将长期积累式学习方式变成短期突破式方法，会是什么样呢？比如将我们投入到百分之一百的语言环境中去学习，强迫我们大脑在短时间内去适应一门外语的表达方式？那会是怎么样的一种结果呢？这就好像运动员在参加铁人三项时强迫他们的身体去适应比赛的高强度节奏一样。其实通过这种高强度的学习，你的外语水平会在短时间内又很大幅度提高，也许几周之内你就能看到自己的进步。
Well, this is what language challenges are all about. A language challenge is when you pick a short timeframe (maybe 30 or 45 days) and set yourself the target of improving your language skills as much as possible before it finishes. This “mental workout” requires determination, commitment and time, but the results can be startling. Language learners can practically feel their comprehension and fluency improve as they throw themselves into learning, picking up new vocabulary, grammar and skills like never before.
那么，其实上述的突破式学习方法，就是我们这篇文章主要介绍的高强度语言学习挑战，持续时间为30-45天，然后在这之中尽可能地改善你的语言实力，通过各种办法。这种高强度短期学习，需要你有足够的意志力，决心，时间。只要你具备上述的特质，你就可以通过这短期突破式学习，获得让人羡慕的成效。在词汇，语法，流利度方面获得很大的提高。
Anyone who’s ever travelled abroad and had the opportunity to practice their target language with native speakers will already have had a taste of this. Remember when you got chatting to that nice couple in the restaurant? Or when you had a long conversation with that woman in the bar? Afterwards, your brain kind of ached, as if you’d just put it through a high energy workout. Well, that feeling of fatigue and slight fogginess you felt was the result of using a foreign language for an extended period of time. You were essentially using your brain in a way that it was not accustomed to and it was being forced to make new connections and pathways to communicate. In other words, it hurt because it was getting stronger.
如果你本身已经出过国，有过和外国人锻炼外语的机会，那么你就会对我们上诉所说的短期突破式方法有所了解。尝试回忆一下当你在和老外在餐馆里闲谈时的情景，或者是当你和别人在酒吧里慢聊时的情景，也许你会有那种因为沟通问题所引发的纠结感，那可能在短时间内相当困扰你，不过这其实正式在突破式学习中的必经之路。你之所以感到特别的为难纠结，是因为在你高强度学习一门外语时，你的大脑被迫快速地去适应新语言的语言规则，这可能会使你感到暂时的无所适从，但是请不要退缩，因为请记住，这已经表明你在逐渐高速提高。
Benefits of intensive learning
高强度学习的优势
By focusing your efforts on hitting ambitious targets over a short period you’re supercharging your language abilities. This has numerous benefits. Firstly, you gain an incredible amount of new language. It may be vocabulary that you need for a particular situation (a new job or an upcoming social situation, for instance) or it may be the acquisition of a new tense or group of tenses. You also get to focus on one or more of the core skills (reading, writing, speaking and listening) if that’s a particular area of difficulty for you. One of the main benefits is actually that it gives you a confidence boost. Because you’re learning so much in such a short period, you can literally feel yourself getting better. A lack of confidence in one’s own abilities is one of the main reasons people become disheartened when learning a language, so giving yourself a reason to be proud of your newly acquired skills is incredibly effective at keeping you moving forward on your language journey.
通过短时间内突破式学习外语，你会使你的大脑语言学习能力有所提高。这对你会很有好处。首先，你成功学习了很多的语言知识。这包括词汇应用，掌握语法特点。你还会在这之中强化你听说读写能力，并且更关键的提高大幅度自信。因为你在短期学习了很多的语言知识，所以你学习这门外语的自信会飞跃式提高，这无疑会进一步坚定你继续学习下去的决心。
Setting your language targets
建立你语言学习的目标
Just like Ironman triathletes measure themselves against their fellow competitors and against their own personal best times, a language challenge needs targets. This is the time to decide where you want to be language-wise in a month or six weeks’ time. If you’re learning in order to accomplish a particular task in your target language, such as being able to speak to locals on a foreign holiday or to give that important presentation on your upcoming business trip, this can be easy. Sometimes, however, we need to spend a little more time deciding what our language targets should be. One of the best ways to do this is to sit down with your language teacher and decide what targets would be achievable for you. It might be learning 200 new adjectives or it might be mastering all of the future forms. Whatever it is, your teacher will be able to advise you on what would be reachable targets to aim for during your language challenge.
就像是那些铁人三项运动员在衡量自己水平和其他参赛选手的水平一样，语言学习也需要设立目标。你需要搞清楚你是想在一个月之内有所成效，还是两个月之内。比如如果你要去外国旅游，想去学习一点外语以便交流，那么其实你的语言学习计划就不用很复杂，因为这个预期很好完成。除此之外，你还需要搞清楚你到底要达到什么样的水平，这很重要，所以也许你需要去找一个语言老师，来一起商量这个问题。也许你们最后达成一致，你的中级学习目标是学好200个新的形容词，或是掌握所有不同的将来时时态等。无论你的终极目标是什么，你的语言老师都会帮你制定一个学习安排计划，帮助你在计划时间内去完成你的目标。
Putting in the hours
花时间去落实
An intensive language challenge is about putting in the hours, but how many hours should you do? This all depends of course on how ambitious your targets are, but one very important idea is forcing yourself to study every day. This level of discipline and commitment is crucial for any challenge. Remember, this is not forever but merely a short period of a few weeks. Setting aside an hour or two each day to study with an italki teacher and to practice forms will pay off very quickly as long as you can maintain the commitment. The most important thing is always to keep your target in mind. Focusing on where you want to be will help keep you motivated when your eyelids are drooping and your brain feels like it just can’t take any more.
说了这么多，高强度语言学习最重要的还是去花时间落实。至于每天花多长时间去学习语言，这取决于你指定的语言学习目标的难度，但是无论怎么样，保持每天能够坚持学习都是重要的，这种持之以恒的锻炼对于语言学习是至关重要的。请记住，你并不是要无休止地这样高强度地训练，你只不过需要坚持一段时间，走完你的语言计划周期。或许找一个italki的语言老师每天进行1,2小时的课程或是帮助你来落实每天固定的语言学习是一个很有效的选择。意识到你自己的问题，并不断保持动力去学习，这样才能完成你自己的诺言，保证语言学习的落实。
How to structure your language challenge
如果设置你的高强度语言学习计划？
An effective challenge should incorporate a number of elements, all designed to achieve your learning targets. The first is booking a certain number of hours with an italki teacher. You may decide on one hour of session time every day or you might prefer to book chunks of two hours a few times a week. Ask your teacher how many sessions you’ll need in order to achieve your desired goals. Secondly, it’s crucial to spend some time studying outside of the session. This may be going over a new form or trying to memorise some new vocabulary. Your teacher will undoubtedly be able to set homework if you need some direction for your areas of study. Another really important habit to adopt is “real-world” practice. This can be accomplished in many different ways. For example, by finding a language partner on italki to improve your conversational skills or by writing emails to a friend in your target language. Either way, finding a little time each day to learn and use the language you’re trying to acquire will benefit you massively in the long run.
一个有效果的高强度语言学习计划需要包括如下几个方面。首先去找一个italki老师，去上一定时间的课程会是一个很好的选择。你可以选择每天一小时，或者一周上几个2小时的课程，完全都是可以的。你还可以问你的italki老师，让他来帮助你来安排你的课程计划。其次，在课程之外，你也要花时间去继续学习，或许你可以采用不同方法去巩固你课上学过的内容，获得不同学习体验。比如你可以在italki网站上找到一个语言交换的小伙伴，一起约时间做语言交换学习，这样会使很好的一种组合学习方式，帮助你不断巩固提高，使你的短期突破式学习达到成效。
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