Putting aside matters of employability, teaching yourself a new tongue is an invaluable¹ skill: It can increase your mental health and general intelligence, not to mention make holidaying less stressful.

抛却就业能力的问题，掌握一门新的语言是个无价的技能：它能够增强你的精神健康和整体智力，更别说缓解你的度假压力了。

Here's how to go about the task in superfast time. Good luck!

接下来就是如何快速学好一门语言的方法。祝你好运！

1.Follow news reports

1.紧跟新闻报道

Narguess Farzad is a senior tutor in the Department of the Languages and Cultures of the Near and Middle East at The School of Oriental and African Studies. She believes that a surefire way to supercharge your learning curve is to follow the news in a foreign language.

Narguess Farzad是伦敦大学亚非学院近东语言文化系的资深导师。她认为，提高学习曲线的一个必胜绝招是紧跟这门外语的新闻。

"These tend to be easy to follow and are a satisfying way of using basic vocabulary and grammar that you have already learned."

“这些很容易就能跟上，同时也是一个使用你早已学到的基本词汇、语法的令人满意的方式。”

2.Embrace technology

2.利用技术

"Apps now allow anybody, anywhere to practice languages at any time," says Luis von Ahn, a Guatemalan entrepreneur and founder² of popular language-learning platform Duolingo.

危地马拉企业家、流行语言学习平台Duolingo的创始人Luis von Ahn表示：“现在，App允许每个人随时随地练习语言。”

"Instead of having to sign up for a one-hour class and commute³ there every day, you can now learn whenever you want - if you're waiting for the bus, if you're bored at home, or if you just have a few minutes to kill. This convenience has fundamentally changed the way people learn, and has gotten millions of people more engaged in learning foreign languages."

“无需每天出席一个小时的课程、进行课上交流，现在你可以随时学习--如果你在等巴士，如果你在家中感到无聊，或者是你只是想打发几分钟。这种便利从根本上改变了人们学习的方式，使得数百万人参与到外语学习中来。”

3.Enjoy songs and films

3.听歌、看电影

"I also encourage the use of songs," says Farzad. "In fact, I learned a lot of my English through English pop music long before coming to live in the UK."

“我还鼓励利用歌曲，”Farzad说道。“事实上，在来到英国生活很久之前，我通过英语流行歌曲学到了很多英语。”

"Also," adds Farzad, "try watching films as another way of consolidating⁴ your language learning process."

“还有，”Farzad补充道，“试图看些电影，将其作为增强你的语言学习进程的另一种方式。”

4.Mix with natives

4.和母语者混在一块儿

"There aren't many shortcuts⁵ that I would recommend," says Ana de Medeiros, director of the Modern Language Centre at King's College London, "but clearly one of the more beneficial methods of learning a new language quickly is to immerse yourself in the culture."

“我没有很多可以推荐的捷径，”伦敦大学国王学院当代语言中心主任Ana de Medeiros说道，“但是有一点十分清楚，快速学习一门新的外语更为有益的方法是将自己融入其文化。”

This works better if you already have some rudimentary knowledge of the language. "But, by changing your environment, and actually studying intensively in a country or region where the target language is spoken, you will encounter the words and phrases in very natural situations - which will be very helpful."

如果你对这门语言已经有了一些基本了解，这种方法就更奏效了。“但是，通过改变你的环境和在说目标语言的国家或地区高强度地学习，你就会在一个十分自然的语境中遇上一些单词和短语--这会大有裨益。”