【導讀】謹以此書獻給廣大英語愛好者。2)Fromyourself---―innerrot‖and―outercollapse‖.3)―Otherthingsingin‖--―oppression‖,―distraction‖,and―temptation‖.

　　

【正文】 ine… at least, the beginning stages). (o) Have a plan. ―Failing to plan is planning to fail.‖ Most people need a plan to get things done. However you anize your life, do it, and don‘t let others invade the time you set aside for your English studies. (p) ―Microunit‖ your learning ambitions into manageable chunks. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time! (q) If you love it, you will learn it. Hey! Haven‘t you said this before? Yes…just reminding you. (r) Have you thought about using your English to ―give‖ and not to ―get‖? You already have some (or quite a lot of) English knowledge. Unless you are a total ―ABC‖ learner, why not help someone else to learn English…someone whose language ability is less than yours? ―Oh, but my English is so poor!‖ you say. Maybe, but it is more than someone else‘s! In a given city, there are college students, middle/high school students, primary school students, workers, professionals, and many others who want to learn English. However, there are also the children of the ―floating population‖ workers—and they need help, too. Outside the cities are the children of the countryside and the mountain areas. Instead of thinking of petition, struggle, and upward mobility, why not consider this: helping, needs and ―downward mobility‖? Giving too has its rewards, even in the area of English language learning. (s) Compare self with self, not self with other. This is your pilgrimage, not someone else‘s! Do it for yourself, not someone else. There will always be greater or lesser people than you。 so, don‘t pare yourself with others, or you may suffer disillusionment or pride. Let‘s keep the ―self‖ in selfimprovement. (t) On ―absolute‖ vs. ―relative‖ struggles and aspirations. This is somewhat related to the previous paragraph. I define ―absolute‖ (in terms of English learning) like this: ―After one year, I will be able to pass the CET Band4 exam at or above the 70% level.‖ Here, you are striving to pass a fixed, measurable mark. Now, for ―relative‖: ―After one year, I will be able to pass the CET Band4 exam at the top of my class.‖ Here, you are trying to pare yourself with other people. You want oute/performancebased measurements, not food for envy! Therefore, think in terms of ―absolute‖ improvement, not ―relative‖ improvement. (u) ―How are you doing?‖ After a time of study, you may want to know your progress. Please remember cold, objective measurement。 that is, measure countable behaviors. Do not evaluate yourself based upon your feelings on how you are doing. When you say, ―Oh, my English is so poor!‖ you are making an evaluation based on feelings—unless you have recorded countable behaviors over time. One other thing—depression very often cuts down your second language ability to a significant degree。 so don‘t allow yourself to be depressed any more than necessary. (v) Do a ―motivation inventory‖—ask yourself, ―Why am I doing this?‖ I studied Chinese because I wanted to travel alone in China, everywhere (I did), and because I wanted to marry someone local (I did not). These motivations had a direct effect on what areas of Chinese I studied, how well I did, and what areas of Chinese I ignored. After a season, I reached a ―plateau‖ of language proficiency, and I didn‘t want to try any more or go any higher. Thus, I remain at a basic level of Chinese—and am content to be semiliterate, welltraveled, and unmarried. Therefore, it is important for you to clearly understand and write down your deep, true, inner motivations for studying English. You may be afraid to tell others your inner secrets, but don‘t be ashamed to tell yourself. Under certain conditions, motivation can be a very powerful force, helping and goading you on your way as you struggle to succeed in English. Please be honest with yourself. (w) Where am I strong? Review the four principle language arts skills (reading, writing, listening, speaking) to see which one you are strongest in, and which one you are weakest in. Are you better in the ―productive‖ skills (writing, speaking), or the ―receptive‖ skills (reading, 9 listening)? Under what conditions? Then, pare what you can do with what you want to do, and where you want to be. (x) ―What variables affect my learning?‖ ., this is the last one! Learning is a plex process, and it is affected by a number of variables. Perhaps the variables affecting different people at different times are not the same. Here are some of them: (i) Materialsbooks, tapes, .‘s, a good text book (or a bad one) makes all the difference in one‘s studies. If it was written carefully, over time, with a sound knowledge of educational theory, then this input will translate into enthusiastic, engaged students, which may result in the desired outes. If it was written in haste over a summer holiday between busy teaching semesters (as many textbooks are written), then the effect will be less desirable. When choosing a textbook (from the dozens in the bookstore), choose the one you like, which is also the most effective one for you. You may have to search a little. (ii) Teachers. We all know a good or a bad teacher makes all the difference in one‘s educational career. (I had a terrifying and cruel Latin/French teacher in primary school who burned many students emotionally for life. I also had a dourlooking but extremely inspirational French teacher whose “je ne sais quois” transformed me from a language student into a person who used language to work and travel in many parts of the world. I will never fet him!) Ask yourself: what makes a good or a bad teacher for you? Different people will have different opinions on this issue, but your opinions are important for you, both as an English learner and as a possible future tutor/teacher. (iii) Evaluatio