語言是工具，不是目的。會再多語法和解題思路，一到真實對話就手足無措、大腦罷工，那可不能說是掌握了英語。該不該啃英語聽力資料？該怎樣從練習發音中訓練聽力？英國小哥教你如何聽懂英語母語人士。
Welcome to this English lesson where I'm going to talk about the reason why you can't understand native speakers.
歡迎來到本期英語課堂，在此我要談談你為什麼聽不懂以英語為母語的人的原因。
You see, I get emails about this all the time.
你看，我經常收到這類電子郵件。
People tell me, "I have a conversation with someone, and I don't understand anything they say," or "I watched this movie, and I can't understand a single word".
人們告訴我，"我和一個人聊天，他們說的話我什麼都聽不懂"，或者"我看了這部電影，一個字都聽不懂。"
And this is a common problem, and I'm going to give you three reasons why, this is a problem for you too.
這是一個常見的問題，我會給你們分析三點原因，來說明為什麼，同時這對你來說也是個問題。
I'll go over the first two problems very quickly, because they're quite obvious.
我會很快地討論前兩個問題，因為它們非常明顯。
And the first one is a lack of vocabulary.
第一個問題是缺乏詞彙。
So, if you don't understand what a word means, then if somebody uses this word in conversation, then it's difficult for you to understand what they're saying.
所以，如果你不明白一個詞的意思，那麼如果有人在聊天中使用了這個詞，你就很難理解他們在說什麼。
And obviously the more words that we understand, the better we can understand people when they speak.
顯然，我們認識的單詞越多，我們就越能理解人們說話的意思。
So lack of vocabulary is number one.
所以缺乏詞彙是第一大問題。
Number two is not understanding grammatical terms.
第二是不懂語法知識。
So, for example, if somebody uses the third conditional and you don't know how to use the third conditional, then you won't understand what they're trying to say.
比如，如果有人使用"第三條件"（"if + 過去式分詞，主語 + would have done"），而你不知道如何使用，那麼你就無法理解他們想說什麼。
For example, I can say, "If I had more time, I would've done it".
比如，我可以說這麼一句話，"If I had more time， I would've done it"。
If I had more time, I would have done it.
如果當時我有更多的時間，我就能搞定它。
And if you don't understand what this means and if you don't understand how to use this third conditional, then you won't understand what I'm trying to say, okay, and you might be a little bit confused.
如果你不明白這句話的意思，如果你不會用"第三條件"，那麼你就不明白我想說什麼，嗯，那你就可能有點困惑。
Is he talking about the present, the past, the future?
他說的是現在、過去、還是未來？
Is he talking about a real possibility, or a hypothetical situation?
他說的是真實的可能性，還是假設的情況呢？
It can be really difficult.
這真的很難。
And this goes for all different types of grammatical terms, okay?
這適用於所有各類語法知識，好吧？
So grammar plays a big part in this.
所以在理解英語母語中語法也起到了很大的作用。
But let's say that you have been studying grammar and vocabulary for a long time, that when you take a test online about the third conditional, you understand it, you get 100%.
但是假設你已經學習了很長時間的語法和詞彙，當你在網上做一個關於"第三條件"的測試時，你認識這個語法，並能100%理解它。
You have a large vocabulary base that you can understand when you're reading, that when you read a text you know the words that are being used and what they mean.
你有龐大的詞彙量，你理解你讀的內容，當你閱讀一篇課文時，你認識其中使用的單詞、知道它們的意思。
But when it comes to conversation, when it comes to watching movies, you can't understand what people are saying.
但要到了和別人聊天或看電影時，你就聽不懂他們在說什麼了。
And the main reason for this is that textbook English is not used by native speakers.
其主要原因是英語課本不是給說英語母語的人用的。
And when I say "textbook English," I mean the type of English that you learn in a language school.
我這裡說的"英語課本"，指的是你在語言學校學的那種英語。
So, for example, let's say you're learning again about the third conditional.
比如，讓我們再次以你正在學習"第三條件"為例。
And when you're doing your listening exercises in the class and when you're reading it, it can be quite easy, because the audio is something like this: if I had more time, I would have done it.
當你在課堂上做聽力練習和閱讀的時候，這可能很容易，因為音頻是這樣的："if I had more time， I would have done it"（would和have是分開讀的）。
If I had more time, I would have done it.
如果當時我有更多的時間，我就能搞定它。
Whereas in everyday English, people say it like this: if I had more time, I would've done it.
而在日常英語中，人們是這樣說的：if I had more time， I would've done it（would和have是連起來讀的）。
If I had more time, I would've done it.
如果當時我有更多的時間，我就能搞定它。
Let's do another example.
讓我們再看個例子。
Let's say you're talking about the future.
假設你在談論將來的事。
In textbook English you'll hear: I'm going to do it tomorrow.
在英語教科書裡，你會聽到："I'm going to do it tomorrow"（be going to do）。
I'm going to do it tomorrow.
明天我去做這件事。
Whereas in everyday English you'll hear: I'm gonna do it tomorrow.
而在日常英語中，你會聽到："I'm gonna do it tomorrow"（gonna do）。
I'm gonna do it tomorrow.
明天我去做這件事。
So what is happening is that native speakers, they use relaxed pronunciation, going to equals gonna, and they also link words together.
因此，以英語為母語的人，他們會用輕鬆自如的發音，going to等於gonna，他們還把單詞連起來說。
And when people say, "Oh, English speakers speak so quickly, I can't understand them".
所以人們說，"哦，說英語的人說得這麼快，我聽不懂。"
This is what English speakers are doing.
這就是說英語的人如何說英語的。
They're using this relaxed pronunciation, okay, and they're also linking words together.
他們用這種自如的發音，好吧，他們還把單詞連在一起。
Now, some people will tell you this is informal English. Don't do it.
這個時候有人會告訴你這是非正式英語。別這麼說。
But you know that if you want to understand how people speak, you need to know how people speak.
但是你知道如果你想理解人們說話的方式，你就需要知道人們是怎麼說話的。
And it's okay saying, "Oh, I'm going to learn the proper way, I'm going to learn the right way to do it".
你可以說"哦，我要用正規的方法，用正確的方法說英語。"
But if you really want to understand how people speak, then these are the types of things that you need to work on, that you need to improve.
但是如果你真的想了解人們是怎麼說話的，那麼這些方面是你需要努力的，需要改進的。
So the question is how do you improve?
所以問題是你如何改進？
How do you better understand people when they use this type of pronunciation?
當人們使用這些發音時，你該如何更好地去理解呢？
Step one is to know when we do it, when we use relaxed pronunciation, when we link words together.
第一步是知道我們什麼時候用，什麼時候用輕鬆的發音，什麼時候把單詞連在一起。
A good example here is when we're talking about the past.
一個很好的例子就是當我們談論過去的時候。
And instead of saying, "I wanted it," we say, "I wanted it. I wanted it. I wanted it".
我們不是說"I wanted it"（wanted和it分開讀），而是說，"I wanted it（wanted和it連讀）。我想要它。"
So wanted it, it all links together like it's one word.
所以"wanted it"連起來讀就好像是一個詞。
Step two is to practice.
第二步就是練習。
Because if you are able to produce this type of English, then you'll better understand it when you hear it.
因為如果你能按這樣（連讀）讀出這些英語單詞，那麼當你聽到它時，你會更好地理解它。
So, practice these linking words.
所以，練習這些連讀的詞。
Practice relaxed pronunciation.
練習自如的發音。
It doesn't mean that you have to use it all the time.
這並不是說你必須一直使用它。
It doesn't mean that you have to force it.
也不是說你必須刻意強化它。
But being able to do it helps you better understand it.
但能夠做到這一點有助於你更好地理解它。
And to help you with this, if you don't know, I go through all of these different types of things in the To Fluency program, which is my program for English learners like you.
為了幫助你，如果你不知道怎麼做的話，我會在《流利說》節目中講解這些不同類型的學習內容，這個節目就是為像你這樣的英語學習者設置的。
So I have a full tutorial on all the different aspects of pronunciation, including linking words, intonation, stress, rhythm, all these different types of things.
所以我有一個關於發音的所有不同方面的完整教程，包括連詞、語調、重音、節奏等所有這些不同類型的東西。
And I give you the audio and the materials so that you can practice this.
我給你音頻和材料，這樣你就可以練習了。
So be sure to check that out.
所以一定要看一下。
There is a link in the description.
節目有關於連讀的描述。
Step three is to listen as much as possible, to listen to everyday English so that you can get used to this, so that you can get used to the way that people speak.
第三步是儘可能多地聽，聽日常英語，這樣你就能習慣這一點，習慣人們說話的方式。
And if you've spent all your life listening to textbook English, then this is going to be difficult at first, but the more you listen, the more you'll understand.
如果你一輩子都在聽課本上的英語，那麼一開始的時候會很困難，但是你聽得越多，就理解得越多。
And after a while it will become normal to you.
過一段時間你就會覺得很正常了。
You will get used to this.
你會習慣的。
You'll get used to the way that people speak.
你會習慣人們說話的方式。
In summary, the reason why it's difficult to understand native speakers is due to a lack of vocabulary, a lack of grammar, and also because native speakers don't speak like they speak in textbooks.
總之，很難理解以英語為母語的人的原因：一是缺乏詞彙量，一是缺乏語法知識，還有一個原因是說英語的人平時不會用課本上的方式說話。
And to get better at this, what you need to do is to understand that this happens, learn what native speakers do, practice it yourself, and then listen as much as possible.
為了能在這方面做得更好，你需要做的是了解這種情況發生的原因，學習以英語為母語的人如何說話，自己練習，然後儘可能多地去聽。