高中時背過的《新概念》第二冊和第三冊中的大部分文章基本都還給亞歷山大先生了，但前言中的幾句話卻成了我學習和教授英語，以及接下來學習德語的箴言:
Efficiency presupposes the adoption of classroom procedures which will yield the best results in the quickest time. The following order of presentation must be taken as axiomatic:
Nothing should be spoken until it has been heard.
Nothing should be read until it has been spoken.
Nothing should be written until it has been read.
在老羅英語培訓工作時，關於英語學習方法我們內部老師之間流傳著這樣的說法：
只聽正確的，只說聽過的；
只讀正確的，只寫讀過的。
其實就是對《新概念》裡面提倡的教學法的另一種表述。
如果說對「如何學習英語」這個問題有一個簡短但準確負責的回覆，那非這個答案莫屬。聽起來簡單，但實踐起來不容易。就寫作來說，最常見的問題是：
表達過於隨意，過於想當然，不管是不是「讀過且正確的」，想到即來。
這樣一來，很多人不知道自己的寫作中有怎樣的問題。更致命的是，往往又缺少反饋和批改的機會和機制。結果是寫得越多，越沒有長進，無非是重複同樣的錯誤而已。
因此，對「如何提高英文寫作」這一問題，簡短的回答是：
大劑量閱讀，多多體會，一定量的寫作練習，帶著反饋去改寫。
「大劑量閱讀」就是輸入，是「只讀正確的」的第一步；「多多體會」就是確保讀的東西不是簡單過眼，而是能夠感知和內化，是「只讀正確的」的第二步，它能夠讓「只寫讀過的」成為可能。加上嚴謹的學習態度，「只寫讀過的」就可以成為必然。
在我的英語學習過程中，有幸得到了多個母語是英語的朋友和老師的長期反饋。在高中和大學期間澳大利亞英語老師朋友 Lise 在英文書信和email方面給了我很多的幫助；大二準備託福前，美國朋友 David Schier 幫我修改了十多篇託福大作文，讓我能夠靈活自如地面對託福，作文考了28分；大二我參加了美國老師和朋友 Justine Juarez 的寫作課，後來準備 GRE 作文也得到了 Justine 細緻的反饋，她前前後後幫我修改了二三十篇作文，讓我的英文寫作有了質的提升。
總的來說，我從批改中學到了這些東西：
作文在多大程度上做到了扣題？
立場是否清晰、直接，論點是否清晰、展開充分，結構是否最優？
行文連貫性如何，是否存在邏輯和表達跳步？
有哪些錯誤、累贅、不準確、不優美的表達？
看過「什麼是好的英文寫作？」一文的朋友可能已經感覺到，這些加起來就是好的英文寫作的定義，也是主要出國英語考試英文作文的評分標準。哦，對了，也是高級英文寫作工作坊的課程設計原則。
除了上述批改的層面，就從批改中學習的方法來講，我其實用了最笨的辦法：
標記出老師批改的地方，和自己的原文對照，明確自己的語法和用法盲點，以及背後反映出的學習思路、方法和習慣中存在的問題，體會為什麼批改過的版本更好，然後多次朗讀批改的部分，直至熟練或能夠背誦。
也就是說，「只讀正確的，只寫讀過的」是一種理想狀態；在實際中，我們很難確保自己輸出的都是讀過且正確的，如果沒有人指出錯誤，我們往往會以為自己沒有錯。而一旦得到了可靠的批改，我們就能實現這種理想狀態。
下面以2009年 Justine 幫我批改的一篇 GRE Issue 作文為例，分享下我是如何從批改中學習、改進的。
文章段落用數字標註，其中第一段為自己寫的，第二段為老師的修改。著色部分為修改部分以及自己的筆記。
題目：
"So much is new and complex today that looking back for an understanding of the past provides little guidance living in the present."
習作：
1 Understanding the past, according to the speaker, is of little value to navigate us in modern society（navigate 用法不當）. The argument, however, can not be justified on the grounds that today is different from the past and circumstances vary so that history pales in importance. Human experiences suggest that history counts. A balanced analysis of past and presence do（主謂不一致） us more good than harm.
Understanding the past, according to the speaker, is of little value to us while navigating modern society. The argument, however, cannot be justified on the grounds that today is different from the past and circumstances vary so that history pales in importance. Human experience and common sense（補充建議） suggest that history counts. A balanced analysis of past and presence does us more good than harm.
2 The validity of the speaker's view is the recognition of a changing world, which is a crucial prerequisite for referring to history. Only when the differences of today are carefully observed, can we make better use of history. Society as a whole changes round the clock: social upward mobility, demography, international climate, to name just a few. As society changes, social priorities follow suit. For instance, in some emerging economies, developing economy is no longer the top priority as the countries are developing steadily economically. Countries such as China, India and Brazil are suffering from an emerging problem--social inequality and inequality of distribution. To prioritize the threat, therefore, is the biggest concern today.
The validity of the speaker's view is the recognition of a changing world, which is a crucial prerequisite for referring to history. Only when the differences of today are carefully observed, can we make better use of history. Society as a whole changes round the clock: social upward mobility, demography, international climate, to name just a few. As society changes, social priorities follow suit. For instance, in some emerging economies, a developing economy is no longer the top priority. Countries such as China, India and Brazil are steadily developing economically but are suffering from emerging problems of social inequality and inequality of distribution. Looking back into the history of other more developed countries that have already faced these problems can give insights into which strategies work and which do not. We learn from good models and do not always have to reinvent the wheel, but we also learn, and sometimes learn more, by examining the failures of others and the prices to be paid for unintended consequences. Wisely viewed and analyzed, history can help inform the present.
總結：Justine 將這段後半部分做了改寫和擴寫。「looking back into the history」這幾個字很明顯提示讀者自己回到段中心了。自己當初也想這麼寫但最後沒寫出來，這種嚴密的邏輯要有意識地去鍛鍊。綠色高亮的這些單詞和短語將觀點準確地表達了出來。自己的不足是有觀點，但不能有效地表達這些觀點。需要用心揣摩。能這麼寫就能解決這麼幾個問題：一，文章篇幅不用愁；二，論證與關鍵字和中心論點相聯繫，是成功的延伸；三，觀點剖析深入，給人深刻印象。
3 "Only if the past is understood can the future be navigated」 asserts Iris Chang, author of bestseller The Rape of Nanking. Human beings make silly mistakes repeatedly thanks partially yet mainly to inadequate understanding of history. History is recorded facts and meticulous reflection on the past, accordingly, it is not only fitting, but also essential for us to slow the pace and look back to history. China's open-up and reform is a perfect case in point. Three decades ago, on examining China's collapse in the second half of 1800s, Chinese smashed the doctrines stood in the way to embrace the world. If it had not been for the acute study of China's then circumstances and critical analysis of history, China would not make a great leap.
"Only if the past is understood can the future be navigated,（標點）" asserts Iris Chang, author of the bestseller The Rape of Nanking. Human beings make silly mistakes repeatedly thanks partially yet mainly to an inadequate understanding of history. History is recorded facts and meticulous reflections on the past. Accordingly,（用於句首）it is not only fitting, but also essential for us to slow the pace and look back to history. China's opening-up and reform is a perfect case in point. Three decades ago, by（注意介詞的準確使用） examining China's collapse in the second half of the 1800s, China smashed the doctrines that stood in its way and chose to（這可能就是所謂的「跳步」。避免的辦法就是慢慢表達，多為讀者著想）embrace the world. If it had not been for the acute study of China's then circumstances and a critical analysis of history, China would not have made（虛擬語氣使用有誤）a great leap forward.
4 Relying solely on history, however, does not suffice. It is sometimes dangerous, as history turns out. To say that negligence of thorough study of current conditions dwarfs history reference is an understatement. Total oblivion of today's changes, which leads to ossification, amounts to driving while reviewing mirror. It is doomed to crash. Doctrines lead people astray, a relevant exemplar being that a majority of state-owned enterprises' went bankrupt during late last century in China. With the advent of marketing economy, planned economy fared ill. Yet, some corporations still clung to patterns of the planned economy which already became out of date. It is failure to keep up with time that results in the tragedy.
Relying solely on history, however, does not suffice and is sometimes dangerous. To say that negligence of thorough study of current conditions dwarfs history reference is an understatement. (Justine: What? I have trouble interpreting your meaning?)（不能做語言的奴隸，自己寫的一定要保證自己和別人都能讀懂）Total oblivion to today's changes amounts to driving while looking in the rearview mirror. One（原文中 it 指代不清）is doomed to crash. Doctrines lead people astray. A relevant exemplar is the bankruptcy of a majority of state-owned enterprises in the late 20th century in China. With the advent of a market economy, the planned economy fared ill. Yet, some corporations still clung to patterns of the planned economy which already were out of date. Their failure to keep up with the times（類似的固定搭配要準確無誤）resulted in their demise.
5 In summary, to make history helpful to present needs, it is advisable to make balanced reference to history and present circumstances. Dismissing the former amounts to missing a precious lesson while missing the later is tantamount to not referring to history at all. If, however, both are taken into serious consideration, history can best serve our present needs.
In summary, to make history helpful to present needs, it is advisable to make balanced reference to past and present circumstances（結構的工整性）. Dismissing the former amounts to missing a precious lesson; ignoring the later is tantamount to being blindly led by the past（表達更精確）. If, however, both are taken into serious consideration, history can serve our present needs.
從上面 Justine 的批改中不難看出，這篇審題、論證和結構問題都不大，主要問題在語言：論證不夠充分（第二段），個別地方表意不清，冠詞誤用，用詞不當或不準確，代詞指代不清，主謂不一致，單複數問題，介詞使用不當，虛擬語氣誤用，固定搭配有誤等。
這樣寫一篇下來就是一次「打臉」。但「打臉」應該是寫作練習的常態，不「打臉」就不可能進步。和練習口語一樣，練習寫作要能放得下臉。
現在我的寫作中上面絕大部分的問題應該都可以避免，但免不了有盲點，比如冠詞的使用，這也是為什麼我要堅持輸出的原因。
上周我和澳洲朋友 David and Lise 發郵件時，他們問到了我的近況。我給他們貼了幾篇我近兩個月寫的英文原創，郵件裡寫了這麼一句：
I am confident in my grammar and usage, but I may have some "blind spots" that I am unaware of. So correction of this sort is particularly welcome.
David 回復了郵件：
As to your essays we both think they are excellent, flow nicely and with just a pinch of humour. There are a few small things we will correct and return notes to you as soon as we can.
等 David 回復我後，我會附上習作連結，如數奉上他們指出的錯誤，自己「打臉」。
題圖：下雨樂隊。
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插播一個我的線上/線下教學廣告：
高級英文寫作工作坊即將開始，點擊左下角「閱讀原文」了解最新動態。