上學的時候，英語老師經常和我們說「聽英文歌能學英語」。我就跑去吭哧吭哧地聽。然鵝，並沒有什麼用。長大後，我才發現當初是自己用錯了方法。我之前選得那些歌都不適合學英語...
Before getting started you need to select the songs you will learn from. This is important because there are a lot of potential pitfalls. For example, songs that:
在開始前你要選好你要學習的歌曲。這一點非常重要，因為有很多潛在的陷阱，比如一些歌曲：
• use difficult language which isn’t commonly used
使用不常用的高難度語言
• aren’t mainstream (nothing against niche artists, but if part of the goal is to connect with English speakers, it’s probably more efficient to learn from music which would give you a common language)
不是主流歌曲(不是針對專營藝術家，但是如果部分目的是與說英語的人聯繫起來的，更有效的學習方式應該是給你更常用的語言)
• are too fast (hard to learn from)
速度過快(很難分辨)
• don’t have lyrics readily available
沒有可以獲取的歌詞
Here are my eight tips to help you pick the right music for learning English:
以下是我能幫助你挑選有利於學習英語的歌曲的8點提示
1. Go to the right place to find songs.
使用正確的方式尋找歌曲
• You could search video sharing sites such as YouTube and Vimeo. They have vast libraries of music videos and some will also be subtitled with the song lyrics in English.
你可以使用YouTube和Vimeo搜索視頻。這些網站有豐富大量的歌曲資源，其中還有一些歌曲帶有英文歌詞。
2. Select the right songs.
選擇正確的歌曲
• Pick music you love. There’s no point to learning English through songs if you don’t really enjoy the music. This is the fast track to boredom.Find music that uses the right kind of language. Language which is not too easy or too hard, and which is commonly used.
選擇你喜歡的音樂。通過你不喜歡的音樂學習英語是沒有意義的。因為會很快令你感到無聊厭惡。找那些使用合適語言的歌曲。這些語言不會過於簡單或者難度過大，使用較常用的語言。
Another thing to watch out for is that sometimes sometimes singers won’t pronounce the sound clearly. Perhaps heavy metal isn’t the best place to start.
另外一個要主要的就是有時候一些歌手並不會發音特別清晰。所以大概重金屬音樂不是很適合。
You might want songs that tell a story, which could make it easier to understand and visualize. If you are a real beginner you might even want to learn children’s songs or Disney songs.
你可能想要一首講述故事的歌曲，這可能更容易理解和形象化。如果你的確是個初學者，你甚至想要學下兒歌或者迪斯尼歌曲。
Start with pop music and then branch out. Mainstream, pop music tends to be about love and romance, which is good because there is a lot of repeated vocabulary. When you are ready to branch out, you can try more diverse genres to pick up a wider range of vocabulary.
從流行歌曲開始，然後擴展範圍。主流，流行音樂傾向於表達愛和浪漫，這非常棒因為這些歌曲會重複很多詞彙。當你可以拓展歌曲的時候，你可以嘗試選擇更多種類的歌曲擴展你的詞彙量。
3. Get 「scaffolding」 and vocab support to digest the lyrics.
使用「支架式」和詞彙表支持消化歌詞
It would be nice if you could learn English purely by listening to the music. In practice, you will have to spend some time digesting the lyrics and their meanings so that you understand it first. This is what teachers often refer to as 「scaffolding」 (scaffolding is something which holds up and supports something that is being built. Like training wheels for a bicycle.). Instead of trying to figure out the lyrics on your own, you can use resources like the following to accelerate this:
如果你能純粹的通過聽音樂學習英語是非常好的。練習中，你可以花時間消化歌詞和含義，這樣可以讓你明白它的意思。這就是老師經常說的「支架式」(支架式是用於支持某事而建立起來的東西。就像使用輪子用於學習自行車一樣)
4. Study the lyrics and vocab.
學習歌詞和詞彙表
In addition to digesting the content, it’s also important that you review the vocab on a regular basis. Break the song down, word by word, and try to master each word so that it’s a part of your vocabulary. You can do this through a flashcard service like Anki or Mental Case.
除了消化內容，規律地複習你的生詞表也是非常重要的。分解歌曲，一個單詞一個單詞的分解，嘗試使用每個詞語使它們成為你詞彙表的一部分。
5. Sing along.
跟著唱
Unless you’re singing in front of an audience, it doesn’t matter if you’re the worst vocalist in the world. So don’t worry if you don’t possess any musical ability. Regardless of your singing prowess, you should try singing out loud to the music. This forces your mouth to adopt the right shapes and move with the rhythm of the song.
除非你要在觀眾面前唱歌，否則即使你是全世界最爛的歌手也沒關係。所以不要擔心你是否有唱歌的能力。不用考慮你的唱歌技巧，你應該試圖大聲唱出來。這會迫使你的嘴巴適應正確的嘴形並發出聲音。
6. Try to sing from memory.
試圖背歌詞唱歌
After a while, you should find that you’re starting to memorize the song. And then you’re ready to take the next big leap – try singing the song without looking at the lyrics. By the point, you should be able to find that you can do a much better job including such words in your everyday speech.
一段時間之後，你應該發現你開始記歌詞了。然後你要準備好下一個飛躍-不看歌詞唱歌。通過這一點，你可以發現你每天可以說的更好。
7. Periodically review.
定期的複習
You don’t have to complete learning one song before you move to the next. In fact, after you get comfortable with one song, you can move to the next. And then after enough time passes, you can go back to the first song. This is called 「spaced repetition」 and it’s been proven to be more effective than trying to learn it perfectly all at once.
你不需要完成一首歌的學習再看下一首。事實上，你適應了一首歌之後，你就可以看下一首了。一段時間之後，你可以回去再複習第一首歌。這叫做「間隔重複」這被證明是比一次性學完一首歌更有效的方式。
8. Find new music that builds on top of what you』ve learned.
在你已學習的基礎上尋找新的歌曲
This is perhaps the most difficult step. Each new song that you learn should have the right balance of totally new vocabulary and in progress vocabulary. This right level of overlap keeps you motivated, and also naturally reinforces your previous learning for maximum benefit.
這可能是最難的一步。每一首新歌都需要平衡新詞彙和進行中詞彙。適當層次的重疊可以使你進步，並且能夠自然而然的強化你之前的學習成果。
Have fun and enjoy! Music is a universal language and one that we can all enjoy and relate to. Listen to English songs every single day and you』ll soon be surprised at how much of the English language you can pick up with relative ease. When you incorporate language learning into fun activities like listening and singing aloud to music, you won’t even notice that you’re picking up a second language.
好好享受!音樂是廣泛的語言，也是我們可以享受和有聯繫的。每天聽英文歌曲，你會很快驚訝於你了解了多少相關的英語語言。當你把語言學習和有趣的活動如聽和大聲唱結合起來，你甚至沒有注意到你在掌握第二門語言。
（編輯：何瑩瑩）