They say that children learn languages the best. 【小题1】. We asked some of the polyglots (通晓多种语言的人) in TED’s Open Translation Project to share their secrets to mastering a foreign language. Several basic principles are as follows.

Get real. Decide on a simple, achievable goal to start with so that you don’t feel confused. German translator Judith Matz suggests: “Pick up 50 words of a language and start using them on people — 【小题2】.”

Play house with the language. The more you invite a foreign language into your daily life, the more your brain will consider it something useful and worth caring about. “Use every opportunity to get involved in the new language,” says Russian translator Olga Dmitrochenkova. 【小题3】, read kids’ books written in it, watch subtitled TED and TEDx talks, or live-narrate parts of your day to an imaginary foreign friend.

【小题4】. Dmitrochenkova has a great idea: “A funny thing like resetting the language on your phone can help you learn new words right away,” she says. Ditto for changing the language on your browser (浏览器). Or you can seek out more structured learning opportunities online. Dutch translator Els De Keyser recommends Duolinguo for its gamified (游戏化) approach to grammar, and Anki for memorizing vocabulary with its “intelligent” flashcards...

Make new friends. 【小题5】 — it will teach you to naturally express your thoughts, instead of mentally translating each sentence before you say it. Find native speakers near you. Or search for foreign penpals or set up a language connection online, where two volunteers help one another practice their own languages.

Reading is an important part of learning English. One of the best tips on how to improve your reading skills is to think about how you read in your own language. Start by thinking about how you read different documents. How do you read newspaper? 【小题1】 How do you read train schedules?

Reading in English is like reading in your native language. This means that it is not always necessary to read and understand each and every word in English. Remember that reading skills in your native language and English are basically the same.

Here is a quick overview of the four types of reading skills used in every language:

Skimming is used to quickly gather the most important information. 【小题2】 Use skimming to quickly get up to speed on a current business situation. It is not essential（必要的） to understand each word when skimming. You can skim the newspaper, magazines, or travel brochures.

Scanning is used to find a particular piece of information. 【小题3】 Use scanning on train or airplane schedules, meeting plans, and the “What’s on TV” section of your newspaper etc. in order to find the specific details you require. If your see words or phrases that you don’t understand, don’t worry when scanning.

Extensive reading is used to obtain(获得) a general understanding of a subject and includes reading longer texts for pleasure, as well as business books. Use extensive reading skills to improve your general knowledge of business procedures. 【小题4】

Intensive reading is used on shorter texts in order to extract(提取) specific information. 【小题5】 Use intensive reading skills to grasp the details of a specific details of a specific situation, like reading a bookkeeping report, an insurance claim or a contract(合约). In this case, it is important that you understand each word, number or fact.

Many people believe that you lose the ability to learn new languages as you get older. Language experts, however, will tell you that you're never too old to learn a new language. As you get older, it can be more difficult to learn a new language, though.

Children and adults learn new languages in different ways. For children, language is their life. They study for thousands of hours every year, because they need to learn languages to become part of their communities. Adults, on the other hand, are already part of a language community. Learning a new language means becoming part of another language community, and adults rarely get the chance to practise as much as young children do.

Moreover, children learning a new language are expected to make mistakes. This gives them freedom when learning to be daring and confident. Adults, however, often feel pressured to be perfect when learning a new language. This can discourage many people and make it even harder to learn a new language.

When young children learn a new language, they come to see various languages as a “normal” part of society. This mindset helps them embrace learning a new language without feeling like they're doing something unusual or “too hard”．

So if you want to learn a new language, go for it! It's never too late to learn a new language. If you're older, it may take more work, but it can be done. If you're a young child, though, now is the time to step out and learn a new language!