How quickly can you learn English?

你多快能学好英语？

    Today we’re talking about something we have some expertise in or knowledge about. That’s teaching English.

    今天我们讨论我们专业技能或知识有关的事情。就是教英语。

    That’s right Rob. We work on the BBC’s Learning English website - hopefully giving people around the world a helping hand in learning a language that isn’t the one they normally use.

    Rob你说的对。我们致力于BBC学习英语网站-希望给世界各地非英语常用语言的人们学习英语提供帮助。

    Well hopefully we’re about to make that learning journey a bit easier as we launch a brand new online course. But how long does it take someone to become a fluent speaker of English?

    我们推出全新的在线课程，希望使学习过程变得更加容易。但是说一口流利的英语需要多长时间呢？

    Well, a good question Rob and one we’ll try to answer today. We’ll also be discussing some general ways to make learning English easier and explaining some learning-related vocabulary along the way. So let’s get started Rob.

    Rob问得好，今天我们将尽量回答这个问题。我们也会讨论使英语学习变容易的一些常用方法，同时讲解一些学习相关的词汇。我们开始吧，Rob。

    OK, hold your horses Finn – not so fast! I have a question to ask you first. According the last UK census taken in 2011, what percentage of the British population speaks a first language that is not English? a)1.7%, b)7.7%, or c)14.7%?

    稍等Finn，别急！首先，我有个问题要问你。根据2011年的英国人口普查，第一语言不是英语的英国人口比例是多少？a)1.7%，b)7.7%，还是c)14.7%？

    That’s an interesting one. My first guess is c) 14.7%.

    真是个有趣的问题，我猜是c)14.7%。

    We’ll find out if you’re right or wrong later on. So now we can discuss how learning English is getting easier. Of course there are a huge number of publications – books, leaflets and magazines – that can help teach you but there are those people who say that you can’t beat the real thing – a teacher. Someone who can explain a language to you face-to-face.

    稍后我们找出你的答案是否正确。现在我们可以讨论学习英语怎样才能变得越来越容易。当然，有很多的书、小册子和杂志有助于你学英语，但是有些人说你需要一个老师。一个可以跟你面对面解释语言的人。

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