1. Start With the End Goal in Mind
在心中树立目标
If you don’t know where you want to end up, you’re not going to know where to go. Especially when things get tough.
如果你不知道你的目标，你不会知道最终的目标在哪，特别是当事情变得艰难的时候。
This is why innovative entrepreneurs, inventors, and influencers require a massive vision that they can rely on during the worst times.
这就是为什么创新企业家、发明家和有影响力的人需要一个大规模的规划，他们可以在最艰难的时期有所帮助。
Make sure you have a meaningful purpose of why you want to learn a language. Is it to develop a deeper connection with your family, life partner, friends? Or maybe it’s because you want to advance your career by opening up new opportunities that would normally not be available today.
确保你有一个有意义的目标，你为什么要学习一门语言。你需要与你的家人，生活伴侣，朋友更好的交流吗?或许是因为你想为事业打开新的机遇。
Another important skill to learn is how to set goals that clarify your end goal. Here’s an example:
另一个重要的技能学习是如何设定目标来达到你的最终目标。这里有一个例子:
Bad goal: I want to learn a language so I can travel to Europe by next year.
糟糕的目标:我想学习一门语言这样我可以明年去欧洲旅行。
Good goal: I want to learn how to speak Spanish so I can travel to Buenos Aires, Argentina by next summer.
良好的目标:我要学习如何讲西班牙语，那么我可以在明年夏天前前往阿根廷的布宜诺斯艾利斯。
Great goal: I will have a 15-minute conversation in Spanish with a native Argentinian person over coffee in a cafe in Buenos Aires on July 2017.
伟大的目标: 2017年7月，我要用西班牙语将和本土阿根廷人在咖啡馆有一个15分钟的谈话，咖啡馆在布宜诺斯艾利斯。
Notice how specific, visual, and deadline oriented the great goal is compared to the bad goal.
注意具体、可视化的和目标导向的的伟大目标比模糊的目标更好。
2. Pick the Right Language
选择正确的语言
Picking the right language is not about the dream language you want to learn (although there is nothing wrong with that). In this case, we’re specifically talking about learning speed.
选择正确的语言，不是你想学什么语言就学（尽管没有错）。但一些情况下，我们应该具体讨论学习速度。
If you already know how to speak English, learning Spanish, French, Portuguese, or any language from the latin family would be easier than trying to learn Mandarin.
如果你已经知道如何说英语，学习西班牙语、法语、葡萄牙语，或任何其他拉丁语言会比学中文更容易。
By being aware of the language you already know, you can choose transferrable languages to help you accelerate your learning.
意识到你已经了解的语言，你可以选择可转换的语言帮助你加快学习。
3. Follow a Proven Strategy
遵循一个有效的策略
There’s no need to reinvent the wheel when you’re learning something new. For nearly any skill, there’s someone who has already achieved expert status.
当你学习新东西时，不需要重新发明轮子。几乎任何技能，都有人已经达到了专家的地位。
“If you want to be successful, find someone who has achieved the results you want and copy what they do and you’ll achieve the same results.”-Tony Robbins
“如果你想获得成功，去找那些已经取得成就的人，你会达到相同的结果”。托尼·罗宾斯说。
When it comes to languages, there is an abundance of resources you can find from the comforts of your home, including:
当涉及到语言，你可以在集中找到丰富的资源，包括:
Language Blogs
语言博客
Language Teachers
语言教师
You can follow the strategies and tactics from any of these influencers who will help you shorten your learning curve.
您可以遵循成功人士的战略和战术，他们会帮助你缩短学习曲线。
4. Allocate Time Everyday to Learn (15-30 minutes)
分配每天的学习时间（15到30分钟）
Nothing can be learned without the time commitment. Most of us have dozens of things that we are juggling throughout the day, from our work, social life, health, etc.
如果不能保证时间，就学不好任何东西。我们大多数人每天都有很多事情要做，工作、社会生活、健康等等。
But all of us have 15 to 30 minutes to learn something if we make it a priority in our lives.
但是如果我们安排一些优先级，就会有15到30分钟的时间学到一些东西。
Track your schedule: Start by tracking everything you’re doing during the day on your calendar. Even include leisure activities like hanging out with friends and eating. You’ll be surprised how much free time you have to spend on learning something new.
跟踪你的日程：首先跟踪日历上你白天做的一切事务，甚至包括休闲活动，如与朋友外出，吃饭。你会惊讶你很多少空闲时间可以用来学习新东西。
Prioritization: Now that you have a better idea of how you’re spending the day. It’s about prioritizing what’s truly important to you. Start by ranking which of these you should be focusing on, and even start delegating/eliminating the ones you don’t need.
优先级:现在你有一个更好的方法来安排你的日程。它优先考虑什么是对你真正重要的。你首先应该排序，看看哪些是你真正关注的事情，然后开始取消你可能不需要做的事。
Optimization: Last is optimizing. There are three ways to optimize your schedule:
优化:最后的步骤优化。有三种方法来优化你的时间表:
Shorten your work tasks
缩减工作任务
Cut out your least important free time
去掉最不重要的休闲时间
Bundle your free times together
将空闲时间调整到一起
5. Take Advantage of Complimentary Tools and Resources
利用免费的工具和资源
When it comes to language learning, there are hundreds of free to cheap tools and resources that you can use. These include:
在学习语言时，有数不清的可以使用的免费工具和资源。这些包括:
Mobile apps
手机app
Books
书籍
Vocabulary tools
词汇工具
6. Have Someone Teach You and Keep You Accountable
找一个人教你并且考核你
If your goal is to learn faster, you’re going to need help.
如果你的目标是快速学习，你需要帮助。
This could be a personal friend, colleague, or a professional teacher that can keep you motivated and accountable throughout your journey.
这个老师可能是朋友、同事或者一个专业的老师，可以让你在学习的过程中积极并且有效。
There are plenty of conversation exchanges you can check out to find a fellow language learning partner, or language tutoring platforms where you can connect with professional language teachers from the comforts of your home.
寻找一位语言学习伙伴，可以有大量的对话交流。或者在舒适的家里，你可以在语言辅导平台上联系专业语言教师。
While you may feel that going alone may be the best option when starting out, it’s rarely the sustainable option in the long-run. As every language learner will tell you, learning a language is a marathon, not a sprint.
虽然你可能会觉得一个人学习在开始时的最佳选择，但它很少在长期可持续有效。每一个语言学习者都会告诉你，学习一门语言是一场马拉松而不是短跑。
7. Just Keep Going
坚持
Nearly every struggle or problem you have is temporary. With a little bit of sweat and persistence, you can overcome just about anything.
几乎每一个斗争或问题都是暂时的。汗水和坚持可以克服任何困难。
Whenever you feel like quitting or giving up, remember that thousands of others have come before you, and have felt the exact same way. But the reason why they’ve gotten to the other side is because they overcame the pain, doubt, and fear despite what their brain was telling them. You can do the same.
每当你觉得想要放弃，记住，成千上万的人在你之前经历过，并且和你有相同的感受。他们成功的原因就是他们克服了困难、怀疑和恐惧。你可以同他们一样战胜困难。
