2. Learn before you sleep

　　睡前学习

　　One of the many benefits we get from sleep is that it helps to clear out the brain’s “inbox” – the temporary storage of new information and memories from our time awake. We need sleep (even just a nap) to move anything we’ve recently learned into our brain’s long term storage. Once it’s safely stored, spaced repetition will help to strengthen the connection so we can recall the information faster and more accurately。

　　睡眠的一个好处就是它能清除大脑的“收件箱”——也就是我们在清醒时临时储存的新信息和记忆。我们需要睡眠(哪怕只是打盹)将最新学习的东西转换到大脑的长期储存中。一旦储存固定，“间隔重复”将强化之间的联系，这样我们便能更快更准确地记住信息了。

　　3. Study content, not the language

　　学习语言内容，而非语言本身。

　　Although most language learning classes and progams focus on purely learning the language, a study of high school students studying French found that when they studied another subject taught in French instead of a class purely to teach French, the students tested better for listening and were more motivated to learn. Students in the standard French class scored better on reading and writing tests, so both methods clearly have merit。

　　尽管多数语言教学课程重点强调单纯学习语言本身，但一项有关高中生学法语的研究发现，如果学生学习某个用法语教学的课程，而非单纯的法语课，那么学生的法语听力成绩更出色，而且学生也更有动力去学。不过，标准法语班的学生在阅读和写作上的成绩更高。显然，两种方法各具优势吧。

　　Once you’ve mastered the basics of a new language, try including some content on a topic you’re interested in to improve your understanding. You could have conversations with friends learning the same language, read articles online or listen to a podcast to test your comprehension。

　　当你掌握某个语言的基本知识后，请尝试了解自己关心的话题内容，这样可以提高理解能力。你可以跟学这门语言的同伴交谈，阅读网络文章，或者通过听播客来测试自己的理解力。

　　4. Practice a little everyday

　　每天都练习一点点。

　　If you’re busy, you might be tempted to put off your studying and cram in a big chunk of learning once every week or two. However, studying a little every day is actually more effective. Because your brain’s “inbox” has limited space and only sleep can clear it out, you’ll hit the limit of how much you can take in pretty quickly if you study for hours at a time。

　　如果你很忙，可能会拖延学习，然后每个一两个星期再集中填鸭式地学一会儿。但实际上，每天坚持学一点的方法更有效率。因为你大脑“收件箱”的空间是有限的，只能在睡觉时清空，所以如果你选择一次性快速学一堆知识的话，最终能够掌握的也很有限。

　　5. Mix new and old

　　温故知新。

　　The brain craves novelty but attempting to learn lots of new words or phrases at once can be overwhelming. Novel concepts work best when they’re mixed in with familiar information。

　　大脑渴望新鲜知识，但如果一次性学习太多生词短语的话，则会欲速不达。只有结合已经熟悉的知识，才能更好地掌握新知识。

　　When you add new words to your vocabulary, try spacing them in-between words you’re already familiar with so they’ll stand out—your brain will latch onto them more easily。

　　当你学习新词汇时，请把它与已经掌握的、意义接近的词汇区分开来——这样大脑才能更容易地记住生词。