For the past 20 years, I've been helping Malaysian and other Southeast Asians to speak better English. And through training thousands of Southeast Asians, I've discovered a very surprising truth. I've discovered that how well somebody communicates in English actually has very little to do with their English level.

在过去的二十年中我在帮助马来西亚人和其他东南亚人说英语更好。通过培训成千上万的南亚人，我发现了一个非常惊人的事实。我发现有人对英语的了解程度实际上，这与他的英语水平无关。

It has a lot to do with their attitude towards English. There are people out there who have a very low level of English, and they can communicate very, very well. One of them that I remember was a student, a participant of mine named Faizal.

它们与英语的互动方式非常相关。有些人英语水平很低，他们可以很好地沟通。我记得其中的一个人是一名学生，我的搭档之一Faizal。

He was a factory supervisor - English level very, very low - but this guy could just sit and listen to anybody, very calmly, clearly, and then he could respond, absolutely express his thoughts beautifully, at a very low level of English.

他曾是工厂主管-而且英语水平很低-但是这个家伙可以坐下来听任何人的话，非常有意识地专注然后他可以回应，当然，他会很好地表达自己的想法，虽然他的英语水平很差。

So, today I want to share with you what is so different about people like Faizal? How do they do it? And second of all, why is this so important not only to you, but to your children, to your community, and to the future of Malaysia?

所以今天我想和你分享Faizal这样的人有什么不同？他们是如何做到的？其次，为什么这不仅对您如此重要，而且对于您的孩子，您的社区和马来西亚的未来都如此重要？

And third of all, what's one thing you can do, starting today, if you want to speak with that calm, clear confidence that people like Faizal have. First of all, what is so different? How do people like Faizal do it? To answer that question, I'm going to take you back about 10 years, okay?

第三，从今天开始，如果你想要像法伊扎尔这样的人那样冷静、自信地讲话，你能做的一件事是什么?所以首先，有什么不同？像Faysal一样的人是如何做到的？为了回答这个问题，我要带你回到10年前，好吗？

I was training staff at that time, and my daughter, at that time, was taking piano lessons. And I started to notice two really strong similarities between my daughter's attitude or thinking towards playing the piano and a lot of Malaysians' thinking or attitude towards English.

那时我在培训员工，我的女儿在上钢琴课。我开始注意到我女儿对弹钢琴的态度和很多马来西亚人对英语的态度非常相似。

First of all, I should tell you my daughter absolutely hated piano, hated the lessons, hated practicing. This is my daughter practicing piano, okay? This is as good as it got. This is the real thing. And she dreaded going to piano lessons because to my daughter, going to piano lessons, she was filled with this sort of dread.

首先，我得告诉你，我女儿非常讨厌钢琴，讨厌钢琴课，讨厌钢琴练习。这是我女儿在练钢琴，这是最好的时候了。这是真的。她害怕去上钢琴课，因为对我女儿来说，她对去上钢琴课充满了这种恐惧。

Because it was all about not screwing up, right? Because like a lot of piano students, to both my daughter and her teacher, her success in piano was measured by how few mistakes she made. At the same time, I noticed that a lot of Malaysians went into English conversations with the same sort of feeling of dread.

因为这一切都是为了不把事情搞砸，对吧?因为像很多学钢琴的学生一样，对我女儿和她的老师来说，她在钢琴上的成功是由她犯的错误的少来衡量的。同时，我注意到许多马来西亚人进行英语对话时带着和我女儿上钢琴课时同样的敬畏。

This sort of feeling that they were going to be judged by how many mistakes they were going to make, and whether or not they were going to screw up. Now, the second similarity that I noticed was to do with self- image.

这种感觉就是他们将会被评判他们会犯多少错误，他们是否会把事情搞砸。我注意到的第二个相似之处是与自我形象有关。

My daughter, she knew what good piano sounded like, right? Because we've all heard good piano. And she knew what her level was, and she knew how long she'd have to play for to play like that. 

我女儿，她知道什么是好的钢琴家，对吧?因为我们都听过好的钢琴弹奏曲。她知道自己的水平有多高，也知道要玩多久才能达到那样的水平。

And a lot of Malaysians, I noticed, had this idea of what good proper English is supposed to sound like, and what their - I see a lot of you nod - and what their English sounded like,and how far they would have to go to get there.

我注意到，很多马来西亚人都有这样的想法，即良好的英语听起来应该是什么样的，他们的英语听起来应该是什么样的——我看到很多人点头——他们的英语听起来应该是什么样的，他们要练习多久才能达到那样的水平。

And they also felt like they were - like my daughter - just bad, bad piano player, bad English speaker, right? My English not so good, lah. Cannot. Sorry, yah. Cannot. Ah - So I could see these similarities, but I still couldn't figure out, okay, what is it about these people like Faizal, that are so different, that can just do it smoothly, calmly, with confidence?

他们也觉得自己英语说得不好，就像我女儿一样觉得自己钢琴弹得不好，对吧? “我的英语不太好、不能、对不起、是的、不能、啊”所以我能看到这些相似之处，但我还是弄不明白，为什么像法伊扎尔这样的人如此不同，他们可以顺利地、平静地、自信地完成这件事呢？

One day, I discovered that answer, and I discovered it quite by chance. It was a day when my computer broke down, and I had to go to a cybercafe. Okay, it was my first time, and I discovered cybercafés are disgusting places, okay? They're really gross. They're smelly, and they're filled with boys.

有一天，我发现了这个答案，而且是偶然发现的。那天我的电脑坏了，我只好上网吧去。好吧，这是我第一次去网吧，而且我发现网吧是很恶心的地方，知道吗?他们真的恶心，到处都是臭味和男孩子们。

And they're all playing noisy, violent games. They're just disgusting places. But I had to go there. So I sat down, and I started noticing this guy beside me. And I became very interested in this guy next to me. Now, this guy is playing this game that is basically, it's like shooting people until they die. And that's it.

他们都在玩吵闹、暴力的游戏。那地方可真恶心。但我不得不去那里。于是我坐了下来，我注意到我旁边的这个人并且对他产生兴趣。现在，这个人在玩这个游戏，基本上，就像在射杀一个人，直到他们被打死去。就是这样。(笑声)

That's the game, right? And I'm noticing that this guy is not very good. In fact, he's terrible, right? Because I'm looking, and I'm seeing, like, a lot of shooting and ... not much dying, right? (Laughter) What really interested me was behind this lousy player were three of his friends, sort of standing there watching him play.

这就是游戏规则，对吧?我注意到这个人玩儿的不是很好。事实上，他水平很糟糕，对吧?因为我在看来他射死的人并不多，对吧?(笑声)真正让我感兴趣的是在这个糟糕的球员后面的他的三个朋友，站在那里看他比赛。

What I really noticed was even though this guy was terrible, even though his friends were watching him, there was no embarrassment. There was no feeling of being judged. There was no shyness. In fact, quite the opposite.

我真正注意到的是，即使这个人的水平很糟糕，即使他的朋友们都在看着他，他也没有感到尴尬。没有被评判的感觉。一点也不害羞。事实上，恰恰相反。

This guy's totally focused on the bad guys, smile on his face. All he can think about is killing these guys, right? And I'm watching him. And I suddenly realize: this is it. This is the same attitude that people like Faizal have when they speak English, just like this guy.

这家伙完全专注于打坏人，面带微笑。他满脑子想的都是射击这些人，对吧?看着他的时候我突然意识到:这就是答案了。法伊扎尔这样的人说英语时的样子是就像这个人一样。

When Faizal goes into an English conversation, he doesn't feel judged. He is entirely focused on the person that he's speaking to and the result he wants to get. He's got no self-awareness, no thoughts about his own mistakes. 

当法伊扎尔开始一段英语对话时，他不会感到被人品头论足的尴尬。他完全专注于和他谈话的人以及他想要得到的结果。他没有自我意识，对自己的错误没有认知。

I want to share with you a real, true example, to paint a picture, of somebody who speaks English like they are playing piano and someone who speaks English like they are playing a computer game.

我想和你们分享一个真实的例子，来描绘一幅图画，一个人说英语就像在弹钢琴，另一个人说英语就像在玩电脑游戏。

And this is a true story. It happened to me. A while ago, I was in a pharmacy. I had to buy omega; my doctor said I should get omega. And I go to the shelf, there's tons of omega, there's omega that's high in DHA, omega that's high in EPA, and I don't know which one to buy. Now, the sales rep happened to be there. And I saw she's like this well-dressed, professional woman.

这是一个真实的故事。这事发生在我身上。不久前，我在一家药店。我必须买欧米茄;我的医生说我应该吃欧米伽。我到了药架前，欧米茄有很多种类，富含DHA的，富含EPA的，但是我不知道我应该买哪一个。那时，销售代表刚好在那里。我看到她就像一个穿着得体的职业女性

I walk over to her, and I see this look as she sees me, this sort of - it's a look I recognize very well. Her eyes go all wide. It's sort of that panic: Oh my God! I've got to speak to a native speaker; she's going to judge me and notice my mistakes. I go up to her, and I explain my situation: which omega do I get?

我朝她走去她，我注意到了她看我的眼神，这种眼神我很熟悉。她的眼睛睁得大大的。这使我感到恐慌:我的天啊!我得找一个以英语为母语的人讲话;她会对我评头论足，发现我的错误。我走到她面前，向她解释我的处境:我不知道应该买哪种欧米伽

And she starts explaining to everything about DHA and EPA you could possibly imagine. She speaks very quickly, goes all around in circles. And when she finishes, no idea what to buy. (Laughter) So I turn to the girl behind the counter. Now, the girl behind the counter, I heard her before, her English level is very low.

她开始向你解释所有你能想到的关于DHA和EPA的东西。她说得很快，说个不停。等她解释完成，我也不知道该买什么。(笑声)于是我转向柜台后面的女孩求助。柜台后面的那个女孩，我以前听说过她，她的英语水平很低。

But when I walk over to her, this girl, there's no fear. In fact, she's just looking at me. You know that look? Like...Yeah? Okay...So, how? Yeah, I've been in Malaysia a long time. So, I go up to her and I explain the problem, EPA and DHA. 

但当我走向她时，这个女孩，没有恐惧。事实上，她只是看着我。你知道那种表情吗?喜欢……嗯?好吧……那么,如何?是的，我在马来西亚待了很长时间。于是，我走到她面前，向她解释EPA和DHA的问题。

She looks at me, she says, “Okay, yeah. ““Ah, EPA for heart.”“DHA for brain.”“Your heart okay or not?”So I said, “Yeah, yeah,” I said, “my heart is really, I think it's pretty good.”

她看着我，说，好吧。啊，EPA代表心脏。DHA的大脑。你的心脏还好吗?所以我说，是的，是的，我说，我的心是真的，我认为它很好。

She says, “Your brain okay or not?” I said, “No. No, my brain is not as good as it used to be.” She looks and says, “Okay lah, you take Omega DHA!” 

她说，你的大脑还好吗?我说，不。不，我的大脑不像以前那么好了。她看着我说，好吧，呐，你吃欧米伽DHA!

Problem solved, right? So we've got two different kinds of communicators. We've got the one who's got a high level, but totally focused on herself and getting it right, and therefore, very ineffective.

问题解决了，对吧?我们有两种不同的通信方式。我们其中有一个人，她的英语水平很高，但完全认真的专注于自己，因此非常低效。

We've got another one, low-level, totally focused on the person she's talking to and getting a result. Effective. And therein lies the difference. Now, why is this distinction so important not just to you, to your children, but to the future of Malaysia and countries like Malaysia? And to answer that, let's take a look at who actually is speaking English in the world today, okay?

我们有另一个人，她的英语水平很低，但是她完全专注于和她说话的人，那么就会得到得到一个结果--有效。这就是区别所在。现在，为什么这个区别如此重要，不仅对你，对你的孩子，而且对马来西亚的未来和像马来西亚这样的国家?为了回答这个问题，我们来看看现在世界上到底是谁在说英语。

So, if we looked at all of the English conversations in the whole world, taking place right now on planet Earth, we would see that for every native speaker, like me, there are five non-native speakers. 

所以，如果我们看看世界上所有正在地球上发生的英语对话，我们会发现，每有一个以英语为母语的人，比如我，就有五个非英语为母语的人。

And if we'd listen to every conversation in English on planet Earth right now, we would notice that 96% of those conversations involved non-native English speakers - only 4% of those conversations are native speaker to native speaker.

如果我们现在听地球上所有的英语对话，我们会注意到96%的对话涉及非英语母语者——只有4%的对话是母语者对母语者的对话。

This is not my language anymore, this language belongs to you. It's not an art to be mastered; it's just a tool to use to get a result. And I want to give you a real-life example of what English is today in the world, real English today. 

这不再是我的语言，而是你们的语言。它不是一门需要掌握的艺术，它只是一个用来得到结果的工具。我想给你们一个真实的例子，告诉你们今天世界上的英语是什么，真正的英语是什么。

This is another true story. I was at a barbecue a little while ago - this was a barbecue for engineers, engineers from all over the world. And they were making hot dogs.

这是另一个真实的故事。不久前我参加了一个烧烤会——这是一个为来自世界各地的工程师举办的烧烤会。他们在做热狗。

Some of the hot dogs were regular hot dogs, and some were these cheese hot dogs, you know, with the cheese in the middle. A French engineer is cooking the hot dogs, and he turns to this Korean engineer, and he says, “Would you like a hot dog?” 

有些热狗是普通的热狗，有些是奶酪热狗，你知道的，奶酪在中间的奶酪热狗。一个法国工程师正在做热狗，他转向这个韩国工程师问道，你想要一个热狗吗?

And the Korean guy says, “Yes, please!” He says, “Do you want the cheese?” And the Korean guy  looks around at the table, he says, “I no see cheese.” The French guy says, “The hot dog is contains the cheese.”

韩国人说，好的，请给我一个吧!法国工程师问，你想要奶酪吗?那个韩国人环顾了一眼桌子，他说，我没有看到奶酪啊。法国人说，奶酪在热狗里呢。

The Korean guy doesn't understand him, right? So the French engineer tries again. “The hot dog is ... making from ... with the cheese.” Korean guy still doesn't understand. He tries again, he says, “The hotdog is coming from - No, the cheese is coming from the hot dog.” Korean guy cannot understand.

那个韩国人不理解他，对吧?于是法国工程师又试了一次。热狗是…使从…奶酪。韩国人还是不明白。他又试了一次，他说，热狗来自不，奶酪来自热狗。韩国人还是听不懂。

Now there's a Japanese engineer who's been listening to this conversation, turns to the Korean engineer and he says, “Ah! Cheese ... integrator!”He understands, okay. Everybody understands. So, this is what English is today. 

现在有一个日本工程师一直在听他们讲话，他转向韩国工程师说，“啊!奶酪……集成器!”韩国人明白了，好的。每个人都理解了。这就是今天的英语。

It's just a tool to play around with to get a result, like a computer game. Now, the challenge is that we know in schools all around the world, English is not really being taught like it's a tool to play with.

它只是一个用来得到结果的工具，就像电脑游戏一样。现在，我们面临的挑战是，我们知道，在世界各地的学校里，英语并不是被当作一种工具来教的。

It's still being taught like it's an art to master. And students are judged more on correctness than on clarity. Some of you might remember the old comprehension exam in school. Does everybody remember in school when you'd get a question about a text that you read, you'd have to read through some text, right?

它仍然被当作一门需要掌握的艺术来教授。对学生的评判更多的是正确性，而不是清晰度。你们有些人可能还记得以前在学校里的理解考试。大家还记得在学校里当你遇到关于你读过的文章的问题时，你必须通读一些文章，对吧?

And then answer a question to show that you understood the text?And this may have happened to you that you showed you understood the text, but you got a big X because you made a little grammar mistake.

然后回答一个问题来表明你理解了课文?这可能发生在你身上，你表现出你理解了文章，但是你得到了一个大大的X，因为你犯了一个小的语法错误。

Like this student. This student clearly understood paragraph four. But no, not correct! Because he left the letter N off the word “environment.” But in the real world, what would matter? In the real world, what would matter is did you understand the email, or did you understand your customer so that you can go ahead and take action?

就像这位学生。这个学生清楚地理解了第四段。但是不正确!因为他忘记写“环境”这个词的字母N了。但在现实世界中，什么才是重要的呢?在现实世界中，重要的是你是否理解了这封邮件，或者你是否理解了你的客户，这样你就可以采取行动了

Now, the problem that I see here, over and over, is that people take the attitude they developed about English in school, and they bring it into their adult life and into their work. 

现在，我在这里看到的问题是，人们一遍又一遍地接受他们在学校里形成的对英语的态度，并把它带入他们的成年生活和工作中。

And if you're in a stressful situation, and you're having a conversation, and you're trying to give a result  to someone and say it correctly, your brain multi-tasks, it cannot do two things at once.

如果你在一个压力很大的情况下，你在和别人谈话，你试图给别人一个结果，还要正确地说出来，这时你的大脑是多任务的，它不能同时做两件事。

And what I see is the brain just shutting down. And you may recognize these three symptoms of the brain shutting down. The first one is that your listening goes. Someone is talking to you, and you're so busy thinking about how you're going to respond and express yourself correctly, you don't actually hear what the other person said.

我看到的是大脑正在关闭。你可能会意识到这三个大脑关闭的症状。第一个是你的听力。有人在和你说话，而你正忙着思考如何正确地回应和表达自己，你实际上并没有听到对方说了什么。

And I can see a lot of nodding in the audience. The second thing to go is your speaking. Your mind sort of shuts down, and that vocabulary you do know just disappears, and the words don't come out. 

我看到很多观众在点头。第二件事是在你的演讲时你的大脑就会关闭，你所知道的词汇就会消失，单词也忘记了。

The third thing to go is your confidence. The worst thing about this is you may only be [un]confident because you cannot express yourself clearly, but to the person talking to you, they may misunderstand this as a lack of confidence in your ability to do the job, to perform.

第三件事是自信。最糟糕的是，你可能只是因为不能清晰地表达自己而缺乏自信，但对与你交谈的人来说，他们可能会误解为对你的工作能力和表现缺乏信心。

So if you want to speak English like Faizal with that great confidence, here's the one thing that you can do. When you speak, don't focus on yourself. Focus on the other person and the result you want to achieve. Imagine a next generation of Malaysians, all with that wonderful confidence in communication that Faizal has, at any level of English.

所以，如果你想要像法伊扎尔那样充满自信地说英语，这里有一件事你可以做。当你说话时，不要把注意力放在自己身上。专注于他人和你想要达到的结果。想象一下，新一代的马来西亚人，无论英语水平如何，都像法伊扎尔一样，对沟通充满信心。

Because let's remember that English today is not an art to be mastered, it's just a tool to use to get a result. And that tool belongs to you. Thank you. 

因为让我们记住，今天的英语不是一门需要掌握的艺术，它只是一种用来获得结果的工具。这个工具是属于你的。谢谢你！

330篇双语阅读美文合集，赶紧收藏！

203个英文视频合集：明星专访，名人演讲，励志视频……