Bill Brown

老潘

I was delighted by the presentations of the finalists in the 2nd annual Stories of China Retold in English Challenge, which this year had over 170,000 contestants. It was obvious they were passionate not just to learn English but to use it to share with the world China's Story—the China Dream. Although I only saw the finalists, in my eyes, all 170,000 were winners.

看到各位选手在第二届“用英语讲中国故事”活动全国总决选中的精彩表现，我特别开心。今年，活动迎来了17余万名选手——不难看出，他们不光想学好英语，还有着极大的热情来同世界分享中国故事与中国梦。尽管我只和总决选的选手见了面，但在我看来，这17万名同学都是好样的。

Some challengers asked for suggestions to improve their English or to do better at next year's challenge, so I offer 10 simple suggestions, beginning with three Tech Tips for English.

有的选手问我了，怎么提升自己的英文水平，在明年的活动中表现更佳呢？我这儿有10个小建议供大家参考，咱们先从这3个英语小技巧开始。

Tech Tip 1: Grammar check. 

小技巧1：检查语法

As David Symington has said, grammar is not the top priority in telling China's Story. You'll win your audience easier with an ungrammatical but passionate story than with a grammatically perfect but dull recitation. 

斯明诚老师说得没错：讲好中国故事，语法并非头等大事；即便不合语法，你要是能把故事讲出激情来，也比语法严丝合缝的“唐僧念经”更能抓人。

不过，如果你想去记背写过的东西，那最起码也得用软件查查语法和拼写。要不然，与其说你是在练习英语，更像是在巩固和强化错误，然后“笔误”就发展成了“嘴瓢”。 

By the way, my spellchecker just found 5 errors in this document. :(

对了，我的拼写检查软件只发现了稿子里的5处错误。:(

Tech Tip 2: Record your voice! 

小技巧2：录下你的声音

Cell phone recordings of your English not only aid in memorization but also help you hear and correct mistakes and improve tones and cadence. 

拿手机录下你的英文语音，不但能帮你去记背，还能让你边听边纠错，优化语气和语调。

Tech Tip 3: Daily Dose of Dictionary! 

小技巧3：日常查字典

From my youth, I've loved browsing dictionaries to see how words originated and how variations are used today. A phone dictionary is a fun way to learn and remember new words, phrases or usages, and many programs also provide sample sentences with the words.

我年轻那会儿特别喜欢翻词典，一是看看单词当初都从哪儿来，二来查查单词当今都能怎么用。现在的手机词典就挺好的，能查新词，能看它们的词组和用法；好多软件还能显示单词能造什么例句。

If a picture paints a thousand words, body language paints 10,000. Research shows that most of our communication is conveyed through body language—especially our facial expressions. 

如果说“一画胜千言”，那肢体语言肯定能顶1万字。研究表明，咱们大多数的交流，都是用肢体语言——尤其是面部表情来完成的。

1.  Smile—but not nonstop! 

1、微笑，但悠着点儿

A smile may convey not just happiness but also that you are relaxed, which helps relax the audience and raise their receptivity to your message. Conversely, an unvaryingly serious expression may convey that you are tense or stressed. Do not smile nonstop, of course! Last year, a girl grinned as she shared the Covid death rate. 

微笑不光能传递幸福感，还能让人知道你是放松的。你放松了，观众自然舒缓了，也更容易接受你的信息了。反过来，老是板着一张脸，则会让观众觉得你特别紧绷、压力山大。

（老潘与选手亲切交谈）

Do not smile nonstop, of course! Last year, a girl grinned as she shared the Covid death rate. 

当然，微笑也得讲变通。去年有位小姑娘就是个反例，她讲新冠死亡率的时候都笑吟吟的……

Think in advance what facial expressions will be appropriate for different segments of your story and practice  conveying happiness, sadness, surprise, anger, doubt, relief, regret, seriousness, etc. And  while you're thinking ahead, consider your tones.

故事分不同的段落，展现的情绪也分“喜、悲、惊、怒、疑惑、缓和、后悔、认真”，所以，哪个表情适合哪个段落的内容，这个你得事先考虑好了。同时，你也得提前想好用什么语气来展现。

2. Tones. 

2、语气

English, like Chinese, has tones, although in English the tones convey emotions (urgency, anger, fear, delight, doubt) rather than change the word's actual meaning. In the China Story challenge, some contestants used the same tones or, almost as bad, the same practiced set of tones. Tones, like facial expressions, can powerfully reinforce your words—or detract from them if used incorrectly. 

和中文一样，英文也有语气。不过英文的语气只传达情感（急、怒、惧、喜、疑），并不会改变单词的实际意思。在“用英语讲中国故事”活动中，一些选手的语气就很单一，而且单一得就跟“一个师傅教出来”似的。语气和面部表情一个道理，可以让你的表达更有力度，而一旦使用错误，则会适得其反。

So as with facial expressions, review your recitation's emotional words, phrases or topics, and practice using tones you would use in real life—although it is challenging to act naturally in unnatural situations.

所以，你不但要重视面部表情，还要时常温习朗诵时表达情绪的单词、短语，以及话题，并把它们放在你现实生活中的语气里，加以练习——虽然在刻意的条件下表现出自然的一面，确实有点难度。

3. Body Language———Naturally Unnatural. 

3、肢体语言——刻意中追求自然

In addition to facial expressions and tones, use hand gestures and your body. 

除了面部表情和语气，咱们还要用好手势和肢体。

One contestant stood rigid the entire time, hands glued to his sides as if at attention. I expected him to salute the judges. 

记得有位同学自打上台就站得笔杆条直，跟立正似的，双手紧贴两侧，我寻思这是要向评委敬礼啊。

Another adopted the Xiamen Airlines stewardess pose, with both hands clasped before her, though at times she raised her arms like a Quanzhou marionette on a string, and then dropped them limply to her sides as if her strings had been cut. 

还有位同学，身段神似厦航的空姐，十指紧扣、置于前方；一抬手，倒挺像泉州的牵线木偶；然后，胳膊就耷拉下来了，大概是线断了。

As with facial expressions or tones, plan in advance to use simple gestures to reinforce specific words, emotions or actions. One of the best gestures I saw in the event was a girl using one hand to "sprinkle" spices on her food. It was so natural, visual and appealing that I could almost smell the bowl of noodles in the other hand.  

手势其实同面部表情或语气一样，想用它来强化语言、情感或动作的表现力度，也得提前规划好了。我在活动中就见过一个特别好的手势，是个女孩用的，她模仿“给食物撒辣椒粉”。动作显得特别自然、生动，看着她的表现，仿佛真能闻到她端着的那碗面条。

Don't overdo it, of course. Melodramatic mannerisms may be more distracting than none at all. Be natural—although acting natural is easier said than done. 

当然，过犹不及。动作太夸张了，反而比不做动作更让人出戏。尽管这说着简单、做着难，但还是得尽量自然点。

Even after making hundreds of TV episodes,  when a director tells me to "just walk naturally," just knowing that I'm on camera makes it difficult, even though I’ve had six decades' experience at putting one foot before the other. Only a few months ago in Beijing, a director called for a break, and then filmed me as I walked back to the starting point. It was perfect—but only because I thought the camera had been turned off and I wasn't thinking about walking naturally. 

你看，我拍过几百集的片子，还走了60多年的路，现在一个导演让我“步子迈得从容点”，我照样犯难。在几个月前，我在北京拍节目，导演喊我休息一下，就在我走回原点的那会儿，他把我走路的镜头抓录下来了。这段路是走得“完美”的，因为我当时以为都关机了，所以压根没去想怎么“自然迈步”的事儿。

（出演历史剧的老潘）

And even as it’s hard to "act naturally" on camera, it's difficult to be natural on the unnatural environment of a stage. When telling your story to family or friends at home, you can easily deliver an Oscar-winning performance, but once on stage, you're like a Quanzhou puppet with knotted strings. So what's the answer?

在镜头前表现得“自然”已实属不易，在“不自然”的舞台上更难上加难。咱和家里人讲故事，那表现直追奥斯卡影帝/影后；但一上台，就成了泉州的牵线木偶。你说这究竟是怎么回事呢？

Even Oscar winners who have been idolized in one film have been ridiculed as utterly without talent in another. Acting natural does not come naturally—even for the stars. The only solution for them, or for us, is practice, practice, practice. And as you practice, seek feedback from friends so you don't just reinforce habits you should change.

这么说吧，就算一个演员因为一部电影而当了影帝/影后，演在另一部电影时也很可能让人揶揄 “不是吃这碗饭的”。哪怕大明星，也不是天生的“演技派”。想解决这个难点的，就是要再三地练习——无论大明星还是我们，都没有捷径。另外，你练习的时候，不妨问问朋友们的意见，以免“一条路走到黑”。

My suggestions above were geared primarily for formal English events. To improve daily conversational  English, I also suggest: 

咱们上面的建议主要是针对大场合的英语活动。想提升日常英语会话的水平，我这么建议大家：

1. Ask questions! 

1、问问题

Someone said that dialogues are in reality only two-way monologues, because people do not listen to each other. To speak better, learn to listen, because it helps you know your audience better, and what to say or not to say. You may also learn new words, phrases or insights to help with that specific person or event. 

有人说对话就是“双向的独白”，因为大家都不会互相倾听。你要想练好口语，那就得学会倾听，因为通过倾听你能更好地了解听众，并知道什么该说、什么不该说。你还能以此为契机，学点新的单词和短语，找到新的视角，来为特定的人或事提供帮助。

2. Learn a little, use it a lot!

2、学了就用！

Too many people burn out attempting too much too fast, but language learning is a marathon, not a sprint. 

不少人因为贪多图快把自己弄得焦头烂额，但学语言是一场“马拉松”，不是“百米冲刺”。

So my most useful insight from graduate linguistics was simply "learn a little, use it a lot." After all, if you learned just one word a day, that's 365 words in a year. I learned Chinese (and also Turkish) like a child, learning one simple word or phrase a day, and like a child, I boldly practiced it on every person I met—which brings me to the next suggestion: open your mouth!

语言专业的研究生教了我一个挺实用的法子，就是“学一点，到处用”。每天用好一个词，一年就能掌握365个词。我学汉语和土耳其语那会儿，就像个小孩似的，学回一个词句，就逮着谁跟谁贫，脸皮贼厚——而这，也是我接下来要建议大家的：张开嘴！

3. Open your mouth! 

3、张开嘴！

Language learners the world stress reading and writing but fear making mistakes by speaking aloud. Never fear! Foreigners appreciate you learning their language, and even if they do laugh at a mistake, it is not malicious but good humored because we all make mistakes. 

全世界的语言学习者都看重写作和阅读，但不敢张嘴、怕露怯。别怕！外国人很高兴你能学他们的语言，他们因为你的一个错误乐了，那也是善意的，没有恶意。人非圣贤，孰能无过？

That is how we learn. 

学外语就得这样。

Just reading and writing will never improve oral English because oral English is physical, not just mental. If you don't exercise your mouth, tongue and lips, you may master the vocabulary and still not be able to speak. I know a respected Sinologue in the U.S. whose written Chinese is better than most Chinese. He even reads and writes ancient Chinese. On paper, he's brilliant—but he cannot carry on even a simple conversation in oral Chinese.

仅凭阅读和写作，是无法提高英语口语。毕竟，英语口语考的是身体机能，光构思得好没用。如果不把口、舌、唇练利索了，你能掌握词汇，但还是说不出来。我认识一位受人尊重的美国汉学家，他汉字写得比大多数中国人都好，甚至还能读写古汉语。在书面和笔头上，他十分优 秀；但他却不能用汉语完成一次简单的对话。

4. Cheat Sheet Strategy! 

4、打小抄战术！

Before meeting a person or attending a meeting (or an English challenge), think about what you may discuss, make a list of useful words, and practice them in advance. Then you can more easily and naturally alter your familiar sentence patterns to fit the new situation and better impress a new boss, teacher or girl/boy friend.

在见一个人、参加一个会议（或者英语活动）之前，可以想想你可能谈及的内容，把有用的单词都列出来，再事先练习一下。这样一来，面对各种状况，你的措辞就能更灵活多变，这可以给你的新老板、老师或者对象留下更好的印象。

The cheat sheet strategy may even help with an English recitation or challenge. Jot down key words and corresponding facial expressions, tones, hand gestures and body movements, and review them beforehand so that they become second nature. 

“打小抄战术”对英文朗诵或英语比拼活动也管用。记住关键词和相应的面部表情、语气、手势和身体动，并事先复习，把他们练成条件反射。

Of course, use this sheet only before the event, not during it, unless you write it in tiny print on your wrist and pretend you are checking the time.

不过，这个小抄只能在活动开始前用，台上可不兴亮出来。除非，你用小字写手腕上，假装看个手表。

Just joking.  

开个玩笑，别当真。

Good luck with your English! 

祝你英语学习好运！

Though luck, of course, has nothing to do with it. The key to oral English is practice, practice, practice. 

但话说回来，运气可遇不可求。学好英语口语，还是得实实在在地多练。

Since I moved to Xiamen University in 1988, I've known uneducated adult Chinese in their 40s who could only speak Minnan dialect. Yet over time, through sheer persistence, they not only learned Chinese but some English as well. If they can do it, so can you.

自从我1988年来厦门大学，我认识了一些文化水平不高的人士，年过不惑却只会讲闽南话。但皇天不负苦心人，他们不但学会了普通话，英文说得也挺溜。他们能做到，你们为何不能呢？

I look forward to seeing you at next year's 3rd Stories of China Retold in English Challenge! 

希望在第三届“用英语讲中国故事”活动上，能够与你们再会！