Because it gives them horrible flashbacks from their high school language classes.

因為這會給他們帶來高中語言課程的可怕回憶。

That skill is writing.

就是寫作技巧。

Now, don't worry, I'm not gonna make you write any essays or book reports today.

別擔心，我今天不會要你寫作文或閱讀心得報告。

But I am gonna give you some easy tips to improve your writing.

但我要給你一些簡單的撇步來改善你的寫作。

And not only that, I'm gonna make you love practicing it with some exercises that are fun and effective.

不僅如此，我還要讓你愛上那些有趣且有效的練習。

If you're skeptical, stick around!

如果你很懷疑，就別走！

If you wanna learn about other skills or have language-specific questions, go ahead and subscribe to our channel, where we post tons of free content about language learning. 

如果你想要學到更多技巧或跟語言相關的問題，去訂閱我們的頻道，我們會放上許多關於語言學習的免費內容。

And turn on your notifications while you're at it!

趁你還在的時候要打開通知提醒！

Now, we've told you time and time again to focus your efforts on speaking and listening when you first start learning a new language.

我們說過很多遍了，在你一開始學新語言時，你要把精力專注在對話跟聽力上。

We believe that those skills are the skills that give you the most bang for your buck because they allow you to communicate with people most quickly.

我們認為那些技巧能夠給你帶來物超所值的體驗，因為那能讓你最快地跟外國人溝通。

And being able to do that gives you a major sense of accomplishment, right?

還可以讓你獲得極大的成就感，對吧？

Which in turn motivates you to keep learning.

也成為讓你繼續學習的動力。

But it is worth your while to learn how to write well in your target language.

但是學習用目標語言寫好文章是很值得的。

I'll tell you why in just a second, but first, I wanna hear from you.

我待會就會告訴你為什麼。但首先，我想聽到你們的心聲。

I'm taking a poll.

我要來投票。

Do you mostly communicate in your target language through speaking or through writing?

在目標語言中，你最常使用的溝通方式是透過說話還是寫作？

Leave me a comment with your answer; I can't wait to see what you all think!

在底下留言告訴我你的答案，我等不及要看你們的想法了！

All right, back to the good stuff. Here are just a few reasons why writing is important.

回歸到主題，這是為什麼寫作很重要的理由。

Practicing writing can make new words stick like glue in your long-term memory, since it engages your kinesthetic memory, especially when you write by hand.

練習寫作可以讓新的單字像膠水一樣黏在你的長期記憶，主要是在你用手寫作時，它佔用了你的知覺記憶。

Check out the learning pyramid.

看看這個學習金字塔。

Writing would be considered "Doing".

寫作會被認為是「做」。

And the average retention rate is 75%, compared to something more passive like listening or reading.

跟其他比較被動的聽力或閱讀相比，這個平均記憶力是 75%。

It can also force you to think about the mechanics of your target language.

這也可以讓你思考目標語言的技巧。

How sentences are built, when different tenses are used, which turns of phrase are most natural, etc., which also benefits your speaking skills.

句子如何建構、哪時候要用不同的時態、哪個說法最自然等等，這也能讓你的口說技巧帶來好處。

Knowing how to write well in a foreign language is going to make you an important asset to your current company or set your resume apart from the rest of the candidates in the applicant pool.

知道如何用外文寫作讓你成為目前公司最重要的人才或讓你的履歷在申請人海中脫穎而出。

And it can be a great creative release that relieves stress and anxiety and improves your overall mental health.

這也是一個創造力的揮發，釋放壓力和擔憂，並改善你整體的心理健康。

Okay, by now, hopefully, I've won you over if you didn't think that learning to write was important at the beginning of this video.

如果你在影片一開始認為學習寫作並不重要，希望我有說服你。

Now it's time for six tips on how to improve your writing, along with fun ways to put those tips into practice.

現在來看六個改善寫作的撇步，加上搭配有趣的方法來實行。

Tip number one: Try to write every day.

第一：試著每天寫作。

I often like to start my day with 5 to 15 minutes of freewriting, which is almost like a form of meditation.

我通常會用 5-15 分鐘的自由寫作來開啟我的一天，就像一種冥想的儀式。

Don't set any expectations for yourself, don't stress about conjugation, and don't go back and edit your work.

不要對你自己有任何期待，不要對時態變化感到壓力，不要回頭校正你的文章。

Simply set a timer, put pen to paper ⏤ and yes, I recommend doing this by hand ⏤ and write continuously about anything that comes to mind until the timer goes off.

只要設定時間，拿筆跟紙就好。我建議你用手寫作，在時間到以前，不斷地寫出你想到的東西。

Free-writing is a fun, stress-free habit for getting your daily writing practice in and to help your ideas begin to flow more naturally in your target language.

自由寫作是好玩又輕鬆的習慣，讓你實行日常寫作，並幫助你的點子在目標語言裡能夠更自然地湧出。

Tip number two: Don't start with a novel.

第二：不要從小說開始看。

The best way to get overwhelmed and disenchanted with writing in a foreign language is by trying to take on too much at once.

要對外語寫作感到不知所措或心灰意冷的話，最有可能是一次讀太多東西。

So if you're having trouble finding the willpower to practice writing, put your plans for that Italian novel on hold, and instead, opt for lots of shorter prompts.

所以你找不到練習寫作的毅力，先把你的義大利小說放一旁，取而代之地，去選擇比較短的題目。

One fun way to practice short but frequent writing bursts is by posting on social media.

有個好玩的方法可以頻繁練習簡短寫作，就是在社群媒體上貼文。

Especially tweets, since you're given a limited number of characters to work with.

尤其是推特，因為你只能打上有限的字數。

You can tweet about your day, you can tweet out your favorite celebrities or brands, tweet your thoughts about news articles... just make it relevant to you!

你可以推特你的一天，你可以推特你喜歡的明星或品牌，你可以推特你對新聞標題的想法，只要跟你有關就行！

Posting on social media can be a good way to keep yourself committed to your language practice through public accountability, which Luca has talked about in other videos.

在社群媒體上貼文是一個透過公共責任，讓你自己致力於語言練習上的好方法。

However, you can also create a separate account dedicated to your target language if you don't want all of your followers to see your practice.

不過如果你不想要追蹤者們看到你的練習，你也可以辦不同的帳號來練習目標語言。

Tip number three: Don't make it feel like school.

第三：不要感覺像在上課。

If you think you hate practicing writing, get as far away from "traditional" writing prompts as possible.

如果你討厭寫作，那就盡可能地遠離「傳統的」作文題目。

For you, I recommend chatting or instant messaging with a conversation partner.

我建議你找個對話夥伴聊天或即時通訊。

It's basically the 2021 version of an adult penpal.

這就是 2021 年版的成年人筆友。

If you can find someone who you qui ⏤ click well with, the time will really fly by when you're writing back and forth, and it won't feel like practice, just like you're messaging a friend.

如果你找到一個很好聊的人，你反覆地寫作時，時間會過得很快，你會覺得這像跟朋友傳訊息而不像練習。

Some people even swear that dating apps are the reason they've gotten so good at writing in their target language!

有些人甚至斷言說交友軟體是他們讓目標語言寫作變更好的原因。

Don't knock it 'til you try it!

還沒嘗試以前別輕易下定論！

With most dating apps, you can set it up to "search for matches in a particular city", so just choose one where they speak your target language.

你可以在大多數的交友軟體設置「尋找特定城市的配對」，就能選擇使用目標語言的國家。

That tip leads me to my next tip, which is...

這個跟我的下個撇步有關，就是...

Tip number four: Get feedback.

第四：獲得反饋。

It's best to get feedback about your writing from a human, but if you're not comfortable with that quite yet, using free automatic writing checkers is another option.

最好是獲得真人的反饋，但如果你不太喜歡那種模式，你也可以使用免費的自動寫作檢查工具。

LanguageTool is a good one to check out because it supports many different languages.

LanguageTool 是一個很好的檢查工具，因為它支援多種語言。

Microsoft Word also has some built-in writing assistance features.

微軟的 Word 也是有內建寫作助手的特色。

If you're learning Spanish, I'd recommend the online tool called SpanishChecker.

如果你在學西班牙語，那我建議你用一個叫 SpanishChecker 的線上工具。

BonPatron for French, DudenMentor for German, and Grammarly or Write & Improve, which is a free tool developed by Cambridge, for English.

法語用 BonPatron，德語用 DudenMentor。英語用 Grammarly 或是劍橋開發的免費工具 Write & Improve。

Write & Improve is pretty neat because it also gives you prompts for different levels if you're not sure what to write about.

Write & Improve 很好用，因為如果你不知道該寫什麼，它可以依照不同等級給你題目。

A way to make this resource fun is to think of it like a competition with yourself and see if you can beat your previous score for the least amount of mistakes.

讓這個資源變有趣的方法是想像這是跟你自己的比賽，再看看你能不能寫出最少的錯誤來打破之前的分數。

I should warn you that these automatic tools aren't always accurate, so do your own research to make sure that they didn't flag any errors by mistake.

我得提醒你，這些自動工具並不是一直都正確的。所以你要自己做好研究來確保他們不會誤植任何錯誤。

Tip number five: Don't get too much feedback!

第五：不要收到太多反饋！

You obviously want to know what you can improve on when you write, so feedback is important.

你當然想知道你該如何改善寫作，所以反饋很重要。

But you don't want to feel like you're constantly being graded, so it's important to keep some of your writing to yourself and practice just for the sake of practicing.

但你不會想要不斷地被評分，所以保留一些你自己的寫作，只為了練習而練習也很重要。

Like with free-writing, the simple act of writing a lot can help you improve.

就像自由寫作，寫很多作品能夠幫助你進步。

I'd suggest keeping a personal blog, journal, or diary for this purpose.

我建議你辦一個私人的部落格，或是有寫作用途的日記。

And you don't have to just fill it with your own writing.

你不要只用自己的文字填滿它。

For instance, I keep a notepad full of quotes, sentences, and expressions that I come across in things I read and that I particularly love the sound of because it inspires me to be a better writer.

例如，我有一個寫滿引言、句子和措辭的記事本。那些都是我讀過後覺得特別喜歡的句子，因為那鼓勵我變成更好的作者。

Tip number six: Read.

第六：閱讀。

And on that note, to be a good writer in any language, you have to be a reader.

在那本記事本裡有說，想當任何語言的好作者，就要當一個好讀者。

Especially when you're learning to write for a specific purpose, you need to read a ton of similar texts written in your target language and mimic the style rather than translating directly from your native language.

尤其是當你寫作是為了明確的目的，你就要閱讀大量類似的目標語言文本，還有模仿那些風格，而不是直接從你的母語翻譯。

By the way, translating can be another fun writing exercise, and I'm not just saying that because I'm a translator.

順道一提，翻譯可以是另一個有趣的寫作練習，不是因為我是譯者才這麼說。

Pick a specific text genre to read and analyze.

選一個特定的文本類型來閱讀跟分析。

Business emails or memos can help with professional language.

商務信件跟備忘錄可以幫助你使用專業的術語。

Newspaper op-eds can help you work on your logic and argumentation.

報紙中的社論對頁版可以幫助你統整你的邏輯和辯論能力。

Poems and songs are great for learning about rhythm and rhyme.

詩歌是學習節奏和押韻的好方法。

And then, once you've picked a text, try to copy that style as closely as possible.

當你選好一則文本，試著模仿它的風格，越相近越好。

So, to sum up my tips and fun ways to practice writing:

總結我的撇步和練習寫作的有趣方法。

Incorporate writing into your daily language practice, and, to do so, try free-writing.

把寫作放入你日常語言的練習中，並試著自由寫作。

Keep your practice sessions short.

縮短你練習的時間。

Since you'll be on social media anyway, try to write a few short tweets or Instagram captions each day.

因為你每天都會使用社群媒體，試著寫下簡短的推文或 Instagram的照片說明。

Find the practical side of writing.

找到寫作實用的一面。

Texting a language partner or crush is one fun idea.

傳訊息給語言夥伴或喜歡的對象是個有趣的點子。

Get edits and feedback about your writing, for instance using an automatic writing help tool.

獲得關於你寫作的校對和反饋，例如使用自動協助寫作的工具。

Keep some of your work private so that you don't put too much pressure on yourself with a personal blog or journal.

在私人的部落格或日記上保留一些你個人的作品，你就可以不用給自己太大的壓力。

And read, read, read!

閱讀，閱讀，再閱讀！

Imitating different styles and genres or translating things you read are entertaining ways to practice your writing skills.

模仿不同的風格和文體或翻譯你讀過的東西，都是練習寫作技巧的好玩方法。

I hope you have as much fun writing as I do!

希望你能夠跟我一樣在寫作獲得樂趣！

And be sure to let me know in the comments if I've managed to change your perspective about writing practice.

如果我成功改變你對寫作練習的看法，記得在底下留言告訴我。

Take care and happy learning!

祝你們平安和學習愉快！

If you learned something new from this video, give it a thumbs up. Then, hit subscribe and turn on your notifications.

如果你從這部影片學到新知識，按個讚，再點擊訂閱鈕開啟通知。

Have a look around our channel for more hacks and tips.

在我們的頻道看看更多方法跟撇步。

And if you're watching on another social media platform, like or follow our page.

如果你是從其他社群平台看到這部影片，按讚並追蹤我們的專頁。

See you next time!

下次見！