This report and other recent studies show that online learning, distance learning, and self-learning in general, are not only more convenient, but, in fact, more effective than the classroom, for high school, college and adult learners. In the last decade, the Internet, the MP3 player, the iPhone, and other mobile devices,as well as social networking sites, language exchange communities, online learning systems, university courses online and more, he changed how we deal with knowledge. The walls of academia, and the costs of learning, are crumbling before our eyes and ears.
本篇报道和其他近期研究都显示普遍而言，网络课程、远程教育和自学比起传统高中、大学和成人教育模式等，不仅更加方便、而且效率更高。在过去的十年当中，互联网、mp3随身听、iPhone、其他便携式设备以及网络社区、网上教育课程、高校网络教程以及英语培训机构等都改变了我们英语学习的方式。高等教育的围墙、大笔的学费都在我们眼前崩塌。
For those who are conditioned to think that learning only happens in a classroom, the world of self-learning can be a little daunting. How do we best take advantage these new opportunities.
对于那些认为学习只能在教室中进行的人而言，自学可能会吓怕他们。那么我们怎么才能最好的利用自学这种新兴的学习方法呢？下面以自学外语为例，为大家介绍一些小诀窍。
1. Get interested
第一步：对所学之物感兴趣
Make no mistake. Your interest in the subject is the essential driver of success. You can't learn what you do not want to learn. Emotion is an important part of the learning process. If you are even moderately interested in a subject, give yourself a chance. The key is to get started. If you can create some pleasurable routines, you may find that the subject grows on you. “L’appetit vient en mangeant” (the appetite comes with eating) as they say in French.
可别搞错了，兴趣是成功学成某件事的根本要素！你不想学的东西当然学不会。在学习过程中保持热情至关重要。所以如果你对某件事有些兴趣，那就给自己一个学习的机会。关键是要“始”！（沪江小编：就像某广告说的那样，just do it!）如果你能创造一些让自己心的学习模式，那么就能好好始学习这门科目。就像他们在法语里说的那样：吃着吃着就有胃口了！
2. Expect problems and you won’t be disappointed.
第二步：降低期望值，这样就不会对自己失望
Don't expect to understand things, much less remember them, the first time you study them. Trust that things will get clearer as your brain comes to grips with new information. It is like a jig-saw puzzle or a cross-word puzzle. As you start to put the pieces together, or string the words together, the full picture becomes clearer. The brain learns all the time, but on its own schedule. Learning does not take place according to a schedule laid down by a curriculum or teacher. Some things are easier to learn than others. Some things just take longer to click in. Keep at it, and you will gradually find that things that seem difficult at first, will become second nature with time.
当一始学习的时候，别指望能一下就全部理解、更别说记住所有知识点了。要相信，随着你了解越来越多的新知识、你的头脑也会变得清晰起来。这就像是拼图、或者填字游戏那样：当你把图形一个一个拼起来、或是把单词一一填进去，整个大局就会清楚。大脑其实随时都在学习，不过它也有自己的节奏。学习的过程是不会按照一个课程、或是老师给你规定的进行的。有的东西比其他好学，有的东西就是需要花更多时间。坚持下去，你慢慢就会发现那些一始看上去很难的东西也会随着时间变得简单了。
3. Cover the same ground from different angles.
第三步：从不同的角度学习同一个知识点。
Your brain is struggling to form patterns to cope with new input from your learning activities. Sometimes, no matter how long you focus on one subject, your brain is not going to pick it up. If you are stuck, move on. Then cover the same general information from a different source, a different book, or a podcast, or an online lecture or ideo. Try to become a grazing learner, roaming the countryside, rather than a feedlot learner, just standing there in one spot, munching on the same bale of hay. The broader your base, the easier it is to learn. Just as the “rich get richer”, the more you know, the more you can learn.
在新知识的学习过程中，你的大脑会通过固有模式来接受新的知识点。有的时候，不管花多长时间对着一个科目，你就是记不住它。如果卡在这种时候，就略过它。跟着从其他的信息来源：比如不同的书籍、播客、线上课程或视频来重新学习同一个知识点。试着把自己变成一个“放养”的学习者——在知识的草原上四处周游；而不是“圈养”的学习者——只站在一个点上学习，反复咀嚼一个知识点。看地越广、就能学的轻松。就像是“有钱的更有钱”的道理那样，你知道的越多、就能学的越多。
4. Anytime is learning time.
第四步：随时都是学习时间！
Take full advantage of the Internet, iTunes, and various mobile devices, not to mention good old-fashioned books and magazines. Learn during “dead time”. Listen in your car, on the train, or while jogging. He your learning with you while waiting in the doctor's office, or[收起]
