美語通世界 Know English. Know the World.

語言即為知識庫，任何語言都是值得學習的。美語被公認為當今的社交通用語言，雖然不認同的也大有人在。

每年美語書籍出版的數量大約是中文書籍的兩倍（22%比11%）。德語排名第三，佔市場的9%，西班牙語、日語和俄語分別佔市場的5%左右。

然而，當談到科學時，美語確實是必需的。由於大多數科學期刊都是用美語發表的，大約75%到90%的科學論文也是用美語寫成的。在某些領域，98%的科學文獻都是以美語撰寫的。

但是，假如你住在亞洲，如何開始學習美語呢？這裡的大多數人普遍認為公立學校（不論是小學、中學、高中還是大學）並不是學習美語最有效的場所。

如果你是台灣學生，你可能已經習慣了在考試前學習盡可能的補習加強美語文法和詞彙，然後考完就忘記了。有點像我們在美國學習拉丁語或希臘語一樣。

我們都知道一個語言是無法完全背下來的。那麼該怎麼辦呢？

越早學越好！想像小孩子根本不知道美語、中文或希臘語之間的區別時，你用兩種語言跟他們交談，他們會的就是兩種語言。如果你用五種語言與他們交談，他們會的就是五種語言，即使第五種語言是梵文或古希臘文。

再來試著帶著你可愛的三歲、五歲的孩子去學習美術、跳舞或玩耍，但是用美語。他們會玩得開心、一起唱歌、交朋友、繪畫美麗的畫作，孩子們以自然和純真的角度看待這個世界，您從旁也會對此收穫感到很訝異。

如果你能說美語，就用美語跟孩子們溝通。如果沒辦法就善用網路，YouTube上的有聲書是很好的資源，稍後文末會提到更多相關資訊。

無論身在何處，都可以開始我們的線上課程。其中最好的課程是《Cal, Teddy and Gator Learn to Read》，因為它非常全面。這個課程提供了22小時的線上影片課程，大約90個短片，相當於在美國幼兒園接受一整年的教學。

你還可以觀看我們的藝術課程，在家裡教你的寶貝學習美術。我們的美術影片 “如何” 製作系列非常簡短精煉（大約兩分鐘），但是它們會一步步展示如何完成每個步驟，不到一小時就可以完成。

跟著我們的“Teacher Teddy”每日美語課程。每個影片都涵蓋不同的主題，簡短易懂，並帶有字幕，不用怕會錯過任何內容。

當你已經掌握了所有基礎知識並知道如何發音後，就可以開始閱讀Dr. Seuss的書籍。你知道他的書全球總共銷售了6億冊嗎？他的書籍很有趣且容易閱讀，這意味著孩子們會真的主動想讀這些書。可以從《帽子上的貓》這本書開始，這本書總共只使用了236個單字。

若想先接觸更短一些的書，也可以從Dr. Seuss的《綠色火腿蛋》開始，這本書只使用了50個單詞，也是由Theodor Seuss Geisel所著。

無論哪一本，都是在這本《Cal, Teddy and Gator Learn to Read》打下堅固基礎之後，給孩子閱讀冒險的絕佳開始。以下是這兩本Dr. Seuss經典書籍有趣且動畫化版本的連結：

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqTTpJdoAjg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6g82F72yUyA

All languages are depositories of knowledge. And all are absolutely worthy of learning. But one might argue that English is the lingua franca of our time. 

Every year, around twice as many books are published in English as there are in Chinese (22% vs 11% of books published worldwide). German is third with 9%; Spanish, Japanese and Russian each have around 5% of the market.

However, when it comes to science, English really is de rigueur. Since most scientific journals are published in English, around 75 to 90% of all scientific papers are also written in English. In some fields, 98% of scientific literature is in English. 

But, say, you're living in Asia. How do you get started with English? Most people here generally agree that public schools (whether elementary, middle schools, high schools or universities) are not the best places to learn English. 

If you're a student in Taiwan, chances are you're used to cramming as much English grammar and vocabulary as you can--right before the test. Then you forget it. Kind of like we'd study Latin or Greek back in the US. 

But we all know you can't memorize an entire language. So what do you do? 

The sooner you start, the better. Generally speaking, little kids don't even know the difference between English, Chinese or Greek--so if you speak to them in two languages, they'll learn two. And if you speak to them in five, they'll learn all five without even trying--even if the fifth one is Sanskrit or Ancient Greek.

Take your adorable little three- or five-year old to do art--or dance--or just to play--in English. They'll have fun, sing songs, make friends and paint beautiful pictures which may amaze you. Children see the world in such a natural and honest way it's truly a blessing to get a glimpse of it.

Speak to them in English (if you can). If you cannot, find books online--audiobooks on Youtube are a great resource--more on that later. 

And wherever you live, you can get started with our classes. The best one would be Cal, Teddy and Gator Learn to Read, simply because it's so comprehensive. 22 hours of online video classes--around 90 video lessons in total--equivalent to about one whole year of instruction at a US kindergarten. 

But you could also watch our Art Classes and teach your precious one to make art--right at home. Our art "how-to" videos are short and sweet (roughly two minutes long) but they show you how to complete each project--step by step--in less than one hour. 

Use our Everyday English with Teacher Teddy classes. Again, each video covers a different topic and each one is short and easy to understand--and subtitled, so you'll never miss a thing.

After you've covered all the basics and know how to sound out words--get started with Dr. Seuss. Did you know his books have sold a total of 600 million copies worldwide? They're fun and easy to read, which means kids actually want to read them. You'd probably want to start with The Cat in the Hat, which was written using only 236 words in total.

Or maybe you'd want something even shorter? How about Green Eggs and Ham, also by Dr. Seuss (real name: Theodor Seuss Geisel), which uses only 50 words? 

Either one would be a great start of your kid's reading adventure--right after a good first phonics book and course like Cal, Teddy and Gator Learn to Read. Here are the links to fun, animated versions of the two Dr. Seuss classics:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqTTpJdoAjg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6g82F72yUyA