I remember the problems I had in understanding spoken German when I first went to Germany. In the beginning, when I didn't understand a word, I insisted on translating it in my mind. This approach usually resulted in confusion. Then, after the first six months, I discovered two extremely important facts; Firstly, translating creates a barrier between the listener and the speaker. Secondly, most people repeat themselves constantly. By remaining calm, I noticed that - even if I spaced out I could usually understand what the speaker had said. I had discovered some of the most important things about listening comprehension:

我记得我第一次去德国的时候，在听人说话上遇到了很多麻烦。一开始，在我连几个词还听不懂的时候，我却坚持在脑子里翻译。这样通常只会让你更糊涂。接下来，6个月之后，我发现了两天特别重要的规律：一，翻译会在听话人和说话人之间造成一种障碍。二，大多数人都会不断重复。心平气和的时候，我发觉，即使我不认真听，通常我也能了解对方说的是什么。我发现了听力中一些最重要的东西：

Translating creates a barrier between yourself and the person who is speaking

翻译会给对话双方间造成理解障碍

While you are listening to another person speaking a foreign language, the temptation is to immediately translate into your native language. This temptation becomes much stronger when you hear a word you don't understand. This is only natural as we want to understand everything that is said. However, when you translate into your native language, you are taking the focus of your attention away from the speaker and concentrating on the translation process taking place in your brain. This would be fine if you could put the speaker on hold. In real life however, the person continues talking while you translate. This situation obviously leads to less -not more- understanding. I have discovered that translation leads to a kind of block in my brain which sometimes doesn't allow me to understand anything at all!

当与一个说外语的人对话时，我们总是想立刻把听到的翻译成自己说的语言，尤其是当我们听到不懂得词汇时。这是很自然的，因为我们想理解所有对方所讲的话。然而，当你在脑子翻译的时候，你的注意力就会从说话人那里被转移走了。如果你能让说话人给你时间考虑，那情况还好些。但是在实际生活中，对方是不会给你间隙的。显然，这就会让你听懂的更少，而不会是更多。我发现，在脑子翻译会阻塞大脑，使我到头来什么都没听懂！

Most people repeat themselves

大多数人都有重复的习惯

Think for a moment about your friends, family and colleagues. When they speak in your native tongue, do they repeat themselves? I don't mean literally, I mean the general idea. If they are like most people I have met, they probably do. That means that whenever you listen to someone speaking, it is very likely that he/she will repeat the information, giving you a second, third or even fourth chance to understand what has been said.

想想你的朋友，家人及同事，当他们说母语时，他们是不是有重复的习惯呢？我这里的重复并不是指重复地说某句话，我指的是他想表达的大概意思。如果他们和我遇到过的人一样的话，那他们肯定有说话重复的习惯。这就意味着，不管你何时听人说话，你都有机会听到对方重复信息，给你第二次，第三次甚至是第四次机会去理解对方所说的话。

By remaining calm, allowing yourself to not understand, and not translating while listening, your brain is free to concentrate on the most important thing.

保持心平气和，允许自己有听不懂的地方，不要边听边在脑子里翻译，你就可以把注意力集中在最重要的东西上了。