練口語的時候，常去英語(論壇)角，而在那里，除了用到前面所提到的一些技巧（包括引用電影臺詞和復述改述相關(guān)材料）之外，最常規(guī)的聊天方式就是問與答（以下稱Q&A），而今天要介紹的就是如何利用這樣的方法和原則來最大程度的提升口語練習機會。

原則一：準備一些問題

有的放矢的去英語角，這點已經(jīng)毋庸置疑了，除了準備一些材料之外，還要懂得準備問題，因為畢竟不是所有人都對我們準備的材料感興趣，或者從另一個角度說，如果通過提問將話題引到我們準備的材料上，給人感覺非常自然，即使他不是很感興趣，也會在早期比較配合我們的對話，也就給了我們鍛煉的機會。否則的話，就會出現(xiàn)以下的情況：

A: Hi, nice to meet you.

B: Nice to see you too.

A: What shall we talk about?

B: I don’t know. It’s up to you.

A: I can talk about everything.

B: Me too.

A: So what shall we talk about?

B: Whatever you like. So what do you like to talk about?

A:…

兩人無言，只有淚千行。但是如果我們有所準備或者考慮，情況可能就完全不一樣。比如，我們所熟悉的材料是關(guān)于廣告的，那么要設(shè)計一些廣告方面的問題，一般三個就足夠了，具體的對話可以是這樣的：、

A: Hi, nice to meet you.

B: Nice to see you too.

A: What shall we talk about?

B: Well, I would like to ask you a few questions if I may.

A: Sure, go ahead.

B: Have you ever been annoyed by those commercials between TV series when you are desperate to know about what’s going on next?

A: Yes. It spoils the whole evening sometimes.

B: Have you ever been bothered by those junk commercial messages during midnight when you are just about to have a sweet dream?

A: Well, yes.

B: Have you ever been confused by those booming advertisements or commercials so that you can hardly decide which one to follow and which product to buy?

A: I agree.

B: Then it is high time that we should prohibit commercials during golden hours…. （然后加入自己所準備的話題和內(nèi)容）

原則二：給出多句話的回答

這個原則主要是針對那些回答問題慣用一兩句話或者一兩個字的人，但凡這樣的情況出現(xiàn)，這個Q&A的過程就會變成一個審問的過程。使得提問人和答問人都會顯得非常郁悶。比如：

A: What’s you name?

B: York.

A: How old are you?

B: 27.

A: Where do you come from?

B: Chengdu

A: Do you like the English Corner here?

B: No.

A: Why?

B: Because I see you.

這種乒乓球式的一來一回，最后都不會有什么好的結(jié)果。練習口語是我們的目的，所以一定要利用別人提問的機會多說一些，這樣才會對所說的話題更加熟悉，同時還可以兼顧到語音語調(diào)以及詞匯句型的升級，也讓聽者覺得你是有表達欲望和交流欲望的。比如：

A: What’s your name?

B: Feel free to call me York. This is a name easy to remember as it never fails to remind people of the names of a state and a city in the United States—the New York State and the New York City. Actually it was given by my first English teacher in middle school and it is my personal favorite English name and I have used it since then.

后面的任何問題都可以如法炮制，只要回答者能夠用多句話來回答問題，交流的感覺會變得更加好。平時要有意識的訓練自己用5句話回答任何問題，這樣的話就可以在面對任何問題的時候都不會沒有話說（當然，這個訓練的目的是為了大家抓住鍛煉口語多說，不意味著任何問題從實質(zhì)上講都需要說5句話，5是個虛數(shù)也是個實數(shù)），包括那些你不知道答案的問題，比如：

A: Do you know how many stars are there in the sky? (口頭逼到可以不太講究語序)

B: This is a question too complicated for me to answer. As far as I know, the number of stars is uncertain since science and technology are developing everyday and we can not be so sure about the number of stars we have discovered, not to mention those unknown to us. The fact of matter is we need to see beyond those numbers, which means what those number means to us matters much more than the number itself. That is basically how I look at this question.

相信大家可以看出來了，即使不能對問題的答案有一個確定的答復，也可以就提問者的動機或者問題答案對我們的意義著手進行進一步的陳述，最關(guān)鍵的是把自己的觀點說出來，這樣不論是英語口頭表達和個人的自信心，都會得到相應的提高。

原則三：有鋪墊的提問

大家都知道在英語角要做一個多說多練的人，但是如果遇到一個人喜歡主導談話，不給別人機會發(fā)表觀點，我們的策略師有機會的時候利用機會，沒有機會的時候創(chuàng)造機會然后再利用機會。一般喜歡占據(jù)主導的說話者通常也會喜歡被別人提問，這樣很有當明星的感覺，每次去英語角和開記者招待會一樣，虛榮心可以得到極大的滿足。最關(guān)鍵的是每次提問的人只會怯生生地說出一句話，而回答的人可以說出長篇大論的東西，所以最后的結(jié)果就是提問者練聽力，說話者練口語。遇到這樣的情況，突破口就在提問的環(huán)節(jié)，只要我們提問的時候用N句話，這樣就很容易鍛煉到我們自己的表達。同時，如果有鋪墊的提問也會給回答者一些時間思考答案，他本能不會排斥，畢竟貿(mào)然打斷提問是一種特別不禮貌的舉動。具體的操作方法是首先說出問題的范圍，讓他有心理準備，然后再呈現(xiàn)出自己對這個問題感興趣的原因，讓他明白提問者的動機，再慢慢的提出這個問題。最起碼一個問題也可以用五句話來提，比如how old are you？一個簡單問年齡的問題，也可以有很多形式的鋪墊，比如 I would like to ask a question about your age if I may. (當然，如果對方直接說no, you may not 或者 sorry, it is not a polite question to ask. 那可以作罷，換下一個問題。)然后接著說出自己對這個問題感興趣的原因，I don’t mean to intrude in your privacy but as is indicated in lots of cases, people at different age tend to speak and behave in different ways even though their personality and value system have not changed much. That is to say, it is generally possible to tell how old the person is or how he looks at some question or topic by studying his speaking and behaviors. I happened to notice that you do have a special perspective upon the issue or topic we just talked about and it is kind of rare for people at your age to think in this way if I am right about your age. So would you please tell me how old you are? Or are you between 25 and 30? 這樣的提問效果顯而易見。

原則四：就回答提問

在Q&A的過程中，很多時候大家會覺得問了一個問題后就無話可說了，于是會出現(xiàn)冷場的局面，然后一拍兩散，去尋找新的搭檔，重演舊的悲劇。其實，如果兩個人只要都稍微經(jīng)過練習，就能做到一直談下去，特別是在英語角這個地方，除非他累了。具體的方法就是，與其去想幾十個問題，還不如先想好一個問題，然后在對方回答的過程中，順著對方的思路去開發(fā)新的問題，這樣一來向?qū)Ψ絺鬟_出你對他回答的興趣，又給他不斷表達的機會，然后用上面一個原則表達自己的觀點，效果也是很好的。比如：

A: What’s your name?

B: York.

A: Very special name, isn’t it? Do you like it?

B: Sure. It was given by my first English teacher in middle school and it became my personal favorite English name.

A: Interesting. It seems that he influenced you a great deal. What’s he like?

B: Actually I don’t remember much about him but what impressed me most was his easygoing personality and he is a kind guy too.

A: Well, middle school student generally hate teachers, don’t they?

B: Yes, because we were too active and hated being controlled and disciplined. But I would like to say that he is an exception because he was ready to help any student in need and he seemed to understand us better, sometimes much better than our parents did.

A: Is there any specific example that you would like to share with me? I’m really interested in it.

為了讓大家看得清楚這個原則的應用，這里的問答就沒有采用多句的原則，效果自然不言自明。最有默契的搭檔是這樣做的：A鋪墊提問，B陳述回答+提問，A陳述回答+提問，循環(huán)往復，以至無窮。

大家在掌握了這個額技巧以后，更重要的還是要明白說話的語言質(zhì)量，內(nèi)容以及邏輯性，這也是以后的文章會不斷提到的。其實英語交流和中文交流一樣，如果大家遇到了什么問題，首先考慮在中文交流過程中怎么解決的，很大程度上可以類推到英語中的。