Why kids learn languages more easily than you do

Step 1感知·閱讀導航

話題導入

學習第二語言在任何時候都比較困難。那么什么時候才是學習第二語言的最佳時間？如果錯過這個最佳時間，是不是我們就永遠失去了達到流暢表達的機會呢？對于成年人來說，如何才能更好地學習第二語言呢？本文將為你揭開學習第二語言的最佳時期之謎。

閱讀立意

閱讀時，應達到以下四個基本目標：

1.通過快速閱讀，獲取文章段落大意，分析文本結構；

2.能基于文本結構，寫出文本概要；

3.能從文本整合信息，進行寫作表達；

4.通過分析和對比同類型的說明文，掌握此類說明文的行文特征。

Learning a second language istrickyat any age.Now， in a new study， scientists have discovered that yourchanceof reaching fluency in a second language seem to suddenly decrease at the exact age of ten.

The study， published in the journal Cognition，found thatit'snearly impossible forlanguage learners to reach native-level fluency if they start learning a second tongue after age ten.But that's not because language skills start togo downhill.“Itturns outyou're still learning fast，” says Joshua Hartshorne，an assistant professor of psychology at Boston College.“It's just that you run out oftime， because your ability to learn starts dropping at around 17 or 18 years old.People who start learning a language a few years after age ten may still become quite good at it，but they are unlikely to become fluent.”

學習第二語言在任何年齡都是棘手的?，F在，在一項新的研究中，科學家們發現，在你10歲的時候，你在第二語言達到流利的可能性似乎突然減少了。

發表在《認知》雜志上的研究發現，如果語言學習者在10歲后開始學習第二語言，就幾乎不可能達到母語水平的流利程度。但這不是因為語言技能開始退化。波士頓學院的心理學助理教授喬舒亞·哈茨霍恩說：“事實證明，你仍在快速學習，只是你沒有時間了，因為你的學習能力在17歲或18歲左右開始下降。在10歲以后的幾年時間里才開始學習語言的人仍然很擅長語言，但他們不太可能流利?！?/p>

For the study，the researchers created an online quizpromisingto guess people's native language，dialect（方言）and home country based on their responses to English grammar questions.The quizwent viral： almost 670，000 people took it， giving the researchers huge amounts of data from English speakers of different ages and backgrounds.Analyzing (分析)the responses and grammar mistakes allowed them todraw unusually precise conclusionsabout language learning.

Kids may be better than adults at learning new languages for many reasons.Children's brains are more plastic than those of adults，meaning they're better able to adapt andrespond tonew information.“All learning involves the brain changing，” Hartshorne says， “and children's brains seem to be a lot more skillful at changing.”Kids may also be more willing to try new things than adults.Theircomparativelynew grasp on their native tongue may also be advantageous.Unlike adults，who tend to default（默認）to the rules andpatternsof their first language，kids may be able to approach a new one witha blank slate.

These findings may seem discouraging，but it is exciting for scientists to learn that thecriticalperiod for fluent language acquisition（習得）might be longer than previously thought.Some scientists believed that the window begins to close shortly after birth，while othersstretchedit to earlyadolescence.Compared with thoseestimates， age 17 or 18—when languagelearning ability starts to drop off—seems relatively old.

The findings also offerinsightsfor adults hoping topick upa new tongue.Peopleget alongbetter when they learn by immersion（沉浸）， rather than simply in a classroom.And moving to a place where your desired language is spoken is the best way to learn as an adult.If that's not anoption，you can create an immersive environment by finding ways to have conversations with native speakers.By doing so，it's possible to become proficient（熟練的）in a second language—even without the advantage of a child's brain.

在研究中，研究人員創建了一個在線測試，希望能根據人們對英語語法問題的回答來猜測人們的母語、方言和家鄉。這項測試廣泛傳播：將近670，000人參加了這項測試，它給研究者提供了大量來自不同年齡和背景的英語使用者的數據。分析反應和語法錯誤使他們能夠得出異常精確的語言學習結論。

孩子們可能比成年人更善于學習新的語言，原因有很多。孩子們的大腦比成年人的大腦更具可塑性，這意味著他們能夠更好地適應和應對新的信息?！八械膶W習都涉及大腦的變化，”哈茨霍恩說，“孩子的大腦似乎更善于改變?！焙⒆觽円部赡鼙瘸赡耆烁敢鈬L試新事物。他們對母語的理解相對較新，也可能是有利的。不像成年人，他們傾向于默認第一語言的規則和模式，孩子們可能會用空白板應對新的語言。

這些發現似乎令人沮喪，但科學家們很興奮地得知，流利語言習得的關鍵時期可能比先前設想的要長。一些科學家認為，這扇窗戶在出生后不久就會關閉，而另一些科學家則將其延長至青春期早期。與這些估計相比，當語言學習能力開始下降時，17歲或18歲——似乎相對較晚。

這些發現也為那些希望學會一種新的語言的成年人提供了信息。當人們通過沉浸式的學習而不是僅僅在課堂上學習時，他們進步更快。搬到一個地方，你想說的語言被說的地方，是成年人學習的最好方法。如果這不是一個選擇，你可以通過尋找以這種語言為母語的人進行對話的方法來創建一個沉浸式的環境。通過這樣做，即使沒有孩子們大腦的優勢，也有可能成為精通一門新語言的人。

Step 2 實踐·文本解讀

閱讀掃障

Ⅰ.熟詞生義

Ⅱ.熱詞積累

Vocabulary

1.tricky adj.difficult to do or deal with難對付的

2.comparatively adv.relatively相對地；比較而言地

3.critical adj.extremely important關鍵的；極重要的

4.adolescence n.the time in a person's life when he or she develops from a child into an adult青春期；青春

5.estimate n.a judgement that you make without having the exact details about the size， amount，cost，etc.of sth 估計；估價

6.insight n.an understanding of what sth is like洞悉；了解

7.option n.something that you can choose to have or do選擇；選擇權

Phrases

1.go downhill走下坡路；每況愈下

2.turn out結果是

3.run out of用完；耗盡

4.go viral像病毒一樣傳播開來；廣泛傳播

5.draw unusually precise conclusions得出非常精確的結論

6.respond to...響應……；對……做出反應

7.a blank slate一塊白板

8.get along進行；進展

Ⅲ.長難句分析

The study，published in the journal Cognition，found that it's nearly impossible for language learners to reach native-level fluency if they start learning a second tongue after age ten.發表在《認知》雜志上的研究發現，如果語言學習者在10歲后開始學習第二語言，就幾乎不可能達到母語水平的流利程度。

【點石成金】整個句子主語為 the study，謂語為found，其后接that引導的為賓語從句。published in the journal Cognition作后置定語修飾study；that從句中，句型結構 “it's+adj.for sb to do...”表示“對某人來說做某事是……的”；同時，if引導的為條件狀語從句。

句式仿寫

由文牧野導演的電影《我不是藥神》一上映就大受歡迎。（用過去分詞作定語）

立意呈現

Ⅰ.關注語篇銜接。

請同學們在快速瀏覽文章時，勾畫出以下句子，圈出加黑單詞。

【思考】

1.為什么要勾畫出這些句子？

2.為什么要關注這些加黑單詞？

Ⅱ.分析語篇結構。

本文主要介紹了一項科學調查研究，請根據以下表格，思考作者從哪些方面了介紹這項研究，每空一詞。

【點石成金】要做到快速獲取段落大意，分析文章結構，需要同學們關注行文的走向，判斷出每段的主旨句?；谥髦季?，運用恰當的關鍵詞進行概括和提煉。

Step 3 運用·讀寫整合

Ⅰ.概要寫作

1.基于以上對文本的結構分析，請先回答以下問題，每空一詞。注意：回答時，根據你對文本的理解，先不看原文，完成后再核對。

【點石成金】在閱讀科學研究類說明文時，應抓住說明對象，即研究結果；說明角度，即從哪些方面進行說明的；說明方法和順序。那么本文先是點出研究結果，進而從研究方法、產生結果的原因以及結果給人們帶來的積極意義等三方面并以一定的邏輯順序進行說明的。

2.根據以上表格中的問題和答案提示，寫出本文概要。

【點石成金】在寫概要時，應抓住文本結構，對每一方面進行概括總結。所以本文應從研究結果、方法、結果背后的原因以及結果給人們帶來的積極意義四方面進行概述。本文以一定的邏輯順序（結果—原因）展開，寫概要時，基于這樣的順序，運用合理的連接詞來進行語篇銜接。

Ⅱ.情景寫作

假定你是李華，你的數學老師王老師明年需要去英國訪學。她最近學習英語時遇到了很多困難，并且對如何才能快速有效地提高英語口語感到很困惑，請你幫她支招。內容包括：

1.說明寫信意圖；

2.分析學習英語困難的原因；

3.提出合理的解決措施。注意：

1.詞數150詞左右；

2.可以適當增加細節，以使行文連貫。

3.開頭與結尾已為你寫好，不計入總詞數。Dear Miss Wang，

I am glad to hear that you won the chance of studying in England next year.

I hope these suggestions can offer some insights for you.

Sincerely，

Li Hua

【寫作分析】

Step 4 提升·素養建構

【對比提升】

《為什么孩子比成年人學習語言更容易》與2016年四川卷閱讀理解D篇結構對比

背景信息：2016·四川閱讀理解D篇

體裁：有關科學研究的說明文

文章大意：牛奶，尤其是晚上產的牛奶更有助于人們睡眠。

A warm drink of milk before bed has long been the best choice for those wanting a good night's sleep.But now a study has found it really does help people nod off—if it is milked from a cow at night.

Researchers have discovered that“night milk” contains more melatonin（褪黑激素）， which has been proven to help people feel sleepy and reduce anxiety.

The study， by researchers from Seoul， South Korea， involved mice being fed with dried milk powder made from cows milked both during the day and at night.

Those given night milk， which contained ten times the amount of melatonin， were less active and less anxious than those fed with the milk collected during daytime，according to the study published in The Journal of Medicinal Food.

Night milk quickened the start of sleep and caused the mice to sleep longer.

While the effect of cows milk harvested at different time has not been tested on humans up to now，taking melatonin drugs has been suggested to those who are struggling to fall asleep at night.

Previous studies have also indicated that milk can be excellent for helping sleep because of the calcium content，which helps people to relax.

Milk is also sugar-free and additive-free with nutritionists recommending skimmed milk as the best choice before bed as it is the least fattening.The more fat you take in before bedtime，the greater burden you will put on your body at night.

【閱讀策略】在閱讀時，我們可以判斷這同樣是一篇科學研究類說明文?？山Y合我們剛才學過的文本結構分析來進行對比分析，思考作者來從哪些方面對該研究進行介紹的？

閱讀理解提升1：《為什么孩子比成年人學習語言更容易》

1.According to the passage，which is the most suitable way for an ordinary Chinese worker to improve his oral English？

A.Moving to foreign countries like America.

B.Attending an English corner in a middle school.

C.Signing up for an online course to talk with native speakers.

D.Making a pen pal who comes from America.

閱讀理解提升2：2016年四川卷閱讀理解D篇

2.How does the author support the theme of the text？

A.By giving examples. B.By stating arguments.

C.By explaining statistical data. D.By providing research results.