Why kids learn languages more easily than you do

Step 1感知·阅读导航

话题导入

学习第二语言在任何时候都比较困难。那么什么时候才是学习第二语言的最佳时间？如果错过这个最佳时间，是不是我们就永远失去了达到流畅表达的机会呢？对于成年人来说，如何才能更好地学习第二语言呢？本文将为你揭开学习第二语言的最佳时期之谜。

阅读立意

阅读时，应达到以下四个基本目标：

1.通过快速阅读，获取文章段落大意，分析文本结构；

2.能基于文本结构，写出文本概要；

3.能从文本整合信息，进行写作表达；

4.通过分析和对比同类型的说明文，掌握此类说明文的行文特征。

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.”

学习第二语言在任何年龄都是棘手的。现在，在一项新的研究中，科学家们发现，在你10岁的时候，你在第二语言达到流利的可能性似乎突然减少了。

发表在《认知》杂志上的研究发现，如果语言学习者在10岁后开始学习第二语言，就几乎不可能达到母语水平的流利程度。但这不是因为语言技能开始退化。波士顿学院的心理学助理教授乔舒亚·哈茨霍恩说：“事实证明，你仍在快速学习，只是你没有时间了，因为你的学习能力在17岁或18岁左右开始下降。在10岁以后的几年时间里才开始学习语言的人仍然很擅长语言，但他们不太可能流利。”

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（默认）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（习得）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（熟练的）in a second language—even without the advantage of a child's brain.

在研究中，研究人员创建了一个在线测试，希望能根据人们对英语语法问题的回答来猜测人们的母语、方言和家乡。这项测试广泛传播：将近670，000人参加了这项测试，它给研究者提供了大量来自不同年龄和背景的英语使用者的数据。分析反应和语法错误使他们能够得出异常精确的语言学习结论。

孩子们可能比成年人更善于学习新的语言，原因有很多。孩子们的大脑比成年人的大脑更具可塑性，这意味着他们能够更好地适应和应对新的信息。“所有的学习都涉及大脑的变化，”哈茨霍恩说，“孩子的大脑似乎更善于改变。”孩子们也可能比成年人更愿意尝试新事物。他们对母语的理解相对较新，也可能是有利的。不像成年人，他们倾向于默认第一语言的规则和模式，孩子们可能会用空白板应对新的语言。

这些发现似乎令人沮丧，但科学家们很兴奋地得知，流利语言习得的关键时期可能比先前设想的要长。一些科学家认为，这扇窗户在出生后不久就会关闭，而另一些科学家则将其延长至青春期早期。与这些估计相比，当语言学习能力开始下降时，17岁或18岁——似乎相对较晚。

这些发现也为那些希望学会一种新的语言的成年人提供了信息。当人们通过沉浸式的学习而不是仅仅在课堂上学习时，他们进步更快。搬到一个地方，你想说的语言被说的地方，是成年人学习的最好方法。如果这不是一个选择，你可以通过寻找以这种语言为母语的人进行对话的方法来创建一个沉浸式的环境。通过这样做，即使没有孩子们大脑的优势，也有可能成为精通一门新语言的人。

Step 2 实践·文本解读

阅读扫障

Ⅰ.熟词生义

Ⅱ.热词积累

Vocabulary

1.tricky adj.difficult to do or deal with难对付的

2.comparatively adv.relatively相对地；比较而言地

3.critical adj.extremely important关键的；极重要的

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 估计；估价

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选择；选择权

Phrases

1.go downhill走下坡路；每况愈下

2.turn out结果是

3.run out of用完；耗尽

4.go viral像病毒一样传播开来；广泛传播

5.draw unusually precise conclusions得出非常精确的结论

6.respond to...响应……；对……做出反应

7.a blank slate一块白板

8.get along进行；进展

Ⅲ.长难句分析

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.发表在《认知》杂志上的研究发现，如果语言学习者在10岁后开始学习第二语言，就几乎不可能达到母语水平的流利程度。

【点石成金】整个句子主语为 the study，谓语为found，其后接that引导的为宾语从句。published in the journal Cognition作后置定语修饰study；that从句中，句型结构 “it's+adj.for sb to do...”表示“对某人来说做某事是……的”；同时，if引导的为条件状语从句。

句式仿写

由文牧野导演的电影《我不是药神》一上映就大受欢迎。（用过去分词作定语）

立意呈现

Ⅰ.关注语篇衔接。

请同学们在快速浏览文章时，勾画出以下句子，圈出加黑单词。

【思考】

1.为什么要勾画出这些句子？

2.为什么要关注这些加黑单词？

Ⅱ.分析语篇结构。

本文主要介绍了一项科学调查研究，请根据以下表格，思考作者从哪些方面了介绍这项研究，每空一词。

【点石成金】要做到快速获取段落大意，分析文章结构，需要同学们关注行文的走向，判断出每段的主旨句。基于主旨句，运用恰当的关键词进行概括和提炼。

Step 3 运用·读写整合

Ⅰ.概要写作

1.基于以上对文本的结构分析，请先回答以下问题，每空一词。注意：回答时，根据你对文本的理解，先不看原文，完成后再核对。

【点石成金】在阅读科学研究类说明文时，应抓住说明对象，即研究结果；说明角度，即从哪些方面进行说明的；说明方法和顺序。那么本文先是点出研究结果，进而从研究方法、产生结果的原因以及结果给人们带来的积极意义等三方面并以一定的逻辑顺序进行说明的。

2.根据以上表格中的问题和答案提示，写出本文概要。

【点石成金】在写概要时，应抓住文本结构，对每一方面进行概括总结。所以本文应从研究结果、方法、结果背后的原因以及结果给人们带来的积极意义四方面进行概述。本文以一定的逻辑顺序（结果—原因）展开，写概要时，基于这样的顺序，运用合理的连接词来进行语篇衔接。

Ⅱ.情景写作

假定你是李华，你的数学老师王老师明年需要去英国访学。她最近学习英语时遇到了很多困难，并且对如何才能快速有效地提高英语口语感到很困惑，请你帮她支招。内容包括：

1.说明写信意图；

2.分析学习英语困难的原因；

3.提出合理的解决措施。注意：

1.词数150词左右；

2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

3.开头与结尾已为你写好，不计入总词数。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

【写作分析】

Step 4 提升·素养建构

【对比提升】

《为什么孩子比成年人学习语言更容易》与2016年四川卷阅读理解D篇结构对比

背景信息：2016·四川阅读理解D篇

体裁：有关科学研究的说明文

文章大意：牛奶，尤其是晚上产的牛奶更有助于人们睡眠。

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.

【阅读策略】在阅读时，我们可以判断这同样是一篇科学研究类说明文。可结合我们刚才学过的文本结构分析来进行对比分析，思考作者来从哪些方面对该研究进行介绍的？

阅读理解提升1：《为什么孩子比成年人学习语言更容易》

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.

阅读理解提升2：2016年四川卷阅读理解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.