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学习者特征之学习者信念 - 英语教学法原著选读107（附导读、家长指南、讲解视频、作业与签到） 原创不易，公益翻译，请随手转发。感谢！ ------------------------ 以下英文原文取自上海外语教育出版社引进出版、授权转载的“外语教学法丛书”之九《语言学习机制》第三章“Factors affecting second language learning（影响第二语言学习的因素）”： 以下在线视频，建议全屏播放，能够看得更清楚，尤其是第一段，文字较多，不放大眼睛受不了。 原文（作者：Lightbown & Spada） 译文（翻译：Liz，审校：武太白） Heading: Research on learner characteristics 学习者特征研究 Age of acquisition学习年龄We now turn to a learner characteristic of a different type: age. This characteristic is easier to define and measure than personality, aptitude, or motivation. Nevertheless, the relationship between a learner’s age and his or her potential for success in second language acquisition is the subject of much lively debate. 我们现在转向一个不同类型的学习者特征：年龄。这个特征比个性、能力或动机更容易定义和衡量。然而，学习者年龄与他或她在第二语言习得中取得成功的潜力之间的关系是当前很热门的一个探讨主题。 It has been widely observed that children from immigrant families eventually speak the language of their new community with native-like fluency, but their parents rarely achieve such high levels of mastery of the spoken language. To be sure, there are cases where adult second language learners have distinguished themselves by their exceptional performance. For example, one often sees reference to Joseph Conrad, a native speaker of Polish who became a major writer in the English language. Many adult second language learners become capable of communicating very successfully in the language but, for most, differences of accent, word choice, or grammatical features distinguish them from native speakers and from second language speakers who began learning the language while they were very young. 人们普遍认为，来自移民家庭的儿童最终能够像说母语那样流利地说出他们新社区的语言，但他们的父母很少能达到如此高的口语水平。可以肯定的是，也有一些成年的第二语言学习者通过他们卓越的表现来彰显自己的案例。例如，人们常常提及约瑟夫·康拉德的例子，他的母语是波兰语，但却成了英语语言的大作家。许多成年第二语言学习者能够用该语言进行非常成功的交流，但是，对绝大多数人来说，口音、词汇选择或语法特征的差异将他们与母语者、自幼开始学习的第二语言者区分开。 One explanation for this difference is that, as in first language acquisition, there is a critical period for second language acquisition. As discussed in Chapter 1, the Critical Period Hypothesis suggests that there is a time in human development when the brain is predisposed for success in language learning. Developmental changes in the brain, it is argued, affect the nature of language acquisition. According to this view, language learning which occurs after the end of the critical period may not be based on the innate biological structures believed to contribute to first language acquisition or second language acquisition in early childhood. Rather, older learners depend on more general learning abilities - the same ones they might use to learn other kinds of skills or information. It is argued that these general learning abilities are not as successful for language learning as the more specific, innate capacities which are available to the young child. It is most often claimed that the critical period ends somewhere around puberty, but some researchers suggest it could be even earlier. 对于这种差异的一个解释是，和第一语言习得过程一样，第二语言习得有一个关键期。如第1章所讨论的，“关键时期假设”表明，在人的发育过程中有一个时间段，在此时间内大脑先天就容易在语言学习中取得成功。有人认为，大脑的发育变化会影响语言习得的性质。根据这种观点，在关键时期结束后发生的语言学习可能不是基于先天的生理结构，该结构被认为有助于儿童早期的第一语言习得或第二语言习得。相反，年龄较大的学习者依赖更一般的学习能力——这些能力他们也用来学习其他类型的技能或信息。有人认为，这些一般的学习能力并不像幼儿可以使用更具体的、固有的能力一样，可以使得语言学习成功。最常见的观点是，关键时期结束于青春期前后的某个时期，但一些研究人员认为结束时间可能更早。 Of course, as we saw in Chapter 2, it is difficult to compare children and adults as second language learners. In addition to the possible biological differences suggested by the Critical Period Hypothesis, the conditions for language learning are often very different. Younger learners in informal language learning environments usually have more time to devote to learning language. They often have more opportunities to hear and use the language in environments where they do not experience strong pressure to speak fluently and accurately from the very beginning. Furthermore, their early imperfect efforts are often praised or, at least, accepted. On the other hand, older learners are often in situations which demand much more complex language and the expression of much more complicated ideas. Adults are often embarrassed by their lack of mastery of the language and they may develop a sense of inadequacy after experiences of frustration in trying to say exactly what they mean. 当然，正如我们在第2章中所看到的，很难将儿童期和成年期的第二语言学习者进行比较。除了“关键时期假设”提出的可能的生理差异外，语言学习的条件通常是非常不同的。年幼的学习者在非正式语言学习环境中通常有更多的时间致力于学习语言。他们通常有更多的机会在某一环境中听到和使用语言，在这样的环境中他们不会体验到从一开始就要流利、准确地运用语言的强大压力。此外，他们早期不完美的努力往往得到赞扬，或至少被接受。另一方面，年龄较大的学习者则往往处于需要更复杂的语言、表达更复杂的想法的情况。成年人常常因为缺乏对语言的掌握而感到尴尬。在试图说出他们的想法却遭受了挫折之后，他们可能会产生一种不自信的感觉。 The Critical Period Hypothesis has been challenged in recent years from several different points of view. Some studies of the second language development of older and younger learners who are learning in similar circumstances have shown that, at least in the early stages of second language development, older learners are more efficient than younger learners. In educational research, it has been reported that learners who began learning a second language at the primary school level did not fare better in the long run than those who began in early adolescence. Furthermore, there are countless anecdotes about older learners (adolescents and adults) who have reached high levels of proficiency in a second language. Does this mean that there is no critical period for second language acquisition? 近年来，“关键时期假设”在几个不同的角度都遭到质疑。对于处在相似环境下的年长和年幼学习者的一些第二语言学习的研究已经表明，至少在第二语言发展的早期阶段，年长的学习者比年幼学习者更有效率。相关教育研究指出，在小学阶段开始学习第二语言的学习者从长远来看，表现不如从青春期开始的学生。此外，有数不清的关于年龄较大的学生（青少年和成年人）达到了较高的第二语言水平的报道。这是否意味着不存在所谓的第二语言习得的关键时期？ ------------------------ Question: True or False? The Critical Period Hypothesis has played a major role in the progress in SLA research as it describes precisely how children are better than adults at language learning. 感兴趣的朋友请在本文右下角“写留言”处写下您的答案（T/F），每答对一题可得10分，积累到100分即可获赠原版引进教学法图书或读物一本。 |
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