首页
登录
职称英语
Learning a second language is tricky at any age (and it only gets tougher th
Learning a second language is tricky at any age (and it only gets tougher th
游客
2023-12-30
8
管理
问题
Learning a second language is tricky at any age (and it only gets tougher the longer you wait to crack open that dusty French book). Now, in a new study, scientists have pinpointed the exact age at which your chances of reaching fluency in a second language seem to plummet: 10.
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 10. But that’s not because language skills start to go downhill. "It turns out you’re still learning fast, " says study co-author Joshua Hartshorne, an assistant professor of psychology at Boston College. "It’s just that you run out of time, because your ability to learn starts
dropping at around 17 or 18 years old." People who start a few years after age 10 may still become quite good at a language, the authors say, but they are unlikely to become fluent.
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 and respond to new information. "All learning involves the brain changing, " Hartshorne says, "and children’s brains seem to be a lot more adept at changing." Kids may also be more willing to try new things (and to potentially look foolish in the process) than adults are. Their comparatively new grasp on their native tongue may also be advantageous. Unlike adults, who tend to default to the rules and patterns of their first language, kids may be able to approach a new one with a blank slate.
These findings may seem discouraging, but it was heartening for scientists to learn that the critical period for fluent language acquisition might be longer than previously thought. Some scientists believed that the window begins to close shortly after birth, while others stretched it to early adolescence. Compared with those estimates, age 17 or 18 — when language-learning ability starts to drop off— seems relatively old.
For the study, the researchers created an online quiz promising to guess people’s native language, dialect and home country based on their responses to English grammar questions. At the end of the quiz, people entered their actual native language, if and when they had learned any others and where they had lived. The quiz went viral: almost 670, 000 people took it, giving the researchers huge amounts of data from English speakers of many ages and backgrounds. Analyzing the responses and grammar mistakes allowed them to draw unusually precise conclusions about language learning.
The findings also offer insights for adults hoping to pick up a new tongue. People fared better when they learned by immersion, 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, says Hartshorne.
If that’s not an option, you can mimic an immersive environment by finding ways to have conversations with native speakers in their own communities, Hartshorne says. By doing so, it’s possible to become conversationally proficient — even without the advantage of a child’s brain. [br] Which is the suitable title for this passage?
选项
A、The ability of learning language for children
B、Kids’ advantages in learning languages
C、The experiment of fluent language acquisition
D、Online quiz for language learning
答案
B
解析
本篇文章主要阐述了儿童在二语习得和能够熟练运用语言方面的优势,B项符合题意。
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3319046.html
相关试题推荐
你一定很不善于学习,要不然就是教你的人不会教。译文一:Youmustbebadatlearning,orelseyourteachermus
语法论述语言的结构,英语语法论述英语的结构,法语语法论述法语的结构。Grammardealswiththestructureoflanguage,
Collegeisagreatchanceforlearningsomethingnew—asyouarestillyoung,w
BetweenRomeandChinaThesecondandfirstcenturiesBCmarkanewphas
TheSecondWorldWarinsomewaysgavebirthtolessnoveltyandgeniusthanthe
USenrollmentofinternationalstudentsdeclinedforthesecondyearinaro
Tomwasavidforlearningandimitatingandreadeverythinghecould.A、eagerB、s
Nineteenth-centuryscholarstriedtotracetheoriginsofmodernlanguagestoan
______alanguagefamilyisagroupoflanguageswithacommonoriginandsimila
Bothlongitudeandlatitude______indegrees,minutesandseconds.A、measuringB
随机试题
BritishHistory-QueenMary’sReignI.Historicevents:1
秦淮河的水是碧阴阴的;看起来厚而不腻,或者是六朝金粉所凝么?我们初上船的时候,天色还未断黑,那漾漾的柔波是这样的恬静,委婉,使我们一面有水阔天空之想,一
Manistheonlyanimalthatlaughs.Whyisthistrue?Whatmakesusrespond
在组织的执行管理层决定组建一个小组调查作业成本(ABC)系统的采纳情况,内部审计
可以作为出资的专利资产一般都是指“所有权”,专利资产的所有权包括()的权利
根据物权法律制度的规定,不经登记也发生物权效力的行为有()房屋。A.买卖 B
肝硬化患者,出现肾功能衰竭,最可能的原因是A、脾功能亢进 B、大量腹水 C、
A.疏肝补肾,育阴清热 B.滋养肝肾,育阴清热 C.化瘀清热 D.补益血气
结肠癌Dukes分期中B期是指 A.癌达粘膜下层B.癌累及肠壁肌层C.癌穿透肠
下列关于物质火灾危险性参数的说法中,正确的是()。A.一般情况下闪点越低
最新回复
(
0
)