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
2025-01-29
9
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 synonym for the word "mimic" underlined in Paragraph 7?
选项
A、simulate
B、diminish
C、adapt
D、exaggerate
答案
A
解析
第7段这句话的意思是“要给自己模拟一个浸入式的环境”,因此“mimic”在这里是“模仿、模拟”的意思。A项为“模仿”,B项为“使减小”,C项为“适应”,D项为“夸大、增大”,故选A。
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3933604.html
相关试题推荐
Tomwasavidforlearningandimitatingandreadeverythinghecould.A、eagerB、s
Nineteenth-centuryscholarstriedtotracetheoriginsofmodernlanguagestoan
TheEnglishlanguagecontainsa(n)______ofwordswhicharecomparativelyseldom
Ofalltheareasoflearningthemostimportantisthedevelopmentofattitu
Ofalltheareasoflearningthemostimportantisthedevelopmentofattitu
Ofalltheareasoflearningthemostimportantisthedevelopmentofattitu
Ofalltheareasoflearningthemostimportantisthedevelopmentofattitu
Theexperienceofforeigncountriesisworthlearningfromandtakingforrefere
ChairmanMaowasfirstofallapolitician.A、firstandsecondB、firstandforemo
Thereislittlelearninginvolvedwhenoneisreprimandedtwoorthreemonthsaf
随机试题
PASSAGEFOURSlaughterhouses题目问的是装配线这一构想的来源。第4段最后一句提到这种方法起源于屠宰场,且第5段对此作了详细介绍,因此可
Maypeoplelikethegiganticwhales.Humansympathy【C1】______whalesisonl
Itbeganwithsomemarsh/mallows(棉花软糖).Inthe1960sWalterMischel,apsych
根据马斯洛的需要层次理论,企业如何设计激励机制?
下列哪项不属于红细胞计数的技术误差A.稀释血液混合不匀 B.充液外溢 C.取
患儿,3个月,因病理性黄疸住院治疗未及时注射卡介苗。患儿母亲咨询补种卡介苗的时间
足月新生儿出生时平均头围是( )。A.42cm B.32cm C.38cm
患儿,8岁。2周前上呼吸道感染,近日双下肢进行性无力,肌肉疼痛,伴发热,体温38
A.心包炎 B.心力衰竭 C.心脏扩大 D.高血压 E.心律失常慢性肾功
左图为给定的立体图,从任意角度剖开,右边哪一项不可能是它的截面图? A.如上图
最新回复
(
0
)