Before its creation each person's knowledge was limited to what he or she

在其產生之前，每個人的知識都只限於自己的

experienced directly. Afterward someone who learned something could share it

直接體會到了。之後有人學到了東西可以分享

with anybody else. In this video, we'll look at four things known about language

與其他任何人。在這段視頻中，我們將看看關於語言的四件已知的事情。

learning in general, and then listen to the story of lucky Lucy and poor Pete to

學習一般，然後聽幸運的露西和可憐的皮特的故事，以

understand the importance of language in everyday life. Our brains foundation is

瞭解語言在日常生活中的重要性。我們大腦的基礎是

built through experiences early in life. Pat Levitt from the center of the

通過早期的經歷建立起來的。帕特-萊維特從中心的

Developing Child at Harvard University studied our brain development over the

哈佛大學發展中的兒童研究了我們的大腦發展，在過去的一年中，我們的大腦發展了。

course of our life extensively. He showed how the brain's ability to change

我們生命的過程中廣泛。他展示了大腦如何改變的能力

dramatically drops in the years of life, while the amount of effort such change

在人生的歲月裡，這種變化的努力量會急劇下降，而這種變化

requires increases. Another research showed that at age five 90% of a kid's

要求增加。另一項研究表明，在5歲時，90%的孩子的

brain has been formed. If during these years the child is blocked from

大腦已經形成。如果在這些年裡，孩子被阻斷了從。

receiving stimulating experiences, the Language Center and other parts of the

刺激性的體驗，語言中心和其他部分。

brain are likely to remain weak for life. We learn language socially by observing

大腦很可能終生保持虛弱。我們通過觀察來學習社會語言

and imitating others. Some 1,000 years ago German emperor Friedrich II wanted

和模仿他人。大約一千年前，德國皇帝弗里德里希二世就想

to prove the opposite and showed that we develop language naturally, all by

來證明相反的事實，並表明我們自然而然地發展語言，都是通過

ourselves. He made his nannies raise some children.

我們自己。他讓他的保姆撫養一些孩子。

they were allowed to feed and clean them, but not to interact socially, or ever

他們被允許餵養和清潔他們，但不允許與他們進行社會交往，或者永遠不允許。

speak a word. Not one child learned to speak, but instead, they all died. For the

說一句話。沒有一個孩子學會說話，反而都死了。對於

same reason toddlers can't learn language via tape

同樣的道理，幼兒不能通過錄音帶學習語言。

or technology. They need to be motivated through a human relationship, then they

或技術。他們需要通過人與人之間的關係來激勵，那麼他們就會

pay attention and learn.

注意和學習。

Our language brain growth is strongest in year one. If we study the brains

我們的語言大腦在一年級的時候增長是最強的。如果我們研究大腦

development by the rate of new synapse formation over the first 11 months of

通過前11個月的新突觸形成率來判斷其發育情況。

life, and then the next 15 years, we can see how much the first five years matter.

人生，然後是未來的15年，我們可以看到前5年有多重要。

The growth in the part of the brain responsible for language peaks between

大腦中負責語言的部分的增長在以下時間段達到頂峰。

birth and age 3. During this critical period children can learn a new word

出生到3歲。在這個關鍵時期，孩子們可以學習一個新的單詞

every 90 minutes and several languages simultaneously. Our sensory pathways

每90分鐘和幾種語言同時進行。我們的感覺路徑

responsible for vision and hearing peak before, which makes sense because we need

負責視覺和聽覺的峰值之前，這是有道理的，因為我們需要的是

to see and hear to imitate language. Four month old infants for example, if raised

來看和聽來模仿語言。例如四個月大的嬰兒，如果養成了

bilingual by a British mom and the Chinese dad can already differentiate

英國媽媽的雙語，中國爸爸的雙語，已經可以區分了。

between two languages just by observing the lip movements of their caregivers.

僅僅通過觀察他們的照顧者的脣部動作，就可以在兩種語言之間進行交流。

Higher cognitive function such as logical reasoning peaks only once we

邏輯推理等高級認知功能，只有當我們

have the words and know the symbols to make sense of our world. Language makes

有文字和知道符號來理解我們的世界。語言使

our world: Rich language skills allow us to really listen, to speak well, to enjoy

我們的世界。豐富的語言能力讓我們能夠真正地聽好、說好、享受好。

reading and master writing, they can create an entire world around us. As the

閱讀和掌握寫作，他們可以在我們身邊創造一個完整的世界。作為

German philosopher Wittgenstein said: "the limit of my language is the limit of my

德國哲學家維特根斯坦說："我語言的極限就是我的極限

world". let's take for example the word "daycare center". Some people think of it

我們以 "日託中心 "這個詞為例。有些人認為它是

as a "preschool" the Irish call it "play school" and the Germans invented the word

作為 "學前班"，愛爾蘭人稱之為 "遊戲學校"，德國人則發明了 "遊戲學校 "這個詞。

"Kindergarten". Only if we know all three words can we understand what's possible.

"幼兒園"。只有我們知道這三個字，才能明白什麼是可能。

Now let's listen to the story about lucky Lucy and poor Pete, two children

現在讓我們來聽聽幸運的露西和可憐的皮特這兩個孩子的故事。

raised in two very different ways. Lucy is raised by her mother. The mother

以兩種截然不同的方式撫養。露西是由母親撫養長大的。母親

is an average native English speaker who knows around 20,000 different words.

是一個普通的英語母語者，他知道大約20,000個不同的單詞。

Pete's parents hire a nice nanny from a foreign country. Instead of speaking in

皮特的父母從外國請了一個不錯的保姆。而不是用

her native language the nanny is told to talk to Peter only in English. While her

她的母語，保姆被告知只能用英語與彼得交談。當她的

everyday English seems okay she actually knows only around 5,000 words. One

日常英語看起來還不錯的她其實只認識5000個單詞左右。一

fourth of what Anne's mom knows. Year one is when the language brain is developing

安妮媽媽所知道的四分之一。一年級是語言大腦發育的時候

the strongest. iÍf Lucy is awake half of the time her mom speaks she will hear

如果露西在她媽媽說話的時候有一半時間是清醒的，她就會聽到。

around 10,000 words per day and maybe 2500 being directed at her. Directed

每天一萬字左右，大概2500字是針對她的。導演

language is what matters. Whenever her mom connects a word with an actual

語言才是最重要的。每當她的媽媽把一個詞與實際的

experience, Lucy learns its meaning. Pete hears

經驗，露西知道了它的意義。皮特聽到

English only when the nanny deliberately speaks to him, around 1,000 words a day.

只有在保姆刻意和他說話時才會說英語，每天1000字左右。

But not only is quantity lower but also the quality. As the nanny is not fluent,

但不僅數量減少，品質也降低了。由於保姆的口語不流利。

there is a chance that many words come across broken. At their first birthday

有可能會出現很多字的破綻。在他們的第一個生日

both kids can say: "mama" and "papa". What we don't see is that Lucy actually

兩個孩子都能說："媽媽 "和 "爸爸"。"媽媽 "和 "爸爸"。我們沒有看到的是，露西其實

already knows many many words even though she can't say them. But Pete's

雖然她不會說，但已經認識了很多很多字。但皮特的

language universe is more limited. When Lucy and her mom look at picture

語言的宇宙是比較有限的。當露西和她的媽媽看圖片

books, her mom points out what they see: a little monkey is also a gorilla, an ape,

書，她的媽媽指出他們所看到的：小猴子也是一隻大猩猩，一隻猩猩。

a clever animal which uses tools, climbs trees and lives with his mama and papa

聰明的動物，會使用工具，會爬樹，會和爸爸媽媽一起生活。

in the rainforests of Africa. When Pete looks at a picture book his learning is

在非洲的雨林中。當皮特看圖畫書時，他的學習是

limited by the language of the nanny. The same monkey is just cute and eats

受限於保姆的語言。同樣的猴子就是可愛，吃

bananas. To compensate he's given a language app, but as Pete lacks

香蕉。為了補償他，他得到了一個語言應用，但由於皮特缺乏。

the foundation he doesn't understand a word. To him, it's just a bunch of new sounds

他不明白一個字的基礎。對他來說，這只是一堆新的聲音。

strangely connected to colorful characters. On their second birthday Lucy

陌生地與多彩的人物聯繫在一起。在他們兩歲生日的時候，露西

knows already well over 200 words, the amount where children start to learn

已經認識200多個單詞，這是孩子們開始學習的數量。

rules and apply grammar. Pete knows less. Sometimes he gets frustrated because he

規則和運用文法。皮特知道的比較少。有時他感到沮喪，因為他

can't express himself. Lucy likes to go with her mom into the park. Sometimes

無法表達自己的想法。露西喜歡和媽媽一起去公園。有時候

they watch the old men play chess. She doesn't understand the game but knows

他們看老人下棋。她不懂棋，但知道

that there are pawns, rooks, knights, a queen and a king, a bishop and

有兵、車、馬、後、王、象、兵、馬等

a horse. One day she will learn the rules. It will be easy because she sees each

一匹馬。總有一天，她會學會規則。這將是容易的，因為她看到每個

figure clearly. Her understanding of their special

圖清楚。她對他們特殊的理解

skills is obvious. For a lack of language Pete sees just a big checkered board and

技能是顯而易見的。對於語言的匱乏，皮特只看到一個大格子板和

some wooden figures which all look quite the same: pawns, knights, bishops. To

一些木頭人偶，它們看起來都差不多：小兵、騎士、主教。要

understand the rules later will be hard for Pete. All figures look so similar. How

明白了規則以後，皮特就很難了。所有的數字看起來都那麼相似。怎麼會

could they do different things? At their third birthday both can say their own

他們可以做不同的事情嗎？在他們三歲生日的時候，他們都可以說自己的

name and form sentences. Lucy's vocabulary now holds 1500 words.

名字和組成句子。露西的詞彙量現在有1500個單詞。

Pete's got 500 to make sense of this world. In year 4 they enter kindergarten.

皮特有500塊錢來理解這個世界。在第四年，他們進入幼兒園。

When Pete stands in front of the big shelf he sees different wooden blocks,

當皮特站在大架子前，他看到了不同的木塊。

the ball, some old toy, a horse and the yellow digger. When Lucy stands in front

球，一些舊玩具，一匹馬和黃色挖掘機。當露西站在

of the same shelf, she sees circles, triangles, squares, a basketball, the red

在同一個架子上，她看到了圓形、三角形、正方形、一個籃球、紅色的 "小 "字。

pinwheel, the beige rocking horse and the carton box of the lego technic digger.

風車、米色搖擺馬和紙盒的lego technic digger。

At playtime, Lucy understands what others are talking about and often takes the

在遊戲時，Lucy能聽懂別人在說什麼，並經常把自己的想法告訴別人。

lead by suggesting a new idea. Pete often doesn't understand what she means.

通過提出新的想法來引導。皮特經常不明白她的意思。

If the group discusses something for longer, he zones out because he has

如果小組討論某件事的時間較長，他就會因為自己有

trouble following the conversation. By the end of the year Lucy knows 3,500

難以跟上對話。到了年底，露西知道了3500個。

words, where Pete only knows 1000 words. Lucy now forms more complicated

字，而皮特只知道1000個字。露西現在形成了更復雜的

sentences in perfect grammar. In the evening her mom reads bedtime stories

文法完美的句子。晚上，她媽媽給她讀睡前故事。

to her. Words she's missing, she learns out of context. As a native speaker, the mom

對她來說。詞，她缺一不可，斷章取義。作為一個母語人士，媽媽

can raise and lower her voice, making the stories exciting. Fairy tales become

可以提高和降低她的聲音，使故事變得精彩。童話故事變成了

alive in her head and Lucy learns to imagine and to think creatively. Pete

在她的腦海中，露西學會了想象和創造性的思考。皮特

still speaks in more simple sentences and his grammar is not perfect. When his

還是用比較簡單的句子說話，他的文法也不完善。當他的

nanny reads to him the voice is more monotone. It's more boring and paying

保姆給他讀的聲音比較單調。比較枯燥，而且付出

attention is more difficult. Words he's missing, often remain missing. By the end

注意力是比較困難的。他所缺少的話語，往往是一直缺少的。到了最後

of the year Lucy knows 6,000 and Pete knows 2,000 words.

年的露西知道6000個字，皮特知道2000個字。

To understand why the actual difference in language abilities between

要理解為什麼不同學生之間的語言能力存在實際差異。

the two is even larger than it seems, let's imagine that words are nothing but

兩者之間的關係比看起來還要大，讓我們想象一下，文字不過是一種。

tools that help us encode the world, form thoughts, structure ideas and then

工具，幫助我們對世界進行編碼，形成思想，架構思想，然後

communicate with others. With 6,000 words compared to 2,000 words

與他人交流。與2000字相比，有6000字

Lucy's toolbox is now three times the size. Lucy has a huge head start as she

露西的工具箱現在有三倍大了。露西有一個巨大的開端，因為她

is entering elementary school. Einstein by the way as a child seldom

正在進入小學。順便說一下愛因斯坦小時候很少有

spoke one interesting anecdote goes like this: As he was a late talker and hardly

說到一個有趣的軼事是這樣的。由於他說話比較晚，幾乎沒有

spoke at the age of seven his parents were worried and tried many things to

七歲時就會說話，他的父母很擔心，想了很多辦法。

get him to speak. At one point they were afraid that he had learning disabilities.

讓他說話。他們一度擔心他有學習障礙。

At last, at the dinner table one night, he broke his silence to say: "the soup is too

最後，在一個晚上的飯桌上，他打破沉默說，"這湯太...

hot!", greatly relieved his parents asked why he had never said a word before?

熱！"，大大鬆了一口氣，父母問他為什麼以前從來沒有說過一句話？

The young genius replied: "Because up until now, everything was in order.". What are

年輕的天才回答道。"因為到現在為止，一切都很正常。"什麼是

your thoughts about language learning? Can someone like Pete still catch up

你對語言學習的看法？像皮特這樣的人還能趕上

later in life or maybe find other good ways to express himself?

在以後的生活中，或者可以找到其他好的方式來表達自己？

Maybe our point of view is too narrow and Pete and Lucy actually balance each

也許是我們的視野太狹窄了，皮特和露西其實是互相平衡的。

other out with the different skills they have? Please share your thoughts in the

的不同技能的其他出？請在

comments below!

評論如下

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來自世界各地的數百萬學生觀看了我們的芽菜視頻。

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