Montessori education is an educational approach developed by Italian physician and educator Maria Montessori and characterized by an emphasis on independence, freedom within limits, and respect for a child’s natural psychological, physical, and social development. Although a range of practices exists under the name "Montessori", the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) and the American Montessori Society (AMS) cite these elements as essential:
Mixed age classrooms, with classrooms for children ages 2½ or 3 to 6 years old by far the most common
Student choice of activity from within a prescribed range of options
Uninterrupted blocks of work time, ideally three hours
A constructivist or "discovery" model, where students learn concepts from working with materials, rather than by direct instruction
Specialized educational materials developed by Montessori and her collaborators
Freedom of movement within the classroom
A trained Montessori teacher
Montessori method
Montessori had many accomplishments with one being the Montessori method which is a method of educating young children that stresses development of a child's own initiative and natural abilities, especially through practical play. This method allowed children to develop at their own pace and provided educators with a better understanding of child development. In Maria's book, The Montessori Method, she goes into further detail about the method. Educators in the field set up special environments to meet the needs of the students in three age groups: two and a half years, two and a half to six years, and six and a half to twelve years. The students learn through activities that involve exploration, manipulations, order, repetition, abstraction, and communication. The teacher is to encourage children in the first two age groups to use their senses to explore and manipulate materials in their immediate environment. Children in the last age group deal with abstract concepts based on their newly developed powers of reasoning, imagination, and creativity.
蒙特梭利博士曾给智力下过此定义:“快速反应、快速联想、快速积累判断的能力,这些是智力最显著的表现。”( "To be rapid in reacting to stimulus, in the association of ideas, in the capacity of formulating a judgment- this is the most obvious manifestation of intelligence.",21st century of Montessori Learning,Shannon M. Helfrich)
这种“快速学习”的能力,显然是我们在解决问题时会运用到的能力,随着问题难度的增加,智力的要求也会越高。
因此,蒙特梭利博士总结道:“区辨的能力是智力最典型的特征,而“去区辨”就是“去分类与整理”。因此,秩序才是形成快速反应的真正因素。”(“To be able to distinguish is the characteristic sign of intelligence: to distinguish is to arrange. Order is, in short, the true key to rapidity of reaction.”21st century of Montessori Learning,Shannon M. Helfrich)
二、soak up 与absorb
你提到了“soak up”。这两个词翻译成汉语都是吸收。即使意思差不多,也是可以继续探讨其中的差异的。
1、我认为soak up可能有强调吸收的有意识性和主动性的意思。参考柯林斯词典:
2. PHRASAL VERB 晒(太阳) If you soak up the sun, you sit or lie in the sun, because you enjoy it.
I was lying on my stomach soaking up the sun.
我正趴在那里晒着太阳。
3. PHRASAL VERB 沉浸于;充分体验 If you soak up the atmosphere in a place that you are visiting, you observe or get involved in the way of life there, because you enjoy it or are interested in it.
Keaton comes here once or twice a year to soak up the atmosphere.
基顿每年到这里来一两次,为的是尽情感受这里的气氛。
4. PHRASAL VERB 用去,耗费(大量金钱、资源等) If something soaks up something such as money or other resources, it uses a great deal of money or other resources.
Defence soaks up forty per cent of the budget...
国防耗去40%的预算。
我不是很了解蒙氏教学法,摘抄一下维基上的定义:
Montessori education is an educational approach developed by Italian physician and educator Maria Montessori and characterized by an emphasis on independence, freedom within limits, and respect for a child’s natural psychological, physical, and social development. Although a range of practices exists under the name "Montessori", the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) and the American Montessori Society (AMS) cite these elements as essential:
Montessori method
从上两条维基看,在蒙氏教学法的主要定义里,没有关于语言教学的特定描述,在办学特色里,没有语言这一项,更没有关于如何学习外语的表述。
可能对蒙氏了解得更为详细的家长知道有,但从蒙氏的定义中,我们起码能看出来:蒙氏教学并不主要研究语言学习。而且蒙特梭利是上个世纪的人,她1952年就去世了。那么21世纪的我们,最好还是听语言学家的,听主流英语教学界的最新研究成果。