Why, How, and When Should My Child Learn a Second Language?

另看到的一篇研究
Raising Bilingual Children: Common Parental Concerns and Current Research

从研究的角度回答了双语，是否会引发儿童语言迟后，几种语言是否会混淆，以及语言学习和电视录音的关系， 双语和智力发展等等问题。。。有兴趣的可以了解一二。

http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/digest_pdfs/RaiseBilingChildi.pdf

How children learn more than one language http://www.hanen.org/Helpful-Info/Articles/Bilingualism-in-Young-Children--Separating-Fact-fr.aspx

Bilingual acquisition can take place in one of two ways:

• Simultaneous Acquisition occurs when a child is raised bilingually from birth, or when the second language is introduced before the age of three (10). Children learning two languages simultaneously go through the same developmental stages as children learning one language. While bilingual children may start talking slightly later than monolingual children, they still begin talking within the normal range (11). From the very beginning of language learning, simultaneous bilinguals seem to acquire two separate languages (10). Early on, they are able to differentiate their two languages and have been shown to switch languages according to their conversation partner (e.g. speak French to a French-speaking parent, then switch to English with an English-speaking parent) (12, 13).
• Sequential Acquisition occurs when a second language is introduced after the first language is well-established (generally after the age of three). Children may experience sequential acquisition if they immigrate to a country where a different language is spoken. Sequential learning may also occur if the child exclusively speaks his heritage language at home until he begins school, where instruction is offered in a different language.
  

A child who acquires a second language in this manner generally experiences the following (10):

initially, he may use his home language for a brief period. he may go through a “Silent” or “Nonverbal” Period when he is first exposed to a second language. This can last from a few weeks to several months, and is most likely a time when the child builds his understanding of the language (14). Younger children usually remain in this phase longer than older children. Children may rely on using gestures in this period, and use few words in the second language. he will begin to use short or imitative sentences. The child may use one-word labels or memorized phrases such as “I dunno” or “What’s this?”. These sentences are not constructed from the child’s own vocabulary or knowledge of the language. Rather, they are phrases he has heard and memorized. eventually, he will begin to produce his own sentences. These sentences are not entirely memorized, and incorporate some of the child’s own newly-learned vocabulary. The child may use a “formula” at first when constructing sentences and insert his own word into a common phrase such as “I want…” or “I do….”. Eventually the child becomes more and more fluent, but continues to make grammatical mistakes or produce sentences that sound abbreviated because he is missing some grammatical rules (e.g. “I no want eat apple” instead of “I don’t want to eat an apple”). Some of the mistakes a child makes at this stage are due to the influence of his first language. But many of the mistakes are the same types of mistakes that monolingual children make when they learn that language.

晕，看不懂呀。有木有人帮着翻译一下呀。

链接里的字太小，看着费劲，把它拷贝过来放大了看。


“Language and communication are at the heart of the human experience. The United States must educate students who are equipped linguistically and culturally to communicate successfully in a pluralistic American society and abroad. This imperative envisions a future in which ALL students will develop and maintain proficiency in English and at least one other language.”

Much attention has been focused on the importance of early foreign language learning. Some research reports that younger children learn languages better than older children and adults. With so many demands already placed on children, parents ask, Is it important that my child learn a second language at a young age? If so, why? What can I do to help my child learn a language? What program options are available?


What are the benefits of knowing a second language?
In addition to developing a lifelong ability to communicate with people from other countries and backgrounds, other benefits include improved overall school performance and superior problem-solving skills (e.g., Bamford & Mizokawa, 1991; see discussion in Hakuta, 1986).

Students of foreign languages tend to score higher on standardized tests. Results from the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) show that students who had studied a foreign language for 4 or more years outscored other students on the verbal and math portions of the test (The College Board SAT, 2003).


Knowledge of a second language also seems to coincide with high academic achievement. A study by Horn and Kojaku (2001) shows that students who were in “rigorous” programs in high school, which included 3 years of foreign language study, were likely to earn better grades in college and less likely to drop out.


Learning another language can enhance knowledge of English structure and vocabulary (Curtain & Dahlberg, 2004). Students of foreign languages may have better career opportunities (Carreira & Armengol, 2001). In a survey of 581 alumni of The American Graduate School of International Management in Glendale, AZ, most respondents said they had gained a competitive advantage from their knowledge of foreign languages and other cultures. They said that not only was language study often a critical factor in hiring decisions and in enhancing their career paths, it also provided personal fulfillment, mental discipline, and cultural enlightenment (Grosse, in press).


The benefits to society are many. Americans fluent in other languages improve global communication, enhance our economic competitiveness abroad, and maintain our political
and security interests. In recent years, the U.S. government has expressed a need for fluent speakers of languages other han English, particularly in less commonly taught languages such as Arabic and Chinese (U. S. General Accounting Office, 2002).

Is younger really better?
Learning a language at any age is beneficial. Some studies have shown that the human brain is more open to linguistic development during the years between birth and pre-adolescence and
that children who learn a language before the onset of adolescence are more likely to develop native-like pronunciation (e.g., Strozer, 1994). When children have an early start to a long
sequence of language instruction that continues through high school and college, they will be able to achieve levels of fluency that have not been possible in the past due to the late start of
most language programs.


At the same time, older children and adults can still be successful at learning a second language, although the level of attainment may be less predictable because of factors that can influence language learning. (See, e.g., articles in Mayo, del Pilar, & Lecumberri, 2003.) Any exposure to a second language and culture is beneficial, even if native-like proficiency is not the goal or the outcome.


What options are available?
The types of language programs available in U.S. elementary schools can be placed on a continuum. At one end of the continuum are immersion programs, which offer the greatest
amount of time in language study and produce students with the highest levels of proficiency. At the other end are programs that explore language and do not have language proficiency as a goal. The largest number of programs are FLES (foreign language in the elementary school) programs, in which a second language is taught as a distinct subject. ACTFL (1998) recommends that FLES classes be taught three to five times a week for no less than 30-40 minutes per class. Depending on the frequency of the classes and the opportunities for practice,
children in these programs may attain substantial proficiency in the language studied.


Immersion programs allow children to spend part or all of the school day learning in a foreign language. In full (total) immersion programs, which are available in a limited number of schools, children learn all of their subjects (e.g., math, social studies, science) in the foreign language. Partial immersion programs operate on the same principle, but only a portion of the curriculum is taught in the foreign language. The foreign language is the medium for content instruction rather than the subject of instruction and is used from 50% to 100% of the instructional time. Children in immersion programs work toward full proficiency in the second language and reach higher levels of proficiency than those in other programs (Curtain & Dahlberg, 2004).


Exploratory programs introduce students to other cultures and to language as a general concept. Classes meet once or twice a week to explore one or more languages or to learn about language itself (Curtain & Dahlberg, 2004). Although some proficiency may be attained if the program focuses on a specific language, parents should not expect children to attain language fluency. However, these programs can provide a basis and motivation for later learning.


What can I do to help?
If you live in a community that does not offer a language program, you can still foster your child’s interest and aptitude in other languages. If you are able to speak a second language, read or speak to your child in that language. If possible, supply books, videos, and other materials in the language. Attend cultural events that feature music, dance, or food from the country or countries where the language is spoken. Summer programs offering international exchanges and intensive study are suitable for older children and offer valuable opportunities to speak a second language and explore a different culture firsthand. If you would like to help start a language program in your community, speak to the school principal about your interest.


Discuss the possibility at a meeting of the school’s parent organization to see if other parents share your interest. Contact the teachers, school board, and school district headquarters.

大致意思是说，学第二语言的娃在校学习成绩更好，处理问题的能力更强；在娃小的时候就开始学习第二语言并持续到高中阶段，有利于娃流利使用第二语言。

本帖最后由 宝罗快乐 于 2013-1-17 09:28 编辑

看来老美也很重视外语的学习呀。套路和我们论坛里提到的基本一致。
但是在Sequential Acquisition提到的语音环境，我们这里大多不具备。即要么移民，要么在家说母语，在外上学是用外语。我们这里的情况大多数是在家能说少量外语，在外上课基本全是中文，顶多每周上两次英语班。
还有一个时间点，字小一点的文章里提到3岁前后，字大一点文章说pre-adolescence都行，甚至大了成人后都能掌握外语。l

加拿大一直倡导，移民子女回家要跟父母说母语，不要忘了自己的语言，没有年龄限制，没有思维问题，没有干扰问题。。。。

真心觉得，也许在非英语国家学英语，难度太大，付出太多，所以我们家长总免不了要患得患失地考虑值得与不值得，这完全可以理解，但，还是不得不说，学英语，学第二语言，对孩子的身心发展是有好处的。

至于说“量”的把握，我们很难做到规模很大，毕竟时间精力和能力都有限。

我觉得这两种说法不冲突。

主要还是看条件，比如像移民家庭，回家说母语是很自然的事情，这就是条件，这个条件下，年龄是不需要多顾虑的，第二个看内容，如果对一个幼儿，强迫性，大量教育第二语言，那显然又是不对的了。

所以，当条件和量，达到切合与自然的时候，年龄是几岁，是不多考虑的，不管是3岁前，还是3岁到青春期阶段。

最新研究结果吗，谢谢HI版分享。

很好的资料

希望多点妈妈上来写写读后感，大片的英文，没看懂呀，{:soso_e107:}

看来三岁是个关键期啊~~~~


tigie于2013-1-17 12:11补充以下内容：
应该说是分水岭吧

本帖最后由 lmjcle 于 2013-1-17 12:30 编辑

H版就是一个很专业的，在儿童英语启蒙领域的各个方面，不断摸索、探讨、小结，再探讨的人，然后把这些心血无私的奉献给大家。
在某种程度上，可以说是充当了引路人的角色啊……
所体现出来的，探索精神，科学态度，务实，奉献……实在让人太敬佩了

没看懂的，建议拿个翻译软件，一扫就好了，再结合原文就理解得好一点。
我也经常要靠这个啊{:soso_e127:}

学习了，还是少些理论，多些坚持，先从最简单的做起，坚持！

厄，好大段的英文，头晕，2岁半的娃，目前无系统英语学习中，想系统学习好难啊，英文环境哪里来呢，我和他爸英语都是半吊子

本帖最后由 candlepeace 于 2013-1-17 22:28 编辑

的确是很有意思的资料，三份资料中，我只看了两份，看到一些感兴趣的东西。

在《Why, How, and When Should My Child Learn a Second Language》一文中，关于第二语言学习的时间节点问题，提到两点：

1.“有研究显示，从出生到青春期之前，人类大脑更加适宜语言能力的发展，而且在青春期开始之前学习第二语言，更容易获得接近母语人士的口音(e.g., Strozer, 1994). ”

Some studies have shown that the human brain is more open to linguistic development during the years between birth and pre-adolescence and that children who learn a language before the onset of adolescence are more likely to develop native-like pronunciation (e.g., Strozer, 1994).

2.“同时，年龄大一点的孩子和成人也是可以在第二语言学习上获得成功的，尽管这种情况下第二语言掌握程度的可预见性，不那么有把握，因为有很多因素会影响语言的学习(See, e.g., articles in Mayo, del Pilar, & Lecumberri, 2003.)”

At the same time, older children and adults can still be successful at learning a second language, although the level of attainment may be less predictable because of factors that can influence language learning. (See, e.g., articles in Mayo, del Pilar, & Lecumberri, 2003.)


由此看来，研究可以支持的观点仅仅是，在青春期开始（约12岁）之前学习第二语言，要比这之后开始学习，更加容易一些（由大脑机制决定），获得成功的把握更大一些，尤其是语音方面更易塑成地道的口音。但并不否认这个年龄段之后能够成功学好第二语言的可能性，只是情况要复杂一些，可能要因人而异，因条件而异。


在另一份资料《How children learn more than one language 》中，第一句"Bilingual acquisition can take place in one of two ways"，指出了“双语习得”只在下面两种途径中发生：

一个途径是“同时习得”（Simultaneous Acquisition），即从一出生开始或三岁前，就处在双语环境中成长。我想文中这里所指的语言环境是，两种语言的使用程度都可以做到——天然地嵌入在日常生活中所蕴含的自然而然的、无比丰富的语言交互情境中，换言之，要依靠语言来生活、感受、传情达意；而并不是指那种偶尔同孩子说有限的、可能尚不地道的外语，或念外文读本，或听歌谣、看动画，因为这样的语言环境是“失真的”和“残缺的”，尚无法构成真正的语言。

另一个途径是“先后习得”或“顺序习得”（Sequential Acquisition），即第二语言是在第一语言基本建立之后（通常是3岁以后）才引入的，文章指出如果孩子移民到了另一个国家，那么就会发生这种“先后习得”或“顺序习得”。还有一种情况，也会发生“先后习得”，就是孩子在上学前在家仅仅使用第一种语言，而上学后学校的课程完全是第二种语言。文中对于此模式下所需的语言环境，给了明确的表述或举例——移民到了另一个国家或孩子上纯外语的国际学校。

很显然，在这篇短文中，无论是“同时习得”模式（Simultaneous Acquisition）还是“先后习得”或“顺序习得”模式（Sequential Acquisition），都是存在第二语言的天然社会环境，即孩子能在家庭中或学校中或社会上，也就是说至少要有一个小环境，能提供自然的、全息的、交往式的语言环境。所以，缺少这种天然的第二语言环境的，是不可能去谈“双语习得”（Bilingual Acquisition ）的。

所以，我想在我们国内的情形，除了“OPOL（一位家长一种语言）”这种模式，其他情况恐怕都很难称得上真正意义的“双语环境”。而对于幼儿处于第二语言“有限输入”和“非全息输入”的情况，此篇国外文献并未涉及。

本帖最后由 93776940 于 2013-1-17 23:03 编辑

我喜欢这类型的文章，可惜看不懂啊。爬楼看了几位同学的一些翻译，对比网络上两位美加的幼儿老师写的一些文章，有类似的表述。

看来为了孩子将来看到这些文章就能看懂，还得加油让孩子多长进。{:soso_e113:}

这个结果应该很久了吧，之前听一个英语老师说过~~

没有好的外语环境就不要勉强

的确，双语人士大脑反应速度更快些。前两天看了篇文章，供大家参考。

Speaking two languages can actually help offset some effects of aging on the brain, a new study has found.

Researchers tested how long it took participants to switch from one cognitive task to another, something that's known to take longer for older adults, said lead researcher, Brian Gold, a neuroscientist at the University of Kentucky.

"It has big implications these days because our population is aging more and more," Gold said. "Seniors are living longer, and that's a good thing, but it's only a good thing to the extent that their brains are healthy."

Gold's team compared task-switching speeds for younger and older adults, knowing they would find slower speeds in the older population because of previous studies. However, they found that older adults who spoke two languages were able to switch mental gears faster than those who didn't.

But don't go out and buy Rosetta Stone just yet. The study only looked at life-long bilinguals, defined in the study as people who had spoken a second language daily since they were at least 10 years old.

First, Gold and his team asked 30 people, who were either bilingual or monolingual, to look at a series of colored shapes and respond with the name of each shape by pushing a button. Then, they presented the participants with a similar series of colored shapes and asked them to respond with what colors the shapes were by pushing a button. Finally, researchers presented participants with a series of colored shapes, but they mixed prompts for either a shape or a color to test participants' task-switching times.

The bilingual people were able to respond faster to the shifting prompts.

Researchers then gathered 80 more people for a second experiment: 20 young bilinguals, 20 young monolinguals, 20 old bilinguals, and 20 old monolinguals. This time, researchers used MRI scans to monitor brain activity during the same shape- and color-identifying tasks. Gold and his team found that bilingual people were not only able to switch tasks faster - they had different brain activity than their monolingual peers.

"It allows a sort of window into how the brains of people who have different cognitive processing abilities and are processing the same stimuli in different ways," said Kristina Visscher, a neurobiologist at the University of Alabama School of Medicine who did not work on the study.

Visscher called bilingualism a "beautiful natural experiment," because people grow up speaking two languages, and studies have shown that they reap certain cognitive benefits from switching between languages and determining which to respond with based on what's going on around them. The University of Kentucky researchers took it a step further by using brain imaging, which she said was "exciting."

Gold said he grew up in Montreal, where he spoke French at school and English at home, prompting relatives to question whether his French language immersion would somehow hinder his ability to learn English.

"Until very recently, learning a second language in childhood was thought of as dangerous," he said. "Actually, it's beneficial."

一楼一楼看到最后，收益了O(∩_∩)O谢谢

说得有道理，而且文中概念的使用十分清晰、准确。我感到这不是一个无关紧要的概念区分，实际上它非常有助于我们识别“在语言环境条件上”的关键差异和各自特性，否则就有可能带来“似是而非”的认识。

但我同时也感到，【恰当地】引入动画、音频、绘本、包括亲子英语等等，对幼儿学“外语”或叫英语“启蒙”是一种有益的探索，我认可它在听说启蒙上的价值，会为今后外语的学习奠定较好的基础，但不会夸大它的成效。

看完这本书很久了，道行太浅，听大家说说，关键在于a second language（第二语言）和 a foreign language(外语)还是有区别的哈，教育不是简单的事，父母们要首先把自己武装起来，好父母不是天生的，父母也需要成长，我深深觉得教育孩子首先是父母要对自己进行教育，不过这并不意味着没有武装好之前我们就要坐在那里什么事都不做，至少我们知道从小可以给孩子念中文书吧……

努力学习ing

又重新爬了一次楼。
感觉理论太深奥，不适合我这样简单思维的人呀。理解不了。
还是按自己认为正确的方法，慢慢前行吧。