本帖最后由 rossini23 于 2012-8-7 15:14 编辑
加拿大人Steve Kaufmann能流利地说十多种语言，包括汉语、日语、西班牙语、意大利语、俄语等，甚至在他55岁之后还学会了四门外语。
Steve一直在博客上记录记录自己学习语言的体会。并以博客的内容出了一本网志书：<The Linguist on Language: How to Learn languages in the Age of the Internet.>。
老头的很多观点都很让人折服，摘录一点他书中的内容：
- Language learning is like falling in love. Just as when you are in love, you want to and need to spend as much time as possible with
- the object of your love. You want to hear its voice and read its thoughts. You want to lear n
- more about it, the many words and phrases that it uses to express itself. You think of the
- language wherever you are. You start to observe the object of your love closely. You notice all
- the little things it does, you become familiar with its peculiar behaviour patterns. You breathe it.
- You hear its voice. You feel it. You get to know it better and better, naturally.
- Three laws of language learning
- 1) The law of unpredictable returns.
- If I invest time in learning a word or phrase or language use pattern, I cannot predict the
- return. For example, I easily remember certain uncommon Russian words but cannot relate to
- numbers. No matter how many times I hear dates in Russian, they are a blur for me. We
- cannot control the rate at which language information is acquired. There is also no predictability for the teacher's investment. If a teacher spends 20 minutes of class time on a term or
- grammar rule, he does not know who already knows it, who picks it up right away, and who will
- simply not learn it.
- 2) The law of massive input.
- A direct consequence of the first law is that language learning requires massive input to
- allow different elements of the language to click in at their own pace. Input should involve
- repetition as well as novelty. This will stimulate the brain to groove certain connections on the
- one hand, and create new ones on the other hand. Input can consist of listening and reading,
- as well as reviewing vocabulary. The greater the variety of ways that the same material is
- encountered, the greater the likelihood that some things will stick.
- 3) The law of pleasure and reward.
- Learning will take place best if the learner experiences pleasure and reward. Pleasure can
- come from activities where the challenge is meaningful to the learner and appropriate to his or
- her skills, creating a sense of achievement. Enjoyment can also come from hearing pleasant
- sounds or reading familiar or interesting content. Pleasure increases the production of
- dopamine in the brain, which in turn improves performance and memory. The study of the
- language becomes its own reward. Learners remain committed to sustained involvement with
- the language, for a long period of time.
下面是Steve用中文谈他学语言心得的一段视频：
Steve书的下载地址：
http://ishare.iask.sina.com.cn/f/15530331.html
