多語言的夢與語言學習的聯(lián)系

關(guān)于睡眠狀態(tài)下的人類大腦活動仍有許多待我們研究的地方，不過夢也許能給我們提供一些相關(guān)線索。本文探討大腦學習外語的方式及夢里用外語交流對語言學習有何意義。

詞匯：language learning 語言學習

It is often said that if we dream in a foreign language, it's a sign that we are?making progress?in learning that language. But is it true?

人們常說，如果我們用外語做夢，這表明我們在學習這門語言方面取得了進步。但這是真的嗎?

Before we can look at?multilingual?dreams, first we need to look at sleep. The link between sleep and language can be?applied?to?how we learn any language, including our?mother tongue. Even adults still learn about one new word every two days in their first language, but, if we are going to have a?firm grasp of?that new word, we need to link it to our?existing knowledge. And in order to do that, we 'need to have some sleep', says Gareth Gaskell, a psychology professor at the University of York.

在我們研究多語言夢之前，首先我們需要看看睡眠。睡眠和語言之間的聯(lián)系可以應(yīng)用于我們?nèi)绾螌W習任何語言，包括我們的母語。即使是成年人，每兩天也要用母語學習一個新單詞，但是，如果我們要牢牢掌握這個新詞，我們需要把它和我們現(xiàn)有的知識聯(lián)系起來。約克大學的心理學教授加雷思·蓋斯凱爾說，為了做到這一點，我們“需要一些睡眠”。

It's during sleep that the?integration?of old and new knowledge happens. At night, one part of our brain – the?hippocampus?– takes whatever new information it?soaked up?in the day, and passes it on to other parts of the brain to be?stored. The role that dreams play in this night-time?learning process?is still being studied, but 'it's entirely possible that during multilingual dreams, the brain is trying to connect two languages', says Marc Züst, researcher at the University Hospital of Old Age Psychiatry and Psychotherapy in Bern, Switzerland.

正是在睡眠期間，新舊知識的整合發(fā)生了。晚上，我們大腦的一部分——海馬體——接收白天吸收的任何新信息，并將其傳遞給大腦的其他部分進行存儲。瑞士伯爾尼老年精神病學和心理治療大學醫(yī)院的研究員Marc Züst表示，夢在夜間學習過程中所起的作用仍在研究中，但“完全有可能在做多語言夢時，大腦試圖將兩種語言聯(lián)系起來”。

So having multilingual dreams could mean that our brain is trying to?master?a new word or phrase, for example, but it could also have an emotional?significance. Danuta Gabry?-Barker, a professor of?psycholinguistics?at the University of Silesia in Poland, suggests that multilingual dreams can?express?'fears and?desires' around learning a foreign language, including the wish to be a?native-like?speaker or to be accepted within a certain community.

因此，做多語言的夢可能意味著我們的大腦正在努力掌握一個新單詞或短語，但它也可能具有情感意義。波蘭西里西亞大學(University of Silesia)的心理語言學教授Danuta Gabry?-Barker認為，多語言夢可以表達人們對學習外語的“恐懼和渴望”，包括希望能像母語人士一樣說外語，或者被某個社區(qū)所接受。

We clearly still have a lot to learn about multilingual dreams, but one thing seems certain: if you're trying to learn a new language, you should definitely?sleep on it.

關(guān)于多語言夢，我們顯然還有很多要學，但有一件事是肯定的:如果你想學一門新語言，你絕對應(yīng)該睡一覺。

詞匯表

make progress 進步
multilingual 使用多種語言的
apply to 適用
mother tongue 母語
firm grasp of 牢牢掌握
existing knowledge 已有知識
integration 融合
hippocampus 海馬體
soak up 吸收（信息）
store 儲存
learning process 學習過程
master 學習，掌握
significance 重要意義
psycholinguistics 心理語言學
express 表達
desire 渴望，愿望
native-like 像母語人士一樣的，地道的
sleep on it “睡一覺再考慮”，考慮清楚再決定

測驗與練習

1.?閱讀課文并回答問題。

1. How often do adults learn a new word in their mother tongue?

2. What needs to happen if we are going to have a firm grasp of a new word?

3. True or False??Integration of old and new knowledge happens when we're asleep.

4. What does Marc Züst think is happening during multilingual dreams?

5. Could multilingual dreams tell us something about our emotions?

2.?選擇意思恰當?shù)膯卧~或詞組來完成下列句子。

1. The skills you learn in this job, you will be able to _______ future jobs, too.

link? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?apply to? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?soak up?? ??????????????????store

2. Can you help me understand this sentence? I don't have a _______ it yet.

mother tongue? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?firm grasp of? ? ? ? ? ? ? integration? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?learning process

3. It's not a good idea to only _______ your work locally on your computer. Try to have a backup as well.

soak up? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? store? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? master? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?express

4. How long did it take you to _______ the piano? You play beautifully. ?

make progress? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?link? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?firm grasp of? ? ? ? ? ? ? master? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ??

5. Words can't _______ how excited I am!

multilingual? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? mother tongue? ? ? ? ? ? express? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? native-like

答案

1.?閱讀課文并回答問題。?

1. How often do adults learn a new word in their mother tongue?
Adults learn about one new word every two days in their first language.

2. What needs to happen if we are going to have a firm grasp of a new word?
To have a firm grasp of a new word, we need to link it to our existing knowledge.

3. True or False??Integration of old and new knowledge happens when we're asleep.
True. It's during sleep that the hippocampus passes new information on to other parts of the brain to be stored.

4. What does Marc Züst think is happening during multilingual dreams?
Marc Züst thinks that it's possible the brain is trying to connect two languages during multilingual dreams.

5. Could multilingual dreams tell us something about our emotions?
Yes. Danuta Gabry?-Barker suggests that multilingual dreams can express 'fears and desires' around learning a foreign language.

2.?選擇意思恰當?shù)膯卧~或詞組來完成下列句子。

1. The skills you learn in this job, you will be able to?apply to?future jobs, too.

2. Can you help me understand this sentence? I don't have a?firm grasp of?it yet.

3. It's not a good idea to only?store?your work locally on your computer. Try to have a backup as well.

4. How long did it take you to?master?the piano? You play beautifully.??

5. Words can't?express?how excited I am!

文章來源BBC，侵權(quán)刪，本文僅用于英語學習。?