学外语最佳方法：造一个文化孤岛

 　　Are you trying to learn a new language in a foreign land? You might be better off if you stopped looking at that picture of your family and friends.

　　你是否正身处异国他乡，正在努力学习一门新的语言？如果你能放下那张家人和亲友的照片不再看它，也许你的学习之旅或许能事半功倍。

　　When learning a new language, your brain is running a whole new neuropathway, creating new patterns and trying to fix those new pathways permanently¹ in your gray matter. New research from Columbia University found that prompting someone who is learning a new language with images and reminders² of their own culture could temporarily wreck³ everything that the brain was trying to build.

　　当我们学习一门新语言的时候，我们的大脑里新的神经通路就开始发挥作用，大脑会创造新的认知模式，并使这种新的认知模式与大脑灰质构建永久性的联系。哥伦比亚大学的一项新研究证实，当人们用一个初学者本土文化的意象和物象来刺激他的二语习得时，大脑在二语习得过程中试图架构的模式和联系可能被彻底摧毁。

　　学外语最佳方法：造一个文化孤岛

　　When native Chinese students were asked to converse⁴ with a Caucasian avatar versus⁵ a Chinese avatar, their English skills were so different. Simply exposing students to a Chinese person affected⁶ their ability to speak English. Subjects who talked with the Chinese version felt more comfortable in their speech, but they produced 11% fewer words per minute. They actually became less fluent speakers.

　　研究人员让来自中国的学生与一个金发碧眼的网络虚拟形象对话，然后与一个黑发黑眼的中国人的网络虚拟形象对话，结果学生们前后表现出的英语表达技能大不相同。让学生们面对一个中国的对话对象确实会影响他们说英语的水平。与中国人的网络虚拟形象对话时，学生们在对话中感到更加轻松自如，但是他们每分钟使用的语汇少了11%。他们使用英语的流利程度真的降低了。

　　To make sure it wasn't just the avatar, researchers also showed people random⁷ images of China while the participants told a story. When pictures of their homeland appeared, fluency⁸ dropped 16% and volunteers were 85% more likely to use a literal translation, for example, calling pistachios "happy nuts". Because that's literally⁹ what the Chinese word for pistachio means.

　　为了确证上述实验现象不仅仅出现在学生们与网络虚拟形象对话的过程中，研究者们还请学生们讲述故事，并在此过程中向学生们展示随机选出的中国人图像。当这些祖国同胞们的图像出现的时候，学生们讲述故事的流利程度降低了16%、使用牵强附会的中式英语的几率多了85%。比如，他们会把开心果说成“快乐的坚果”。因为在中文中开心果的意思直译成英语就是这个意思。

　　The brain is constantly sucking in information and, let's be honest, it's lazy, so when the brain can do something it already knows how to do, it will. In this case the shortcut¹⁰ is reverting¹¹ to its old patterns and neuropathways.

　　我们的大脑会持续不断的吸收信息，而且，说实在的，我们的大脑很懒惰。所以，当大脑察觉它可以用熟知的方式去完成一件事的时候，它就会选择熟知的方式。如此一来，原本需要构建的新认知模式被认知的捷径取代，大脑又退返到使用旧的认知模式和神经通路。

　　Culture and communication are a large part of our everyday lives, and those are well-worn pathways, so they're really difficult to alter. This effect doesn't force only on language processing either. When the students were shown pictures of fish with one swimming ahead of the others, their cultural prompt would change how they look at the photo. With Chinese prompts, like photos of the Great Wall or Chinese Dragon, etc. saw more students thinking that the fish was being chased, whereas an American prompt, like pictures of Marilyn Monroe or Superman, saw those students believing that it was a leader fish... Why are our cultural symbols Marilyn Monroe and Superman?

　　文化和交流是我们每日生活的一大组成部分，正是这些在我们的大脑中构建了我们再熟悉不过的思维通路，这些思维通路很难换道。已有思维通路的顽固作用不仅出现在语言习得这一个方面。当研究者们向学生们展示一幅研究图片时，文化原型会影响他们对图片的理解方式。对一幅表现一条鱼在前，一群鱼在后的图片。中国学生的认知模式受到中国文化的文化原型影响，他们的文化原型体现在长城和中国龙等图像中，在他们看来，研究图片表现的是一条鱼正在被一群鱼追赶。而美国文化的文化原型则表现在玛丽莲·梦露或超人的形象上，因而美国学生会认为研究图片所表现的是一只鱼带领着一群鱼。不过为什么美国人的文化原型象征会是玛丽莲·梦露和超人呢？……

　　The bottom line is: when attempting to learn a new culture it is far better to surround yourself with that culture than create an island of the old one amidst the new one. Part of this can be seen in highly multicultural¹² cities with isolated¹³ ethnic¹⁴ areas. Folks in these isolated communities would not only see less exposure for the culture and the language of the surrounding city, but they learn fluency far more slowly.

　　底线是：如果你想学好一门新语言，就让自己浸淫在这种新文化之中，让自己置身于一个与原有的文化场域隔海相望的文化孤岛。那些文化杂交性显著，居民的种族身份相对集中的城市地区就能看出文化孤立的重要性。在这些城市地区，居民接触本地区之外的文化和语言的机会较少，不仅如此，他们掌握本地区之外的新语言的效率也相对很低。

1 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

2 reminders   

n.令人回忆起…的东西( reminder的名词复数 )；提醒…的东西；（告知该做某事的）通知单；提示信

参考例句：

• The film evokes chilling reminders of the war. 这部电影使人们回忆起战争的可怕场景。
• The strike has delayed the mailing of tax reminders. 罢工耽搁了催税单的投寄。

3 wreck   

n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难

参考例句：

• Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
• No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。

4 converse   

vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反

参考例句：

• He can converse in three languages.他可以用3种语言谈话。
• I wanted to appear friendly and approachable but I think I gave the converse impression.我想显得友好、平易近人些,却发觉给人的印象恰恰相反。

5 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

8 fluency   

n.流畅，雄辩，善辩

参考例句：

• More practice will make you speak with greater fluency.多练习就可以使你的口语更流利。
• Some young children achieve great fluency in their reading.一些孩子小小年纪阅读已经非常流畅。

9 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

10 shortcut   

n.近路，捷径

参考例句：

• He was always looking for a shortcut to fame and fortune.他总是在找成名发财的捷径。
• If you take the shortcut,it will be two li closer.走抄道去要近2里路。

11 reverting   

恢复( revert的现在分词 )； 重提； 回到…上； 归还

参考例句：

• The boss came back from holiday all relaxed and smiling, but now he's reverting to type. 老板刚度假回来时十分随和，满面笑容，现在又恢复原样了。
• The conversation kept reverting to the subject of money. 谈话的内容总是离不开钱的事。

12 multicultural   

adj.融合多种文化的，多种文化的

参考例句：

• Children growing up in a multicultural society.在多元文化社会中长大的孩子们。
• The school has been attempting to bring a multicultural perspective to its curriculum.这所学校已经在尝试将一种多元文化视角引入其课程。

13 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

14 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。