How to Be a Successful Language Learner?

本讲为2006年下半年新的教学内容，请对照教材听录音！   How to Be a Successful Language Learner?   “Learning1 a language is easy. Even a child can do it!”          Most adults (who are learning a second language) would disagree with this statement2. For them, learning a language is a very difficult task. They need hundreds of hours of study and practice, and even this will not guarantee success for every adult language learner.          Language learning is different from other kinds of learning. Some people (who are very intelligent and __ (successful) in their fields) find it difficult to succeed in language learning. Conversely3, some people who are successful language learners find it difficult to succeed in other fields.            Language teachers often offer advice to language learners: “Read as much as you can in the new language.” “practice speaking the language every day.” “Live with people who speak the language.” “Don’t translate – try to think in the new language.” “Learn as a child would learn; play with the language.”          But what does a successful language learner do? Language learning research shows that successful language learners are similar in many ways.          First of all, successful language learners are independent learners. They do not depend on the book or the teacher; they discover their own way to learn the language. Instead of waiting for the teacher to explain, they try to find the patterns and the rules for themselves. They are good guessers (who look for clues4 and form their own conclusions). When they guess wrong, they guess again. They try to learn from their mistakes.          Successful language learning is active learning. Therefore, successful learners do not wait for a chance to use the language; they look for such a chance. They find people who speak the language and they ask these people __ (to correct) them when they make a mistake. They will try anything to communicate. They are not afraid to repeat what they hear or __ (to say) strange things; they are willing5 __ (to make) mistakes and try again. When communication is difficult, they can accept information (that is inexact or incomplete).       It is more important for them to learn to think in the language than to know the meaning of every word.              Finally, successful language learners are learners with a purpose. They want to learn the language because they are interested in the language and the people (who speak it).       passive—active—inactive   In the end—at last—eventually   Because of the traffic jam, I was late.   Because I met the traffic jam, I was late.

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 statement   

n.陈述；声明；综述

参考例句：

• The government will put out a new statement tomorrow.政府将于明天发布一项新声明。
• Put down your statement in black and white.把你的话用白纸黑字写下来。

3 conversely   

adv.相反地，另一面

参考例句：

• He placed the box conversely.他把箱子放倒了。
• Conversely,the universe provides a laboratory.反过来，宇宙空间也可作为实验室。

4 clues   

n.线索( clue的名词复数 )；提示；（帮助警方破案的）线索；（纵横填字谜、游戏或问题的）提示词语

参考例句：

• The police think the videotape may hold some vital clues to the identity of the killer. 警方认为那盘录像带可能录有能确认凶手身份的一些重要线索。
• contextual clues to the meaning 上下文提供的理解其含义的线索

5 willing   

adj.愿意的，自愿的，乐意的，心甘情愿的

参考例句：

• We never lack food and clothing if we're willing to work.如果我们愿意工作,就不会缺吃少穿。
• He's quite willing to pay the price I ask.他很愿意照我的要价付钱。