2018/5/11 16:16:00
研究人員：10歲前學(xué)英語最好？
There is a critical cut-off age for learning a language fluently, according to research.
If you want to have native-like knowledge of English grammar, for example, you should ideally start before age 10, say the researchers.
研究人員稱，如果你想擁有比如說像講母語者那樣好的英語語法，那么最好在10歲前就開始學(xué)習(xí)。
People remain highly skilled learners until 17 or 18, when ability tails off.
17或18歲之前的人仍然是高技能的學(xué)習(xí)者，但之后該能力會下降。
The findings, in the journal Cognition, come from an online grammar test taken by nearly 670,000 people of different ages and nationalities. The grammar quiz was posted on Facebook to get enough people to take part.
發(fā)表在《認(rèn)知》期刊的該研究，對近67萬名不同年齡和國籍的人進(jìn)行了在線語法測試。該語法測驗(yàn)在臉書上發(fā)布，以便有足夠的人參與。
Questions tested if participants could determine whether a sentence written in English, such as: "Yesterday John wanted to won the race," was grammatically correct.
Users were asked their age and how long they had been learning English, and in what setting -- had they moved to an English-speaking country, for example?
用戶被問及他們的年齡，他們學(xué)習(xí)英語的時(shí)間以及學(xué)習(xí)環(huán)境 -- 例如，他們是否搬到了講英語的國家？
About 246,000 of the people who took the test had grown up speaking only English, while the rest were bi- or multilingual.
在參加測試的人中，約有24.6萬人只會說英語，其余的人則是雙語或多語者。
The most common native languages (excluding English) were Finnish, Turkish, German, Russian and Hungarian.
最常見的母語（不包括英語）是芬蘭語，土耳其語，德語，俄語和匈牙利語。
Most of the people who completed the quiz were in their 20s and 30s. The youngest age was about 10 and the oldest late 70s.
大部分完成測驗(yàn)的人都是20多歲和30多歲的人。最小的年齡大約是10歲，而最大的則為70歲。
When the researchers analysed the data using a computer model, the best explanation for the findings was that grammar-learning was strongest in childhood, persists into teenage years and then drops at adulthood.
當(dāng)研究人員使用計(jì)算機(jī)模型分析這些數(shù)據(jù)時(shí)，對這些發(fā)現(xiàn)的最好解釋是語法學(xué)習(xí)在兒童時(shí)期是最強(qiáng)的，持續(xù)到青少年時(shí)期，然后在成年時(shí)期下降。
Learning a language is often said to be easy for children and to get more difficult as we age.
通常認(rèn)為，學(xué)習(xí)一門語言對孩子來說很容易，而隨著年齡的增長而變得越來越困難。
But late learners can still become proficient, if not seamlessly fluent, say the researchers.
研究人員表示，如果不是十分流暢的話，后期學(xué)習(xí)者仍然可以精通該語言。
It is unclear what causes the drop in the optimal learning rate seen at about age 18. The researchers suggest it could be because the brain becomes less changeable or adaptable in adulthood.
目前還不清楚是什么導(dǎo)致最佳學(xué)習(xí)率在18歲左右下降。研究人員認(rèn)為，這可能是因?yàn)榇竽X在成年期變得不易變化或適應(yīng)性減弱。
研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，流利地掌握一門語言有一個關(guān)鍵的年齡分界點(diǎn)。
If you want to have native-like knowledge of English grammar, for example, you should ideally start before age 10, say the researchers.
研究人員稱，如果你想擁有比如說像講母語者那樣好的英語語法，那么最好在10歲前就開始學(xué)習(xí)。
People remain highly skilled learners until 17 or 18, when ability tails off.
17或18歲之前的人仍然是高技能的學(xué)習(xí)者，但之后該能力會下降。
The findings, in the journal Cognition, come from an online grammar test taken by nearly 670,000 people of different ages and nationalities. The grammar quiz was posted on Facebook to get enough people to take part.
發(fā)表在《認(rèn)知》期刊的該研究，對近67萬名不同年齡和國籍的人進(jìn)行了在線語法測試。該語法測驗(yàn)在臉書上發(fā)布，以便有足夠的人參與。
Questions tested if participants could determine whether a sentence written in English, such as: "Yesterday John wanted to won the race," was grammatically correct.
參與者要確定一個以英語寫成的句子，例如：“昨天約翰想贏得比賽”的語法是否正確。
Users were asked their age and how long they had been learning English, and in what setting -- had they moved to an English-speaking country, for example?
用戶被問及他們的年齡，他們學(xué)習(xí)英語的時(shí)間以及學(xué)習(xí)環(huán)境 -- 例如，他們是否搬到了講英語的國家？
About 246,000 of the people who took the test had grown up speaking only English, while the rest were bi- or multilingual.
在參加測試的人中，約有24.6萬人只會說英語，其余的人則是雙語或多語者。
The most common native languages (excluding English) were Finnish, Turkish, German, Russian and Hungarian.
最常見的母語（不包括英語）是芬蘭語，土耳其語，德語，俄語和匈牙利語。
Most of the people who completed the quiz were in their 20s and 30s. The youngest age was about 10 and the oldest late 70s.
大部分完成測驗(yàn)的人都是20多歲和30多歲的人。最小的年齡大約是10歲，而最大的則為70歲。
When the researchers analysed the data using a computer model, the best explanation for the findings was that grammar-learning was strongest in childhood, persists into teenage years and then drops at adulthood.
當(dāng)研究人員使用計(jì)算機(jī)模型分析這些數(shù)據(jù)時(shí)，對這些發(fā)現(xiàn)的最好解釋是語法學(xué)習(xí)在兒童時(shí)期是最強(qiáng)的，持續(xù)到青少年時(shí)期，然后在成年時(shí)期下降。
Learning a language is often said to be easy for children and to get more difficult as we age.
通常認(rèn)為，學(xué)習(xí)一門語言對孩子來說很容易，而隨著年齡的增長而變得越來越困難。
But late learners can still become proficient, if not seamlessly fluent, say the researchers.
研究人員表示，如果不是十分流暢的話，后期學(xué)習(xí)者仍然可以精通該語言。
It is unclear what causes the drop in the optimal learning rate seen at about age 18. The researchers suggest it could be because the brain becomes less changeable or adaptable in adulthood.
目前還不清楚是什么導(dǎo)致最佳學(xué)習(xí)率在18歲左右下降。研究人員認(rèn)為，這可能是因?yàn)榇竽X在成年期變得不易變化或適應(yīng)性減弱。