US EUROPE AFRICA ASIA 中文
    China / Society

    Language is better learned in 'casual study'

    By Wang Hongyi in Shanghai (China Daily) Updated: 2014-03-06 09:17

    International scholars at a conference held in Shanghai on the science of learning suggest an easier, more active way for children to learn a second language than traditional rote memorization in a classroom.

    The answer lies in informal learning environments where students not only connect with real life but connect with it in more than one language.

    English courses in China have long been criticized for what has been characterized as their dried-up teaching methods and absence of practical application.

    Yet studies show that about 81.5 percent of a person's life is spent in informal learning environments. With that in mind, language learning should not be limited to a formal classroom or to a single language, the experts say.

    "They should learn English through more active communication, rather than focusing on vocabulary and grammar. It is a way to learn multiple languages," said Dirk Van Damme, head of the innovation and measurement division of the education directorate of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris.

    "The ability to speak and communicate is very important. And bilingualism can help stimulate the development of the brain. Chinese students - at least those in Shanghai - are very capable in their second-language learning," Van Damme said.

    Exposing children to a bilingual environment through informal study is important, said Cheng Kai-ming, a professor of Education at the University of Hong Kong.

    "Learning has always been an essential part of human life," Cheng said. "Now we are living in a society with rapid changes, one that is already substantially different from the typical manufacturing base of the past. Therefore, it's prime time to reinterpret learning."

    Another expert also saw the value of bilingual learning but offered a caveat.

    "The human brain has a remarkable ability to reorganize its structures in response to differences in environmental and behavioral experience, such as educational, social and multicultural learning, or monolingual versus bilingual language learning," said cognitive neuroscientist Laura Ann Petitto, science director of the National Science Foundation's Science of Learning Center.

    Bilingual exposure at an early age will produce some positive effects for a child's growth and learning ability, especially in the area of reading,according to Laura Ann Petitto.

    In an academic report, Bilingualism Alters the Brain's White-Matter Microstructure, Patricia Kuhl, a professor at the University of Washington, said that children in bilingual environments demonstrate higher cognitive ability. Experiments showed, for example, that children in a bilingual environment can get toys into a box more quickly than their single-language peers.

    In December, the Ministry of Education released a draft reform plan for the national college entrance examination, or gaokao, making it clear that English will be moved from the exam in the future. Provinces and cities across the country are required to work out their own plans under the direction of the ministry.

    So far, many regional gaokao reform plans across the country remain undeveloped, but debate continues to swirl about how English is taught.

     

    Highlights
    Hot Topics
    ...
    国产精品热久久无码av| 最近中文字幕2019高清免费 | 中文字幕乱码人妻综合二区三区| 91精品无码久久久久久五月天| 最好看的最新高清中文视频| 日本妇人成熟免费中文字幕| 亚洲Aⅴ无码专区在线观看q| 最近最新免费中文字幕高清 | 中文字幕网伦射乱中文| 色AV永久无码影院AV| 久久久无码精品亚洲日韩京东传媒| 中文字幕在线亚洲精品| 无码任你躁久久久久久| 国产AV无码专区亚洲Av| 无码人妻一区二区三区免费看| 再看日本中文字幕在线观看| 国产中文字幕在线视频| 久久中文字幕人妻熟av女| 国产精品亚洲αv天堂无码 | 国产成人AV一区二区三区无码| 中文无码伦av中文字幕| 最近免费中文字幕大全免费| а√天堂中文官网8| 国产日韩精品中文字无码| 亚洲人成无码网WWW| 国产精品无码素人福利不卡| 国产成人无码精品久久久久免费 | 18禁网站免费无遮挡无码中文| 日韩av无码一区二区三区| 亚洲AV无码一区二区三区系列| 夜夜添无码一区二区三区| 高清无码中文字幕在线观看视频| 午夜无码中文字幕在线播放| 最近2019中文字幕免费直播| 日韩中文久久| 亚洲一区无码中文字幕| 毛片免费全部播放无码| 无码精品人妻一区二区三区中| 无码少妇一区二区三区| 免费无码一区二区三区| 国产成人无码精品久久久免费|