實戰(zhàn)口語情景對話：Language Learners 語言學習者

Jana: So we're talking about learning English. Has that worked for you in any other languages too?

嘉娜：我們之前談了英語學習。你還學過其他語言嗎?

Peter: Actually I thought about that question before and I started studying Japanese a few years ago. I shouldn't say studying because I haven't studied so much but for some reasonmy Japanese learning is very different to my English learning.

彼得：我以前也想過這個問題，幾年前我開始學習日語。我想我不應(yīng)該說是學習，因為我學的并不多，但是基于某些原因，我學習日語時和學習英語時有很大的不同。

Jana: How is it different?

嘉娜：有什么不同?

Peter: I've learned, the little bit of Japanese that I've learned, I've learned through listening mostly and having to speak or, you know, helping myself in daily situations. I haven't been able to master enough kanji and Japanese symbols to be able to read it well or to write it well at all. So I couldn't, like before I studied English, a lot of English came to me because I read so much but now I can't read in Japanese so I'm having to rely onlistening mostly and how about you?彼得：日語我只學了一點，主要是通過聽力來學習，而且我也要說日語，這對我的日常生活有幫助。不過我沒能掌握日語中的漢字體系，而且有關(guān)日語符號，我讀和寫都不太擅長。以前我學習英語時，我可以很容易的理解，因為我閱讀了大量書籍，但是現(xiàn)在我看不太懂日語，所以我基本上是依靠聽力，你呢?

Jana: Yeah, I learned Spanish in a similar way I learned English and that is I did studybut I didn't think of it as studying. It was fun for me but I did a lot of homework and learning vocabulary and then once I reached a certain level then I went to Spain to practice but with Japanese I haven't reached that level yet and somehow I seem to have forgotten how to learn a language. It doesn't work any more so, yeah, I have been trying to learn Japanese for a few years but I think my brain has just become lazy.

嘉娜：我學習了西班牙語，也是和學習英語時用的類似方法，我雖然是在學習，但我并不認為那是學習。對我來說這是種樂趣，不過我要做很多作業(yè)，還要學習詞匯，一旦我達到一定的水平，我就去西班牙練習，不過目前我的日語還沒有達到這種水平，而且看起來我有些忘記要怎樣學習一種語言了。我以前的方法不太有用了，這幾年來我一直在努力學習日語，可是我想我的大腦變得越來越懶了。

Peter: It's interesting. Maybe our brains tackle every language in a different way, I don't know, because I'm also finding out it's becoming more difficult but maybe we're only getting older and that's maybe one of the reasons.

彼得：真有意思。也許我們的大腦用不同的方法來應(yīng)對各種語言的學習，因為我也發(fā)現(xiàn)現(xiàn)在學習越來越難，可能是因為我們的年齡越來越大了，也許這是其中一個原因。

Jana: Maybe so.

嘉娜：也許吧。

Peter: Do you think age matters as you've, for language learning?

彼得：你認為對語言學習來說，年齡很重要嗎?

Jana: I would like to say no but I think there are different factors. So, surely, when you're young you learn faster and I think especially because there's nothing else that's occupying your mind. You're just studying. Maybe you go to high school or even university so it's easy to take on another subject. So say I want to learn French or whatever, so it's just more similar kind of thing learning but once you start working and your brain is not used to that kind of input any more, I think then it becomes more difficult.

嘉娜：我很想說不重要，不過我認為有很多不同的因素。當然，年輕的時候?qū)W的更快，尤其是因為你當時頭腦里沒有其他事情。你只專注于學習。你在高中或大學時學東西很容易。比如，我想學法語，那只要學習就好，但是一旦你開始工作以后，你的大腦就不再適應(yīng)這種輸入信息了，我認為學習就會變得越來越難。

Peter: So age might have something to do with it? But I think though I had this old friend who started, he retired and then he started studying French and he studied French I believe when he was in his twenties but then he started working and gave up and then he started again and he could afford to go to France for three months and just learn and live there and he came back and at the age of sixty five and he was so much better in his French and he'd made some French friends, so I think it has a lot to do maybe with your motivation too maybe, your interest.

彼得：也許這和年齡有關(guān)?不過我有一個年紀大一些的朋友，他在退休后開始學法語，他在20多歲的時候?qū)W過法語，不過工作以后他就放棄了，后來他退休后又重新學法語，然后他去法國生活了三個月，去那里繼續(xù)學習，他在65歲的時候回來了，他的法語進步了很多，還交了一些法國朋友，我認為學習和你的動力以及興趣有很大關(guān)系。

Jana: That's right. I was just going to say maybe more so than age.

嘉娜：沒錯。我也認為相比年齡，興趣的作用更大。

Peter: Yeah.

彼得：對。

Jana: Maybe when you're young you might be more eager to learn but if you have that same kind of motivation when you're older then why not?

嘉娜：也許年輕的時候，更渴望學習，那老了以后，如果還有這種動力，那為什么不呢?

Peter: Because a lot of people take up studying a language later in life when they have more time or maybe more money to spend on it.

彼得：因為很多人很晚才開始學習一門語言，在他們可以在學習上花費更多時間和錢的時候才開始學習。

Jana: That's right. OK, let's try a bit harder.

嘉娜：沒錯。我們再努力一些吧。

Peter: I think so too. Let's try harder.

彼得：我也是這么想的。我們再努努力。