Unit 8
LEARING A FOREIGN
LANGUAGE
TWICE AS HARD?
Learning a language is obviously
___________ （显
more than
然） ____________（不仅仅）
just
memorising words, phrases and structures.
tongue
When we learn ourmother
_____________（母语）
we did not _________
receive （受到）much
formal instruction. We learnt or acquired our
mother tongue
by
communicating with the people
___________________________________
__________（通过同周围的人交流）.
And
around
us.
perhaps most puzzling of all, how were we
make sense of
able to _________________（弄明白）
distinguish the
what we heard and _____________
mistakes and errors from
_____（区分）“good”
language ?
Main idea of para 1:
The environmental factor
of learning mother tongue.
Main idea of para 2 :
Different opinions of language
experts.
are
Some believe that we ____
_____________
equipped
with （具备）a special
ability to learn language and that
to （适应）
our brain adjusts
______ itself __
the language we hear around us.
Others think that we learn
the same way（以同
language In
______________
样的方式）we learn other things,
such as walking or solving
what we are
problems, and that ____________
_________
born with （天生具有的）is a
general ability to learn and adapt.
_____________
Regardless of （不管）their
theories, these language
Learning a foreign language is
different from learning one’s
mother tongue. （学习一门外语不
同于学习一个人的母语）The
place（发生）
learning often takes
_________
in school and there are often few
opportunities
____________ （机会）to
communicate with the native
As a consequence
speakers. _________________
（结果）some students think that
Learning a foreign language is
slow and difficult. However, we
actually learn a foreign language
faster than we do our
much _______
5
mother tongue. We spent ____
years learning our native
language while we only spend a
few hours a week and in a few’s
years’ time we can speak a
foreign language.
That means we can be much
more efficient.（那就意味着我们
学的更有效率）
Main idea of para3 :
The difference between learning
mother and learning a foreign
language.
Main idea of para 4 :
The characteristics of successful
language learners.
Then why are some people better
at learning a foreign language
than others ?（那么，为什么一些
人比其他人在语言学习方面做的更
好呢？Research has shown that
（研究表明）successful language
learners do share quite a few
characteristics（的确有许多共同点）
The data suggests that what
successful language learners
have
in common （共同所拥有的）
______________
among other things （除了其
is, _________________
他方面）that they are interested
in _____________________
understanding their own
thinking（独立思考）_________
curious
about
_____________
the world（对世界充满好奇）
Willing to take chances and
____________________________
confident in their ability. （愿意去
_____________________
抓住机会并且对自己的能力充满信
心）Successful learners also use
different ways of learning and
plan their studies（编制学习计划）
_______________
in order to ___________________
deal with academic
challenges.
__________（应对学习挑战）
Successful students gain
confidence and are able to relax
and enjoy the learning because
evaluate
they plan
____（计划）and ________
（评估）their learning. with
___ (由于)
greater control and a___________
strong sense
of achievement (强烈的成就感) ,
active learners are able to acquire
______
put what
new skills faster and ____
better use
they know to
___________(充分利用).
The less anxious and more
relaxed the learner, the better
their language acquisition.
（学习者焦虑程度越轻，情绪越放
松，他们就会学的越好）
Self-confident,
secure (自信且有
__________________________
把握的) students are more
successful language learners
risks
who are more willing to take
_______
(冒险) and place themselves in a
new learning situations. If they
were not, they would not be
experiment with
ready to ______________(进行实
验) new forms and to make
mistakes, both of which
contribute to (作出贡献) their
increased ability to learn.
Different learning ways of
successful language learners
Main idea of para 6 :the importance of
the purpose of learning.
Not
__________
all of us (并不是所有人) want
to be translators or interpreters.
It
takes patience to learn a
____________________________
language.
________ (学习一门语言需要耐心)
If we want to become successful
language learners, we should try
to adopt some of the study habits
and characteristics described
above. If we develop our study
skills, we many find that
learning a foreign language
does not have to be twice as
hard as learning our mother
tongue, but can in fact be twice
as easy and a lot of fun.
If we want to become a
successful language
learner, we should do
the following :
Be interested in understanding
your own thinking
Be curious about the world
Be willing to take chances
Be confident in your ability
With greater control and a
strong sense of achievement
Do plan and evaluate your
learning
Take patience to learn a language
Language Points :
1. acquire: 学到；获得 gain, get
1) How I wish I could acquire
a good knowledge of English.
2) Active learners are able to
acquire new skills faster.
2. order vt. 命令，嘱咐，定购（做）
叫（饭菜）
If a girl orders the most expensive
food for her first dinner date, she is
probably rich or greedy.
in order of importance / age / position
in order---- out of order/ in disorder
That is a peaceful society, and
everything there is in good order.
3. get stuck / be stuck 被困住
stick to 坚持
My car was stuck in the mud.
He stuck his fork into a big piece of meat.
Don’t stick your head out of the widow
of the train.
# Stick to the plan and you’ll succeed.
4. make sense of弄懂的意思；理
解 understand
Can you make sense of the theory?
I can’t make sense of what the
author says.
Talking after the accident makes
no sense.
What he said is reasonable in a ~.
The sentence doesn’t make sense.
make sense有意义，有道理；
讲的通
make no sense 没道理;没意义
in a sense多少有点；就某种
意义（某方面）来说
a sense of humor\fairness
common sense 常识
5. adjust
adjust / adapt… to
1) Will you please adjust the clock?
It’s slow.
2) When you go to a new country,
you must adapt / adjust yourself
to new circumstances.
3) She soon adjusted /adapted
(herself) to his way of life.
6.regardness
of : paying no
attention to
Regardless of danger, he climbed
the tower.
7. in other words
in a word
with the ( these ) words in words
in word
(1 ) ______________,
With the words he walked away
with a smile.
( 2 )It’s no use to promise _________,
in word but
in deed.
In a word you are a very good
(3 ) ____________,
boy.
(4 )I don’t know how to explain this
_______.
in words
(5)I can’t make sense of it; in
____________,
other words
I can’t understand it.
8.case 事例; 实情; 病例; 情况
1) Is this the case that you have lost
your money ? (= Is it true)
2) If that is the case,you’ll have to
work harder.
5) It may rain---- you’d better take
an umbrella in case.
6) In case of fire, ring the alarm bell.
7) In this/ that case, none can escape.
instruct = teach ,educate 教；指导；
指示
9.
1) Mr. Zhang instructed a maths lesson.
2) The captain instructed his men to fight
bravely.
3) He often instructs me in English.
instructor
instruction
instructive (有教育意义的 )
10. take a risk / take risks冒险
take the risk of doing sth冒着…的危险
at the risk of冒着…的危险
at risk冒险
He took the risk of losing his life to save
the drowning boy.
He saved the boy at the ~ of losing his life.
New things may be at ~ at the beginning.
11. adopt 采纳；接受；收养
1) He adopted my suggestion,
which made me very happy.
2) Mr. Kern adopted the orphan
as his own son.
3) He is not my real father; I’m
adopted.
12. secure
adj. 确定的, 可靠的, 安心的
• His success is secure.
• Our house is secure from
flood. (certain)
• They feel secure about their
( free from anxiety)
future.