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·AStudyofAgeFactorInfluencingSecondLanguageAcquisition影响二语习得的年龄因素研究by李阳阳THESISPresentedinpartialfulfillmentoftherequirementsforthedegreeofMasterofArtsinEnglishLanguage&LiteratureintheSchoolofHumanities&SocialSciencesofNorthUniversityofChinaJune,2011··· ·图书分类号H319.3密级非密UDC81.1硕士学位论文影响二语习得的年龄因素研究李阳阳指导教师（姓名、职称）吉哲民申请学位级别硕士专业名称英语语言文学论文提交日期2011年05月19日论文答辩日期2011年05月26日学位授予日期________年______月______日论文评阅人刘陈艳副教授田金平教授答辩委员会主席吴亚欣教授（山西大学）2011年06月10日iii··· ·原创性声明本人郑重声明：所呈交的学位论文，是本人在指导教师的指导下，独立进行研究所取得的成果。除文中已经注明引用的内容外，本论文不包含其他个人或集体已经发表或撰写过的科研成果。对本文的研究作出重要贡献的个人和集体，均已在文中以明确方式标明。本声明的法律责任由本人承担。论文作者签名：日期：关于学位论文使用权的说明本人完全了解中北大学有关保管、使用学位论文的规定，其中包括：①学校有权保管、并向有关部门送交学位论文的原件与复印件；②学校可以采用影印、缩印或其它复制手段复制并保存学位论文；③学校可允许学位论文被查阅或借阅；④学校可以学术交流为目的，复制赠送和交换学位论文；⑤学校可以公布学位论文的全部或部分内容（保密学位论文在解密后遵守此规定）。签名：日期：导师签名：日期：iv··· ·AcknowledgementsFirstandforemost,Idelivermysincereandheartfeltgratitudetomysupervisor,ProfessorJiZhemin,whohastakenallthetroublestogothroughandimprovemydraft.Hisvaluablecriticism,helpfulsuggestionsandscholarlyinspirationhavecontributedalottothecompletionofthisthesis.Withouthissupervisionandsupportthisthesiswouldnothavebeenpossible.IamgratefultomyfriendAnYuanyuanandherstudentsfromTaiyuanUniversityofScienceandTechnologyfortheirparticipationassubjectsinthestudy.Withouttheirwarm-heartedcooperation,myresearchwouldhavebeenimpossibletobecompleted.Ialsowanttothankallthosewhohelpedme,inonewayoranother,inthecompletionofthisthesis.Lastbutnotleast,Iamalsogreatlyindebtedtomyfamilyfortheircare,supportandencouragementinallthesedayswhenIhavetotakethedoubletaskofteachinganddoingmygraduatework.i··· ·AbstractAgedifferenceintheprocessofsecondlanguageacquisitionisobvious.Accordingtomanystudies,theagefactorisoneofthemostimportantindividualfactorswhichhavealwaysbeenthestudyfocusoflinguistsandperhapsoneofthemostcontroversialissues.Thereisawidely-heldlaybeliefthatyoungersecondlanguagelearnersgenerallydobetterthanolderlearners.Thisissupportedbythecriticalperiodhypothesis,accordingtoit,thereisafixedspanofyearsduringwhichlanguagelearningcantakeplacenaturallyandeffortlessly,andaftertheperioditisimpossibletobecompletelysuccessful.ThecriticalperiodhypothesiswasfirstproposedbyPenfieldandRobertsin1959,andlaterwassupportedbyLennebergin1967.Withtheincreasingnumberofinternationalexchanges,chinahasbecomeanincomparablehugeEnglishteachingcountry.Englishhasbeenofferedinprimaryschoolssincetheearly1990s.PrimaryschoolEnglishteachingisboomingquickly.RelatingthecurrenttendencytostartEnglishlearning/teachingatlowerage,theauthortriestostudy:1)Isthereinevitablerelationshipbetweenage-onsetofEnglishlearningandEnglishachievementsbycomparingthestarterswhobeganlearningEnglishatsecondaryschoolwiththestarterswhobeganlearningEnglishatkindergartenandinelementaryschool?2)Whetheritistruethattheearlieralearnerbeginslearningasecondlanguage,thegreatersuperiorityheorshemakesinsecondlanguagelearning?Theauthorinvestigated100non-EnglishmajorsfromTaiyuanUniversityofscienceandtechnologywhobeganlearningEnglishatdifferentages,carriedoutastudyaboutrelationshipbetweenage-onsetofEnglishlearningandEnglishachievements.AccordingtotheirdifferentstartingageofEnglishlearning,thesubjectsweredividedintothreegroups.Englishtests,includinggrammartests,readingcomprehensiontest,andwritingtestweregiventothemandtheresultsofthetestswereanalyzed.TheresultsfromdataanalysisindicatethattherelationshipbetweenonsetageandEnglishlearningachievementissignificant.ThestarterswholearnedEnglishintheelementaryschool haveclearadvantageovertheothertwogroups.TheauthormadeaconclusionthatlearnerswhobeganlearningEnglishearlymakebetterachievementsthanthelearnerswhobeginlearningii··· ·Englishlaterinthelongrun.Keywords:criticalperiodhypothesis;secondlanguageacquisition;Englishteachingiii··· ·摘要年龄差异在第二语言习得过程中是很明显的。许多研究结果表明年龄因素在第二语言学习中是最重要的个体因素之一。年龄因素一直是语言学家们关注的焦点，而且也许是最具有争议的一个问题之一。人们普遍认为儿童在学一门外语的时候，年龄越小，学得越好。这一论断得到了被引入二语习得研究领域的关键期假说的支持，关键期假说即语言学习具有明确有限制的时期，在这一时期后学习者学习语言就很困难。PenfieldandRoberts在1959年最早提出此观点，后为Lenneberg在1967所接受并加以发挥。随着国际交流的日益增多，我国成了举世无双的英语教学大国。从二十世纪九十年代初以来，小学英语教学已经蓬蓬勃勃地开展起来。联系当前外语学习的低龄化趋势，本文试图研究：1）在幼儿园、小学开始学英语的学生与初中开始学英语的学生相比，他们的学习起始年龄和英语习得效果之间是否存在必然联系。2）年龄较小的学习者比年龄较大学习者在二语习得方面是否具有更大的优势。作者对太原科技大学100名非英语专业学生进行一项关于外语学习起始年龄和学习效果相关性的研究，区分出他们不同的英语学习起始年龄，对他们进行了英语能力测试，其中包括英语语法能力、阅读能力和写作能力的测试，并且对测试结果进行了分析。结果表明，参加实验的三组学生的英语学习效果存在着明显差异。其中在小学阶段开始学英语的学生比其他两组具有明显的优势。因此，本文得出结论，从长远看，较早开始学习英语的学生比较晚开始学习英语的学生的习得效果好。关键词:关键期假说；二语习得；英语教学iv··· ·TableofContentsAcknowledgements…………………………………………………………………..…………iAbstract………………………………………………………………………………………...ii摘要……………………………………………………………………………………………..ivChapterIIntroduction………………………………………………………………………...11.1Definitionofsecondlanguageacquisition……………………………………11.2Currentsituationofsecondlearningsecondlanguage………………………...2ChapterII.LiteratureReview……………………………………………………………….....52.1Criticalperiodhypothesis…………………………………………………….52.2Criticalperiodinfirstlanguageacquisition……………………………….....52.3Criticalperiodinsecondlanguageacquisition……………………………….72.4Agefactorinsecondlanguageacquisition…………………………….……..92.5Studiesathomeandabroad…………………………………………………102.5.1Studiesabroad…………………………………………………........102.5.2Studiesathome……………………………………………………..14ChapterIII.MajorTheoriesonAgeFactorAffectingSecondLanguageAcquisition……….173.1Brainplasticitytheory……………………………………………………..173.2Cognitivestyle…………………………………………………………….173.3Inputhypothesis…………………………………………………………...183.4Affectivefilterhypothesis…………………………………………………19ChapterⅣResearchDesign………………………………………………………………...224.1Researchquestions……………………………………..……………….....224.2Subjects…………………………………………………………………….224.3Datacollection…………………………………………………………..…234.3.1Datafromthequestionnaire………………………….…………….254.3.2DatafromthetestofEnglishgrammar…………………………….254.3.3DatafromthetestofEnglishreadingcomprehension……………..264.3.4DatafromthetestofEnglishwriting……………………………....26v··· ·1.1Dataanalysis…………………………………………………………………262.1DataanalysisoftestofEnglishgrammar………………………...272.2DataanalysisoftestofEnglishreadingcomprehension…………272.3DataanalysisoftestofEnglishwriting…………………………..282.4Overallcomparisonofthemeanscoresofthethreetests………...291.2Findings……………………………………………………………………....29ChapterⅤDiscussionontheMajorProblemsExistingandSuggestionsforSolvingThem…………………………………………………………………………….....................312.5.1Lackingprofessionalfaculty……………………………………………313.1Problemsincreasingtheteachernumber……………………....313.2Measurestotheproblemsincreasingteachernumber…………332.5.2Solvingtheproblemsconcerningwithstudents’questions……………...354.1Problemsrelatingtostudentnumber……………………………374.2Measuresforsolvingtheproblemsrelatingtostudentnumber...382.5.3Choosingsuitableteachingmaterials……………………………………392.5.4Establishingaproperevaluatingmethod………………………………..422.5.5Limitations………………………………………………………………45ChapterVI.Conclusion……………………………………………………………………46Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………………47AppendixI……………………………………………………………………………..…….51AppendixII………………………………………………………………………………….52AppendixIII…………………………………………………………………………………55AppendixIV………………………………………………………………………………....61PapersPublishedduringMAProgram………………………………………………………62vi··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreeChapterI.Introduction1.1DefinitionofsecondlanguageacquisitionInabroadsense,secondlanguagereferredtoalanguagebeyondmothertongueorfirstlanguage(Ellis,2000,p.3).Thisdefinitionwasgivenspecialforcetothegeneralcharacterofalllanguagesinadditiontofirstlanguage.Theterm‘acquisition’meantthatthelanguageusewasaprocessbychancewhichhappenedasaresultofnaturalfeelingsorcauses,andthelearnerslaidstressonthemeaningratherthanform.Incontraststothetermof‘acquisition’,theconcept‘learning’referredtohavingallone’ssensetoutilizethesecondlanguagebyformalresearch.Thelearnersthoughthighlyofformratherthanmeaning.Languagelearning’spurposewastoobtainalanguagewhollybylanguageteaching,whilelanguageacquisitionmeantthatthemasteryofthelanguageinarandomwayandamountofcontactingwiththelanguagebynaturalway(Wilkinson,1990,p.28).Therewassignificantmeaningtoseekforthenotionofsecondlanguageacquisition.Becauseitcouldhelpuscomprehendthefactorsofsecondlanguageacquisitionfully.Secondlanguageacquisitionwasgivendefiniteconceptbymanyresearcherswhohadresearchedonthisfieldformanyyears.Wecouldseesomedefinitionsinthefollowing:“Thefieldofsecondlanguageacquisition(SLA)researchinvestigateshowpeopleattainproficiencyinalanguagethatisnottheirmotherlanguage.”(JohnArchibald,2000,p.23)“Theaimofsecondlanguageacquisitionresearch,includingUG-basedresearch,istoreachanunderstandingofhowlanguagesarelearned.”(LydiaWhite,2000,p.312)“…itsaimsaretodescribethelanguageproducedbysecondlanguagelearners,andtoexplainwhythelanguagetheyproduceitis.”(MitchellandMyles,1998,p.63)“…secondlanguageacquisitionisnotdistinctfromfirstlanguageacquisition,butratherareply,arelearningoflanguage.”(JuliaHerschensohn,2000,p.55)InthebookTheSecondTimearoundMinimalismandL2Acquisition,JuliaHerschensohnusesthefollowingterms:“L2A”(secondlanguageacquisition),“L1A”(firstlanguageacquisition),“L2ers”(secondlanguagelearners),and“L1ers”(firstlanguagelearners),etc.··· ·1··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreeGassandSelinker(2001,p.213)definesecondlanguageacquisitioninthefollowingway:“Ingeneral,secondlanguageacquisitionreferstotheprocessoflearninganotherlanguageafterthenativelanguagehasbeenlearned.Sometimesthetermreferstothelearningofathirdorfourthlanguage.TheimportantaspectisthatSLAreferstothelearningofnon-nativelanguageafterthelearningofthenativelanguage.”LydiaWhite(2000,p.89)comparesfirstlanguageandsecondlanguageinherarticle“secondlanguageacquisition:frominitialtofinalstate”.Sheclaimsthatinfirstlanguageacquisition,thelearner’staskistoacquireagrammaronthebasisofinput,agrammarwhichconstitutesamentalrepresentationandproductionoflanguage.Firstlanguageacquisitionisassumedtobeconstrainedbyuniversalgrammar.Universalgrammarprovidesasystemofconstraints(intheformofprinciplesandparameters).Acquisitionproceedsonthebasisofinputinteractingwithprinciplesandparametersofuniversalgrammar,leadingtotheconstructingofagrammar,orseriesofgrammars;eventually,thechildarrivesatasteadystategrammar.Inthesecondlanguageacquisitionfield,implicitorexplicitassumptionsaremadeabouttheendresultoffirstlanguageacquisition(i.e.aboutthesteadystategrammarachievedbynativespeakers).“Secondlanguageacquisition”referstothesubconsciousorconsciousprocessesbywhichalanguageotherthanmothertongueislearntinanaturaloratutoredoraclassroom;itcoversthedevelopmentofphonology,lexis,grammar,pragmaticsandotherknowledge(HuZhuanglin,p.268).Inconclusion,secondlanguageacquisitionwasabletodiscussinabroadsenseandnarrowsense.Inabroadsense,secondlanguageacquisitionincludedthestudyofalltheaspectsconcerningsecondlanguageacquisition.Inanarrowsense,itwasthestudyofthecloserelationbetweensecondlanguageacquisitionandpedagogy,whichconcernedonSLAtheoriesandtheirclassroomimplication.1.1CurrentsituationofsecondlearningsecondlanguageTheincreasingtrendofofferingEnglishcoursesintheprimaryschoolsdevelopsveryquickly.Whetherforeignlanguageislearnedinbigcitiesorruralcountries,wecanseethetruththatEnglishistaughtasaforeignlanguageinformalsettingsinourcountryparticularlyfrom1979to2000.Atthesametime,EnglishlanguagehasturnedintoasecondlanguageinChina.··· ·2··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreeWemustunderstandthispointclearly,becauseitcontraststoourmotherlanguageChinese.In1992,theNationalEducationalMinistrywereunderobligationtomakeanewnine-yearplanforeducationalcourseswhichwassetfortheprimaryandsecondaryschoolstudents.ItwastheinitiateideafortheprimaryschoolEnglish,becauseofnoexplicitprojectbeingincluded.Itconveyedonlyanideathatpeoplecouldopenforeignlanguagecoursesinthehighgradesifconditionswerepermitted.In1997,No.25summaryoftalkswasproducedbytheElementaryEducationDepartmentoftheNationalEducationalMinistry,whichfocusedonnationalmiddleschoolforeignlanguagesteaching.Thetalksstatedanideathatforeignlanguagecourseswereofferedinthemiddleschoolstoalargedegree;notintheelementaryschoolsgenerally.Inthemiddleschoolandhighgradesoftheelementaryschoolswerepermittedtoestablishforeignlanguagecoursesonlyiftheteachers’problemsandotherproblemshadbeensolved.Asamatteroffact,EnglishteachingwasintroducedintotheelementaryschoolstageinGuangzhoucityin1969,ShanghaiCityin1971,QingdaoCityin1978separately.Fromthenon,Englishcoursehadbeenusedintheelementaryschoolsinmanyprovinces.Inearly1990s,Englishwaswidelyprovidedintheelementaryschools.Upto1998,Englishcourseswerealreadysetupin27provincesandmunicipalitiesinadifferentdegree(SuDingfang,53-86).In2001,China’sEducationMinistryissuedagreatdocumentthatEnglishcourseswereofferedinGradethreeatprimaryschoolsincitiesandcondition-permittedruralareassincetheautumnsemesterof2001.Thatwastosay,EnglishwasarequiredcourseinelementaryschoolsinmostpartsofChina.Meantime,thenewNationalEnglishCurriculumStandardwasformallybroughtintoeffectinplaceofEnglishTeachingsyllabus.ThenewEnglishCurriculumStandardwhichrepresentedthedevelopmentofforeignlanguageteachinginpresentera,andcondensedthelatestachievementinthestudyonforeignlanguageteachinginchina.Learning-centerededucationwasadvocated,theemblemoflearning-centerededucationwastask-basedlanguageteaching.Thiskindofeducationalviewfocusedonlearningandmakingsatisfactionforthestudents.Trainingthestudentsasclearandeffectivecommunicatorswastheforemostaimofthisview.ShanghaiEducationCommitteeagainmadethedecisionthatalltheelementaryschoolsshouldestablishEnglishclassesfromgradeonesincetheyearof2003.EnglishshouldbeofferedtoallthepupilsinShanghai(SuDingfang,p.53-86).··· ·3··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreeMostparentshadastrongwishfortheirchildrentohaveabetterabilityinusingsecondlanguageinschools.Theysustainedthatsecondlanguageacquisition(SLA)shouldbeginwhentheywereintheirchildhood.ManychildrenweresenttoEnglishclassesinsomeso-calledbilingualkindergartenswhentheywereatveryyoungagebytheirfamilies,abouttwoorthreeorfouryearsold,becausetheymadethemselvescompletelyconcernedaboutthatthebetterachievementstheirchildrenwouldhavewhentheylearnedEnglishatanearlyage.TheforeignlanguageeducationforchildrenwasnotonlythethresholdandrudimentaryknowledgetothechildrenEnglisheducation,butalsothefoundationoflifelongeducation.Theforeignlanguageteachingwasthebasicteachingstage,sowemustbeparticularaboutbeingscientific.TheparentsshouldnotbeblindtomaketheirchildrenlearnEnglishattheveryearlyage.Forthisreason,itwasnecessarytohaveafurtherstudyofthisthesis.Thisthesisconsistedofsixchapters.Chapter1wasabriefintroductiontothedefinitionofsecondlanguageacquisition,thesituationoflearningsecondlanguageatpresentinChina,whichembodiedthebackgroundandthesignificanceofthestudy.Besides,theframeworkofthestudywasincludedinthischapter.Chapter2gavetheliteraturereview,includingthecriticalperiodinthefirstlanguageacquisitionandsecondlanguageacquisition,agefactorinsecondlanguageacquisition,andstudiesathomeandabroadaswell.Chapter3presentedthetheoreticalbasisofthisresearch:brainplasticitytheory,cognitivestyle,theinputhypothesis,theaffectivefilterhypothesis.Chapter4introducedtheresearcher’sstudy,analyzedthedatacollected,andstatedthefindingsintheresearch.Chapter5gavethediscussiononthemainproblemsexistingandsuggestionstosolvethem,andstatesthelimitations.Chapter6madeconclusionsforthethesis.··· ·4··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreeChapterII.LiteratureReview1.1CriticalperiodhypothesisPenfieldassumedthatthechild’sbrainhadplasticityespeciallyinacquiringlanguage.Hecontinuedtogivetheadvicethatthechildshouldacquireasecondlanguageatanearlyageinschool.InPenfield’sbook,BiologicalFoundationofLanguage,hegavesomeprooftohiscriticalperiodhypothesis.Inhispointoftheviewonlanguagelearning,theneurologicalbasisforchildrenandadultsweredifferentwhentherighthemisphereofthebrainwasdamaged.Childrenmightlosetheactofspeaking,yetadultswouldnot.Thefactsshowedthatoncetheadultbrainhemispheredamagecouldnotberestoredintheshortterm,itwouldlosepermanentlanguageskills;whilechildrenwhosufferedthesameinjurycouldrestorethefunctionoflanguageabilitythroughthebrainrighthemisphereconversion.Childrenatasmallagemightregaintheirlanguageskillseveniftheirleftbrainhemispherecompletelyremoved.In1967,Lennebergintroducedthetermcriticalperiodhypothesisintothefieldofsecondlanguageacquisition,whichcouldaccountforchildren’sfasterandmoresuccessfulattainmentoveradultsinsecondlanguageacquisition.Lennebergalsoproposedastrongversionofthecriticalperiodhypothesis,whichclaimedthatnofirstlanguageacquisitionwouldbepossibleifachildwasnotexposedtolanguagebeforeacertainage,givenaspuberty(12yearsofage).Thiswascomparedtoaweakversion,whichnotedthatsomelearningwouldbepossibleeveniflearningbeganafterthatage,butthatnative-likeabilitieswouldbeunattainable,andthatthelaterageofonset,thecourseofdevelopmentwouldbecomemoreirregularandultimateattainmentwouldbelessproficient.1.2CriticalperiodinfirstlanguageacquisitionAccordingtothecriticalperiodhypothesis,therewasaperfecttimetoacquirelanguage,particularlyintheaspectofgrammaticalsystemswhichneedaplentifullanguageenvironment,afterthisperiod,ithadasmallchanceforonetogainlanguagebetter.Atthebeginning,theconceptofthecriticalperiodwasonlysuitabletofirstlanguageacquisition.Inordertodetermineifcriticalperiodhypothesiswastruelysignificanttolanguage··· ·5··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreeacquisition,severalexamplesinthefollowingshouldbementioned,whichthestudentswereconfrontedtotheassignmentofobtaininglanguageaftertheperiodsupposedbyLenneberg.IntheviewofLenneberg,thereweremanydifficultiesforsuchchildrentofaceinlearninglanguageafterthisperiod.LinguistsmadearesearchonthechildcalledVictorwhowasraisedonbywolves.Theytaughthimtolearnalanguageinanyway.Hiscapabilityforsayingalanguagecouldnotcometothelevelofchildrenwhohadfosteredinnormalenvironment.Thiscasewasusedtoconfirmthedecreaseofalearner'slanguagelearningabilitywhenone’sbrainhadlateralized.Tookanotherexample,agirlcalledGeniewasfoundoutwhenshewas13yearsold.Shewaspicturedas“anunsocial,primitivehumanbeing,emotionallydisturbed,unlearned,andwithoutlanguage”(Curtissetal.,1977,p.256).Whenthepeoplefoundher,shehadnowords;wecouldsaythatshecouldnotspeakatall.Shewastoarticulateasoundwithatrill.Itwasportrayedtoakindofthroatywhimper.Geniewastakencareandputintoaperfectenvironmenttolearnlanguage.FiveyearshadelapsedsinceGeniewastakentheutmostcare.Herlanguagewasstillfilledbyabnormallanguageform.Incontrast,anormalchildwouldhavegainedacomplicatedlanguagesystem.Thisshowedthatitwasatoughassignmenttoacquirefirstlanguageafterpuberty.Therewasthethirdfactthatsprangtothedefenseofthecriticalperiodhypothesis.ItwastheexampleofChelsea,whobeganlearninglanguageinherearlythirties(Curtiss,1988,p.21-26).HerbehaviourexpressedthatshewasweakingrammarlikeGenie,buthervocabularywasbetter.Shesaidasentencelikethisaccordingtotherecord:“thewomanisbusthegoing.”And“bananatheeat.”Alltheseexamplesofchildrenwhowerebroughtupinseparatedenvironmentsdemonstratedthatthereweredifficultiesforthemtoacquirealanguageafterthecriticalperiod.ThefourthfacttocertifythecriticalperiodhypothesistheauthorwoulddiscusswasthecaseofIsabelle.Shemaintainedanormalcontactwithhermother,althoughhermotherwasadeaf-muteandwasplacedinconfinementbyIsabelle’sgrandfather.Inthisregard,shehadcertainadvantagesthanotherswhostayedinisolatedenvironments.Fromthephysicalandmentalpointofview,sheobviouslyslowed,althoughsheandhermotherexchangedthroughtheirownlanguagesystem.AfterIsabellewasexposed,shecouldlearnhermothertonguesuccessfully.··· ·6··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreeStartingfromaneducationallevelofbetweenoneandthreeyears,shehadreachedanormallevelbythetimeshewaseightandahalfyearsold.Simplyput,shewasnoteasilydistinguishablefromordinarychildrenofherageintermsoflanguage.(Brown,1958,p.45).Therewasasensiblefactorthatshewouldreceiveherlanguage,becauseshelearnedthelanguagebeforethecriticalperiodcametoanend.ItwasnotoriousthatNewportinspectedthreegroupsoflearnersofAmericanSignLanguage(ASL)(Newport,1990,p.11-28).ThefirstgrouphadlearntASLwhentheywereintheirearlyperiod,thesecondgrouprangingfromages4to6,andthethirdonlycontainingthelearnersaftertheageof12.TherewereinterestingresultsshowedthatthefirstgroupusedtheirlanguagelikeanativeASLspeaker,asNewporthadputit;thesecondgroupmanifesteduniversallyhighlevelsofperformance,exceptforminordefects;butthelatelearnersmadeglaringmistake,asimilarphenomenontoGenie(e.g.,problemswithsyntax).Theseconclusionswerereconcilablewiththeideathatacriticalperiodproducedaneffectonthedevelopmentofabilityinthenativelanguage,andthusthisstudygavetestimonythattherewasadownwardtrendtothepeopleoverageinthecapabilitytoacquireafirstlanguage.1.1CriticalperiodinsecondlanguageacquisitionAtthebeginning,criticalperiodwasjustassociatedwithfirstlanguageacquisition.Later,secondlanguageacquisitionresearchersstartedtopaymoreattentiontoit.Mostofthemhadsketchedthechanceofdeducingthecriticalperiodhypothesistothesituationofsecondlanguage.InLenneberg’sbook(1967,p.158),hegaveexplicitinterpretationforthehardshipinsecondlanguagelearningafterpuberty.Thisviewdidseemtoholdwidely.Atopmostaspectofthecriticalperiodhypothesisforsecondlanguageacquisitionwastheforecastthatnative-likeattainmentinasecondlanguagewouldbeimpossibleifthestartofsecondlanguageacquisitionwasdetainedafteracertaincriticalage.Oyama(1976,p.261-285)madearesearchonsixtyItalianmaleimmigrantsintheUSA,whoseageofarrivalwasafarmoredecisivefactorsofthelevelsofpronunciationtheysucceededthanwaslengthofstay.Toputitinanotherway,forthegoodpronunciation,earlierlearnersdidbetter.Inanyway,asfarasthispointwasconcerned,thepopularviewwasstrong.TheinfluenceofstartingageongrammarwasalsoinquiredintobyOyama,buttherewassome··· ·7··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreeconfusionabouttheresults.MarkS.Patkowsky(1980,p.449-472)didastudyonexaminingthehypothesisthatlearnerswhosituatedinnative-likestructures.Thelearnersbeforetheageof15yearsperformedhighlyskilledinsyntaxofthesourcelanguagethanadultlearners.67immigrantswhohadarrivedintheUnitedStatesindifferentagesandwhohaddwelledinthiscountryatdifferentstageoftheirlivesweretestedforsyntacticskillinEnglishandwerealsocontributedaquestionnairetogatherinformationattentionforpracticeandinstructionalvariables.Asfarasageatarrivalwasconcerned,astrongprophetofsyntacticcapabilitywasfoundwhileotherelementshadverylittleeffectontheirown.Makingearlierresearcheswasthebasicviewofthisstudy;itwasduetoclearlyevidentforprogresshadpreviouslybeeninthelinguisticfieldofphonology.Patkowskymadehispointsthatagewasthenotablefactor,amongallthefactorsheobservedfromhisstudy,toproduceaneffectonwhetheronewonoutlearningasecondlanguage.Theresultswereclarifiedasofferingevidentforthehypothesisofanageconnectedrestrictionstotheabilityofacquiringentireinstructofsyntaxinasecondlanguage.JohnsonandNewport’s(1989,p.60-99)widelypublicizedresearchexploredtheEnglishgrammarpracticalskillof46nativespeakersofKoreanandChinesein1989.TheparticipantsarrivedintheU.S.rangingfrom3to39.TheylearnedEnglishforalongperiodfrom3to26yearswithameanof10years.Theywereexaminedbyanorallypresentedgrammaticality.Theassignmentfortheresultswasfrom276sentencesandappraisedknowledgeof12grammaticalrules.ThefinalissuedisclosedthatsuccessfulaspectofacquiringgrammaticalskillwasalmostfullyforecastedconcerningtheageoffirstexposuretoEnglish.Theydiscoveredthedegreeofmasteringalanguagedecreasedfromages6-7to16-17.Intheaspectofgrammaticalcapability,theageoffirstdeclinewascertifiedtobeage8.However,adistinctnegativecorrelationwasdiscoveredintherespectoftheageoffirstexposureandgrammaticalskill.Thisstudyfurthergavesomeproofforthehypothesis.Therewasacriticalperiodforonehadagoodcommandofasecondlanguagefully.Snow,C.E.andHoefnagel-Hohle,M.(1978,p.1114-1128)wereinfavorofreviewing42EnglishspeakinginitiallearnersofDutchinHollandlearnedEnglishmorethan13-month.Thelimitoftheiragesreachedfromthreeyearsoldtotheadulthood.Anactionwastakentobringabouttheresultsforthesubjectsfromtheaspectsofpronunciation,auditorydiscrimination,··· ·8··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreemorphology,vocabulary,sentencerepetitionandtranslation.Theparticipantsweremanagedfor4-5-monthintervals.Theresultswasshownasfollows,theresearchtargetscontainingtheagesof12and15andthoseofadultsmasteredtheDutchlanguagequickestinthefirstmonthswhentheyacquiredthelanguage.Theystudiedthelanguageoneyearlater,theresearchtargetsbetweentheagesof8and10;12and15masteredtheDutchlanguagebestwhilethechildrenbetweentheagesof3and5wasmadesurethattheydidworstinallofthem.Theverdictdisagreedwiththecriticalperiodhypothesis.Itwasapopularsayingthatchildrenweresuperiortoothers,obviouslyinpronunciation.Thetrueaccentofsecondlanguagewasnoteasilyabletoacquirewhenonewasolderthanacriticalperiod.Thispointwascommonunderstanding.Takeforexample,sofaraspronunciationwasconcerned,thebestageforCubanimmigrantstocometotheUnitedStateswasundersix,theworstoverthirteen.1.1AgefactorinsecondlanguageacquisitionSpeakingofthephrase“secondlanguageacquisition”,somepeoplethinkthattheywilltakepartinlearningoneormoreforeignlanguages.Nevertheless,secondlanguageacquisitionbeganinmanyformsinschoolsatpresent.Forinstance,itisarealthingtocarryoutbilingualeducationinChinaandmanyareasoftheworldforyears.However,thereisnotsufficientcontextforthesecondlanguageacquisitionintheworldtoday.ItiswellknownthatEnglishisusedformostofthepeopleallovertheworldasasecondlanguage.Ithasgraduallybecomeaninternationallanguageusedinmanyfieldsintheworld,rangingfrombusiness,politics,culture,scienceandtechnologytointernationalrelationsanddiplomacy.Itappliesinotherprofessionalintercourseaswell.Meantime,itisanimportantcommunicationaltoolforthehostandthepersonswhotakepartinfromdifferentpartsoftheworld.Ithasbeenestimatedthatthereareonly325millionpeoplespeakEnglishastheirnativelanguage,morethan1.4billionpeopleuseEnglishasanofficialsecondlanguage.Astheworlddevelopsquickly,allthecountriescommunicatewitheachotherclosely.Itappearswhatwecall‘globalization’.Infact,atthebeginningofthe21stcentury,theworldisperceivedasbeingfarmoreinterconnectedthaneverbefore;theworldisseenas‘theglobalvillage’;theworldisconnectedinall,electronicforms---internet,fax,telephone,e-mail,etc.··· ·9··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreeChildrenaregrowingupinanenvironmentofEnglish,asEnglishhasnowbecomeaworldpopularlanguage.SoitisnecessaryforachildtolearnEnglishwell.Otherwisetheywillbecome‘deafanddumps’ofthemodernsociety.Alltheprimaryschoolswillsetupforeignlanguagecoursessoonerorlater,regardlessofthenegativeattitudes.Soitstillattractsmanyforeignlanguageexpertsandeducators’attentiontoit,andmakesagreatefforttodoit.1.1StudiesathomeandabroadManyresearchersindomesticandoverseaslaidstressontheagefactorinsecondlanguagelearning.Thelatestresearchresultsonagefactorwereinandoutofhomeinthefollowing.2.1StudiesabroadPenfieldandRoberts(1959,p.130)wasresponsibleforpointingoutthenotionofcriticalperiodinitially.AsstatedbyPenfieldandRoberts,achild’sbrainwasmoreplasticbycomparisonwithanadult.Achildcouldlearntwotothreelanguagesaseasilyasonebeforetheageofnine.However,thebraingraduallybecameinflexibleandtoughwhenonewasattheageofninetotwelve(Penfield&Roberts,1959,p.131).LennebergintroducedthetermCriticalPeriodHypothesisintothefieldofsecondlanguageacquisitionin1967.Workonchildrenandadultswhohadexperiencedbraininjuriesoroperationsindicatedthatdamagetothelefthemispherecausedfewspeechdisordersandwasrapidlyrepairedinthecaseofchildrenbutnotadults(Lenneberg,1967,p.159).Krashen(1975,p.179-92)didsomeresearchonsecondlanguageacquisition,languagepedagogyandsoon.HeexpressedthatPiaget’s(1983,p.420-494)cognitivephaseofformaloperationbeginningaroundpubertymaybethestartingpointtothecriticalperiodforsecondlanguageacquisition.Krashenthoughtthatitwasthepeakpotentialforthedevelopmentofperiodwhenonewas5-years-old.MarkPatkowsky(1980,p.449-472)researchedtheinfluenceofageonthefeaturesofasecondlanguageacquisition.Heassumedthatoneswhobeguntolearntheirsecondlanguagebeforetheageoffifteencouldsucceedinreachingnativelikeabilityofthelanguage,even··· ·10··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreethoughaccentwereignored.TheresultsofhisstudyshowedthatofthosewhowereexposedtoEnglishpre-puberty(participantsuptotheageoffifteen),all,(exceptone)achievedratingsoffourthroughfivewhereasthosereceivedawiderrangeofscores,withthemeaninthepost-pubertyfallinginthethreerange.Thisstudywasadeparturefromearlierstudiessincethemostobviousmeasureofproficiencyhadpreviouslybeeninthelinguisticdomainofphonology.Patkowskypositedthatamongallthefactorsheexaminedinhisstudy,agewasthefactorthathadthemostsignificantimpactofsuccessinlearningasecondlanguage.HisfindingswerefullyconsistentwiththeCriticalPeriodHypothesis.Moststudiesconcludedthatchildrenlearningsecondlanguageearliergenerallygotbetterachievementintheend.Thesesuggestionsweresuppliedasfollows.Ellis(1985:106)mentionedthatthefinalachievementhadcomeundertheinfluenceoftheyearofbeingexposedtoalanguageandstartingageoflearningalanguage.Theformerbelongedtothewholecommunicativefluencyoflearnerstoalargedegreewhilethelatterdecidedlevelsofaccuracy,aboveallinpronunciation.Seliger(1978,p.319)didsomeresearchesontheinstancesofaphasiaanddiscoveredthatthewoundsinthesamespaceledtodifferentaphasicsignsowingtotheageofthewoundedperson.Hisresearchgavesomereasonsthatitseemedasiftherewouldbealosswhenoneacquiredasecondlanguagenothavinganaccentafteracertainperiod,sotospeak,afterpuberty,onestillcouldlearnotheraspectsofthelanguagesystemduringmostofone’slife.Seliger(1978,p.319)admittedthatoneshouldpaymoreattentiontophonologyratherthansyntacticorsemanticfeaturesinsecondlanguageacquisitionfieldandexplainedwhythishappened.Inthefirstinstance,itwaseasilytofindoutphonologicalerrors.Inthesecondplace,phonologywasinaccordancewiththesubsystemsofthelanguageteaching.Asforthelatterreasonhegave,theyhadnoideatofindouttheacquisitionofothercharacteristicsoflanguage.Acquisitionnotcompletedinsyntaxorvocabularymightnotexistresultsintheaction.Supposedthesizeofthesesubsystemsandprobableactivitiesofevasivestrategies,theavailabilityoferrorswasgraduallyreduced.HarleyBirgit(1986,p.68)gavehisadvicethatthecapabilityofawoundedbraintowinbackordisorderedlanguagemightnotnecessarilybeconnectedtherelationshipwiththeabilityofahealthybraintogainanewlanguage.Itwasnolongerusefulthingwhenhealthypersons··· ·11··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreemadeuseoftheresultsfromstudiesofaphasicpeople.Possiblyitwasnotsatisfactorytoputintotheoriesabouthowawoundedbrainfunctionsforthefirstlanguageacquisitionprocess,withthepurposeofinterpretinghowahealthybrainworkswhenitacquiredasecondlanguage.Theremightexistentirelydifferentparametersineithercase.Singleton(1989,p.138)supposedhisidealikethis:Fromthelong-termpointofview,therewasenoughsupportiveproofthatthosewhobegunlearningthesecondlanguageinchildhoodusuallyachievedbetterproficiencythanthosewhobegunlearninglaterinlife.Long(1990,p.251-285)mentionedthe‘mentalmusclemodel’intermoflanguageexactcontributionpersistedwhollyduringadultlife,buttheentrancetoitwasgotteninthewaytoadegreeandcontinuouslywithage,ontheconditionthatthepowerwasusedandsokeptplastic.Thisopinionwasabletoexisttogetherwithresearchesofsomeadultsreachingnative-speakerlevelsofcompetence.However,theinstancesthosewhodidnotusethepowerofnaturelanguagelearningforyearswasnotincludedinthisview,theyattemptedtolearnalanguageinadegreeofsucceeding.AsLarsen-FreemanandLong(1991)pointedout,thereweremorefascinatingresultsfromalongrun.Theyturnedtheirmindsnotonlyonlearningspeedbutonperfectcapabilitiesortheirdescent.Theyalsojudgedaccomplishmentinrelationtothesituationoflearningforeignlanguageafewyearslater.Larsen-FreemanandLongheldthatchildrenweresuperiortoadultsnotonlyinaspectofquantitybutinquality.Therewasdefiniteproofforphonologybutalsoexistedforlistening,syntax,discourse,pragmaticsandcollocation.SnowandHoefnagel-HohleputtouseavarietyofteststocompareadultsandchildrenwhospokeEnglishlivedinHolland(SnowandHoefnagel-Hohle,1978,p.1114-1128).Afterthreemonths,theolderlearnershadanadvantageinallaspectsofDutchexceptforpronunciation.Thissuperiorityhadgraduallyvanishedandtheolderstudentsheldontoadominantpositiononlyatvocabularywhenayearhadpassedaway.DavidSingleton(1995,p.76)declaredthatthesuggestionwhenonelearntasecondlanguage,“younger=better”inthelongrun.However,thereweremanyexceptionsthatfivepercentofadultbilingualsgaveprioritytoasecondlanguageeveniftheybeganlearningthemwhentheywereinadulthoodlongaftercriticalperiodhasprobablycometoanend.Jia(1998,p.192)didsomeresearchontheagefactorinvariousways.Sheresearchedonthe··· ·12··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreenon-nativelearnersofEnglishwithtwelvedifferentmothertongue(mostofthemhadanfirstlanguagewhichwasnotconcernedinEnglish),whocametotheUnitedStatesrangingfromtheagesof3to34andhadlivedthereforaperiodbetween5and32years.Thesubjects’grammaticalskillwasjudgedbytwogrammaticalitymeasurementtasks,foundedontheassignmentsusedbyJohnsonandNewport(1989,p.60-99),onestatedorallyandtheothervisually.Jiadiscoveredthatyoungerageofarrivaldescribedbetterexpressiontosecondlanguagegrammaticaljudgments.ItwasworthwhiletonotethatJiadidnotidentifyanyagegroupsanddidnotdirecthisattentiononwhethertherewasadiscontinuityintheagefunction.Asyoungerageofarrivalandhighersecondlanguageproficiencyhadalottodowithlowerfirstlanguageproficiencyandrichersecondlanguageconditionsinherresearch.Sheposedtheconclusionthat“agedifferencesinsecondlanguageacquisitionwerestronglyinfluencedbyfactorsotherthanbiologicalmaturation”(Jia,1998,p.ii).Snow(2000,9-34)examinedthreemisunderstandingsofageandsecondlanguagelearning:misreadingoffactsrelevanttospeedofacquisition,misattributionofdifferentpositionofthetwolanguagesinabrain,underspecialattentiontoadultswhoreachednative-likelevels.Thefirstonesheexpressedinthreemisconceptionswasthefactsthatchildrenlearnedquicklyandeasilywhichinferredthemtobesuccessfulinultimateaccomplishment.Thesecondfalseideawasthemistakenattributionofagedifferencesinlanguagecapabilitiesforneurobiologicalfactors.ShestatedthattheproficiencyintheL2hadnothingtodowithhemisphereinvolvementinthebrain.Asregardsthethirdone,Snownoticedthatmistakenstressoninferioradultlearnersinnumerousstudiessuggestedthattheyhadatendencytoneglecttheolderlearnerswhohadaccomplishednative-likesecondlanguageproficiency.Shestatedthattheredidexistgreatvariationinthelanguageskillofolderlearnersinthesestudies,nomatterwhatoneagreedoragainstcriticalperiod.Hakuta(2001,p.193-205)putforwardthatfastdeclineshouldbediscoveredneartheendofthecriticalperiodandtheclosingdownofanexactlanguagelearningmechanismshouldhavebeing.Inspiteofthedeclinedevelopingslowlyoverageinthefinalachievementwasunabletosupplydefiniteproofforacriticalperiod.Besides,itmanifestedmultiplefactorsatwork--physiological,cognitiveandsocial.JeanPiaget,afamousSwisspsychologist,classifiedthedevelopmentofchildren’scognitive··· ·13··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreeabilityintofourstages:1)thestageofmentalperception(0-2yearsold);2)thestageofpre-operation(2-7yearsold);3)thestageofconcreteoperation(7-11yearsold);4)thestageofformaloperation(above11yearsold).Inhisview,childrenwerelikelytouseonlyonelanguageinthesecondstage.Supposetheyemulatedasecondlanguageduringthisperiod,theywouldnotonlyhavefrustrationstosomedegree,butalsoconveyedtheirideasinthetwomixedlanguages.Thisstagewasnotgoodforthedevelopmentofchildren(Williams&Burden,2000,p.21-22).Theythoughtthatbiologyprovidedabasictoolforthesecondlanguageacquisitionstoppedolderlearnersaccomplishingnative-likeability.Meantime,theoristsandpolicy-makersofsecondlanguagelearningwouldpayattentiontothisaspect(Bailey,Bruer,Symons&Lichtman,2001,p.193-205).Fromthepresent,childrenattheageofseveninchinagotoschoolwhentheyareinthesubordinatephraseinlearningasecondlanguageaccordingtoPiaget'sdivision.What’smore,pupilshavesettolearningChinesepinyinfromthepreliminaryofgradeoneinprimaryschools,whichimpliesthattheywilllearnthesixphoneticsymbolsandtheircombination.Insuchcircumstances,iftheyaregivenachancetolearnEnglish,itisreallyadifficultjobforthemtomasterit.Despitethepositionthatchildren’sbrainkeepplasticisverystrongduringthisstage,andtheyhavenoticeabledominationofacquiringtheirfirstlanguageinthenaturalenvironment.However,itiseasilyforthemtoconfoundtheirfirstlanguagewiththeforeignlanguagetheyarelearninginthisstage.Besides,children’sabilitytothinklogicallyandsystematicallyisstillatthefirststage.Thus,iftheylearnasecondlanguageundersuchaconditionoflackingtheuseofthebilinguallanguages,itcanbesaidwithcertaintythattheywillbeloadedheavily.Tomakethingsworse,thismattermustbeinefficientandtime-consuming.1.1StudiesathomeSomescholarsinchinasetaboutdoingsomeresearchersonagefactorinsecondlanguageacquisition.Butitlookedlikethatmanyofthemhadanegativeopinion.ProfessorGuiShichun(1992,p.52-54)haddoubtaboutthewidespreadviewof“theyounger,thebetter”.Hedeclaredthatthemythicaleventwasjustanassumptionwithoutreasonableproofintheoreticalandpracticalevidentinformalschoolcontext,sopolicy-makersshouldnotaccepttheideaasabasisforadecision.··· ·14··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreeZuoHuanqi(1996,p.49-67)pointedoutthatwhenonelearnedasecondlanguage,particularlyinmorphologyandsyntaxfield,theabilitytounderstandsecondlanguageaswell.Olderchildrenwouldgetbetterachievementthanyoungerchildren.Thisphenomenonembodiedthatthelanguageskillshadtodowithcognitivedevelopment.Inspiteofthat,wewerenotquitesurewhetheritwaslanguageabilitythatmadedecisiononcognitivedevelopmentorviseversa,itwaswellreceivedthattheyinteractedeachother,withthepassageofage,theeffectonthedevelopmentofeachotherwouldbetoonedegreeoranother.TheacademicianYangXiongli(2002,p.1-10),builtonpresentmajorimprovementsinbrainstudies,consistingofcriticalperiodsduringbraingrowth,plasticityofbrainstructureandfunctions,andintelligencedevelopmentofchildren,gavehisadvicethatchildrenshouldputlearningfirstlanguageasthefirstplaceandthenbegintoacquiretheirsecondlanguage.ProfessorHuZhuanglin(2002,p.3-7)alsoexpressedhisdoubtabouttheactualsituationofstretchingtheEnglishteachingprojectsfromthethirdgradetothefirstgrade.HecalledinquestionwhetherchildrenweredonetoomuchiftheylearnedtwolanguagesofdifferentsymbolicsystemsatthesametimeandhowwecoulddealwiththeproblemofthewantingofprofessionalEnglishteachersinelementaryschools.ProfessorDongYanping(2003,p.39-47)putforwardthattherewasnotneedtolearnEnglishforyoungchildreninkindergartensandgradeoneofelementaryschools.Onthecontrary,ourchiefintentionshouldbetheteacherstrainingprograms.HerresultswerebasisonapracticalstudytoinspectthequalificationofEnglishteachersinGuangdongprovince.ProfessorShuDingfang（2003,p.54）didasimilarresearchontheexistingphenomenonofEnglishteachinginelementaryschoolsinShanghai,andhadhisdoubttothenecessityandfeasibilitywhenthepupilsbegantolearnEnglishfromthefirstgradeinelementaryschools.LiuJianfuattemptedtostudywhetherthelearnersofdifferentagewentthroughthesamelearningprocessingrammarfieldthroughhisexperiments.Hemadeasummary:“Therehasanabilitytoteachgrammarforagevariedlearners;theredonotexistcriticalperiodingrammaracquisition”.Nevertheless,ChenBaoguoconsideredthattherewasidentificationinsupportofcriticalperiodhypothesis.Weneedtodofurtherresearchonit.Inthatway,changesofneurologicalinstructureandfunctionfieldhadtakenplaceinsidethebraininandaftercriticalperiod.Hestatedanobjectivesuggestion:··· ·15··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegree“Wehadtoreckonwiththepositivesideofcriticalperiodinlanguageacquisition,butwecouldnotmaximizetheinfluencesofcriticalperiodinsecondlanguageacquisition.”HuangHuaifei(2004,p.37),XuNa(2005,p.35),FangXiaoli(2006,p.61),FuShanna(2008,p.66)pointedouttheideaintheirthesisesthatthosewhowereexposedtoEnglishatanearlyagedidhavesomeadvantagesoverthoseatanolderage.LiuZhiliang(2004,p.47),SuYunhua(2007,p.23)putforwardthatthecriticalperiodhypothesiswastooabsoluteanditstillneededfurtherexploration.Inthemeantime,EnglishlearningontheupsurgehasbeenasocialphenomenoninChinainmoderntimes.TheEducationMinistryissuedthatprimaryschoolstudentsshouldbeginlearningEnglishfromgradethreeincitiesandcondition-permittedruralareasin2001.Meanwhile,Englishtrainingcoursesforchildrensprungupalloverthecountry,andEnglishtextbooksandtapesforchildrenhadagoodmarket.Manyresearchersandparentspaidmoreattentiontoit.Peoplehadacompulsivedesiretoaskwhethertherewouldbescientificevidenceofthesaying“Theyounger,thebetter.”··· ·16··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreeChapterIII.MajorTheoriesonAgeFactorAffectingSecondLanguageAcquisitionInthefollowingpart,theauthorwouldpresentfivetheorieswhichproposedscientificmethodsandprinciplesofforeignlanguagelearninginelementaryschool.1.1BrainplasticitytheoryIntheresearchofsecondlanguageacquisition,thebrainplasticitytheoryofPenfieldandRobertswasfrequentlyusedasabiologicalgroundoninterpretingthephenomenonthattheyoungerthebetterinL2learning.Thetermof“plasticity”originatedfromaresearchonaphasiakidswhosustainedpartialortotallossofthecapacityforexpressingideasclearly,theconsequencewastomakebraininjuredorsomediseases(FanRongling,p.144).Itwasdirectedtowardsthewaythebraincouldcomposeitselfagainbychangingfunctionsfromonebraintoanotherwhenitwasinjured,atleasttheprocessofchildhood.Thetheoryputforwardthatthechildren’sbrainhadacellularcapacityforlanguageacquisition.Thiscapacitymightbetheworksoncellularplasticitywhichwaslimitedbyakindofbiologicalclock.Ashegrewolder,thecircadianclockalteredthecellularplasticity,whichdecreasedtheorganism’sabilityoflearninglanguage.PenfieldandRobertsforetoldthatanidealagestageforsecondlanguagelearningwasfrom4to8becauseofbetterbrainplasticity(FanRongling,p.145).1.2Cognitivestyle“CognitiveStyle”wasaterminologyconsideredforreferringtothemannerinwhichpeopleapprehend,conceptualize,form,andregaininformation.Everyindividualwasconsideredtobeinconformitywithmodeofcognitivefunctioning.Asfarastheyoungchildandtheadolescentoradultconcerned,onesensibledifferencewastheabilityofthelattertounderstandlanguageasaregularsystem.Olderlearnerscouldinterferewiththeirstudyonlanguagebyhavingalltheirsensestolearninglinguisticrules.Theycouldalsousetheseregulationswhentheyappliedthelanguage.Onthecontrary,younglitterkids,whilenotcompletelylackinginmeta-awareness,hadanaptitudetoreacttolanguageasform.··· ·17··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreeLanguagewasatoolforthemtointerpretmeaning.ItwasjustlikeHalliday(1973,p.269)saidthattheyoungerreactednotsomuchtowhatlanguagewasastowhatitdid.Itwasprobablythatagedifferencesinsecondlanguageacquisitioncouldbeinterpretedintermsofthedifferentattitudestolanguageofyoungerandolderlearners.Rosansky(1975,p.10-23)expressedhisdoubtthatthecognitivedevelopmentexplainingforthemoreremarkableeasewithwhichyoungchildrenacquiredlanguages.Shesupposedthatthesecondlanguagedevelopmentcouldoccurintwovariousways,nomatterwhatthelearnerwasconsciousofwhattheyweredoing.Theyoungchildrennoticedonlyresemblances;requiredagilethinking,andwasself-centered.Thesewerethepreconditionsofautomaticlanguageacquisition,becausebeingconnectedwiththemwasdeficientinmetaawareness.Theyoungchildrendidnotknowthattheywereacquiringlanguage.Furthermore,theyoungchildrenhadnotformedsocialattitudestowardstheworkofonelanguageinanotherway.Thatmightbethecasesthatheputforwardtheviewto‘open’toanotherlanguage.Onthecontrary,theadultscouldnotlearnasecondlanguagebynature.AsPiaget(i.e.TieProblemsinPrim)pointedout,theabilitytothinkabstractlystartedfromaroundtheageoftwelveduringthefinalstageofcognitivedevelopment.Itmeantthatthelearnersdidtendtodistinguishdifferencesandsimilarities,andtoincreasegraduallyde-centered.Theresultsindicatedthathepossessedastrongmeta-awareness.Besides,itwaslikelythatheconsideredpotentsocialattitudestothepracticeofhisfirstlanguageandthesecondlanguage.Thesemighttakeonhinderingthelearnersfromlearninglanguageacquisitionnaturally,drivingthelearnertoregardtheacquisitionassignmentas‘aproblemtobesolvedusinghishypothetic-deductivelogic’(ibid,p.98).IntheopinionofRosansky,itwastheawarenessthatcamewithagethatinhibitsnaturallearningandthatledtoanalternativeapproachAsRosanskyputitthatevenwheretheresultsofdevelopmentappearedtobeverysimilar,theywere,infact,different.1.1InputhypothesisTheinputhypothesiswaschiefhypothesisinKrashen’sfivehypothesesofmonitormodel.Krashen,afamousappliedlinguistcamefromUniversityofSouthernCalifornia,cameupwithhisweightytheoryofsecondlanguageacquisition.Krashen’sopinionshadbeenofferedfortheacquisition/learninghypothesis,themonitorhypothesis,thenaturalorderhypothesis,andthe··· ·18··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreeinputhypothesisandtheaffectivefilterhypothesis.Krashentookthishypothesisastheprimaryconceptioninsecondlanguageacquisitionnowadays,asittriedtorespondthecriticalquestionofhowpeopleacquirelanguage.Thishypothesissupposedthathumansacquirelanguageinonlywaybycomprehendingmessages,orbyobtaining‘comprehensibleinput’,whichreferredtoexpressionsthatthelearnersrealizedonthebasisofthecontextinwhichtheywereusedaswellasthelanguagecomprehendedinwords.Inlanguageacquisition,wemovedfromi,ourcurrentlevel,toi+1，thenextlevelalongthenaturalorder,byunderstandinginputcontainingi+1.Thishypothesiscontainedfourprincipalsubjects:Inthefirstplace,thehypothesishadsomethingtodowithacquisition,notwithlearning.Inthesecondplace,peopleacquiredlanguageexcellentbygraspinginputthatwaslightlybeyondtheirpresentdegreeofcompetence.Understandingwasassistedbytheconditionsandthecontext,extra-linguisticmessagesandknowledgeoftheworld.Thirdly,thecapabilityforspeakingsmoothlycouldnotbetaughtdirectly;however,it‘emerged’independentlyintime,aftertheacquirerhadenhancedlinguisticabilitybycomprehendinginput.Fourthly,iftherewasadequatequantityofunderstandinginput,i+1wouldcommonlybesuppliedautomatically.CharacteristicsoftheinputhadbeenimpliedaslatentinterpretationsbyHatch(1976,p.45-56)andSnow(2000,p.9-34).Childrenweretoldtoobtainbetter(i.e.more‘hereandnow’,lesscomplex)input(Hatch,1976,p.45-56)thanadults,inputwhichsuppliedthechildrenwithspecificsecondlanguageexamplesfromwhichtomastersyntax.Youngerlearnersalsotookadvantagesofplayingwiththeirnative-speakingranks,throughwhichtheygotphonologicalpractice(Peck,1978,p.71).1.1AffectivefilterhypothesisTheaffectivefilterhypothesistriedtocopewithhowemotionalfactorswereconcernedwiththesecondlanguageacquisitionandcoveredtheareaofknowledgeoftheacculturationmodel.Krashenhadhisdoubtaboutthatunderstandinginputwasacompulsory,butinadequateconditionforwinningalanguageacquisition.Attitudinalfactorsplayedavitalroleinacquiringa··· ·19··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreesecondlanguageaswell.Krashenutilizedametaphortounderstandthelearner’saffectiveconditionsasanadjustablefilterthatfreelymoved,inhibitedinput,requiredtoacquisition.Aloweremotionalfilterwassatisfactory,sinceitallowedinmoreofthisnecessaryinput.Inthelightofthishypothesis,thelearnersofsecondlanguageacquisitionmightnotmakeuseofcomprehensibleinputiftherewasa‘mentalblock’thatprohibitedthemfromcompletelybenefitingfromit.Krashenrecognizedthreekindsofemotionalvariableshadsomethingtodowithsecondlanguageacquisition:1.Motivation.Learnershavinghigh-motivationcommonlydidbetter.2.Self-confidence.Learnersthosewhowereself-confidentandgoodself-imagehaddispositiontobemoresuccessful.3.Anxiety.Lowindividualanxietyandclassroomanxietywereabletoeasilyconducttosecondlanguageacquisition.Thishypothesisshowedthatacquirerswithalowemotionalfilter,i.e.withhighmotivation,self-confidence,lowanxietylevel,pursuedandobtainedmoreinput.Theyhadaneffectoneachotherbyself-assurance,andweremoreacceptabletotheinputtheygot.Botheredacquirershadahighaffectivefilter,whichstoppedacquisitionfromoccurring.Krashenthoughtthattheaffectivefilterwasthemainsourceofpersonaldifferencesinsecondlanguageacquisition.Itwassuggestedthattheaffectivefilterhappenedinearlyyouth,andthismightinterpretchildren’sobviousdominantpositiontoolderacquirersofasecondlanguage.Schumann(1975,p.209-254)gaveastatementofthemainpointsoftheaffectivehypothesis.Havingrecalledmanyresearchesonthesignificanceofattitudes,intention,andindividualityinsecondlanguagelearningthatledhimtoformtheacculturationmodelandhavinginscribedtheweakpointsintheneuropsychologicaldisputationsoveracriticalperiod,heposedanemotionalexplanationfortheyounger’sgreaterachievementinsomewaysoflanguagelearning.Inessence,hefollowedMacnamara(1973,p.250-254),whodebatedthatchildrenlearntbetterthanadultsbecausetheyattemptedtoworkharderforcommunicatingwiththeirranks.Hekeptongivingsuggestionstothereasonwhyadultsusuallywerenotconcernedwiththis‘realcommunication’completelynecessaryforlearningmightbesocialization.Inthatway,owingtothewaysocietyfunctions,adultsmightnotoftenbesuppliedwithextensivesufficientchancetogaintheirsecondlanguageabilitiesbygenuineexchangingwith··· ·20··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreelearnersofthetargetlanguage.Althoughthispointmustbeconsidered,thepointmustbeinaccordwiththeemotionalcontroversywasthatproblemswiththeadult’sattitudes,motivation;and/oremotionalabilitywhichwerebroughtabouteitherbygeneralsocial-psychologicaldevelopmentorlanguageandcultureshockstoppedhimfrombeingconnectedwithcommunicationwhichwouldleadtotriumphedlanguageacquisition.(Schumann,1975,p.232)··· ·21··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreeChapterⅣResearchDesignAstheabovementionedinthisthesis,criticalperiodhypothesishasstillmuchagreementopinionsanddisagreementopinions.Withthedevelopmentofeducationinchina,thestudyonagefactorsoflanguagelearninghasanimportanttheoreticalandpracticalsignificanceandhasalwaysbeenoneoftheissuesinsecondlanguageacquisition.Ifwecanfindoutwhatisthebesttimeforourchildrentobeginlearningaforeignlanguage,wecanhelptosetorresetourchildren’sforeignlanguagelearningplan.Fromtheperspectiveofareviewoftheagreementopinionsanddisagreementopinionsofstartingageforsecondlanguageorforeignlanguagelearning,totimelycarryoutaresearchonageonsetofsecondlanguageorforeignlanguagelearningandteaching,fromtheperspectiveofreality,willnotonlyfindanswerstosometheoreticalquestionsbutalsomeettheneedsofparents,studentsandeducatorssoasto,fromalong-termpointofview,benefitstudents’foreignlanguagelearning.1.1ResearchquestionsInmyresearches,theauthorwilltrytoanswerthefollowingresearchquestions.Thefirstquestionofthisthesisisthatiswhetherageonsetoflanguagelearningwillinfluencetheachievementsofthesubjectsinthestudy.Second,thestudyattemptstofindouttowhatextentageonsetinfluencesthesubjects’Englishlanguageacquisition,inotherwords,whetheritistruethattheearlieralearnerbeginslearningasecondlanguage,thegreaterachievementsheorshemakesinsecondlanguagelearning.1.2SubjectsThe68subjectsinthisthesiswerechosenfrom100sophomoresinGrade2009inTaiyuanUniversityofscienceandtechnology.Atpresent,manychildrenorstudentslearnEnglishinvarietyofways,forexample,somegotoeveningschoolstoreceiveextraeducationofEnglish,somehaveEnglishspeakingparentstoteachthemEnglish,somehavefamilyEnglishtutors,etc..Inordertomakesurethevalidityofthedatatobecollectedintheresearch,theauthoraskedall··· ·22··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreethestudentsfromthetwoclasses,100inall,torespondtothequestionsinthequestionnairewhichaimedatexcludingstudentswhohadlearningexperiencesoutsideschool.Inotherwords,thesubjectsforthisstudywouldonlyincludethosewhowerenotlikelytobenefitfromextraEnglisheducation.Tomakesurethatthestudentsparticipatinginthesubject-selectionactivitywouldprovidegenuineinformation,beforeattheverybeginningofthestudy,theauthorconductedaquestionnairesurveyintheseclassestoselectthesubjectsforthestudy.Thepurposeofthequestionnairewasnotrevealedtothe100students.Afterthequestionnaireactivity,68wereselectedastheparticipantsforthestudy.TheyweremajoredinBusinessManagementandEconomyManagementrespectively.68studentshandedintheansweredquestionnairesthatwerealleffective.Tocollectinformation,analyzescores,findproblems,andenlightentheEnglishteachingandlearning,alltheseweretheaimsofthisthesis.Theauthorhopedthattheywouldprovidemorereliableinformationasaresultofgreaterexperience.Ontheotherhand,thestudentswhosemajorwereEnglishorotherlanguageswerenotchosenhere.BecausemostofthemweregoodatEnglishorotherlanguages,theycouldgetahigherscoreintheirstudyeasier.Iftheauthorchosethemasthesubjects,theresultwouldbedifferentandsomeproblemscouldnotbefound.1.1DatacollectionAquestionnaire,atestofEnglishgrammar,atestofEnglishreadingcomprehension,andatestofEnglishwritingwereincludedinthisthesis.TheaimofthethreetestswastocollectdataforanalysisandthenforfindingrelationshipbetweenageonsetandEnglishlearning.Aquestionnairewascomposedofaseriesofquestionsandwasfortheaimofcollectinginformationfromthesubjects.Inthisstudy,theauthorusedaquestionnairetocollectdatatoselectthesubjectsforthestudy.Thequestionnairecontainedthreeitems,andtheyare1)AtwhichstagedidyoubeginlearningEnglish?(Three-seven;eight-thirteen;fourteenafter);2)WhatwasyourearliestwayoflearningEnglish?(Schoolinstruction;hometeaching;others);3)Apartfromschoolinstruction,hadyouattendedanyformsofeveningorSundayschoolsor··· ·23··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreehadyouhadanytutorsofEnglish?(Yesorno)(SeeAppendixI)Thepurposeofcolletingstudents’reactionstothesequestionswastoselectsuitableorcomparablesubjectsforthisstudy.Inotherwords,onlythosewholearnedEnglishwasnotinfluencedbyextraeducationaftertheyenteredelementaryschool,oronlythosewhoreceivedEnglisheducationthroughformalinstruction,couldbeacceptedasthesubjectsforthisthesis.SincethepurposeofthestudywastofindevidencetosupportfortheclaimthattherewasarelationshipbetweenageonsetandEnglishlearningachievements,varietyofagewasanimportantconsiderationinthequestionnaireactivity.Inthefieldofsecondlanguageacquisition(SLA),manystudieshaveprovidedthatlearners’knowledgeofgrammarofthesecondlanguagewasveryoftenusedtoexpresstheirachievementsandaccomplishmentsofthetargetlanguage;therefore,inordertoexploretherelationshipbetweenageonsetofEnglishlearningandtheachievementsofforeignlanguagelearning,especiallyinformalinstructions,thisinvestigationemployedthetestofEnglishgrammarwhichaimedatfindingouttheEnglishlearningachievementsofthesubjects.Theauthorbelievedthattheresultsofthesetestscouldshowthesubjects’overallknowledgeofEnglishgrammar.Thegrammartestcontainedthirty-fivequestions(seeAppendixII).ThesecondtestofEnglishreadingcomprehensionwasalsoincludedinthisthesis.ReadingcomprehensionplayedanirreplaceableroleinEnglishlearning.Aresponsetoreadingcomprehensionquestionswillshowalearner’scommunicativecompetenceofthetargetlanguageinamorepracticalsense,whiletheirreactionstothequestionsofEnglishgrammarmainlyshowsalearner’sunderstandingofgrammaticalrulesofthetargetlanguage.ThetestofEnglishreadingcomprehensionforthisstudywasadoptedfromthetestpaperforaCollegeEnglishTestBand-4.Thetesthadthreepassageswithfivereadingcomprehensionseach(seeAppendixIII).ThelasttestwasEnglishwriting.Thistestwasnecessaryforthisthesisbecausewritingwasaveryimportantcompetence.EnglishwritingcouldhelpusimprovetheaccuracyofusingEnglish,expandvocabulary.Besides,Englishwritingcouldhelpusimprovelogicalthinkingandtheabilitytoanalyzeproblems.Englishwritinghadsimulativeeffectonlistening,speakingofreadingtranslationetc.（seeAppendixIV）Therefore,allthethreetestsarenecessarytoexaminealearner’slinguisticcompetenceofthetargetlanguage.··· ·24··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegree1.1DatafromthequestionnaireThisthesiswascomposedoftwoprocedures.Thefirstoneincludedaquestionnaireactivity.Asitwasmentionedabove,thequestionnairepapersweredistributedamong100non-Englishmajorsophomores.Thequestionnaireactivityhadtwopurposes.Onepurposewastoselectstudentsforcomparabletestsandtheotherwastogrouptheselectedparticipantsintothreedifferentgroups.FactorsotherthanageonsetwereconsideredsothatthosewholearnedEnglishinanykindsoftrainingschools,orthosewhoreceivedextraeducationofEnglish,orthosewhohadEnglishspeakingparentstoteachthemEnglishoutofclass,orthosewhohadfamilyEnglishtutorswereallexcluded.Basedontheresponsesofthe100students,68studentswerefoundsatisfyingtherequirementsforparticipantsforthesecondstepoftheresearch.Table4.1DistributionofageonsetofEnglishlearningGroupStudents’numberPercentageGroupI(3-7yearsold)2537%GroupII(8-12yearsold)2841%GroupIII(13yearsoldafter)1522%The68subjectsweredividedintothreegroupsaccordingtotheirageonsetofEnglishlearning.GroupIhad25studentswhobeganlearningEnglishfromthreetoseven;GroupIIhad28studentswhobeganlearningEnglishbetweeneightandtwelve;GroupIIIhad15starterswholearnedEnglishafterthirteen.Inthisthesis,forconvenience,wecalledthesubjectsinGroupIthestudentsatkindergarten,thesubjectsinGroupIIarereferredtothestartersatelementaryschool,andthesubjectsinGroupIIIarereferredtothestudentsatsecondaryschool.1.2DatafromthetestofEnglishgrammarAtthesecondstageofthestudy,the68selectedparticipantstookatestofEnglishgrammar.Thesubjectswereaskedtoanswer35multi-choices(objective)questionswhichaimedtotestthesubjects’Englishgrammaticalabilitiesofpresentprogressivetense,plural-s,irregularpastforms,possessive’s,copulabe,articles,regularpast-ed,thirdpersonsingularsimplepresent-s,andauxiliarieslikedwill,have,anddid.TheresultofthistestwasshownbyTable4.2ResultsoftestofEnglishgrammar··· ·25··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreeGroupStudents’numberTotalscoreMeanGroupI(3-7yearsold)2551420.56GroupII(8-12yearsold)2858821GroupIII(13yearsoldafter)1530420.271.1DatafromthetestofEnglishreadingcomprehensionTheselectedsubjectstookpartinthethirdtest----thereadingcomprehensiontestwhichhadthreereadingpassageswithfifteenreadingcomprehensionquestions.Thequestions’purposewastoexaminethesubjects’overallreadingskillsincludingscanning,skimming,readingbetweenthelines,readingforfactsandreadingforopinions,readingforfigurativelanguageandetc.TheresultofthistestisshownbyTable4.4.Table4.3ResultsoftestofEnglishreadingcomprehensionGroupStudents’numberTotalscoreMeanGroupI(3-7yearsold)2558223.28GroupII(8-12yearsold)2870725.25GroupIII(13yearsoldafter)1536124.071.2DatafromthetestofEnglishwritingThestudentswereallowed30minutestowriteacompositionentitledabriefintroductiontoatouristattraction.Thestudentsshouldwriteatleast120wordsaccordingtothefollowingguidelines:thestudents’rolewasatourguidewhoguidedagroupofforeigntourists.Theyshouldmaketheintroductioninterestingandthearrangementsforthedaycleartoeverybody.Yourintroductionshouldinclude:●somewelcomingwords●theschedulefortheday●adescriptionoftheplacethetouristswillbevisiting(e.g.ascenicspotorahistoricalsite,etc.)Table4.4ResultsoftestofEnglishwritingGroupStudents’numberTotalscoreMeanGroupI(3-7yearsold)2527310.92GroupII(8-12yearsold)2833511.96GroupIII(13yearsoldafter)1515910.62.1DataanalysisInordertomakeacomparisonofEnglishproficiencyofthethreegroupsofthesubjects,the··· ·26··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreedataobtainedfromthethreetestswereanalyzedindividually.1.1DataanalysisoftestofEnglishgrammarThemeanscorebythestarterswholearnedEnglishatkindergartenwas20.56pointswhenthemeanscoreofthestarterswholearnedEnglishinelementaryschoolwas21points.ThestarterswholearnedEnglishatsecondaryschoolwas20.27points.Thisshowsthattherewasadifferencebetweenthethreegroups.WecanseethatthestarterswholearnedEnglishinelementaryschooldidthebest.ThismightleadtoaconclusionthatanearlyageonsetofforeignlanguagelearningmeansbetterforeignlanguageproficiencythanthestudentswhobeganlearningEnglishatjuniorschool.系列12.1212.5.13.14.1系列14.3.12019.8GroupIGroupIIGroupIII系列120.562120.271.2DataanalysisoftestofEnglishreadingcomprehensionFromtheresultofthesubjects’Englishreadingcomprehension,wecouldseethatthemeanscorebythestarterswholearnedEnglishatkindergartenwas23.28pointswhenthemeanscoreofthestartersintheelementaryschoolwas25.25points,andthemeanscoreofthestarterswhostudiedEnglishatsecondaryschoolwas24.07points.Thisshowedthattherewasadifferencebetweenthethreegroups.WecouldseethatthestudentswholearnedEnglishintheelementaryschooldidthebest,whilethestarterswholearnedEnglishatkindergartendidtheworst.Theauthormadeaconclusion,theearlyageonsetofforeignlanguagelearningmeansbetterthanthestudentswhobeganlearningEnglishatjuniorschoolinwriting.··· ·27··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreeChart4.2ComparisonofthemeanscoresofEnglishreadingcomprehension系列11.1252.1242.5.1系列1233.122GroupIGroupIIGroupIII系列123.2825.2524.074.1DataanalysisoftestofEnglishwritingInthetestofEnglishwriting,themeanscorebythestudentswhobeganEnglishlearningatkindergartenwas10.92points,thatbythestarterswholearnedEnglishinelementaryschoolwas4.3.1points,andthatbythestudentswhobeganEnglishlearninginjuniorschoolwas10.6points.Thisshowedthattherewasadifferencebetweenthethreegroups.ThefactthatthestudentswholearnedEnglishinelementaryschooldidthebestwhilethelearnerswhobeganEnglishlearningatsecondaryschooldidtheworst.Thismightleadtoaconclusionthatearlyageonsetofforeignlanguagelearningmeansbetterforeignlanguageproficiencythantheothers.Chart4.3ComparisonofthemeanscoresofthetestofEnglishwriting··· ·28··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegree系列11.1122.111系列12.5.1103.1GroupIGroupIIGroupIII系列110.9211.9610.64.1OverallcomparisonofthemeanscoresofthethreetestsAnoverallcomparisonofthemeanscoresofthetestofEnglishgrammar,themeanscoresofthetestofreadingcomprehension,andofthemeanscoresofEnglishwritingshowedthatthefirstgroupandthesecondgroupofsubjectsperformedbetterthanthethirdgroupofthesubjects.Chart4.4Overallcomparisonsofthemeanscoresofthethreetests302520系列115系列2系列3 1050GroupIGroupIIGroupIII系列120.562120.27系列223.2825.2524.07系列310.9211.9610.64.3.1FindingsAfterreviewingtheliteraturedocumentanddataanalysisinthestudy,fromthe··· ·29··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreequestionnaireandthethreetests,therewerethecommonfindings:TheearlierlearnerswhostudyEnglishobtainedbetteraccomplishmentsthanthelaterones.Thefurtherstudyofoverallscoresofthethreetestsrevealedthatsuchdifferenceswereverygreatdistinction.ItwashelpfulforpresentparentsandeducatorstoraisesomeadviceforEnglisheducationinChina.InthetestofEnglishgrammar,thestarterswholearnedEnglishintheelementaryschooldidthebest(21).Wecouldseethatthefirstgroupalsodidbetterthanthethirdgroup.ThisresultshowedthattheearlystartershadgreatadvantageoverthestarterswholearnedEnglishatjuniorschool.ThedifferencebetweenthestarterswholearnedEnglishintheelementaryschoolandthestarterswholearnedEnglishatkindergarten(20.56)was0.44pointsandthedifferencebetweenthestarterswholearnedEnglishintheelementaryschoolandthestarterswholearnedEnglishatjuniorschool(20.27)was0.73points.InthetestofEnglishreadingcomprehension,thestarterswholearnedEnglishintheelementaryschooldidthebest(25.25).ThedifferencebetweenthestarterswholearnedEnglishintheelementaryschoolandthestarterswholearnedEnglishatkindergarten(23.28)was1.97pointsandthedifferencebetweenthestarterswholearnedEnglishintheelementaryschoolandthestarterswholearnedEnglishatjuniorschool(24.07)was1.18points.Thesedifferencescouldberegardedasgreatsignificant.InthetestofEnglishwriting,itwasalsothestarterswholearnedEnglishintheelementaryschooldidthebest(11.96).However,thedifferencebetweenthestarterswholearnedEnglishintheelementaryschoolandthestarterswholearnedEnglishatkindergarten(10.92)was1.04points.ThedifferencebetweenthestarterswholearnedEnglishintheelementaryschoolandthestarterswholearnedEnglishatjuniorschool(10.6)was1.36points.Oncemore,therewasenoughscientificdatatosuggestthattheearlystartershadgreatadvantageoverthelaterones.Therefore,theoverallanalysisofthedatashowedthatthefirstgroupandthesecondgrouphadadvantagesoverthethirdgroup.··· ·30··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreeChapterⅤDiscussionontheMajorProblemsExistingandSuggestionsforSolvingThemThefindingsderivedfromthedataanalysisshowthatthereisobvioustendencythatageonsetofbeginninglearningaforeignlanguageisaveryimportantfactorinfluencinglearners’learningatleastbeforetheendofCriticalPeriodHypothesis.ThefindingsindicatethatstarterswholearnedEnglishatkindergartenandelementaryschoolaresuperioritytothestarterswholearnedEnglishatjuniorschoolinforeignlanguagelearninginformalinstructionsituationsinthelongrun.Thesefindingsareinaccordwithsomeresultsbyotherstudiesofthesecondlanguagedevelopmentofyoungerorolderlearners.Judgingfromtheresultsofmydata,therearecleardifferencesbetweenthetypeswithdifferentageonsetofsecondlanguageacquisitionanditsrelativeaccomplishments.However,everycoinhastwosides.ItisinevitabletolearnEnglishwhenoneisalitterkid,buttheredoexistmanyproblemssimultaneously.Inthischapter,theauthorattemptstofindouttheseexistingproblemsandgivesomesuggestionstosolvethem.1.1Lackingprofessionalfaculty2.1ProblemsincreasingtheteachernumberItwasthebiggestquestionfortheelementaryschoolEnglishteachingtohaveenoughteachersofgreatabilities.Thatwastosay,itinvolvedthequalityofteachersandthenumberofteachersaswell.SomecitiesweresufferingfromasevereshortageofelementaryschoolEnglishteachers,letaloneinseveralruralareas.Especially,theonesofexcellentabilitywererare.Thephenomenonappearedinsomecitieswhereeconomydevelopedmuchbetter.Wecouldimaginethatitwouldbecomeevenworseinsmallvillages.Nowadays,itwasreportedthatthewholelevelofEnglishteachersinthejuniormiddleschoolsandelementaryschoolswasnotsatisfactory.Itwasclearforthelatter.WecouldfindoutthatmostofelementaryschoolEnglishteacherswerenotgraduatedfromEnglishmajorsintheuniversities,butfromothernormalschools.Theyformerlytaughtothercurriculums,butchangedtoteachEnglishsincetherewereshortofEnglishteachers.Also,theywereveryyoungandthey··· ·31··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreehadnotbeenteachingEnglishforalongperiod.Itwasunderstoodthattheywereintheabsenceofworkingexperience.Theothersidewasseeninthefollowing:theyknowverylittleaboutEnglishteachingmethods.Sopeoplewouldfeelworriedwithoutadoubt.Intheforeignlanguagecoursedesign,teacherswereparticularlynon-nativelearnerswhomight,hadnevertooktimeonanEnglish-speakingcountryandconsequentlymightfinditmoredifficulttomakeafirmresolvetomakedecisionsofanative-likenature.FortheEnglishmajorsinhigherschools,theymightbetrainedseverelytohaveariseintheirnative-likenature.Nonetheless,theresultswerenotverysatisfactory.Butfornon-Englishmajorstocarryouttheprogram,whichcausewouldcomeoutpeoplecouldimagine.ThemainguidesignificanceofteachingEnglishinelementaryschoolsweretodevelopprimaryschoolstudents’basiccapabilitiesoftheirlistening,speakingandtheirgoodintelligenceoftheEnglishlanguage.Sotheordertotheteacher’sspeakingskillsofthegoallanguagewasveryhigh.Butusuallythesenon-English-majorteacherswereverypoorintheseareas.SomeofthemcouldnotspeakEnglishsmoothlyineverydayuseorinclassroomteaching,soitwasverydifficultforthemtoarrangeEnglishclassesinEnglishfreely.Thereweredeficientinnoticeableaidsequipmentsinsomeschoolsintownsandcountrysides.Sotheteachersmostlyusedtoaccomplishtheirteachingassignmentsbyexplanation,disciplineweretakentheplaceofbytextsreadingloudly.Besides,theauthorobservedthatalmostalltheteachersoccupiedmultimediateachingassistance,andtheywereveryyoung.Theirteachingmethodswereactivemodern.ButwhatwasthepitywasthattheiroralEnglishwasverypoor.Someofthemevenmademistakeinpronunciationeasytodistinguish.Theothermajoritemwasthattheaverageworkinghoursatpresent.MostelementaryschoolEnglishteachersaveraged14or15hoursofworkaweekinordertofinishtheirproject.Whatwasmore,theyworkedupto24hours.Thegeneralphenomenonhappenedineveryschool:Englishteacherscouldnotbutteachtwogradesorthreegradesrathertheonlyonegrade.SomeothercurriculumsteachersalsowereusedtoteachEnglishaswell.ThereasonwasduetoshortageofprofessionalEnglishteachers.SomeEnglishteacherstookheavyteachingassignments.Insuchacase,eventheEnglishteacherswhograduatedfromEnglishmajorswerestilldifficulttomakesuretheteachingquality.Inadditionto,theyhadnohighenergytoenhancetheirabilitiesdealwithmodernteachingmaterialswhich,leftaconsiderableamountofdecision··· ·32··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreemakingtothembecauseaperiodofsensitizingmightbenecessaryforbothteachersaridstudentsbeforenewideascouldbeintroducedeffectively.1.1CountermeasurestotheproblemsincreasingteachernumberInreality,lackingadequatequalifiedandhighlytechnicalteachershadbecomethemajorobstacletoimproveforeignlanguageteachingandlearningefficiencyinprimaryschool.ForthebenefitofmakingEnglishcoursespopularinprimaryschoolsandcarryingouttheNewNationalEnglishCurriculumStandard,weshouldformastronggroupofprofessionallytrainedEnglishteachers.Luckily,somecitiesandotherregionshadalreadycomeupwithsolutionstotheproblemlackingofteachers.Hereweentertainedahopeforbenefitingfromtheirexperienceandlearningseveralrealisticmethodstosolvetheteacherpopulationproblem.Iwoulddiscussthispartasfollows.AnapproachofsupplyingwithprofessionalEnglishteachersforprimaryschoolwastoattractnewcollegestudentsofEnglishmajors.Theprovincialorcityeducationalunitsshouldtrytokeeppacewiththesedevelopments,normaluniversitiesorcollegesshouldkeeponenrollingnewcollegestudentsofEnglishmajors,especiallyforelementaryschoolEnglishteachers.TheyshouldstudynotonlynormalcoursesofEnglishmajors,butalsopupils’psychology,educationandsomebasicskillslikesinging,dancinganddrawing,etc.AsecondmethodwastohireEnglishmajorswhograduatedfromcollegestudents.Inviewofexistingsituation,therewereaplentyofcollegeanduniversitygraduatescannotlookforaproperjob.ManyofthemhadlearnedEnglishandrelatedareaandtheyhadgreatabilitiesinEnglishlistening,speakingabilities.Afterthetrainingperiod,theyhadacertaincapacityforprimaryschoolEnglishteaching.Theywereveryyoungandenergetic,sotheyhadastrongplasticity.Iftheyweretrainedinreasonableway,theywouldbecomethemainforceofelementaryschoolEnglishteachers.ThethirdsubjectIwantedtodiscusswasourmethodsofwaystoovercomethescarcityofelementaryschoolEnglishteachers.TheteachersofothercourseswhoseEnglishwerefairlygoodcouldbesenttobeingintensifiedtraining.TheyturnedtoteachEnglishintheelementaryschoolswhentheyfinishedtheirtraining.Aperiodoftimeduringbeingtrained,theyconcentratedtheireffortsonstudyingEnglishinthefieldofphonetics,speakingabilityandbasic··· ·33··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreeteachingmethods.Thentheycouldgetfurtherstudyduringtheirholiday.TheseteacherswouldbecomeoutstandingandcompletelynecessaryforelementaryschoolEnglishteachersaftersuccessiveyearsoftraining.Accordingtoinvestigation,mostEnglishteachersinelementaryschoolwereofthesamekind.Forthem,itwasveryimportanttohaveaccesstoprofessionaltraining.Speakingofvocationaleducationandtraining,theyconcludedthattheirsuccessfulexperiencesintothefollowing,ofcourse,wecouldlearnfrom:Theoryunitedwithpractice,professionalknowledgeskillsunitedwitheducationalandvocationaltraining;stupidteachersdevelopingunitedwithoverallimprovement;attractingotherstocomeinunitedwithallowingthemselvesout.Nowapowerfulteamofteacherswerebuiltbyspecialeffort.Aswasknowntoall,thedevelopmentofEnglishteachingcouldbenefitfrommoretraining,andfrommorepracticeindailylifetraining.Thelatterwasmoreimportantthantheformer.Truly,practicemakesperfect.Forthatreason,therewasacrucialproblemtoheightenthescientificapproachtotheelementaryschoolEnglishteaching.OfcourseEnglishresearchersoftheeducationbureauinalldepartmentshadaresponsibilitytodothisduty.Peopleindifferentareastookdifferenttreatmentsandmostoftheirtreatmentswereefficient.Nowwecouldprovidesometreasuresforproperinterpretation.Inthefirstplace,teachingandresearchsectionsoftheeducationbureauinalldepartmentscouldholddifferenttrainingclassestoenhancetheseteacherstotheoreticalandpracticalknowledge.ThiswasthetruthsofarasIknewit.Speechesofnewteachingmaterialswereretainedalmosteachyearfromplacetoplace.AndhundredsofthousandsofelementaryschoolEnglishteachersjoinedthespeeches.Meantime,theillustrating,observingandimitatingclasseswereheld.Atthemeetings,theteacherscouldsendtheirideasandexperiencestoeachother;illustratetheirthesesandranksofhighquality.Inmanyprovinces,teachingandresearchsectionsoftheeducationbureauwereworkingouttotrainoneortwohundredofprovincialcadremansofprimaryschoolEnglishteachers,mainlytoimprovetheirselfdevelopmentabilities,teachingandscientificresearchabilitiesandinnovationabilities.Onthesecondplace,teachingandresearchsectionsoftheeducationbureauinalldepartmentsshouldemployateamofresearchersinchargeofprimaryschoolEnglishteaching.··· ·34··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreeTheycouldaccomplishtheassignmentoftrainingsbyheartandsoulinthelastsection.Thesefull-timeresearcherscouldverifyissuesondiscussioninaccordancewiththedemandsofEnglishteachingreformsandsystematizelargenumbersofteacherstopositivelyparticipateintheteachingandresearchactivitiesandseminars.Itsintentionwastoenhanceawarenessofscientificresearchoftheseteachersandenhancetheirresearchcapacity.Thirdly,PeopleshouldfurtherestablishcontactingwiththeprimaryschoolEnglishteachersandthemiddleschoolEnglishteachers.Itwasnecessarytomakethegoodrelationshiponthetwoparts,toenhancecommunicationwitheachother.Teachingandresearchsectionsoftheeducationbureauinalldepartmentsshouldorganizethesetwoparts’teacherstointercommunicatewitheachother,hearspeechesoneanotherandengageintheteachingandresearchinstitutes.Sotheycouldlearnfromeachotherintheaspectsofteachingmethods,thestudents’featuresoflearningaswellassenseofteachingconnection.Iftheycoulddothesethings,itwouldtakesomeadvantagesfortheelementaryschoolEnglishteachers,especiallyatthestartingstage.1.1Solvingtheproblemsconcerningwithstudents’questionsFromthemid1980s,thedebateonlanguageinstructioninaneffectivewayhadmovedfromastressonteachercenteredtolearnercenteredclassroomsandfromtransmissionorientedtoparticipatoryorconstructivistknowledgedevelopment.Withthatshifthadcomearenewedfocusonsmallgrouportask-basedlearningwhichcouldaffordstudentstheopportunitytodeveloparangeofcognitive,metacognitiveandsocial,aswellaslinguisticskillswhileinteractingandnegotiatingintheclassroom.Thestudentnumberwasanothertruefactorintheclassroom.Inmanynewsocialschedules,studentsweretakengreatpainstoparticipateinthelearningprocessinanactiveway.Theywereplacedintothissituationinwhichtheymustholdresponsibilities,havetheirdecisions,estimatetheirownabilities,andformtheirhobbies,andsoon.Thesedemandswerenotwellknownforthestudents,however,theyemergedinthenewNationalEnglishCurriculumStandardandexcellentcommunicationwasoneofbasiclanguagetechniquesofthestudents.Forthebenefitofenablingstudentstobecomecapablepersons,aperiodof‘learninghowtolearn’wasveryimportant.Studentsmightchangethemselvestobesuitableforthenewsituation,··· ·35··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreeforexample,doinggroupwork,becomingadvocatorsofactivities,andsoon.Onthecurriculumofforeignlanguage,studentsmightbecomeahomogeneoussocio-economicbackground,sotheyrealizedthattheprocessoflearninganewmethodwasrelativelyeasytodo.Nowonderthatthelongertheexposuretotheforeignlanguage,themorenative-likeforeignlanguageproficiencybecame.Hence,thosechildrenwhobeganlearningEnglishintheelementaryschoolshadaninclinationtoprevailagainstthosewhostartinthejuniormiddleschools.Mostelementaryschoolstudentswerenotolderthan12years,sotheywereinabeststagetolearnforeignlanguageinthecriticalperiod.Theirbrainwaseasilytokeepplasticandthelateralizationdidnotoccurbeforepuberty.Theyhadstrongabilitytoimitate,andtheyalsohadatenaciousmemory.Withthedevelopmentoftheircognitivelevel,theycouldnotethesimilaritiesbetweenlanguages.ShortlyafterstudyingChinesepinyinandtheycouldlearntheEnglishalphabet,pronunciationandspelling,andlearnedthemveryquickly.ChinesephoneticalphabetcouldpromoteEnglishlearningbecausethereweresimilaritiesbetweenthem.Inthemeantime,theywereself-centeredandfullofvitality.Theydidnotformsocialattitudestowardstheuseofonelanguagetoanother.Theywerecognitively‘open’toanotherlanguage,becauseoftheirself-confidence,lessanxiety,lowculturebound.Theaffectivefilterimpactedonthespeedoflanguagedevelopmentandcommandshowmuchinputwasconvertedintointake(Krashen,1982,p.164).Theyhadlowaffectivefilter,andhadaccesstomakealotofinput.Learnersneedtounderstandalittlebeyondtheirabilitytoinputatcurrentlevel.Thiswouldhappenautomaticallywhenthecommunicationwastriumphed.Understandingbenefitedfromthesituationandbackground,extra-linguisticinformation,andknowledgeoftheworld.Fromtheabovewecoulddiscoverthattheelementaryschoolstudentstookmoreadvantagesthanothers.Therefore,theyshouldlearnEnglishbetterthanothers.However,weshouldadmitthattheirlearningconditionswerenotsoideal.Itwasadifficulttaskforthemtocompletetheteachingassignmentsandtobeinlinewiththerequirementsofthestudents’EnglishcurriculumundersupervisionforthenewNationalEnglishCurriculumStandard.SomeparentsevenresentedthattheirchildrendidnotperformanythingafterfourtosixyearsofEnglishlearning.InaccordancewiththenewNationalEnglishCurriculumStandard,thenewmethodsofEnglishteaching,offeringaffective,inspiredandopenteaching,werelookedforwardtothestudents’development,balancedskillsofpracticingEnglishLanguage.Discoveringthisnew··· ·36··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreemethodshouldbebasedonstudents’languageskills,emotionalknowledgeoftheEnglishcurriculumstandardsandneweducationalconcepttoguidelearningstrategiesandculturalawareness.1.1ProblemsrelatingtostudentnumberThisquestionmainlyconcernedonstudents’interestandmotivationinlearningEnglish,theirattitudetotheirteachersandtotheirteachers’Englishability,eventothematerialsusedandtheirmethodsofstudy.TheauthorwouldalsoliketofindifstudentscanrecognizetheimportanceofEnglishinprimaryschools,iftheycouldactivelyparticipateinclassroomtasks,atthesametime,iftheyhadtakensomeremedialclassestolearnoutside.Theproblemwascomplex.TheythoughttheywerecompelledtolearnEnglishinordertomeettheschool’sneeds,andtheirparent’swish.TherewerenoEnglishtestsforelementaryschoolstudentsandteachers’organizations.Theyonlyplayedgames,sangsongs,recitedrhymesandpoems.TheygraduallyformedawrongideathatEnglishwasnotimportantassports,artandmusic.Sotheywouldnotbetakenseriouslyandtheycouldgetwhateverlesstheystudy.TheytookitforgrantedthateventhoughtheycouldnotlearnEnglishwellintheelementaryschool,theycouldalsomakeitupatthesecondarylevel.Therewasnodoubtthatthisideawaswrong.ManylitterkidshadnoinklingoftheknowledgeofEnglishwhentheymadeafreshstarttoleapitinschools.LearningEnglishmadethemfeelanewandwiderworld.Inthebeginning,theymightfeelexcited,butsometimestheymightbeconfusedbystrangersorforeigners.Withtheelapseoftime,theywouldlosecuriosityandexcitement.However,theNewNationalCurriculumStandardemphasizedonthestudentsinterestedinpromotingactivities.IfwetookthesamemeansastheonlywaytolearnEnglish,thepupilsinelementaryschoolwouldgraduallyformthevagueideaof“Englishclasseswerejustplayinggamesandforfun”.Ofcourse,thiswouldbedetrimentaltothesustainabledevelopmentofthestudents.IfprimaryschoolEnglishteachingdidnotreachthenewNationalCurriculumStandardrequired,theultimategoaloflearningEnglishwouldalsobereduced,letalonejuniorandhighschoolEnglishlearninggoals.Thiswouldultimatelyinhibitthesustainabledevelopmentofprimaryschoolstudents.··· ·37··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreeInthesecondplace,partlystudentsconfessedthattheydidnotliketheirelementaryschoolEnglishteachers,andtheydidnotthinktheirEnglishproficiencycouldnotbecomparedtoschoolteachersinremedialclasses.Mostofthemeverparticipatedintheremedialclasses.TheirparentsmaintainedthattheycouldnotmasterEnglishwellinschool.Itwouldcausetediousandinstabilityinsociety.Thissituationwouldleadtounhealthycompetitionopportunitiessimultaneously.LearningEnglishwellwasveryusefulforindividualdevelopmentinthefuture.Preciselybecause,theirparentsturnedtheirattentiontoseekgoodplacesfortheirEnglishlearningwitheveryeffort,suchasfamilyeducation,make-upcoursesclasses;differentexamsandallkindsofcrashmeansandmaterials.Thiskindofphenomenonaggravatedstudent’sburdenandguardian’seconomicburden.Thefinaloutcomedidnotmaketheparentstobesatisfied1.1MeasuresforsolvingtheproblemsrelatingtostudentnumberAsdescribedabove,thestudentswerethenervesoflearningandteachinginthelightoftheNewNationalCurriculumStandard.Theyparticipatedactively,tookagreatinterest,andimputedamotivetolearnEnglish.Meantime,theirinnerattitudestowardthecultureofalanguagewouldspeeduptheirforeignlanguagelearningTherefore,ourteachersmustcreateagoodatmospherelikenative-likeatmosphere,andorganizerichandcolorfulactivitiestopromoteeachkindofprimaryschoolEnglishlearning.Teacherswhohadabilitytosaylikenativespeakersshouldundertakecommunicatingwithstudents.ThepupilsinprimaryschoolwouldlearnEnglishwellinlargemeasure.ToexecutetheassignmentsinaccordancewiththeNewNationalCurriculumStandard,wemustattempttofindseveralpracticalandfeasiblemethodstofindsomepracticalwaystosolvetheproblemofthenumberofstudents.Letusfigureoutthemethodsasfollows:Initially,teachersshouldfocusontheimportanceofEnglishteachinginprimaryschoolsandlearningfromthecommencement.Fromtheperspectiveofcurriculumsystemofprimaryeducation,thestudentsshouldunderstandthatprimaryeducationwasthebasisofbasiceducation,andthebasiceducationwasthebasisofhighereducation,vocationaleducationandadulteducation.Itwaslikethefirstdominowhichcanpresstherestdomino.Therefore,wemustbe··· ·38··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreeconcernedaboutthevalidityofthedomino.Atfirst,thestudentsshouldenhancethesignificanceofprimaryschoolEnglishteachingandattempttostudyEnglishwell.ThiswouldlayasolidfoundationfortheirfuturelearningofEnglish.Next,teachersshouldmakegreateffortstoimprovetheteachingefficiencyintheregularclassroom.ThenewEnglishCurriculumStandardshowedthatoverallobjectiveofEnglishteachingattheprimarystagewastodevelopacomprehensivelanguageabilityofstudents,includingtheirlanguageknowledge,skills,learningattitudes,strategies,andculturalawareness.Thisobjectcouldbefurtherdividedintoninegradesinaccordancewithdifferentteachingandlearningstages.ThefirstandsecondlevelgavethechanceforprimaryEnglishteachingandlearning.Soteachersshouldtrytoobeytheseneedsandaccomplishtheassignmentstepbystepundertheguidanceoftherequirements.Asmentionedabove,theteachershadamajorinfluenceonstudentsandtheirsustainabledevelopment.Sotheteacher’srolewascrucial.Finally,therewasnowinkinginthestudents’learningstrategies,interestandmotivation.Mostofthestudentshadthemannersofcuriosity,courageousattitude,interest,andtherestarousing.BydegreetheyhadfeweropportunitiesforEnglishlearningastheyliked.Sotheywantedalivelyclassroomactivity,hadspeechfreelyintheclassroom,playedgames,sangEnglishsongs.Alloftheseweresuitableforthefeaturesofthechildatthisstage.Hence,teachersshouldtakeallthevariablesintoaccount,establishagoodatmosphereforstudents’learningandhaveanambitiontoutilizemoderndevicestoinventnativeEnglishlearning.Certainly,thestudentsthemselveswerestillcrucialfactor.TheyshouldkeepintheirmindthatEnglishlearningwasatoughassignment;theymusthaveafingerinvariousactivitiesenthusiasticallyinclass.Finally,andmostimportantly,theyshouldfirmlybelievethat“Practicemakesperfect”.1.1ChoosingsuitableteachingmaterialsJamesDeanBrown(2001,p.139)statedtheprecisemeaningofmaterialsthatanysystematicdescriptionofthetechniquesandexercisestobeusedinclassroomteaching.Frombroadsense,thisdefinitionwasadequatetolessonplansandteachingaccommodatebooks,packetsexpansion,games,audiovisualaidsandothersinthelanguageclassroomuseofvariedtypesofactivities.Thekeytodevelopaudiomaterialswastoguaranteethattheyhadenough··· ·39··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreeorganizationsanddescription.Doingthis,theteacherscouldutilizebeyondalldoubtandprepareintheshortesttime.Themostreliabletestwastoletateachercompletethemwithoutanyassistancepractices.Iftheteacherwasassuredofsuccess,itshowedthatthematerialsweresystematicalandclearlydescribed.PeoplecouldaffirmativelysaythatthematerialswouldplayanimportantpartinEnglishteaching,andtheybecamemaincompositionofEnglishcurriculum.Appropriatematerialwasprincipalprerequisitesforcompletingteachingcontentsandaccomplishteachinggoal.Thematerialsofhighquality,highlevelwasnotonlytohelpteachersalsobenefitstudents.Theycouldprovidealternativesforteachersandlearners.Choicesmightbeprovidedintermsoflearnerassignments,learningstyles,presentationskills,expectedresults,etc.Theycouldstimulatestudents’interestinlearningsoastomakethemactivelyratherthanpassivelylearning.TherewerethecloserelationtomaterialsandconcreteEnglishlevelsofstudents,whichwasthefoundationoflanguagelearning.Inreality,weweredesperatelyshortoffavorablematerialsforelementaryschoolstudents.Fromsomeinvestigations,along-standingproblemsonthematerialscouldmakeasummaryaslistedbelow.Thefirstpointwasthatanappropriatematerialwasdifficulttobedisclosedeveniftherewerevariouskindsofmaterialsnowadays.Thereportwentoutthatbyfar2003;thereweretotally23setsofprimaryschoolEnglishteachingmaterialsthathadbeenadmittedbytheMaterialsExaminingandApprovingCommitteeofChina’sMinistryofEducationinthecountryatlarge.Thesematerialsbeingusedwereprintedbydifferentpressandtheircontentsdidnotconformtothepupils’actualsituation.Surely,therewouldbecontentrepetitionandeachpartofknowledgeunreasonabletouch.Letmepointoutthesecondquestion.Someteachersconsideredthecontentsweretoodifficultfortheirstudentstohold.Meantime,mostprimaryschoolsinbigcitiescouldnotproducesufficientEnglishclasshours,nottospeakoftheremotedistricts.ThestudentshadtwoEnglishclasshourseachweek,evenonlyonehour.ButtheworstwasthatEnglishwastakenaspettysubjectinsome“so-called”keyschools.Sometimes,thetwoortheonlyonehourofEnglishclasswasoccupiedbyothersubjects.··· ·40··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreeTheredidexistasortofirrationalpracticesinsomeprimaryschools.Thatis,EnglishteacherscouldnothavesuccessfullydonetheirteachingassignmentsorderedintheprimaryschoolEnglishCurriculumStandard.Itwasobviousthatthisphenomenonwasfarfromscientific.Theresultseriouslyimpactedontheteacher’steachingeffect.Next,theauthorwouldtalkaboutthethirdquestion.SometeachingmaterialssaidtheywerepublishedinaccordancewithEnglishCurriculumStandard.TherewasnocleardistinctionbetweenthefirststageandthesecondphaseofthecontentintheknowledgeandframeworkintheEnglishCurriculumStandard.SotherewasagreatdifferenceinthecontentsofknowledgeintheprimaryschoolEnglishmaterials.Somematerialsthatwerenotsystematicalweren’tharmoniouswiththeEnglishCurriculumStandard.Worse,thelinksbetweenelementaryschoolandjuniorhighschoolEnglishmaterialswereseldomconsideredbytheeditors.Insomeremotevillageelementaryschools,thestudentshadnotachancetolearnEnglish.ThiswouldgreasethestairstothejuniormiddleschoolEnglishteaching.ManyEnglishteachersinjuniormiddleschoolsobjectedthatthenewstudentscomefromdifferentschoolstudentshaddifferentlevelsofEnglishknowledge.Solvingtheproblemoftextbooksandmaterialsbeinginusewasnoteasy.TheEnglishteachinginelementaryschoolwasthefirstphraseofEnglisheducationinchina.ThiswasachallengetotheeditorsofEnglishteachingmaterialsinelementaryschool,butalsoachallengetotheteachers.Somecoastalprovincesandbigcitieshadpiledupsomevaluablelessonsaboutmaterialsselectingandcompilingondueexperimentsandyearsofinnovation.Thecentralandwestchinawoulddrawamoralfromthem.Firstofall,everylocalgovernmentshouldgivehearttoEnglishresearchersandteacherstoeditEnglishmaterialsthatfitlocalstudentsfortheircharacteristics.WegotsomereferencematerialfromtheirexperienceinwhichtheyselectandeditEnglishmaterialsforprimaryschool.1)PeoplecouldchooseteachingmaterialsdependingontherequirementofEnglishCurriculumStandard.Materialsmustcomplywithnationalstandardsandconcernsontheoveralldevelopmentofthestudents.2)Accordingtothelatestviewsoflanguageteaching,theteachingmaterialsshouldemphasizeontheabilitytocommunicationandpractice.··· ·41··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegree3)Buildingonchildren’scognitivecharacteristics,student’sbodyandminddevelopmentmodeandtheirinterestscharacteristics,theteachingmaterialsshouldconcernonstudent-centeredtoarousethestudents’interestinlearning.4)Theteachingmaterialsshouldbescientificundertheguidanceofperformingtheconventionalmodeofthelanguageteachingandacquisition.Theyshouldfocusontheteachingcontentsandteachingactivitydesign.5)WithhelpfromEnglishCurriculumStandard,thesematerialsshouldfacethelocalrealityoftheprimaryschoolEnglishteaching.Eachregionhaditsowncharacteristicsoftheirteachingmaterials,buttheymustbeusefulandrealistic.6)Withrespecttotheproblemofthelinkwithmiddleschools,EnglishteachingmaterialsatmiddlestageshouldbeassociatedwithprimaryschoolEnglishteachingmaterials.Thesematerialscouldmakeasystemtopreventthestudentsfromconsumingtime,moneyandtheenergyoftheteachers.Secondly,undertheguidanceoftherequirementsofEnglishCurriculumStandard,elementaryschoolsshouldofferatleast4times’teachingenergies,whichcontainthelongperiodsandshortones.Theprinciplewastosupplywithshortclassperiodsandreproachhighfrequenciestoavoidoblivion.Forthebenefitofaccomplishingteachingassignmentsandgainingeffectiveteachingconsequences,theeducationministryoflocalgovernmentshoulddirecttheschools,teachersandparentstobeconcernedaboutEnglishteachingoftheelementaryschoolsandexpectingtheschoolstoofferenoughclasshoursinaccordancewiththeEnglishCurriculumstandardmeantime.Finally,theeducationministryoflocalgovernmentcouldcontributetheprosperouseditorsanddesignersofprimaryschoolEnglishteachingmaterialstoadvancethedevelopmentofprimaryschoolEnglishteachingmaterialsbuilding.1.1EstablishingaproperevaluatingmethodEvaluationwasthecenterofthesystematicaccesstolanguagecurriculumdesign.Thepartofthemodelthatincluded,connected,andgavemeaningtoalltheotherelements(JamesDeanBrown,2001,p.217).Evaluationwasdefinedinthefollowingway“:thesystematiccollectionandanalysisofallrelevantinformationnecessarytopromotetheimprovementofacurriculumand··· ·42··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreeassessitseffectivenesswithinthecontextoftheparticularinstitutionsinvolved”(JamesDeanBrown,1989,p.223).AssessmentthatwasmadeforEnglishteachingoftheelementaryschoolwasthemainpointintheEnglishCurriculumStandard.Thatwasthereasonwhythespecialiststranslatedtheterminologysasexamandcheckintheoldteachingsyllabusintocurriculumassessment.Putmoreprecisely,courseevaluationshouldinvolvetheestimationatthestudents,teachersandtheschools,thefirstpartofwhichisforemost.AsfarasIwasconcerned,thefeaturesofassessmentsweretoobtaininformationfeedback,monitorthequalityofinstruction,emendandguideusinthequalityofteaching.Thegoaloftheassessmentwastoinsistontheman-orientedthought,acceleratestudentsgetall-round,reformteachingmethodsandpromotethedevelopmentofEnglishteaching.ThenewEnglishCurriculumStandardcameupwithsuchevaluatingwaysasselfassessment,groupassessment,teacherassessmentandexpertassessment,whichmadetheroutineteachingevaluationmorescientificandhumanistic.TotheEnglishteachers,formofevaluationwasanewnotioninthenewEnglishcurriculumstandard.Thechiefcharacteristicofthenotionwastogivespeedyfeedbacktopromotelearningandenhanceteaching,asopposedtosummativeassessment.Thesummativeassessmentsignifiedtheestimationtotheteachingresultsofthestudents,whichstressedespeciallyontheconsideringfurtherthecapabilityofutilizingEnglishpractically.Itsmainformwastheexaminationinvolvingthetestsoflistening,writingandspeaking.NewEnglishCurriculumStandardplacedexcessiveemphasisonformativeassessment,challengesfacedbytheEnglishteachers:comprehendingthisnewnotionofformativeestimationandcontrastingitwithadditiveestimation,whichhadbeentheonlyestimationoverthepast,associatingwithformativeassessmenttechniquesandcompletingtheassessmentassignmentswithaimatpromotinglearning.However,inthepast,peopleusedtosayturkeytooneandbuzzardtoanotherbetweentheformativeassessmentandthesummativeassessment.ManyEnglishteachersoftheelementaryschoollostsightofthesignificanceofselectingformativeassessmenttoaidinthestudents’learning,nordidnotknowhowtofulfillformativeassessment.Inreality,theadditiveevaluationkeptthecrucialmeansofteachingevaluation.Itwasjustastheirformerteachersdid,theyhavedevelopedthehabitofdoingsummativeassessmentonlyattheendofasemesterorayear.··· ·43··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreeBecausesomeschoolsandteachersunderstooddivergencetotheNewEnglishCurriculumStandard,theyhadnotmadeanyestimation.Theyresentedthattherewasnouniformmeasureforassessmentrulesandregulationsthatassessmentsystemwasnotsoperfectthatthecontentsweretoomanycomplicatedandthattheprocessesweretriflingandnoteasytooperate.Thisweakenedtheimportanceandalsolowerstheought-to-bestatusofprimaryschoolEnglishteaching.ThiswasalsothemainreasonwhytheprimaryschoolEnglishteachingwassoineffectiveandcouldnotachievetheteachingaimsevenifournationhadspentalotoflabors,moneyandenergy.Manyparentstookaskepticalattitudetothisfact:TheirchildrenlearnednothingaboutEnglishwhentheylearntEnglishintheelementaryschoolafterafewyears.Therecouldbenodoubtwhateveraboutthatthescientificandeffectiveteachingestimationwasbetterforpeopletodetectifthegoalwasmoresatisfiedachieved.ThispartwasakeypositionfortheEnglishteaching.FromthepointofviewonthecontentsandassessmentstandardinthedailyEnglishteaching,ithadalwaysplayedavitalrole.TheorganiccombinationbetweenformativeassessmentandsummativeassessmentcouldbemoreconsideredintheNewEnglishCurriculumStandard.Theformativeassessmentwasavitalconstituentofteaching,theassignmentofwhichwastopreserveinevaluationstothebehaviorofthestudentswhichinfluencedtheirstudyanddailylife.Theprogresstheyhadmadeandtheimprovementreflectedthroughtheiremotion,attitude,strategiesandmethods.TheschoolsincoastaldevelopedcitiesshouldbeencouragedtoproducebetterenvironmentforimprovingtheirspeakingabilityaccordingtothenewEnglishCurriculumStandard.Besides,worthyprincipleswouldnotflippantlydisregardthemintheNewEnglishCurriculumjustastheinvigorativeprinciple,theprincipleofparticipation,theprincipleofinsistingonformativeassessmentandtheprincipleofactivity.Inthepracticalteachingevaluation,weshouldconcernonthequestionsasfollows:Intheassessmentprocess,thedominantpositionofstudentsshouldbereflected.Intheprogressofthestudents,thefunctionoftheformativeevaluationshouldbestressed.Multiplicityandflexibilityoftheappraisingmethodsshouldbenoticed.Thefeedbacksystemoftheevaluatingresultstowardsteachingshouldbenotices.ThesummativeassessmentmustlaystressontheimportanceofthecomprehensiveabilityoflearningEnglish.Therelationshipbetweenteachingandevaluationshouldbehandledcorrectly.Implementalllevelsofevaluationfollowed··· ·44··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreethepracticeoftheteachingobjectives.Specialattentiontoestimationresultsshouldbepaidmoreattention.Thedifferentfeaturesofelectivesandrequiredcoursesintheevaluationshouldbeembodied.Payingmoreattentiontothereasonableeffectandutilizingtheassessingmeansproperly.1.1LimitationsJustthesameastheotherstudiesontheageandsecondlanguageacquisition,thisstudyalsohaditsownlimitationswhichtheauthorcouldnotbesolvedimmediately.Reviewingthewholestudyprocess,theauthorcouldfindoutseveralconstrainsfromsubjectiveandobjectivefactors.Thefirstonewasthatthereareasmallproportionofparticipants,onlycontaining100subjects.Inthetermsofthesampleandsubjects,itwasoftennotlikelytodoarigoroussamplingintheactualstudy,especiallyforanindividualresearcher.Andtheselectedstudentswereallfromnon-Englishmajors.Owingtothelimitationofnumberandmajorsofthesubject,maybethestudyresultswereboardandrepresentativeenough.Atlast,therewerewithoutveryspecificboundariesbetween‘foreignlanguagelearning’and‘secondlanguageacquisition’.Inthisstudy,theconceptionsof‘acquisition’and‘learning’,‘acquirer’and‘learner’weremostcommonlyusedasthesamemeaning.··· ·45··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreeChapterVI.ConclusionThisthesisfocusedontherelationshipbetweentheageonsetofsecondlanguageacquisitionanditsrelativeachievements.Therewasawidely-heldlaybeliefthatyoungersecondlanguagelearnersgenerallydidbetterthanolderlearners.Criticalperiodhypothesisgavesomeprovestoit,yetthedebateforcriticalperiodhypothesisinsecondlanguageacquisitionhadneverended.Thekeypointofdebatewasifstrikinglydifferencedidoccurinsecondlanguageforthedifferencesage,andthesetheorieswereillustratedinthetheory.Judgingfromthefindingsofmydata,therewerecleardifferencesbetweenthetypeswithdifferentageonsetofsecondlanguageacquisitionanditsrelativeaccomplishments.ThisconsequencewasinaccordwithPenfield,whofirstraisedtheopinion“theearlier,thebetter”forforeignlanguagelearning.Asfarastheauthorwasconcerned,itisnecessarytolearnEnglishatprimaryschoolphrase.Inthatcase,Englishlearningintheearlytimeswouldprovidethefoundationforthelearners’futurestudyandsuccess.Inthispaper,theauthorfurtherputsforwardthequestionstothepupils’Englishlearninginelementaryschoolandpresentssomesolutionfortheseproblems.Lookingbacktotheintegralconditions,wecanseethattherearehalftormentsandhalfjoyswhenEnglishcoursebecameacompulsorycourseinChina.Peopleshouldalsotreattheexistingproblemscorrectlyandgenuinedifficultiesfavorably,andattempttofindouttheeffectivestrategiestosolvethemenergetically.ThewriterentirelytruststheprimaryschoolEnglishwouldhaveamuchbetterandbrighterfuture.Atpresent,Chinaadvocatesnine-yearcompulsoryeducationforeverypupilintheelementaryschool,andenjoysequaleducationalopportunitiesforeverycitizen.Weareawareofpromotingthequalityofeverycitizenundertheuseoftheeducationalfairness,andimprovingourcountry’sinternationalstatus.Thisisanactualproblemwithaneyetoourcountry’sdevelopmentandsurvival.Thisisalsoachallengetoourcountry’seducation.Weshouldfollowthepupils’psychologicalandphysiologicalcharacteristics,conductextensivetesting,developthemeritsfullyandavoidthedemeritsofthechildren.··· ·46··· 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·ThesisforMaster’sDegreeacquisitionrevisited.Unpublisheddoctoraldissertation.NewYork:NewYorkUniversity.1.1Johnson,J.S.,&Newport,E.L(1989).Criticalperiodeffectsinsecondlanguagelearning:theinfluenceofmaturationalstateontheacquisitionofEnglishasasecondlanguage.CognitivePsychology21,60-99.1.2Krashen,S(1975).Thedevelopmentofcerebraldominanceandlanguagelearning:moreevidence.InD.P.Dato(ed.)Developmentalpsycholinguistics:theoryandapplication.Georgetown:UniversityPress(GeorgetownUniversityRoundTable).1.3Krashen,S(1982).Aprincipleandpracticeinsecondlanguageacquisition.Pergamon.1.4Larsen-Freeman.DianeandMichalH.Long(1991).AnIntroductionofSecondLanguageAcquisitionResearch.London:Longman.1.5Lenneberg,E.(1967).BiologicalFoundationsofLanguage.JohnWiley,NewYork.1.6Lightbown,P.M.&Spada,N.(2001).Factorsaffectingsecondlanguagelearning.InC.CandlinandN.Mercer(Eds.),EnglishLanguageTeachinginitsSocialContext:AReader.NewYork:Routledge.(ReprintedfromLightbown,P.M.&Spada,N.HowLanguagesareLearned(Chapter3).Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress.)1.7Long,M(1990).Maturationalconstraintsonlanguagedevelopment.StudiesinSecondLanguageAcquisition.12,251-285.1.8Macnamara,J.(1973).Nurseries,streetsandClassrooms:SomeComparisonsandDeductions.ModernLanguageJourna,157,250-254.1.9Mirchell,R.&F.Myles.(1998).SecondLanguageTheories.London:EdwardArnold.1.10Newport,E.L.(1990).‘Maturationalconstraintsonlanguagelearning’.CognitiveScience14:11-28.1.11Oyama,S.(1976).ASensitivePeriodintheAcquisitionofaNon-nativePhonologicalSystem,JournalofPsycholinguisticResearch,5,261-285.1.12Patkowski,M(1980).Thesensitiveperiodfortheacquisitionofsyntaxinasecondlanguage.LanguageLearning,30,449-472.1.13Peck,S.(1978).Child-childdiscourseinsecondlanguageacquisition.InE.Hatch(Ed.),Secondlanguageacquisition.Rowley,MA:NewburyHouse.1.14Penfield,WandL.Roberts.(1959).SpeechandBrainMechanisms.NewYork:AtheneumPress.··· ·48··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegree1.1Piaget,J.(1983).“Piaget’stheory”.InP.Mussen(ed).HandbookofChildPsychology.(4thedition).Vol.1.NewYork:Wiley.1.2Rosansky,E.(1975).TheCriticalPeriodfortheAcquisitionofLanguage:SomeCognitiveDevelopmentalConsiderations.WorkingPapersonBilingualism,6,10-23.1.3Schumann,J.(1975).AffectiveFactorsandtheProblemofAgeinSecondLanguageAcquisition.LanguageLearning,25,209-235.1.4Seliger,H.(1978).ImplicationsofaMultipleCriticalPeriodsHypothesisforSecondLanguageLearninginRitchie(ed.).1.5Singleton,David(1989).Languageacquisition:Theagefactor.Clevedon:MultilingualMatters.1.6Singleton,D.(1995).Theagefactorinsecondlanguageacquisition.Clevedon,UK:MultilingualMatters.1.7Snow,C.E.(2000).ThreemisconceptionsaboutageandL2learning.TESOLQuarterly,34,9-34.1.8Snow,C.E.andM,Hoefnagel-Hohle(1978).TheCriticalAgeforLanguageAcquisition:EvidencefromSecondLanguageLearning.ChildDevelopment,49,1114-1128.1.9Wilkinson,L.(ed.)(1990).CommunicatingintheClassroom.NewYork:AcademicPress.1.10Williams,M.,&BurdenR.L.(2000).PsychologyforLanguageTeachers:ASocialConstructivistApproach.Beijing:BeijingForeignLanguageTeachingandResearchPress.1.11White,Lydia.(2000).SecondLanguageAcquisition:frominitialtofinalstate.InArchibald.(ed).SecondLanguageAcquisitionandLinguisticTheories.Massachusetts:BlackwellPublishersInc.1.12陈宝国,彭腆龄.语言习得的关键期及其对教育的启示[J].心理发展与教育,2001(1):54-55.1.13董燕萍.从广东省小学英语教育现状看“外语要从小学起”的问题[J].现代外语,2003(1):39-47.1.14范荣玲.影响第二语言习得诸要素分析[J].佳木斯大学社会科学学报,2006(1):144-146.1.15方小丽.小学英语教学中的问题及其对策[D].湖南师范大学,2006.1.16付珊娜.年龄因素如何影响第二语言习得及其对二语教学的启示[D].哈尔滨工程大学,··· ·49··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegree1.12.1桂诗春.‘外语要从小学起’质疑[J].外语教学与研究,1992(4):52-54.2.2胡壮麟.语言学教程[M].北京:北京大学出版社,2001:268.2.3黄怀飞.二语习得的起始年龄及其相关成就研究[D].福建师范大学,2004.2.4贾冠杰.应用语言学高级教程[M].上海:上海外语教育出版社,2004:147-149.2.5刘件福.外语语法学习中的年龄角色[J].解放军外国语学院学报,1999(5):66-70.2.6刘振前.第二语言习得关键期假说研究述评[T].当代语言学,2003(2).2.7刘志亮.对小学开设英语课现状的探索性研究[D].西北师范大学,2004.2.8束定芳,励哲蔚,张逸岗.上海市小学英语教学情况的调查与思考[J].外语界,2003(3):53-68.2.9苏云华.学校环境下的外语学习成绩与起始年龄的调查[D].西北师范大学,2007.2.10许娜.二语习得中的年龄因素研究[D].辽宁师范大学,2008.2.11杨雄里.脑科学和素质教育当议[J].教育理论与实践,2002(2):1-10.2.12左焕琪等.全国中学英语教学调查与分析[M].上海：华东师范大学出版社,1990:49-67.··· ·50··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreeAppendixI关于英语学习年龄因素问卷调查为了更好地掌握大家英语学习年龄的情况，请您如实回答这份调查问卷，这个调查表本人绝对保密，不与任何研究之外的人见面。希望您能反映一下自己的真实情况，您的诚实回答将是对我的论文研究的最大支持和鼓励。谢谢合作!1.您从几岁开始学习英语？A.7岁以前B.8—12岁之间C.13岁以后2.您最早学习英语的方式和途径是什么?A.学校英语课程B.父母等长辈教你说英语C.其他()3.除在学校(小学和中学)学习英语外,您是否有过英语家教或参加过课外英语辅导班?A.是B.否··· ·51··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreeAppendixIIDirections:Thereare35incompletesentencesinthispart.ForeachsentencetherearefourchoicesmarkedA),B),C)andD).ChoosetheONEanswerthatbestcompletesthesentence.ThenmarkthecorrespondingletterontheAnswerSheetwithasinglelinethroughthecentre.1.1Wordhadcomefromthemanager____________anewtransactionwouldbeconcluded.A)whoB)thatC)whichD)when1.2Therewasatrafficjam,butshe____________gettothedestinationintime.A)couldB)mightC)oughttoD)wasableto1.3“Doyouthink____________Ishouldattendthelecture?”sheaskedme.A)thatB)whetherC)ifD)when1.4Onnoaccount____________toanyonewhoworksinthecompany.A)mynamemustbementionedB)mynamemustmentionC)mustmynamebementionedD)mustmynamemention1.5Jimknowslittleofmathematics,____________ofchemistry.A)andstilllessB)aswellasC)nolessthanD)andstillmore1.6Themandenied____________anythingatthesupermarketwhenhewasquestionedbythepolice.A)tohavestolenB)tostealC)havingstolenD)havingbeenstealing1.7Didhetellyouwhat____________ifhehadachance?A)washegoingtodoB)hewoulddoC)behaddoneD)hadtodo1.8Hisbusinesswasverysuccessful,butitwasatthe______ofhisfamilylife.A)consumptionB)creditC)exhaustionD)expense1.9John’syoungestsonis_______architecture.A)makingupforB)puttingupforC)goinginforD)standingupfor1.10Thepurposeoftheresearchhadamoredifferentmeaningforthemthan_______.A)oursB)itdidforusC)thatofoursD)itdidfromus1.11_______byanexerciseofself-control_______heallowedhimselftoraisehiseyesasthey··· ·52··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreecamein.A)Itwasonly/thatB)Only/thatC)Itwasonly/whenD)Itwasonly/had1.1Atablemadeofsteelcostsmorethan______madeofwood.A)thatB)whichC)oneD)itis1.2Arethestudents’_______abouttheexamination?A)talkingB)discussingC)sayingD)telling1.3Sinceyouaretocatchtheearlytraintomorrowmorning,we_______now.A)hadbettertoleaveB)musthaveleftC)mightaswellleaveD)shouldhavetoleave1.4Itwasverycold_______theystillwentswimming.A)butB)inspitethatC)howeverD)though1.5Bytheendof1908,mostscientistsbegantoaccepttheairplane______.A)arealityB)tobearealityC)asarealityD)beingareality1.6BythetimeJohnreachedtheplateauhewas_______.A)exhaustiveB)exhaustibleC)exhaustedD)exhausting1.7Sincethelightisoutintheirroom,they_______.A)mayhavesleptB)musthavegonetobedC)mightgotobedD)canhavegonetobed1.8Hisfearofflyingwas_______healwaystraveledbyboat.A)sothatB)suchasC)suchthatD)sofaras1.9Thelargevaseinwhichhekepthisumbrellaformanyyears_____tobeavaluablepieceofChinesepottery.A)cameroundB)turnedupC)turnedoutD)figuredout1.10_______weareaware,therewerenoproblemsduringthefirstsixmonths.A)AsfarasB)MuchmorethanC)SomuchD)Exceptthat1.11Onlyrecently_______torealizethedangerscaffeinemightbringtoourhealth.A)havescientistsbegunB)scientistshavebegunC)thatscientistsbeganD)thatdidscientistsbegin1.12“Doesyourfamilycallyouveryoften?”“Yes,mymothercallsaboutonceaweekand_______.”A)somybrotherdoesB)sodoesmybrotherC)mybrotherdoessoD)doessomybrother 24.Theresultswereto____________yesterday,butwehaveheardnothing.··· ·53··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreeA)revealB)haverevealedC)berevealedD)havebeenrevealed1.1Calculations,whichareastronomicallyexact,havebeenmade____________withtheuseofcomputers.A)possibleB)itpossibleC)possiblyD)tobepossible1.2Tohandlethedelicatesituation,youmustbe____________A)morethancarefulB)morecarefullyC)carefullyenoughD)enoughcarefully1.3Thegovernessagreedtoteachthetemperamentalchild____________shewasgivencompleteauthority.A)whetherB)forC)thatD)provided1.4Accordingtotheperiodictable,____________stillsomeelementsundiscovered.A)thereseemtobeB)itseemstobeC)itseemsthatD)hereseem1.5Thefarmerusedwoodtobuildahouse____________tostoregrain.A)withB)inwhichC)whichD)where1.6Abeamoflightwillnotbendroundthecornersunless____________todosowiththehelpofareflectingdevice.A)beingdoneB)madeC)tobemadeD)havingmade1.7____________,themoreseverethewintersare.A)ThemorenorthyougoB)ThefartheryougothenorthC)ThemoreyougonorthD)Thefarthernorthyougo1.8_______fouryearssinceJohnleftschool.A)ItwasB)ItisC)TheyhavebeenD)Thoseare1.9Thedoctorshavetried_______tosavehislife,butfailed.A)EverythinghumanlypossibleB)humanlyeverythingpossibleC)humanlypossibleeverythingD)everythingpossiblehumanly1.10By1922,forexample,Australiahad_______thanithadpeople.A)fifteentimesmoreofsheepB)fifteentimessheepmoreC)fifteenmoretimesofsheepD)fifteentimesmoresheep1.11_______,heneverhelpsthepoor.A)AsheisrichB)EvenheisrichC)RichasheisD)Richeventhoughheis··· ·54··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreeAppendixIIIPassageoneQuestions1to5arebasedonthefollowingpassage.AssoonasitwasrevealedthatareporterforProgressivemagazinehaddiscoveredhowtomakeahydrogenbomb,agroupoffirearm(火器)fansformedtheNationalHydrogenBombAssociation,andtheyarenowlobbyingagainstanylegislationtostopAmericansfromowningone.“TheConstitution,”saidtheassociation’sspokesmangiveseveryonetherighttoownarms.Itdoesn’tspelloutwhatkindofarms.Butsinceanyonecannowmakeahydrogenbomb,thepublicshouldbeabletobuyittoprotectthem.“Don’tyouthinkit’sdangeroustohaveoneinthehouse,particularlywheretherearechildrenaround?”“TheNationalHydrogenBombAssociationhopestoeducatepeopleinthesafehandlingofthistypeofweapon.Weareinstructingownerstokeepthebombinalockedcabinetandthefuse(导火索)separatelyinadrawer.”“Somepeopleconsiderthehydrogenbombaveryfatalweaponwhichcouldkillsomebody.”Thespokesmansaid,“Hydrogenbombsdon’tkillpeople—peoplekillpeople.Thebombisforself-protectionanditalsohasadeterrenteffect.Ifsomebodyknowsyouhaveanuclearweaponinyourhouse,they’regoingtothinktwiceaboutbreakingin.”“ButthosewhowanttobanthebombforAmericancitizensclaimthatifyouhaveonelockedinthecabinet,withthefuseinadrawer,youwouldneverbeabletoassembleitintimetostopanintruder(侵入者).”“Anotherargumentagainstallowingpeopletoownabombisthatatthemomentitisveryexpensivetobuildone.Sowhatyourassociationisbackingisaprogramwhichwouldallowthemiddleandupperclassestoacquireabombwhilepoorpeoplewillbeleftdefenselesswithjusthandguns.”1.1Accordingtothepassage,somepeoplestartedanationalassociationsoasto().A)blockanylegislationtobantheprivatepossessionofthebombB)coordinatethemassproductionofthedestructiveweaponC)instructpeoplehowtokeepthebombsafeathome··· ·55··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreeD)promotethelarge-scalesaleofthisnewlyinventedweapon1.1SomepeopleopposetheownershipofH-bombsbyindividualsonthegroundsthat().A)thesizeofthebombmakesitdifficulttokeepinadrawerB)mostpeopledon'tknowhowtohandletheweaponC)people'sliveswillbethreatenedbytheweaponD)theymayfallintothehandsofcriminals1.2Bysayingthatthebombalsohasadeterrenteffectthespokesmanmeansthatit().A)willfrightenawayanypossibleintrudersB)canshowthespecialstatusofitsownersC)willthreatenthesafetyoftheownersaswellD)cankillthoseenteringothers'housesbyforce1.3Accordingtothepassage,opponentsoftheprivateownershipofH-bombsareverymuchworriedthat().A)theinfluenceoftheassociationistoopowerfulforthelessprivilegedtoovercomeB)poorly-educatedAmericanswillfinditdifficulttomakeuseoftheweaponC)thewideuseoftheweaponwillpushuplivingexpensestremendouslyD)thecostoftheweaponwillputcitizensonanunequalbasis1.4Fromthetoneofthepassageweknowthattheauthoris().A)doubtfulaboutthenecessityofkeepingH-bombsathomeforsafetyB)unhappywiththosewhovoteagainsttheownershipofH-bombsC)notseriousabouttheprivateownershipofH-bombsD)concernedaboutthespreadofnuclearweaponsPassagetwoQuestions6to10arebasedonthefollowingpassage.Signhasbecomeascientifichotbutton.Onlyinthepast20yearshavespecialistsinlanguagestudyrealizedthatsignedlanguagesareunique—aspeechofthehand.Theyofferanewwaytoprobehowthebraingeneratesandunderstandslanguage,andthrownewlightonanoldscientificcontroversy:whetherlanguage,completewithgrammar,issomethingthatweare bornwith,orwhetheritisalearnedbehavior.ThecurrentinterestinsignlanguagehasrootsinthepioneeringworkofonerebelteacheratGallaudetUniversityinWashington,D.C.,theworld's··· ·56··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreeonlyliberalartsuniversityfordeafpeople.WhenBillStokoewenttoGallaudettoteachEnglish,theschoolenrolledhiminacourseinsigning.ButStokoenoticedsomethingodd:amongthemselves,studentssigneddifferentlyfromhisclassroomteacher.Stokoehadbeentaughtasortofgesturalcode,eachmovementofthehandsrepresentingawordinEnglish.Atthetime,AmericanSignLanguage(ASL)wasthoughttobenomorethanaformofpidginEnglish(混杂英语).ButStokoebelievedthe“handtalk”hisstudentsusedlookedricher.Hewondered:Mightdeafpeopleactuallyhaveagenuinelanguage?AndcouldthatlanguagebeunlikeanyotheronEarth?Itwas1955,whenevendeafpeopledismissedtheirsigningas“substandard”.Stokoe’sideawasacademicheresy(异端邪说).Itis37yearslater.Stokoe—nowdevotinghistimetowritingandeditingbooksandjournalsandtoproducingvideomaterialsonASLandthedeafculture—ishavinglunchatacaféneartheGallaudetcampusandexplaininghowhestartedarevolution.FordecadeseducatorsfoughthisideathatsignedlanguagesarenaturallanguageslikeEnglish,FrenchandJapanese.Theyassumedlanguagemustbebasedonspeech,themodulation(调节)ofsound.Butsignlanguageisbasedonthemovementofhands,themodulationofspace.“WhatIsaid,”Stokoeexplains,“isthatlanguageisnotmouthstuff—itsbrainstuff.”1.1Thestudyofsignlanguageisthoughttobe().A)anewwaytolookatthelearningoflanguageB)achallengetotraditionalviewsonthenatureoflanguageC)anapproachtosimplifyingthegrammaticalstructureofalanguageD)anattempttoclarifymisunderstandingabouttheoriginoflanguage1.2Thepresentgrowinginterestinsignlanguagewasstimulatedby().A)afamousscholarinthestudyofthehumanbrainB)aleadingspecialistinthestudyofliberalartsC)anEnglishteacherinauniversityforthedeafD)someseniorexpertsinAmericanSignLanguage1.3AccordingtoStokoe,signlanguageis(). A)asubstandardlanguageB)agenuinelanguage··· ·57··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreeC)anartificiallanguageD)aninternationallanguage1.1MosteducatorsobjectedtoStokoe’sideabecausetheythought().A)signlanguagewasnotextensivelyusedevenbydeafpeopleB)signlanguagewastooartificialtobewidelyacceptedC)alanguageshouldbeeasytouseandunderstandD)alanguagecouldonlyexistintheformofspeechsounds1.2Stokoe’sargumentisbasedonhisbeliefthat().A)signlanguageisasefficientasanyotherlanguageB)signlanguageisderivedfromnaturallanguageC)languageisasystemofmeaningfulcodesD)languageisaproductofthebrainPassagethreeQuestions11to15arebasedonthefollowingpassage.ItcameassomethingofasurprisewhenDiana,PrincessofWales,madeatripcoAngolain1997,tosupporttheRedCross’scampaignforatotalbanonallanti-personnellandmines.WithinhoursofarrivinginAngola,televisionscreensaroundtheworldwerefilledwithimagesofhercomfortingvictimsinjuredinexplosionscausedbylandmines.“Iknewthestatistics,”shesaid.“Butputtingafacetothosefiguresbroughttherealityhometome;likewhenImetSandra,a13-year-oldgirlwhohadlostherleg,andpeoplelikeher.”ThePrincessconcludedwithasimplemessage:“Wemuststoplandmines”.Andsheusedeveryopportunityduringhervisittorepeatthismessage.But,backinLondon,herviewswerenotsharedbysomemembersoftheBritishgovernment,whichrefusedtosupportabanontheseweapons.AngrypoliticianslaunchedanattackonthePrincessinthepress.Theydescribedheras“veryill-informed”anda“loosecannon(乱放炮的人).”ThePrincessrespondedbybrushingasidethecriticisms:“Thisisadistraction(干扰)wedonotneed.AllI’mtryingtodoishelp.”Oppositionparties,themediaandthepublicimmediatelyvoicedtheirsupportforthePrincess.Tomakemattersworseforthegovernment,itsoonemerged thatthePrincess’striphadbeenapprovedbytheForeignOffice,andthatshewasinfactverywell-informedaboutboththesituationinAngolaandtheBritishgovernment’spolicyregarding··· ·58··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreelandmines.Theresultwasasevereembarrassmentforthegovernment.Totryandlimitthedamage,theForeignSecretary,MalcolmRifkidnd,claimedthatthePrincess’sviewsonlandmineswerenotverydifferentfromgovernmentpolicy,andthatitwas“workingtowards”aworldwideban.TheDefenseSecretary,MichaelPortillo,claimedthematterwas“amisinterpretationormisunderstanding.”ForthePrincess,thetriptothiswar-torncountrywasanexcellentopportunitytouseherpopularitytoshowtheworldhowmuchdestructionandsufferinglandminescancause.Shesaidthattheexperiencehadalsogivenherthechancetogetclosertopeopleandtheirproblems.1.1PrincessDianapaidavisittoAngolain1997().A)tovoicehersupportforatotalbanoflandminesB)toclarifytheBritishgovernment'sstandonlandminesC)toinvestigatethesufferingsoflandminevictimsthereD)toestablishherimageasafriendoflandminevictims1.2WhatdidDianameanwhenshesaid“...()puttingafacetothosefiguresbroughttherealityhometome”(Line5,Para.1)?A)Shejustcouldn’tbeartomeetthelandminevictimsfacetoface.B)TheactualsituationinAngolamadeherfeellikegoingbackhome.C)Meetingthelandminevictimsinpersonmadeherbelievethestatistics.D)Seeingthepainofthevictimsmadeherrealizetheseriousnessofthesituation.1.3SomemembersoftheBritishgovernmentcriticizedDianabecause().A)shewasill-informedofthegovernment’spolicyB)theywereactuallyopposedtobanninglandminesC)shehadnotconsultedthegovernmentbeforethevisitD)theybelievedthatshehadmisinterpretedthesituationinAngola1.4HowdidDianarespondtothecriticisms?()A)Shepaidnoattentiontothem.B)ShemademoreappearancesonTV.C)Shemetthe13-year-oldgirlasplanned. D)Sherosetoarguewithheropponents.1.5WhatdidPrincessDianathinkofhervisittoAngola?()··· ·59··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreeA)IthadcausedembarrassmenttotheBritishgovernment.B)Ithadbroughtherclosertotheordinarypeople.C)Ithadgreatlypromotedherpopularity.D)IthadaffectedherrelationswiththeBritishgovernment.··· ·60··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreeAppendixIVDirections:Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteacompositionentitledABriefIntroductiontoaTouristAttraction.Youshouldwriteatleast120wordsaccordingtothefollowingguidelines:Yourrole:atourguideYouraudience:agroupofforeigntouristsYourintroductionshouldinclude:●somewelcomingwords●theschedulefortheday●adescriptionoftheplacethetouristswillbevisiting(e.g.ascenicspotorahistoricalsite,etc.)Youshouldmaketheintroductioninterestingandthearrangementsforthedaycleartoeverybody.··· ·61··· ·ThesisforMaster’sDegreePapersPublishedduringMAProgram1.1李阳阳，吉哲民.语言的模糊性与精确性的相互转化[J].文教资料,2009（479）.1.2李阳阳，吉哲民.就“外语从小学起”与我国农村小学英语教育[J].内蒙古师范大学学报（教育科学版）,2010(8).1.3李阳阳，吉哲民.影响二语习得的年龄因素与外语教学[J].河北理工大学学报，2011（2）.··· ·62···
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