培養語言冒險家 孩子提早學外語成趨勢
策劃、編譯■成怡夏
雖然年幼和年長的腦部發展確實有差別，但是卻沒有證據顯示這樣的
差異對於學習外國語言會產生什麼重大影響；及早學習語言沒有什麼
不好，卻也不是創造能說兩種語言的完美者的唯一神奇方式。在台灣
，愈來愈多家長把孩子送到全美語的環境中學習英語，卻衍生出中文
程度低落或兩種語言適應銜接不良等後遺症。然而提前學習雙語，甚
至三種語言，在各國都是一種趨勢，惟其重要的是，語言學習的手段
不能取代目的；更別忘了，語言學習與學習任何事物都一樣，持續不
間斷的練習才是精通它的最好方式。
Foreign languages no longer just for the big kids
摘要
珊卓‧羅莎杜非常喜歡學生參與課堂，所以輪到學生回答問題時，這
群四年級生吱吱喳喳很難保持安靜，羅莎杜老師並不在意。不過，幾
個學生用英語回答時，她則提醒他們說：「不要用英語！」
這是帕金斯小學西班牙語的課堂。
這群9到10歲的孩子在課堂上說著西班牙語，飢渴地用西班牙文唸
著中南美洲各國的首都名稱，以及馬鈴薯、鳳梨等西班牙文字彙。羅
莎杜說：「在他們年幼時，我們的目標是培養孩子對於語言的熱愛，
他們現在在課堂上都還是語言的冒險家，逐漸地，我們建立了他們的
語言自信。」
外國語言的學習的年齡層愈來愈小。過去一直被認為是大學或高中的
主修課程，現在則由小學，甚至幼稚園就開始。由於許多研究顯示年
幼的孩童在語言學習上有絕佳的能力，家長和教師成為助長提早學習
語言這種趨勢的背後推手；當然，學習外國語言的動力也來自於國家
的需要──對於語言鴻溝造成的商業競爭與國家安全的隱憂。
過去美國教育政策制定者都認為學習英語就夠了，學習其他語言是那
些要上大學的菁英孩童的專利；再加上在聯邦法要求提昇數學與閱讀
能力前所未見的壓力下，語言學習愈趨邊緣化。所以要在小學推動語
言課程並不容易。一份1997年應用語言學研究報告顯示，小學生學
習外國語言的人數已有增長，近幾年更隨著大眾逐漸接受學語言趁早
的觀念而逐漸受到重視。
美國以外的國家通常很早就除了學習母語外，還學習英語、法語或其
他語言，美國學童也因應這種趨勢在早年就引進外國語言學習，而非
只是過去那種一週用外國語言唱幾首歌或玩幾個遊戲那種學習方式。
在佛羅里達州潘納斯郡，帕金斯小學的附設幼稚園每天都有西班牙語
課程，這所學校在該郡以藝術和語言課程知名。
去年春天，在教師將語言整合在地理與科學課程下，一年級的艾瑪結
束兩年的西班牙語課程。艾瑪表示，她喜歡學習新的食物和國家，更
喜歡和她的姊姊漢娜一起說西班牙語。她們的母親威爾瑪表示，這樣
一來到中學畢業，兩個孩子都可以說流利的西班牙語，這給予她們未
來各種機會與可能性。
西班牙語是美國學校內最主要的外國語言，反應了美國人口比例的分
布。拉丁裔學生是美國最大的少數族裔，且自2003年以來，在家裡
說英語以外的另一種語言孩童人數已超過兩倍。至於法語、德語和華
語則是學校通常會提供的語言課程項目，以高中最多。
研究指出，孩童在生命階段愈早期開始學習第二種語言，具有可以熟
悉更多發音、掌握文法的能力更好等優點。一名高三學生從幼稚園起
就學習西班牙語，他說早年的語言學習幫助他在英文文法和字彙上的
學習。
不過要把語言課程納入小學課程需要大筆經費、合格師資和授課時間
，其他課程的擁護者都在競爭相同的資源。因此大部分的小學並不提
供外國語言課程。在帕金斯小學，一年級的課堂上，學生用西班牙語
學習海洋生物的名稱，老師拿著一個鯊魚玩偶協助教學。在另一間教
室，三年級的小朋友學習用西班牙語思考，而非只是了解語言而已。
帕金斯小學附設幼稚園的老師表示，我們都需要終其一生獻身於語言
，如果我們八年級才開始學數學，我們的數學一定學不好。
（資料來源／聖地牙哥聯合論壇報）
原文
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Sandra Rosado is big on class partici-pation. So when
her fourth-graders had a hard time keeping quiet until it was their turn to
answer, she didn't mind.
Until a few of them spoke in English.
"No ingles!" Rosado reminded her Spanish class at Perkins Ele-mentary. No
problem. At age 9 and 10, the children spoke Spanish for the rest of the
class, eagerly naming Central American capitals and vocabulary words from
potatoes to pineapples.
"The goal is to create a love for language while they're young, while they're
still risk takers in class," Rosado said. "Little by little, we give them the
confidence."
Starting little is getting big in languages. Long considered a sub-ject for
college or high school, foreign language is becoming more popular in
elementary schools, experts say.
Parents and teachers are often fueling this expansion in their schools,
backed by research that shows young children have great capacity for learning
languages. But the drive also comes out of a sense of national necessity, as
big gaps in language skills have threatened the country's security and
commercial competitiveness.
"There's a perception in this country that English is fine, English is enough
to get by, and languages are only for the college-bound elite kids," said
Marty Abbott, director of education at the American Council on the Teaching
of Foreign Languages. "That's what we're trying to overcome."
Schools are also facing unprecedented pressure under federal law to raise
math and reading scores, and as a result, some are inadver-tently pushing
languages to the margins, warns a report by the Na-tional Association of
State Boards of Education.
Overall, charting the state of language programs in elementary schools isn't
easy. The Education Department does not collect data on it. A Center for
Applied Linguistics study in 1997 showed a decade of rising foreign language
enrollment in elementary schools, but updated figures are not available yet.
Still, those who track lan-guage trends say enrollment appears to be growing
along with a na-tional understanding of why starting young makes sense.
"There's something very special about the brain and mind during early life
that makes it exactly ripe for developing language," said Susan Curtiss, a
UCLA professor of linguistics.
With children in other nations often learning English, French or another
language along with their native one, Curtiss said the United States could
move toward the norm by introducing languages early, "and not just games and
songs a couple of times a week."
The government agrees. Foreign language should be encouraged for all students
starting in early grades, according to a review headed by the Department of
Defense and embraced by leaders of government, industry and academia.
In Pinellas County, Fla., daily Spanish lessons begin in kinder-garten at
Perkins Elementary, a coveted countywide magnet school for the arts and
language.
By late last spring, first-grader Emma Couture had finished two years of
Spanish, as teachers integrated the language into lessons on geography and
science. Emma said she likes learning about new foods and countries, and
talking in Spanish with her older sister, Hannah.
"She came home from her first day of class and said, 'I speak Spanish!' "
said the girls' mother, Wilma Norton. "Both of my kids may be fluent by the
time they finish middle school. I just think it's going to give them all
kinds of opportunities."
Spanish remains the dominant foreign language in schools, re-flecting in part
a trend in U.S. demographics. Hispanics are now the country's largest
minority, and the number of children who speak a language other than English
at home has more than doubled since 2003. French, German and Chinese are
among other languages of-fered, particularly in high schools.
Studies have shown that children who begin learning a second language early
in life gain a more native-sounding pronunciation, better overall grammar
skills, and other benefits.
Casey Whaley, a high school senior in Pinellas County who began taking
Spanish in kindergarten, said his language study has helped his English
grammar and vocabulary. Spanish never seemed like an extra, but rather, he
said, "It just sort of became a part of my life."
But adding language programs in elementary schools requires money, qualified
teachers and instructional time, and advocates for other subjects are
competing for the same resources.
In Pinellas County, most elementary schools don't offer a foreign language,
although the district is pursuing expansions. Until lan-guage is a key part
of how schools are evaluated, "it won't be a prior-ity," said Jan Kucerik,
supervisor of world languages for the district.
It is one at Perkins Elementary. In a first-grade class last spring,
first-graders learned sea animals in Spanish as the instructor used a shark
puppet to engage her students. In another room, third-graders were challenged
to craft spontaneous thoughts in Spanish, not just understand it.
And elsewhere in St. Petersburg, students at Campbell Park Ele-mentary shared
a Spanish lesson with students at Melrose Elemen-tary by videoconference. As
first-graders from both schools watched each other on TV, they took turns
answering math questions in Spanish. The model is one way the district hopes
to expand language classes in every attendance zone.
Said Maria Schemel, a kindergarten teacher at Perkins: "We need a lifelong
commitment to language. If we started math in eighth grade, we wouldn't be
great at math, either."
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