This is something that we hear about a lot in the language learning world, how we should strive to learn languages like children learn languages.

這也是我們在語言學習領域經常聽到的，我們應該努力像兒童學習語言那樣學習語言。

And I've got a lot to say here, and I think this will be a theoretical type video, like some of my videos are, meaning I don't have scientific evidence and proof to back up everything I'm saying.

我在這裡有很多話要說，我想這將是一個理論型的視頻，就像我的一些視頻一樣，這意味著我沒有科學證據和證明來支持我所說的一切。

And to be honest, I'm not super clear on all of these points.

老實說，我對所有這些問題都不是很清楚。

I'm just kind of reflecting about this, and I thought why not reflect out loud so that you can practice your listening while I speak.

我只是在思考這個問題，我想為什麼不大聲說出來，這樣你們就可以在我說話的時候練習傾聽了。

I know you guys like when I just ramble on and on, meaning I just talk and talk even if I'm disorganized.

我知道你們喜歡我滔滔不絕的樣子，也就是說，即使我說話雜亂無章，我也會滔滔不絕。

I want to talk about this because it's a really interesting topic in my opinion.

我想談談這個問題，因為在我看來，這是一個非常有趣的話題。

I haven't really researched this, and so I'm just giving my thoughts about this.

我沒有真正研究過這個問題，所以我只是談談我的看法。

I have young children, so I do observe things that my children do, specifically my son who is three and a half about.

我有年幼的孩子，所以我會觀察孩子們做的事情，特別是我三歲半的兒子。

And so I'm not an expert. I'm not a researcher, but I can talk from my personal experience as a father because I think some people who talk about this topic don't have kids, and so they might be assuming certain things or just theorizing about certain things, but in reality, they've never observed a child learn a language the way a parent has.

所以我不是專家。我不是研究人員，但我可以從我作為父親的親身經歷談起，因為我覺得有些談論這個話題的人沒有孩子，所以他們可能會假設某些事情，或者只是對某些事情進行理論化，但實際上，他們從未像父母那樣觀察過孩子學習語言的過程。

So I think that at least that gives me a little bit more credibility, even though I'm not talking from a researcher's perspective or whatever, but I'm sure that you'll appreciate hearing my opinions about this.

是以，我認為這至少讓我多了幾分可信度，儘管我不是從研究者的角度或其他角度說話，但我相信你們會喜歡聽我對此的看法。

Maybe you disagree with some things that I say.

也許你不同意我說的某些話。

That's fine. I say that all the time.

沒關係。我一直都這麼說。

Okay, you can tell me in the comments if you disagree, and if I disagree with you, I'll probably tell you that in the comments.

好吧，如果你不同意，可以在評論中告訴我，如果我不同意你的觀點，我可能也會在評論中告訴你。

So don't be afraid to let me know.

所以，不要害怕讓我知道。

And of course, before we continue on, activate that little notification bell so you get notified when I release new videos, and I'll talk about it at the end as always, but also check out my advanced podcast episodes and my list—sorry, my—what is it called?

當然，在我們繼續之前，請激活那個小通知鈴，這樣當我發佈新視頻時你就能收到通知，我會一如既往地在最後談論它，但也可以查看我的高級播客節目和我的列表--抱歉，我的--它叫什麼來著？

My U.S. Conversations podcast, which is a great resource for you because I talk to other native speakers from around the country, and we have conversations at full speed, and I provide the transcript for you with the definitions of key words and phrases that we use.

我的 "美國會話 "播客對您來說是一個很好的資源，因為我與來自全國各地的母語人士交談，我們全速對話，我為您提供我們使用的關鍵詞和短語的定義的文字記錄。

So it's really useful. Go check that out. The link is down below.

所以它真的很有用。去看看吧。鏈接在下面。

All right, let's talk about learning English like a child, and of course, this could be applied to any language, but since you're learning English, I'm using the word English here.

好吧，讓我們來談談如何像孩子一樣學習英語，當然，這可以適用於任何語言，但既然你們在學習英語，我就在這裡用英語這個詞。

I'm using that language as an example.

我以這種語言為例。

Okay, so first of all, I want to make a distinction because when people talk about this,

好吧，首先，我想區分一下，因為當人們談論這個問題時、

I think that sometimes they fail to talk about the differences between a child learning their native language and a child learning their second language if they learn one, okay?

我認為，有時他們沒有談到學習母語的孩子和學習第二語言的孩子之間的區別，如果他們學習第二語言的話，好嗎？

Those are two different things, and I think those—that distinction is very important because I think when most people talk about this topic, they're referring to how a child learns their first language.

這是兩碼事，我認為這種區別非常重要，因為我認為，當大多數人談論這個話題時，他們指的是孩子如何學習第一語言。

That's usually what they're referring to when they say that you need to learn your native— sorry, your target language like a child learns their native language.

當他們說你需要像孩子學習母語那樣學習你的母語--對不起，你的目標語言時，通常指的就是這個。

So usually, they're referring to this.

所以，通常他們指的是這個。

Sometimes they're not, but in most cases, they probably are.

有時不是，但大多數情況下可能是。

So for me, that's very different from a child learning their second language if they learn one, okay?

所以，對我來說，這與孩子學習第二語言是完全不同的，好嗎？

I'm talking about a child learning a language maybe when they're six, seven, eight, nine, something like that, okay?

我說的是孩子在六七歲、八九歲之類的時候學習語言，好嗎？

I honestly think that there are more lessons to be learned from how children learn a foreign language more so than how a child learns their first language.

老實說，我認為從孩子學習外語的過程中學到的東西比孩子學習母語的過程更多。

For us as adults, for language learners,

對於我們成年人，對於語言學習者、

I think that there is more that we can extract from and apply to our own language learning from how a child learns a foreign language.

我認為，從孩子學習外語的過程中，我們可以汲取更多的東西，並將其運用到自己的語言學習中。

And I'm going to spend the first part of this video talking about why I don't necessarily think that a child learning their native language should be the model that we use for ourselves as adults learning a foreign language, okay?

我將用這段視頻的第一部分來談談為什麼我不認為孩子學習母語應該是我們成人學習外語的模式，好嗎？

So, and then I'll talk about a child learning a foreign language and the principles we can extract from that, some practical things, okay?

所以，接下來我會談談孩子學習外語的情況，以及我們可以從中提煉出的原則，一些實用的東西，好嗎？

So, there are some things about the way a child learns their native language that, of course, we can try to replicate and that are useful.

是以，孩子學習母語的方式中有些東西，我們當然可以嘗試複製，而且是有用的。

And I'm not going to go over those things.

我就不多說了。

You can probably imagine some of them.

你也許能想象出其中的一些。

I want to go over the differences because I think it's very common for people to just forget how different it is when a child learns their native language from how an adult learns a foreign language.

我想說說兩者的區別，因為我覺得人們常常會忘記，孩子學習母語和成人學習外語有多麼不同。

And we can't really replicate this process, okay?

我們無法複製這個過程，好嗎？

It's just not feasible.

這根本不可行。

It's just not possible even, okay?

這根本不可能，好嗎？

So, I'm going to give my opinion about a child learning their first language.

是以，我要談談我對孩子學習第一語言的看法。

So, let's talk about listening, okay?

那麼，我們來談談傾聽，好嗎？

I've said this before that, like, you know, a child spends a long time just listening.

我以前說過，就像你知道的，孩子會花很長時間去傾聽。

They don't talk, right?

他們不說話，對嗎？

They just listen, listen, listen, and eventually they talk.

他們只是聽、聽、聽，最後他們會說話。

And I think that as an adult learning a foreign language, this can be a useful approach for many people, not for everyone.

我認為，作為一個學習外語的成年人，這對很多人來說都是一種有用的方法，但並不適合所有人。

So, even though I have my own ideas and philosophy about language learning,

是以，儘管我對語言學習有自己的想法和理念、

I am very open about the fact that I think that other people's ideas might be just as valid as mine.

我非常坦率地認為，其他人的想法可能和我的一樣有效。

And I don't think there's just one method, one philosophy that just works for everyone.

我不認為只有一種方法、一種理念適合所有人。

I don't believe that.

我不相信。

I think that some people won't benefit as much from my specific language learning philosophy, okay?

我認為有些人不會從我的特定語言學習理念中獲益太多，好嗎？

So, I know some people might tell you that there really is one great way to learn languages and every other way is inferior.

是以，我知道有些人可能會告訴你，學習語言真的只有一種好方法，其他方法都是次品。

I don't agree with that.

我不同意這種說法。

I actually think that there are different ways that work for different people.

事實上，我認為不同的人有不同的方法。

But I would say the way I think about it, my philosophy does work for many people.

但我想說的是，我的理念確實對很多人都有用。

And that's why, you know, this YouTube channel and my podcast are so popular because they have really helped people.

這就是為什麼 YouTube 頻道和我的播客如此受歡迎的原因，因為它們真的幫助了很多人。

My method, my philosophy has helped people that maybe are more similar to me as language learners, okay?

我的方法、我的理念幫助了那些與我更相似的語言學習者，好嗎？

But other people might need a different approach.

但其他人可能需要不同的方法。

So, I've talked about how just like I like to do as an adult, where I just listen for a while before I speak.

所以，我曾說過，就像我成年後喜歡做的那樣，我只是在說話前聽一會兒。

Children do the same thing, right, when they're learning their first language.

孩子們在學習第一門語言時也是如此，對吧。

So, that is a similarity.

所以，這就是相似之處。

Children are silent for a long time before they speak, right?

孩子們在說話之前會沉默很久，對嗎？

Maybe, I don't know, they speak at different ages.

也許，我不知道，他們說話的年齡不同。

I'm not going to give a whole range here because it's a pretty wide range.

我不會在這裡給出一個完整的範圍，因為它的範圍相當廣。

But they spend a while just silent, right, and just listening.

但他們只是靜靜地聽了一會兒。

So, I think that is something we can, you know, draw from and say, okay, maybe as adults we should listen for a while before we speak.

是以，我認為這是我們可以借鏡的，我們可以說，好吧，也許作為成年人，我們應該先聽一會兒再說話。

And I actually like that approach.

事實上，我喜歡這種方式。

Maybe you don't, but I like it.

也許你不喜歡，但我喜歡。

However, that silent period that a child has is not the same as what we have as adults.

然而，孩子的沉默期與我們成人的沉默期不同。

Like when a one-year-old baby can't talk yet and they're just listening and hearing the language that they will eventually speak natively, they hear a bunch of sounds that don't really mean a whole lot to them, kind of like us when we're adults listening to a foreign language.

就像一個一歲大的嬰兒還不會說話，他們只是在聽，聽他們最終會說的母語，他們聽到的是一堆對他們來說意義不大的聲音，就像我們成年人聽外語一樣。

But one thing that's different is that the baby still has the capability of hearing every sound and distinguishing every sound in the world.

但有一點不同的是，嬰兒仍然能夠聽到世界上的每一種聲音，並能分辨出每一種聲音。

What I mean by that is something happens at a certain age, children start to lose the ability to distinguish all the different phonemes, all the different sounds from all the different languages from around the world.

我的意思是，到了一定的年齡，兒童開始失去分辨所有不同音素的能力，即分辨來自世界各地不同語言的所有不同聲音的能力。

And then, like once you're an adult, you might have a lot of trouble even just distinguishing a sound in a certain language, even just identifying a single sound.

然後，等你長大成人後，你可能連分辨某種語言中的一個音，甚至只是辨別一個音都會遇到很多困難。

A very common example of this is if you speak a language like Japanese, for example, and it's the only language you've ever spoken, right?

一個很常見的例子是，比如你會說日語，這是你唯一會說的語言，對嗎？

You might not actually be able to hear the difference between the R sound and the L sound in English.

實際上，您可能聽不出英語中 R 音和 L 音的區別。

There have been demonstrations of this, like people...

在這方面已經有了一些示範，比如人們......

I don't know if there are videos of this or not, but I've heard anecdotes of how a teacher will show them a recording of the two sounds, the R sound and the L sound.

我不知道是否有這方面的視頻，但我聽說過這樣的軼事：老師會給他們看兩個音的錄音，R 音和 L 音。

And for me, an English speaker, I can distinguish those two sounds.

對我這個說英語的人來說，我能分辨出這兩個音。

However, someone who is a native Japanese speaker, maybe, who's never learned another language and they're already an adult, they might not even be able to distinguish those sounds.

但是，如果一個以日語為母語的人，也許從未學過其他語言，而且已經成年，他們可能根本無法分辨這些聲音。

And that's not a fault, you know, that's not like a flaw in their, you know, character or intelligence.

這不是他們的缺點，你知道，這不是他們性格或智力上的缺陷。

That's just how sounds work.

這就是聲音的工作原理。

Like this window, I'll call it, of like all the sounds in the world, that closes, it narrows at a certain point in our childhood.

就像這扇窗，我把它叫做 "世界上所有的聲音"，在我們童年的某一時刻，它關閉了，變窄了。

And so after a certain age, it's almost impossible to like perfectly replicate an accent in a foreign language that you learn and sound exactly like a native speaker.

是以，到了一定年齡後，你幾乎不可能完全複製所學外語的口音，聽起來也不可能完全像母語使用者。

It's like almost impossible.

這幾乎是不可能的。

I'm not saying it's impossible, but it's close to impossible.

我不是說這不可能，但也接近不可能。

Very few people can do it 100% because we can't really distinguish all of the different sounds anymore.

很少有人能百分之百地做到這一點，因為我們已經無法真正分辨出所有不同的聲音。

However, a baby can still do that, right?

不過，嬰兒還是可以這樣做的，不是嗎？

They're still open to all the different sounds in the world, in the different languages, right?

他們仍然對世界上不同的聲音、不同的語言持開放態度，對嗎？

So I think for that silent period where the baby is just listening, that's a different type of experience in terms of the sounds and how they're perceiving them than an adult who might not be able to perceive all the different sounds in the foreign language.

是以，我認為，在嬰兒靜靜聆聽的那段時間裡，他們對聲音的感受和感知方式與成人是不同的，因為成人可能無法感知外語中所有不同的聲音。

Like for me, I'm learning French.

就像我，我正在學習法語。

There are some interesting vowel sounds in French that kind of sound similar and you kind of have trouble distinguishing them if you're a foreigner.

法語中有一些有趣的元音，聽起來很相似，如果你是外國人，就很難將它們區分開來。

But like when a baby is hearing those sounds, they're probably going to be able to distinguish them earlier in their journey than I might be able to or maybe I'll never be able to do that.

但是，當嬰兒聽到這些聲音時，他們可能會比我更早地分辨出來，也可能我永遠都做不到。

So I think the quality of their listening, how they're perceiving sounds is just fundamentally different at that age than us as adults.

是以，我認為他們的聽力品質、他們感知聲音的方式在這個年齡段與我們成年人有著本質的不同。

So that's a big difference, right?

這就是很大的區別，對嗎？

They also don't filter sounds through their native language, right?

他們也不會通過母語過濾聲音，對嗎？

Like if you speak Spanish and you're learning French or whatever and you say, okay, the French blah blah blah sound kind of sounds like my Spanish blah blah blah sound.

就像你會說西班牙語，而你正在學習法語或其他語言，你會說，好吧，法語的 "叭叭叭叭 "聲聽起來有點像我的西班牙語的 "叭叭叭叭 "聲。

You make these connections and this can affect your understanding and your speaking, your pronunciation.

這些聯繫會影響你的理解、口語和發音。

That can have an effect on you.

這會對你產生影響。

Whereas a baby learning their first language, they're not filtering those sounds through another language.

而嬰兒在學習第一語言時，他們不會通過另一種語言來過濾這些聲音。

They're not comparing it to their other language and letting that affect the way that they perceive these sounds.

他們不會將其與其他語言進行比較，也不會讓其他語言影響他們感知這些聲音的方式。

They don't have that.

他們沒有。

And so they actually learn these sounds much better than we do.

是以，他們實際上比我們學得更好。

Okay, so that's very different, right?

好吧，這很不一樣，對嗎？

Another thing is babies are incapable of just understanding ideas that aren't basic, okay?

還有一點，嬰兒無法理解非基本概念，明白嗎？

They just don't have that intelligence yet, right?

他們只是還沒有這種智慧，對嗎？

If I go even to my three-year-old son, if I, you know, start talking to him about topics that are just beyond his grasp, like, you know, if I want to start talking to him about, let's say, dividends when it comes to investing in stocks, that's going to be a really hard thing to communicate to him in any language just because, you know, he's not capable of grasping that point yet, okay?

如果我去找我三歲的兒子，如果我開始和他談論一些他無法理解的話題，比如說，如果我想和他談論投資股票的分紅問題，這將是一件很難用任何語言和他交流的事情，因為他還無法理解這一點，好嗎？

So, you know, taking that back to just, you know, children learning their first language, a lot of things that I can say to my son right now, like, you know, he might understand the words or whatever, but the idea is just way too high level for him.

所以，你知道，回到孩子們學習第一門語言的問題上，我現在可以對我兒子說的很多話，比如，你知道，他可能聽得懂單詞或其他東西，但這個想法對他來說太高深了。

So he's just incapable of understanding certain ideas.

所以，他只是無法理解某些觀點。

I can't talk to him about many different subjects.

我無法和他談論很多不同的話題。

There's a limited number of subjects I can talk to him about.

我能和他談的話題有限。

I can talk to him about the eagle and its wings and things like that, right?

我可以跟他談談鷹和它的翅膀之類的東西，對嗎？

But not other things.

但其他事情就不一樣了。

You need to baby them, as we say.

就像我們常說的那樣，你需要呵護它們。

You need to talk in a very particular way about very particular topics to them for a while.

你需要用一種非常特別的方式，就非常特別的話題與他們交談一段時間。

That's not like adults.

這不像成年人。

An adult, if they can't understand something in a foreign language, usually it's just because they can't understand the language.

成年人如果聽不懂外語，通常只是因為他們聽不懂語言。

It's not because the concept is too high level for them, right, of what's being said.

這並不是因為對他們來說概念太高深，對吧，說的是什麼。

So, like, if an adult can understand those words, they can understand it, like, even if it's a complex topic like politics or whatever, right?

所以，如果成年人能聽懂這些單詞，即使是政治之類的複雜話題，他們也能聽懂，對嗎？

Whereas a baby, even if they understand the words that you're saying, they're not going to be able to understand that.

而嬰兒即使聽得懂你說的話，他們也無法理解。

So they can't even grasp a lot of things until a later age.

是以，他們甚至要到晚年才能掌握很多東西。

So when they're just three years old, four years old, what they can actually understand and conceptualize is much smaller.

是以，當他們只有三四歲的時候，他們能真正理解和概念化的東西要少得多。

You know, that, or the amount of things, of stuff, is much smaller than what we can understand with our brain as adults, okay?

要知道，這些東西的數量比我們成年人的大腦所能理解的要少得多，好嗎？

That's very different, all right?

這是非常不同的，好嗎？

How about speaking?

演講如何？

So babies, they can't even form physical words with their mouth and their voice box and their tongue and everything.

是以，嬰兒甚至無法用嘴巴、聲帶、舌頭和其他東西來表達自己的意思。

They can't even do that.

他們甚至做不到這一點。

So adults, we can't do it in a foreign language because we just don't know how to say the word, but we can physically make sounds.

是以，成人無法用外語表達，因為我們不知道如何說這個詞，但我們可以用身體發出聲音。

We can utter words and syllables.

我們可以說出單詞和音節。

Babies can't even do that.

嬰兒都做不到這一點。

They can't form actual words yet until they get, I mean, not too old, but, you know, when they're eight months old, let's say, they can't say sentences because they physically wouldn't even have that ability to do so, right?

我的意思是，他們還不會說真正的話，但是，你知道，當他們八個月大的時候，比方說，他們還不會說句子，因為他們的身體根本不具備說句子的能力，對嗎？

They haven't developed that capability, right?

他們還沒有開發出這種能力，對嗎？

That's different from us.

這與我們不同。

You know, eventually those kids will be able to do that, but adults, if you teach us how to say the word, we can just say it right there.

你知道，那些孩子最終會做到這一點，但成年人，如果你教我們怎麼說這個詞，我們就可以直接說出來。

I'm sure that's happened to you.

我相信你也遇到過這種情況。

You have a friend who speaks German, and you say, hey, tell me how to say hello in German, and then he tells you, and then you repeat it, and then you said it, right?

你有一個會說德語的朋友，你說，嘿，告訴我德語的 "你好 "怎麼說，然後他告訴你，然後你重複一遍，然後你就說出來了，對嗎？

That's something that a six-month-old baby can't do, right?

這是六個月大的嬰兒做不到的，對嗎？

Or there are just certain things, like, for example, my son, even at three years old, he has trouble just enunciating the whole thing, like the store Trader Joe's, which we go to a lot.

或者只是某些事情，比如，我的兒子，即使只有三歲，他也很難把整件事說清楚，比如我們經常去的 Trader Joe's 商店。

He has trouble saying that, whereas an adult, you could probably teach a lot of adults who are learning English how to say that, just work with them with the sounds, and they'll be able to get it.

他在說這句話時會遇到困難，而對於成年人來說，你可以教很多正在學習英語的成年人如何說這句話，只要和他們一起練習發音，他們就能學會。

My son just hasn't developed his speaking ability enough from a physical perspective.

我兒子只是還沒有從身體角度充分發展他的說話能力。

So those are two different things right there, right?

所以這是兩碼事，對吧？

That's different from us.

這與我們不同。

Also, just correcting their speech.

另外，只是糾正他們的講話。

Honestly, in my experience, it doesn't do a whole lot in the short term.

老實說，根據我的經驗，這在短期內起不了什麼作用。

You correct them when they say something wrong, and it's like, it goes in one ear, out the other.

當他們說錯話時，你糾正他們，他們就會聽不進去。

That can be similar to us as adults, for sure, but it's not exactly the same, I would say.

當然，這可能與我們成年人相似，但我想說的是，這並不完全相同。

I think that an adult probably has more of a capability of internalizing, oh, okay, I made an error, and he corrected me, so I was wrong, and now I wanna try to say this.

我認為，成年人可能更有能力內化 "哦，好吧，我犯了一個錯誤，他糾正了我，所以我錯了，現在我想嘗試這樣說"。

Even if you don't say it right the next time, at least you realized that, oh, that's an error.

即使下次你說得不對，至少你意識到了，哦，那是個錯誤。

Your brain really draws your attention to that.

你的大腦真的會吸引你的注意力。

A baby learning their first language,