Marco Catani, of the Institute of Psychiatry, said, “We have less time to talk to each other and our children are taught through devices. They have access to the Internet, iPhones, mobile phones and tablet computers. These are visual rather than auditory, so it is likely that they will end up with a lower average number of words than previous generations.”

　　Constant computer use has been blamed in the past for shorter attention spans, a culture of instant gratification and making young people more self­centered.

　　In a study, the brains of 27 volunteers were scanned as they learned made­up words.

　　They found hearing and then verbally imitating speech was the key to understanding.

　　Dr. Catani said, “When you learn a new word, you start by hearing a sound, then you try to repeat it until you get it right. Through this you increase your vocabulary from age one until you get to 30,000 words as an adult.”

　　The findings show listening, repetition and conversation are crucial to learning language.

　　But Dr. Catani believes it could mean young people are growing up lacking vital language skills.

　　He said,

　　“The brain is wired to learn sound through auditory processes, not visual. That is why we have oral traditions, with knowledge passed from generation to generation. Now we understand that this is how we learn new words, our concern is that children will have less vocabulary, as much of their interaction is through text, email and screen. This research reinforces the need for us to maintain the oral tradition of talking to our children.”

【2016届江苏宿迁宿豫中学高考英语专题复习精练：阅读理解（7）】相关文章：

★ 【优化方案】2017届高考英语二轮复习全国卷Ⅱ题型重组训练：第6组（含解析）

★ 2014届高考英语一轮复习必修5参考答案（外研版）

★ 重庆市2014高考英语阅读理解一轮（精品）训练题（4）附答案

★ 【三维设计】2017届高考英语（江苏专用）二轮复习阅读理解解题技法示范课件：9

★ 2017届高考英语二轮复习课时训练：1（含解析）

★ 【三维设计】2017届高考英语（江苏专用）二轮复习阅读理解解题技法示范课件：1

★ 【优化方案】2017届高考英语二轮复习全国卷Ⅱ题型重组训练：第18组（含解析）

★ 2016高考英语二轮复习提高阅读能力要加强课外阅读

★ 山东省济宁市2016年高考英语复习：高中英语语法大全

★ 2013高考英语冲刺-专项篇 3阅读理解