外语学习:学语言别怕出洋相_BEC初级作文

外语学习:学语言别怕出洋相

1999年克里斯托弗·罗宾斯(Christopher Robbins)所著的那部充满仰慕之情的传记《米歇尔·托马斯：勇气的考验》(Michel Thomas: The Test of Courage)出版后，托马斯对战时经历的叙述引起了一位作家的质疑。外人无从验证质疑的真伪，但罗宾斯在平装本的后记中详细反驳了这些质疑，美国军方的回应则是向托马斯发放奖章，以表彰他的英勇。

But we can, as students, evaluate his language teaching.

但作为学生，我们可以评价他的语言教学之优劣。

He promises a lot. Don’t try to memorise, he says. Don’t take notes or do any homework. Leave all the hard work to him. Whether teaching celebrities or inner-city students, Thomas insisted that failure to learn was the teacher’s fault.

他做出许多承诺。他说，不用背诵，不用做笔记，不用做作业。将所有的难题留给他就行。托马斯坚持认为，不论教的是名人大腕还是城里的穷学生，学不会是教师的错。

Actually, Thomas is a demanding instructor. He works by building sentences with two students in his studio and you on your headphones. He says a sentence in English and then waits while you and one of the students translates into the language you are learning. He then provides the answer. One of the students is quick, the other a little dim, leaving you pleased to be better than the slow one, but struggling to keep up with the smart linguist. There is no conjugating of verbs but the attention to grammar is detailed. It is part of the process, seldom explicit. Thomas is an engaging audio presence. The hours in his company are hypnotic, and hugely enjoyable. The sense of progress is gratifying. Within hours he has you compiling long, complex sentences in your new language. After 10 hours of his Spanish foundation course, I felt I was actually speaking.