Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, D on our answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions
In the explosion of the linguistic life cycle, it is apparent that it is much more difficult to learn a second language in adulthood than a first language in childhood. Most adults never completely master a foreign language, especially in Phonology – hence the ubiquitous foreign accent. Their development often “fossilizes” into permanent error patterns that no teaching or correction can undo. Of course, there are great individual differences, which depend on effort, attitudes, amount of exposure, quality of teaching and plain talent, but there seems to be a cap for the best adults in the best circumstances
Many explanations have been advanced for children’s superiority; they exploit Motherese (the simplified, repetitive conversation between parents and children), make errors unself-consciously, are more motivated to communicate, like to conform, are not set in their ways, and have not first language to interfere. But some of these accounts are unlikely, based on what is known about how language acquisition works. Recent evidence is calling these social and motivation explanations into doubt. Holding every other factor constant, a key factor stands out: sheer age
Systematic evidence comes from the psychologist Elissa Newport and her colleagues. They tested Korean and Chinese – born students at the University of Illinois who had spent a least ten years in the United States. The immigrants were give a list of 276 simple English sentences, half of them containing some grammatical error. The immigrants who came to the United States between the age of 3 and 7 performed identically to American – born students. Those who arrived between ages 8 and 15 did worse the latter they arrived, and those who arrived between 17 and 39 did the worst of all, and showed huge variability unrelated to their age of arrival
The passage mainly discussed
A. adult differences in learning a foreign language
B. children’s ability to learn a language
C. the age factor in learning languages fast
D. research into language acquisition
Đáp án C
- Đoạn văn chủ yếu thảo luận về___________
Đáp án C – yếu tố tuổi tác trong việc học nhanh ngôn ngữ
Dẫn chứng – Câu 1 – Đoạn 1: “….it is apparent that it is much more difficult to learn a second language in adulthood than a first language in childhood.”
Tạm dịch: “………rõ ràng rằng học ngôn ngữ thứ hai khó hơn ở độ tuổi trưởng thành hơn là ngôn ngữ thứ nhất ở độ tuổi thơ ấu.
Câu cuối – Đoạn 2: “Holding every other factor constant, a key factor stands out: sheer age”
Tạm dịch: “Cho là mọi yếu tố bất biến khác, yếu tố then chốt nổi bật: hoàn toàn tuổi tác.
Các đáp án khác
A – những sự khác biệt người lớn trong việc học ngoại ngữ
B – Khả năng học ngôn ngữ của trẻ em
D – nghiên cứu trong việc tiếp nhận ngôn ngữ