2023-06-26 How multilingual dreams are connected to language learning 多语言的梦与语言学习的联系

关于睡眠状态下的人类大脑活动仍有许多待我们研究的地方，不过梦也许能给我们提供一些相关线索。本文探讨大脑学习外语的方式及梦里用外语交流对语言学习有何意义。

词汇：language learning 语言学习

It is often said that if we dream in a foreign language, it’s a sign that we are making progress in learning that language. But is it true?

Before we can look at multilingual dreams, first we need to look at sleep. The link between sleep and language can be applied to how we learn any language, including our mother tongue. Even adults still learn about one new word every two days in their first language, but, if we are going to have a firm grasp of that new word, we need to link it to our existing knowledge. And in order to do that, we ‘need to have some sleep’, says Gareth Gaskell, a psychology professor at the University of York.

It’s during sleep that the integration of old and new knowledge happens. At night, one part of our brain – the hippocampus – takes whatever new information it soaked up in the day, and passes it on to other parts of the brain to be stored. The role that dreams play in this night-time learning process is still being studied, but ‘it’s entirely possible that during multilingual dreams, the brain is trying to connect two languages’, says Marc Züst, researcher at the University Hospital of Old Age Psychiatry and Psychotherapy in Bern, Switzerland.

So having multilingual dreams could mean that our brain is trying to master a new word or phrase, for example, but it could also have an emotional significance. Danuta Gabryś-Barker, a professor of psycholinguistics at the University of Silesia in Poland, suggests that multilingual dreams can express ‘fears and desires‘ around learning a foreign language, including the wish to be a native-like speaker or to be accepted within a certain community.

We clearly still have a lot to learn about multilingual dreams, but one thing seems certain: if you’re trying to learn a new language, you should definitely sleep on it.

词汇表

make progress 进步
multilingual 使用多种语言的
apply to 适用
mother tongue 母语
firm grasp of 牢牢掌握
existing knowledge 已有知识
integration 融合
hippocampus 海马体
soak up 吸收（信息）
store 储存
learning process 学习过程
master 学习，掌握
significance 重要意义
psycholinguistics 心理语言学
express 表达
desire 渴望，愿望
native-like 像母语人士一样的，地道的
sleep on it “睡一觉再考虑”，考虑清楚再决定

测验与练习

1. 阅读课文并回答问题。

1. How often do adults learn a new word in their mother tongue?

2. What needs to happen if we are going to have a firm grasp of a new word?

3. True or False? Integration of old and new knowledge happens when we’re asleep.

4. What does Marc Züst think is happening during multilingual dreams?

5. Could multilingual dreams tell us something about our emotions?

2. 选择意思恰当的单词或词组来完成下列句子。

1. The skills you learn in this job, you will be able to _______ future jobs, too.

link                                   apply to                     soak up                     store

2. Can you help me understand this sentence? I don’t have a _______ it yet.

mother tongue                 firm grasp of              integration                 learning process

3. It’s not a good idea to only _______ your work locally on your computer. Try to have a backup as well.

soak up                            store                          master                       express

4. How long did it take you to _______ the piano? You play beautifully.  

make progress                 link                             firm grasp of              master                        

5. Words can’t _______ how excited I am!

multilingual                      mother tongue            express                      native-like

答案

1. 阅读课文并回答问题。 

1. How often do adults learn a new word in their mother tongue?

Adults learn about one new word every two days in their first language.

2. What needs to happen if we are going to have a firm grasp of a new word?

To have a firm grasp of a new word, we need to link it to our existing knowledge.

3. True or False? Integration of old and new knowledge happens when we’re asleep.

True. It’s during sleep that the hippocampus passes new information on to other parts of the brain to be stored.

4. What does Marc Züst think is happening during multilingual dreams?

Marc Züst thinks that it’s possible the brain is trying to connect two languages during multilingual dreams.

5. Could multilingual dreams tell us something about our emotions?

Yes. Danuta Gabryś-Barker suggests that multilingual dreams can express ‘fears and desires’ around learning a foreign language.

2. 选择意思恰当的单词或词组来完成下列句子。

1. The skills you learn in this job, you will be able to apply to future jobs, too.

2. Can you help me understand this sentence? I don’t have a firm grasp of it yet.

3. It’s not a good idea to only store your work locally on your computer. Try to have a backup as well.

4. How long did it take you to master the piano? You play beautifully.  

5. Words can’t express how excited I am!