The secret of learning
發表於 : 週四 4月 16, 2009 11:32 pm
In the middle of a crazy workday, a teacher from kindergarten phoned and told me that my son had been absent from school for two days in a row.
That’s not good. Yesterday my little son played possum to evade the duty to go to school, so last night my husband had him go to bed very early, and this little guy assured us that he would definitely go to school this morning. Apparently he ate his words.
I phoned my mom and the delinquent picked up the phone. I asked him if he had been to school today. Instead of simply answering “沒有” or “沒有吔”, the four-year-old gave me a brief pause, then replied: “嗯, 上學的話, 是沒有”. What a perfect sentence! I was so amazed that I almost forgot to blame him. To the best of my recollection, I have never heard anyone in my family use such a sentence structure (maybe I was wrong). Did he learn it from school? Or from TV? What’s the learning process?
When I was in college, I read a bunch of learning theories and language learning theories from developmental psychology, cognitive psychology, and even biological psychology. All of those psychologists were trying to find out the secret of learning. However, the more I read, the stronger I felt that we human beings really knew very little about it. After I gave birth to my first child, I observed her and tried to discover how she obtained a language. However, she learned it so quickly and easily that I totally lost track of it. Then the second child was born. Then the third child. Finally they all started to speak fluent Chinese but, alas, I still cannot figure it out.
Children are no doubt quick learners (in many ways). How I hope they can give me a hint or two on how to obtain a language, or something else; however, they don’t even know how to illustrate it.
Anyone knows the secret of learning? If there is an answer, it should be invaluable.
That’s not good. Yesterday my little son played possum to evade the duty to go to school, so last night my husband had him go to bed very early, and this little guy assured us that he would definitely go to school this morning. Apparently he ate his words.
I phoned my mom and the delinquent picked up the phone. I asked him if he had been to school today. Instead of simply answering “沒有” or “沒有吔”, the four-year-old gave me a brief pause, then replied: “嗯, 上學的話, 是沒有”. What a perfect sentence! I was so amazed that I almost forgot to blame him. To the best of my recollection, I have never heard anyone in my family use such a sentence structure (maybe I was wrong). Did he learn it from school? Or from TV? What’s the learning process?
When I was in college, I read a bunch of learning theories and language learning theories from developmental psychology, cognitive psychology, and even biological psychology. All of those psychologists were trying to find out the secret of learning. However, the more I read, the stronger I felt that we human beings really knew very little about it. After I gave birth to my first child, I observed her and tried to discover how she obtained a language. However, she learned it so quickly and easily that I totally lost track of it. Then the second child was born. Then the third child. Finally they all started to speak fluent Chinese but, alas, I still cannot figure it out.
Children are no doubt quick learners (in many ways). How I hope they can give me a hint or two on how to obtain a language, or something else; however, they don’t even know how to illustrate it.
Anyone knows the secret of learning? If there is an answer, it should be invaluable.