(by Eugene Nida)

 The scientifically valid procedure in language learning involves listening first, to be followed by speaking. Then comes reading, and finally the writing of the language. This is just the order in which a child learns his mother tongue — first hearing, then speaking; and only after he has acquired considerable facility in understanding and speaking does he learn to read and write.

Our primary trouble is that we have tackled the study of language from the wrong end. We are like the man who thinks he can learn to swim merely by reading books about swimming. In actuality, we learn by doing. The grammatical rules are valuable as we plunge into the language and need some assistance. In the same way, advanced instructions about swimming are helpful as we learn something from actual experience in the water. But reading books never makes a swimmer and learning rules never makes a practical linguist.

By setting up listening, speaking, reading and writing in this order, we don’t imply that one must be able to understand everything before beginning to speak. Certainly the child doesn’t understand everything he hears before he begins to use the limited vocabulary which he has acquired. However, by emphasizing the primary importance of listening, we clearly indicate that learning to speak is dependent upon hearing someone else speak, not upon reading orally on the basis of certain rules of pronunciation. When we hear words and expressions from a native speaker, we should of course imitate just as closely as possible, so that speaking follows immediately upon listening. Reading may begin rather soon if one is studying a language such as Spanish or German where the orthography rather consistently represents the meaningful distinctions in sound; but if the language is French or English, then reading traditionally spelled words is a great disadvantage at first. It is better to use some so-called “phonetic alphabet” first until one has mastered several hundred phrases. Only then should one read the traditional orthography...

Our emphasis upon the auditory perception does not mean that we should set aside all the other factors in the memory process. We should listen to expressions (an auditory process), write them down (a motor process), read them (a visual process), and then pronounce them over and over (repeated motor processes). People differ in the importance which these various processes have in their memorization of materials. Some people find it very helpful to write a phrase several times. Others consider that seeing the phrase repeatedly is just as valuable for them. Still others apparently learn most rapidly by means of auditory impressions. Whatever one’s special aptitudes are, these should be cultivated and improved. Nevertheless, one should constantly try to improve one’s auditory memory. Our own civilization does very little for us in this way, for our training is predominantly a matter of sight...

The auditory memory can be developed as well as any other, and anyone learning a language will do well to concentrate in so far as possible on improving this vital factor.

 

В тексте об изучении языков найдите англ. эквиваленты следующих слов и словосочетаний.

 

 1. научно обоснованный

 2. включать

 3. как раз

 4. приобретать

 5. средства, возможности

 6. основная проблема

 7. решать

 8. просто

 9. не с того конца (не с той стороны)

 10. в действительности

 11. окунаться (полностью погружаться)

 12. непосредственно из опыта

 13. в таком порядке

 14. как можно точнее

 15. подразумевать, иметь в виду

 16. однако

 17. подчеркивать

 18. первостепенное значение

 19. таким образом, чтобы

 20. достаточно быстро

 21. устойчиво, постоянно

 22. недостаток

 23. осваивать, овладевать

 24. и только потом

 25. особое значение

 26. не учитывать, не уделять внимания (отложить в сторону)

 27. записывать

 28. снова и снова

 29. находить полезным

 30. неоднократно

 31. так же (настолько же)

 32. ценный

 33. одни... другие... третьи

 34. явно, заметно

 35. каким(и) бы ни

 36. способности

 37. и всё же

 38. ибо/так как

 39. преимущественно

 40. быть связанным с (зависеть от)

 41. поступать правильно

 42. насколько это возможно

 43. сосредоточится на

 44. жизненно важный фактор