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最近看了一本书，英文名叫Thirty Million Words-Building A Child’s Brain,作者是Dana Suskind.作者的主要观点就是：多和孩子说有质量的话。根据我们工作室1年多的英语启蒙实践研究，我摘抄了一些我觉得非常符合我们研究结论的话：
1）The answer to the growing problem of social inequalities in our country is to make use of America’s top two resources: its 
children and their parents.
我同意。中国和美国一样。如果要减少社会不平等现象，一定要利用国家的2大资源：父母和孩子。
2）Children who receive cochlear implants and are in homes where the language is rich do well; those who receive cochlear implants but are in homes without adequate language do not do as well. A young child must live in a world rich with words and words and words...This book helps all of us understand the importance of communicating abundantly, pleasantly and responsively with infants and toddlers.
这本书的作者提到，安装了人工耳蜗的孩子，如果周围的语言环境不丰富，还是很难开口说话。所以，作者通过自己的亲身实践并结合他人的研究成果，得出了结论：父母一定要抱着愉悦的心情，用丰富的语言和富有引导性的话语和宝宝说话。这样能够刺激宝宝大脑的发育，实现学术和性格发展的双丰收。
3）Children in lower socioeconomic homes heard far less language than their higher socioeconomic counterparts, quantity was not the only difference. Hart and Risley also found significant differences in quality, that is, what types 
of words were spoken and how they were spoken to a child. Even without science, we know intuitively that saying “shut up” thirty million times is not going to help a child develop into an intelligent, productive stable adult.
在没看这本书之前，我就反对整天和孩子说一些诸如宝宝你打嗝了，放屁了，把鞋带系上这种极其没有营养的英文句子。是的，这些话你真想说，说中文就可以了。作为学习英语的妈妈们，应该和孩子说的，是有质量的语言，就是Hart和Risley提到的，quality。重复一次，妈妈和小孩说的话，不仅要多，还要求有质量，并且讲究说话的方式。
4）The less varied the vocabulary, the lower the child’s achievement at age three...Cumulatively，the differences were staggering...In homes where there was quantity of words, there were also other essential factors including greater richness,complexity, and diversity of language.The language those children heard was much more positive and supportive.
我极其赞同：词汇量越少，孩子在3岁的表现越差。其实不仅仅对于宝宝，通过我10年新东方教学经验，大孩子也是一样，词汇量丰富的学生各方面的表现远远强于词汇量低的学生。所以我不断强调，我们要关注词汇多样性和句子多样性。这就是作者提到的，richness丰富，complexity复杂和diversity多样。
5）Just as a baby who is starved of adequate food in the first three years may survive but will never grow to his or her potential height, a baby whose brain is starved of adequate language will survive but will have enormous difficulty learning and will never reach his or her full intellectual capacity.
这段话的意思是，如果孩子在0-3岁食物和营养跟不上，那么会影响以后的身高；宝宝的大脑也一样，如果缺乏足够的语言滋养，那么也会影响孩子实现自己的潜力。这段话让我想到托福听力的一篇文章，说的是一般来说，小鹿如果在出生的时候缺乏足够的食物，成年后即便有了充足的食物也改变不了矮瘦的状态。
6）Relying almost entirely on already-learned words, but with no observable reference, it takes a higher level of thinking for processing and responding. Not surprisingly, it is felt to have a significant relationship to a child’s brain development.
现在我们的70后80后甚至90后的妈妈，一般都具备基础的英文能力。所以妈妈们结合市面上的优质英文绘本和分级读物，给孩子教简单的名词，动词，甚至小句子，是没有太大难度的。但是大多数的妈妈会面临一个困境：除了这些，我还能和孩子说点什么？尤其有的妈妈本身就是英语老师，总觉得这样的英文启蒙，缺了点什么？
是的，缺的就是更高端的语言。比如，My little treasure, I love you. You are indispensable to me. You are the whole world to me.这些抽象的语言，有的妈妈会担心，这么说宝宝能听懂吗？其实你不用担心。就像这段英文说的，高级的语言，需要思考的语言，有助于宝宝大脑的开发。在我刚才提到的这一串句子里，妈妈们都会说I love you，通过妈妈说I love you时的语气，眼神和动作，宝宝应该能慢慢理解I love you的意思。那么这个时候我们如果把“My little treasure, I love you. You are indispensable to me. You are the whole world to me.”这一长串句子连起来说，宝宝的大脑又会积极处理信息。那么这个过程，就有助于孩子大脑的发育。
最后我们用迪士尼动画片玩具小医生的编剧Chris Nee的话结尾：Dr. Suskind’s work reveals that the greatest gift we can give our children is free. How empowering to understand that it doesn’t take money to give our children advantages in the world, it takes words. Her research is vital.
新东方郑尉2015年11月22日返回搜狐，查看更多
