如何在睡夢(mèng)中記外語單詞？

A “good night’s sleep” seems to be the solution to many things. What if I told you that “sleeping on it” could be a new strategy for language learning? Sounds like a dream, right?

睡個(gè)好覺是解決很多煩心事的好辦法。那如果我告訴你睡覺也能學(xué)外語，你信嗎?聽起來是不是像在做夢(mèng)?Maybe not. Researchers in Switzerland dug a little deeper into the “learn while sleep” myth, and the results were quite surprising.也許是真的哦。瑞士的研究專家對(duì)于“睡眠學(xué)習(xí)”之謎做了深入的研究，結(jié)果讓人吃驚。

In the study, native German speaking participants were introduced to a series of Dutch-German word pairs late at night. The participants were then divided into two groups: one group stayed awake and listened to a recording of the word pairs (along with some new word pairs not previously introduced), while the other group listened to the playback as they caught some zzz’s.

研究中，安排母語是德語的參與者在夜間聽一系列荷蘭語詞組，同時(shí)附有德語翻譯。然后他們被分成兩個(gè)組：一個(gè)組的成員保持清醒并聽一些詞組的錄音(其中還夾雜著一些他們之前沒有出現(xiàn)的詞組)，另一組的成員則在睡眠中聽錄音。

After four hours, once the latter group woke from their slumber, researchers administered a test of the Dutch vocabulary to all participants. Here’s where the surprise comes in: the participants who “slept on it” performed considerably better than their counterparts who stayed awake.

四小時(shí)后，當(dāng)?shù)诙M參與者從睡眠中醒來，研究人員對(duì)所有參與者進(jìn)行了荷蘭語詞匯的記憶測(cè)試。讓人驚訝的事情來了：睡著聽單詞的參與者比醒著聽的參與者表現(xiàn)得要好很多。Brilliant, right? Just pop in some tapes while you sleep and you’ll be fluent in no time! Actually… it doesn’t quite work like that. The study highlights an importantprecursor for success—this act of “verbal cueing” only works when learners have actively studied the words beforehand:“Re-exposure to Dutch words during sleep improved later memory for the German translation of the cued words when compared with uncued words.”

超贊，有木有?只要在睡覺的時(shí)候聽些磁帶，然后很快就能說一口流利的外語!事實(shí)上，并沒有這么簡(jiǎn)單。研究強(qiáng)調(diào)了此方法成功的一個(gè)重要前提——這種“詞匯暗示”僅僅對(duì)學(xué)習(xí)者在睡聽之前就已經(jīng)主動(dòng)學(xué)習(xí)過的單詞才有用：“與沒有學(xué)過的單詞相比，睡夢(mèng)中再次重現(xiàn)這些已經(jīng)學(xué)習(xí)過的荷蘭語詞匯有助于學(xué)習(xí)者加深對(duì)生詞德語釋義的記憶。”

Essentially, new foreign words won’t magically appear in your vocabulary after hearing them in your sleep. You actually have to put in the effort in your conscious state first. The only thing better than a good night’s sleep? Improving your language skills while you do it.

實(shí)質(zhì)上，外語生詞并不會(huì)在睡聽后就奇跡般地出現(xiàn)在你的語言中，你必須先在意識(shí)狀態(tài)方面花點(diǎn)功夫。有什么是比單純睡個(gè)好覺更好的唯一好處?那就是，你還可以同時(shí)提升你的語言技巧。Have you tried listening to another language in your sleep? Have you found it helpful?Just try it!

你是否試過睡覺時(shí)聽外語呢?你發(fā)現(xiàn)它有用了嗎?試試吧!