为什么我学的外语是“残疾外语”？

我们每个人都有学习外语的经历，少则几年多则十几年或者几十年。但我们的多数人最终外语学成了“残疾外语”。什么是“残疾外语”呢？“健康的外语”应该像我们的第一语言一样，应该会读，会听，会说，会写。可是我们绝大多数人的外语学习，最终是“只取其一”，罔顾其他。比如，有人只会听，不会说。有人只会说，不会写。有人只会写，不会听或说。还有人只会听说，不会阅读，等等。

除了每个人的语言天分不同之外，我们接受的英语教育基本相同。专业学习和非专业的学习区别，仅在时间的长短上。按理，只要坚持学下去，最终总是可以弥补以前失去的学习时间。可是，我发觉，往往许多人终身都不会将外语学到近似自己的第一语言的程度，即达到“健康外语”学习的结果。也就是，在读，听，说，写这四个方面全面地发展自己的外语，而到令人满意的程度。一个重要的原因就是，外语教学的制度或方法有缺陷，使学习者不能得到事倍工半的结果。

我们一贯接受的外语教学法的问题在哪里呢？简单地说，我们一贯的学习方法，没有在大脑中训练和增强“外语肌肉”的功能。外语肌肉，这里指的是应用外语口语的能力。具体地说，是我们不能很轻易地将我们学的词汇，语法，习惯语等“语言要素”，熟练地运用到我们的口语中来。这就造成了我们需要用外语表达时，经常张口结舌，词不达意等。我们明明也学过这些外语的语言要素，但就是不能运用，不能将自己要表达的意思用这些要素表达出来。最明显的例子就是许多留学出来的中国学生，在语言要素上下了很大功夫，但到实用时却打了退堂鼓。中国学生和研究生中有相当的部分口语上不能交流以致影响学业，被外国的学校开除。

从范例哲学的角度看待外语教育方法时，我发现目前的外语教学方法有很大问题。第一，它不知道外语学习不仅要学语言要素，即“外语的皮”，还要训练“外语的肌肉”，即如何将要表达的意义和语言要素配合起来。虽然在偶然的场合，比如与外国人交谈，看他们的电视电影，对话，听广播等，学习者可以得到一些“外语肌肉”的训练。但这些机会是远远不够的。这如同一个想练出“八块腹肌”的人，以为作广播体操就可以成功一样。你必须去健身房，通过专业训练师的指教才有可能成功。

我创立的“范例语言入门”（Instancology Language Acquisition）简称“ILA”，就是从理论上和实践上弥补传统外语这方面的不足。ILA的来源是深刻的哲学根基。在我多年的教学中，ILA方法证明是非常正确和有效的。我衷心希望一切立志要学好语言的人，认真研究ILA的理论和教学方法，少走弯路，最终学成“健康外语”的成果。

Why my foreign language training is lopsided?

Each of us has the experience of learning a foreign language, from a few years to a dozen years or decades. But most of us end up learning foreign languages as "lopsided". What is a "lopsided foreign language"? A "perfect foreign language training" should be like our first or primary language us being able to read, listen, speak, and write. However, the vast majority of us learning foreign languages in the end, "only one function of the above" being unable to function in the other three capacities. For example, some people can only listen not able to speak. Some other people can only speak but cannot write. Still others can only write but not being able to listen or speak. There are also elsewhere people can only hear, can't read, and so on.

Except for the fact that everyone's language talent is different, the English education we receive in China is basically the same. The difference between professional and non-professional learning is only in the length of time. Theoretically, as long as you keep learning, you can always make up for the lost time learning in the end. However, I have found that many people often never learn a foreign language to a degree similar to their first language in their lifetime, that is, to achieve the goal of "functional foreign language" training. That is, in the four aspects of reading, listening, speaking, and writing, comprehensively develop your foreign language to a satisfactory degree. An important reason is that the system or method of teaching foreign languages is flawed, so that learners cannot get half the results of the work.

What is the problem with the foreign language pedagogy that we have always accepted? Simply put, our consistent approach to learning is not to train and enhance the function of "foreign language muscles" in the brain. Foreign language muscle, which in this case refers to the ability to achieve spoken foreign language proficiency. Specifically, we cannot easily take advantage of the "language elements" we have learned, such as vocabulary, grammar, and idioms, to our spoken needs. The result is that when we need to express ourselves in a foreign language, we often stamble or stummer not meeting our expectations. We have obviously learned the language elements of these foreign languages, but we just can't use them, and we can't express the meaning we want to express with these elements. The most obvious example is that many Chinese students who have studied abroad have put a lot of effort into the language elements, but when it comes to practical use, they faltered. A significant number of Chinese students and graduate students are expelled from foreign schools because they are unable to communicate verbally, which affects their professional studies.

When looking at foreign language education methods from the perspective of exemplary philosophy, I find that the current methods of teaching foreign languages are very problematic. First, it does not know that foreign language learning must not only learn the language elements, that is, I call them, the "skin of the foreign language", but also train the "muscles of the foreign language", that is, how to match the meaning to be expressed with the language elements. Although on rare occasions, such as talking to foreigners, watching their TV movies, talking, listening to the radio, etc., learners can get some training in the "foreign language muscle" function. But these opportunities are far from enough. It's like a person who needs to grow "eight-pack abs" and thinks that popular gymnastics can be do the job. You have to go to the gym and be coached by a professional trainer to be obtain the belly muscles you desired.

The Instancology Language Acquisition I founded, or "ILA," is theoretically and practically compensating for the shortcomings of traditional foreign languages. The source of ILA is deeply philosophical. In my years of teaching, the ILA method has proven to be surprisingly correct and effective. I sincerely hope that all those who aspire to obtain a mastery of a foreign language will seriously study the theory and methodology of ILA, avoid many detours, and eventually achieve a "perfect foreign languages" proficiency.