Чтение и письмо: доступный обзор (пассив и оговорки)
Слова урока · 4
- summary /ˈsʌməri/краткое изложение
- meta-analysis /ˌmetə əˈnæləsɪs/метаанализ (обобщение исследований)
- effect size /ɪˈfekt saɪz/величина эффекта
- in line with /ɪn ˈlaɪn wɪð/в соответствии с
Фразы урока · 2
- Write a 150-word summary: a meta-analysis pools many studies.Напишите изложение в 150 слов: метаанализ объединяет много исследований.
- The effect size was modest, in line with earlier work.Величина эффекта была скромной, в соответствии с более ранними работами.
Текст: «Обзор: помогает ли музыка учиться?»
Few questions divide students more sharply, and few have been studied as often with so little agreement. A meta-analysis published last year pooled 65 studies involving just over 6,000 participants, and its conclusion is unlikely to satisfy either camp.
Taken together, the studies indicate a small negative effect of background music on tasks that involve reading and remembering words: participants who studied in silence recalled, on average, about 5 % more than those who studied with music. The effect size is modest, and the authors are careful to describe it as an average that conceals large differences between studies. For tasks involving numbers or spatial reasoning, no reliable effect was found in either direction.
The type of music appears to matter more than whether there is music at all. Songs with lyrics were associated with the largest drop in recall, which is consistent with the idea that words in the music compete with words on the page. Instrumental music showed a much smaller effect, and in a handful of studies — mostly with familiar, slow pieces — a slight benefit, though the authors stress that these studies were small and the benefit may well be due to chance.
Personality also played a part. Participants who described themselves as extroverts were less affected by music than introverts; in two studies extroverts even did slightly better with music than without, a finding the authors tentatively attribute to differences in how much stimulation people need to stay alert. They do not rule out reverse causation — people who study well with music may simply call themselves extroverts.
The limitations are the usual ones. Almost all the studies were short laboratory tasks lasting under an hour, with undergraduate students, and the music was chosen by researchers rather than by the participants. Whether the small cost of music holds up over a semester of real studying, with music the student has chosen, remains to be seen. The authors' practical advice is correspondingly cautious: for reading-heavy work, silence or instrumental music is probably the safer choice; for anything else, the evidence does not justify a rule.
Задание
Напишите краткое изложение обзора (summary, 220–250 слов) для студентов вашего колледжа: что изучалось и как (meta-analysis, pooled, participants); главный результат с точным глаголом силы и величиной (indicate, a small negative effect, effect size); что зависит от типа музыки и личности с метками уверенности (appears to, is consistent with, may well be due to chance, tentatively attribute, do not rule out reverse causation); ограничения (limitations: sample, duration, music chosen by researchers; remains to be seen); практический вывод с оговоркой (probably, at least, with the caveat that). Не усиливайте и не ослабляйте выводы автора.
Образец ответа
Summary: does background music help you study?
A meta-analysis published last year pooled 65 studies with just over 6,000 participants to ask whether background music helps or hinders studying. Taken together, the studies indicate a small negative effect on tasks that involve reading and remembering words: participants who studied in silence recalled about 5 % more on average. The effect size is modest and hides large differences between studies; for tasks involving numbers or spatial reasoning, no reliable effect was found either way.
The type of music appears to matter more than its presence. Songs with lyrics were associated with the largest drop in recall, which is consistent with the idea that words in the music compete with words on the page. Instrumental music had a much smaller effect, and a few small studies found a slight benefit, though the authors say this may well be due to chance. Extroverts seemed less affected than introverts, a difference the authors tentatively attribute to how much stimulation people need — while not ruling out reverse causation.
The limitations are worth bearing in mind: almost all the studies were short laboratory tasks with undergraduates, and the music was chosen by the researchers, not the students. Whether the small cost of music holds up over a real semester with self-chosen music remains to be seen.
In practical terms, the authors' advice is cautious, and so is ours: for reading-heavy work, silence or instrumental music is probably the safer choice, at least for word-based tasks. For anything else, with the caveat that the evidence is thin, the review does not justify a rule either way.
lightbulbКраткое изложение науки: что и как → результат с точным глаголом и величиной → метки уверенности сохранены (appears to, may well, tentatively, do not rule out) → limitations, remains to be seen → совет с probably / at least / caveat.
Закрепите урок: упражнения со словами, фразами и грамматикой с проверкой и повторением.