For many English learners, learning to write fluently1 in English is much moredifficult than learning to speak fluently. Even for advanced level2 learners, writingcan come much more slowly3 in English than speaking. There are a number of reasonsfor this:
Writing Is More Formal4
Writing in English needs to follow rules of grammar much more closely than inspoken English. For example, if someone says “Please borrow me your pen”, it’s clearthat the speaker wants to say “Please lend me your pen”. In writing, words are evenmore important because they don’t have visual5 context6. When you speak, you cansmile and make a good impression7. With writing, all you have are your words.
Spoken Communication Allows for More “Mistakes”
Imagine if you’re at a party. You might have a talk with someone and only understanda few words. However, because you’re in the context of a party, you can make allthe mistakes you want. It doesn’t matter8. Everyone is having fun. When it comes towriting, there’s not so much room for mistakes.
Less Thinking Goes into Spoken English Than Written English
Spoken English is much more spontaneous9 than written English. You can relaxwhen you speak English and mistakes don’t impact10 your ability to speak clearly. Inwriting, it’s important to think about how to write to the future readers. You need to understandwho will be reading your writing. It takes time to work these things out.
對許多英語學習者來說,學會流利地用英語寫作比學會流利地說英語要困難得多。即使對于高水平的學習者來說,掌握用英語寫也比說慢得多。這有許多原因:
寫作更正式
英語寫作比英語口語更需要遵循語法規(guī)則。例如,如果有人說“請借來我你的鋼筆”,很明顯說話者想說“請把你的鋼筆借給我”。在寫作中,文字更為重要,因為它們沒有視覺語境。當你說話時,你可以微笑,給人留下好印象。在寫作時,你能利用的就只有文字。
口語交流允許更多的“錯誤”
想象一下,如果你身處一個聚會中,你可能和某人交談,但只聽懂了幾個詞。然而,因為是在聚會的環(huán)境中,你想犯什么錯都可以。這沒關(guān)系,每個人都只是在玩。但是說到書面寫作,就沒有那么多犯錯的空間了。
英語口語比書面英語需要的思考更少
英語口語比書面英語更自然。說英語時你可以很放松,錯誤不會影響你清晰表達的能力。在寫作中,重要的是要考慮如何寫給未來的讀者,你需要琢磨誰會閱讀你寫的內(nèi)容。而搞清楚這些事情需要時間。