LANGUAGE ARTS, a term referring to the numerous means by which humans communicate feelings, ideas, and information through language. This term, most popularly used at the elementary school level, encompasses experiences with listening, speaking, reading, and writing. At the secondary school and college level, the subject is most often labeled “English” and is traditionally divided into major areas of language, literature, and composition.

语言艺术, 指的是人类通过语言传达感情、想法和信息的多种方式的术语。这个术语在小学阶段最为常用，包括听、说、读和写的经验。在中学和大学阶段，该学科最常见的被称为“英语”，并且在传统上被分为语言、文学和作文等主要领域。

Strong English language arts programs immerse students in the finest literature, in the history and nature of language, and in non-contrived and varied experiences receiving (listening and reading) and producing (speaking and writing) language. Good programs are broad, involving all uses of language and all of the school day. They include not only conversation among friends but formal speeches, not only telephone messages but persuasive essays.

强有力的英语语言课程使学生沉浸在最佳的文学作品之中，沉浸在语言的历史和本质中，以及沉浸在非人为的、各种各样接收（聆听和阅读）和产生（说话和写作）的体验中。良好的课程是广泛的，涉及所有语言的使用和所有的上学日。它们不仅包括朋友间的交谈，也包括正式的演讲，不仅包括电话留言，也包括打动人心的随笔。

Weak programs, on the other hand, emphasize recognizing and transcribing words rather than comprehending and composing language. They neglect communication—the interplay of meanings between senders and receivers in a range of situations, purposes, audiences, forms, and styles. They are preoccupied with studying about rather than with using language.

另一方面，弱的课程强调识别和抄写单词，而不是理解和组成语言。它们忽视交流—发送者和接收者在许多情境、目的、受众、形式和风格中意义的相互作用。它们全神贯注于学习，而不是使用语言。

Though its roots span hundreds of years, English language arts as a daily school subject dates only from the 1890’s. Its short history is dotted with perennial questions (for example, “What are the language arts?”), cyclical questions (for example, “Why can’t Johnny read or write?”), and contemporary questions (for example, “How can computer technology be best applied to English language arts teaching?”)

尽管它的根源跨越了几百年，但英语艺术作为日常的学校科目仅可追溯到19世纪90年代。它短暂的历史却涉及反复存在的问题（例如，“什么是语言艺术？”），周期性问题（例如，“约翰尼为什么无法阅读或写作？”），以及当代的问题（例如，“如何才能将计算机技术应用于英语语言的艺术教学中？”）

English language arts education borrows its theories from studies of human growth and development, from linguistics, and from general philosophies of learning and teaching. It is affected by conflicts and complexities of society such as the impact and use of television; the role of women, the physically handicapped, and the gifted and talented; contributions of ethnic minorities; efforts to censor; and calls for a return to the “basics.” It is constrained by an economy that forces school libraries to close and cuts budgets for teachers’ salaries and instructional materials. It is sensitive to advances in technology, such as home and school computers and video-cassettes/discs. It is moved by court action, as in cases related to black dialect and bilingual education.

英语语言艺术教育借鉴了人类成长和发展研究的理论，借鉴了语言学以及学习和教学的一般哲学。它受到社会冲突和复杂性的影响，诸如电视的影响和使用；妇女、身体残疾者，以及有天赋和有才能的人的作用；少数族裔的贡献；审查工作；以及呼吁回归”基础”。它受到经济的约束，迫使学校图书馆关闭并消减教师工资和教学材料的预算。它对技术进步很敏感，例如家庭和学校的计算机和录像带/磁盘。它受到法院诉讼的推动，例如在与黑人方言和双语教育有关的案件中。

Researchers in the English language arts have positively influenced the profession by documenting students’ language abilities. They have visited subjects’ homes, listened to classroom conversations, recorded language on the playground and in the street, and observed independent reading and writing in progress. They have verified, for example, children’s mastery during the preschool years of the sounds, thousands of words, and basic sentence patterns of the native language. Through their work, recognition is growing that the roots of language lie outside the school, that the classroom is but one place where language continues on its lifelong course of development, and that teachers and parents should be more concerned with language experience than with language study, for language ability grows from language use.

英语语言艺术的研究者通过记录学生的语言能力积极地影响了该职业。他们访问被试者的家庭，聆听课堂对话，在操场和街道记录语言，并观察正在进行的独立阅读和写作。例如，他们已证实，孩子在学龄前已掌握了母语的声音、数千个单词以及基本的句型。通过他们的工作，逐渐认识到，语言的根源在于学校以外，即课堂只是语言在其终身发展过程中继续前进的一个地方，而且教师和父母相比语言学习更应该关注语言的体验。

                                   JULIE M. JENSEN

                             University of Texas at Austin

朱莉·M. 詹森

德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校

                                    2024年7月11日译

(译者注：该词条位列《大美百科全书》1985年第16卷，第731页)