走出该死的教室,到大街上去
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Living in Beijing Learning Chinese and Teaching English
By Tony Watkins
nglish is the lingua franca of the world. This fact has never been clearer to me. On my first day of class at the Beijing Foreign Language and Culture University I noticed three interesting things. First, the school has two names: an English one and a Chinese one. Second, the books we were given were in English and Chinese (I since found out that earlier editions also contained French). Third, the teachers and all of the students spoke English, despite the fact that well over half of the students came from non-English speaking countries, and the teachers were obviously all Chinese. For me it was frustrating: I had come to Beijing to study Chinese, imagining I would be in a Chinese only environment. I couldn't have been more wrong.
In my attempts to learn Chinese, I've learned a few things about education, language learning, and myself. As a teacher, I hope I can put these things to good use. As a student, I think I may just decide to abandon the classroom altogether, at least the foreign language one. The main idea I've come up with (perhaps I'm paraphrasing or downright plagiarizing) is that language is a living and breathing animal. It's alive, and any attempts to put it in a book, compartmentalize it, and teach it as a formula fail in some way. That being said, it seems that the highly formulaic Chinese style of teaching works well for some people. There are people in my class who can follow what goes on much better than I do, can read and write much better than I do, and who scored much higher marks on our midterm exams (one of which, I'm none too proud to admit, I failed disastrously).
I'm not sure how much studying, homework, or extra outside class stuff they do, but in the classroom they can perform better than me. But, and this is the big but, they are no better, and in some cases much worse than me, at speaking Chinese. I spent one week traveling in China with one of my classmates; I know his speaking level is approximately equal to mine. However, he scored a 95 on the midterm compared to my 51.5. Other students are either much worse than me, slightly better than me or on the same level as me when it comes to speaking Chinese. I don't know their test scores, but I'm sure that speaking and performing in class and on tests, at least how it's done in my school, are not strongly related.
So, what's the problem？ What's the solution？ How can I learn Chinese more effectively？ How can I teach English more efficiently？
I've devised a three pronged approach to learning a foreign language that I hope can help the aspiring student.
The first prong is having a girlfriend who is also studying the same language as you, but whose mother tongue is different from yours! I've had the great fortune of finding a Korean girlfriend who can't speak much English. As my Korean is limited to ordering beer (I did live in Korea for over two years), our relationship is perfect and takes place completely in broken, screwed up, incorrect Chinese, but Chinese, nonetheless. We are in love and so we are very patient and kind about communication; we have to be. A Chinese girlfriend would create an unequal language balance. With a Chinese girl, Chinese and English would always be too easy for one of us and too hard for the other, creating conflict.
The second prong of my approach is having a driver. If you are in a foreign country and taking a lot of taxis, find a cool driver and make him or her your personal driver. Make a schedule, exchange phone numbers, pay whatever you have to pay. This is the most important thing you can spend your money on. There's nothing like talking in a moving car (or, as is often the case in Beijing, while stuck in traffic)!
And, with the possible exceptions of radio talk show hosts like Howard Stern and Rush Limbaugh, no one has more to say than taxi drivers! My driver, Shumin, is one of the coolest chicks I know in China. We drive around, eat street food, have fun and she teachers me more Chinese than anyone else.
The third prong is eating food and drinking beer on the street near a large university, preferably on campus. Every night I go to the Mining University to eat cheap street food, drink cheap Chinese beer, and fraternize with the vendors and students. They are all happy to help me and they teach me a lot.
So, the question I am asking myself now is this: how can I incorporate my three pronged approach to language learning into my English classes？ How can I get the bored college students, housewives, businesspeople and retirees who I teach to learn English my way？ Everything I've discovered about learning any language tells me to get the Hell outta the classroom and hit the streets!
英语是世界通用语。对于这一事实我从来没有这么清楚过。在我到北京语言文化大学上课的第一天，我就发现了三件趣事。首先，这个学校有两个名称：一个英文的，一个中文的。其次，发给我们的书是中英双语的（我之后发现，先前的版本还包括法文）。第三，尽管有一多半学生来自非英语国家而且老师们明显全是中国人，但老师和所有学生都在讲英语。对我来说，这令人感到沮丧。我来到北京学中文，是设想着我会身处于一个纯中文的环境的。我大错特错了。
在我试图学好中文的过程中，我对教育、语言学习和我自身有了一些了解。作为一个老师，我希望我能好好利用这些东西。而作为一个学生，我认为我也许就该完全放弃学习生涯，至少是放弃外语学习。我提出的（或许是我在阐释或全盘窃取而来的）主要观点是，语言就是一种活生生、会喘气的动物。它是鲜活的，任何将其写入书中、进行分类和以程式化的方式进行讲授的企图在某种程度上都会流于失败。话虽这么说，可高度程式化的中国教学方式似乎在某些人身上却很奏效。在我所在的班里，有人对内容的掌握比我要强很多，在阅读和写作上也能比我强很多，而且在我们的期中考试中得分还更高（而这就是说起来让我无甚光彩可言的事情之一，我考的是一塌糊涂）。
虽然我不清楚他们做了多少功课、作业，或是在课外额外做了些什么，但他们在课堂上能表现得比我好。但是（这个“但是”很关键），他们在中文口语上却并不比我强，而且在有些情况下还要比我差很多。我曾与我的一个同学花了一个礼拜时间在中国旅游；我知道了他的口语水平与我是大致相当的。然而，他却在期中考试中得了95分，而我才51.5分。就中文口语而言，其他学生不是比我差很多，就是比我稍强，要么就跟我是一个水平。我不知道他们的考试分数，但我清楚，最起码就我所在学校的情况而言，口语跟课堂和考试成绩之间没有太大的联系。
那么，问题出在哪儿？用什么来解决？我如何能更加有效地学习中文？我如何能更有效率地教授英语？
第一点是拥有一个跟你一样，也在学习同一门语言的女朋友，不过其母语要不同于你！我就非常幸运地找到了一个不大会讲英语的韩国女朋友。由于我的韩语仅限于点啤酒的水平（我确曾在韩国呆过两年多的时间），所以我们的恋情完美至极，完全是在拙劣的、混乱的、错误的中文中展开的，尽管如此，用的可都是中文。我们相爱着，所以我们在交流过程中是非常有耐心和宽容的；我们也只能如此。而中国女朋友则会造成一种语言失衡。和中国女孩在一起，中文和英文自始至终对我们其中一个人来说都是非常简单的，而对另一方来说则是非常困难的，冲突由此产生。
我的方法的第二点是拥有一名司机。如果你呆在外国，经常坐出租车，那么就找一个酷酷的司机，让他/她做你的私人司机。约好时间，交换好电话号码，该付多少钱就付多少钱。这是你的钱能花到的最要紧的地方了。在行驶的汽车中（或在交通堵塞时――这种情况常常在北京发生）交谈是一件无可比拟的事情。
另外，除了霍华德・斯特恩和拉什・林堡等电台脱口秀主持人可能要算作例外之外，就没有什么人比出租车司机的话还多！我的司机，淑敏（音译），就是我在中国认识的最酷的女性之一。我们开车四处转悠，到街摊上吃饭，尽兴消遣，而且和其他人相比，她教给了我更多的中文。
第三点是在一所大型高校附近的街道上，最好是在校园里，去吃饭喝啤酒。每天晚上，我都到矿业大学去吃便宜的街摊小吃，喝便宜的中国啤酒，与摊主和学生们称兄道弟。他们都乐于帮助我，而且他们教给了我很多东西。
而现在呢，我要问自己的问题则是：我如何能把我的三点式语言学习法融入到我的英语授课中？我如何能让我所教的那些提不起兴趣的大学生、家庭主妇、商务人士和退休人员按照我的方式来学英语？我在学习语言方面的全部所得告诉我，要走出该死的教室，到大街上去！
About the Author:
Tony Watkins 是一名已过了而立之年的纽约人，自2001年起大部分时间都在韩国和中国居住。他曾经做过旅行社、健身教练、酒吧招待、咖啡师、推销员、作家，而且也曾经营过小生意，并在年届30之后义无返顾地离开了美国，至今无悔。现在，他在北京安顿了下来，住在一条胡同里的老房里，怡然自乐。
LINKS
1. ...I think I may just decide to abandon the classroom altogether...
在文章中的第二段中出现了这句话。其中“classroom”在这里并非是完全指“教室”，而是更多地用作一种借代方式，即用“classroom”来指代“the whole activity of studying”，因而这句话的意思是作者可能不想再做学生了，要放弃学习生涯。
2. ... (perhaps I'm paraphrasing or downright plagiarizing)...
在文章中的第二段中，作者用到了这个括号，而里面的内容实际上是修饰“the main idea”的。作者这样写，其实是为了表达一种谦虚的态度，即他所提出的那个主要观点，别人可能已经提出过了，也许并不是什么新锐观点。
3. But, and this is the big but, ...
在文章中的第三段中出现了一个有意思的句子――“But, and this is the big but, ...”。有一点要弄清楚的是，第二个“but”是一个名词，指的就是句首的那个“but”。“and this is the big but”是在说明句首“but”所引领的转折是一个很重要的语意转折，起强调作用。联系上下文后，就可以知道，原来作者是在强调别人并非在各个方面都比他强，起码在口语方面就赶不上他，而这个对比是为了作者在下面得出“口语与成绩之间没有太大联系”的结论进行铺垫。
4. Howard Stern and Rush Limbaugh
在文章倒数第三段中，作者在举例时提到了这两个人。这两人在美国非常有名，是著名的电台主持人。不过，民众对其的评价却褒贬不一，有人喜欢他们，有人憎恨他们。另外，这两人在主持风格上各具千秋：Howard Stern 以尖酸刻薄的幽默而著称，而Rush Limbaugh 则以煽动性的右翼政治观点而闻名。
5. hit the streets
在文章最后一段的末尾，作者最后用到了一个词组――“hit the streets”。其中，“hit”这个词需要注意一下。这个词，有时候就当“to go to”的意思来讲，如本文中的“hit the streets”。再如，“hit some bars downtown”和“hit the road”。
lingua franca /`liMGw9 `fr2Mk9/
n.(提供相互了解)的通用媒介
come up with 提出；拿出
paraphrase /`p2r9freiz/ v.释义；解释
downright /`daunrait/ adj.彻头彻尾的；完全的
plagiarize /`plei_i9raiz/ v.剽窃；抄袭
compartmentalize /k9m,p3t`ment9laiz/
vt.划分；分类
formula /`f5mjul9/ n.公式；定则
formulaic /`f5mju`leiik/ adj.(根据)公式的
approximately /9pr4ksi`m9tli/ adv.近似地；大约
solution /s9`l(H9n/ n.解决办法
pronged /pr4Md/ adj.尖端分叉的
aspiring /9s`pai9riM/ adj.有抱负的
relationship /ri`leiH9nHip/ n.男女关系
broken /`br9uk9n/ adj.(语言等)拙劣的
screwed up 混乱的；弄糟的
conflict /`k4nflikt/ n.冲突
chick /tHik/ n.(俚语)年轻女性
preferably /`pref9r9bli/ adv.更可取地；更好地
fraternize /`fr2t/naiz/ v.亲如兄弟；友善交往
vendor /`vend9(r)/ n.小贩
incorporate /in`k5p9reit/ vt.合并；并入
retiree /ri,tai9`r1/ n.退休人员