美國文化口語-教育
- 英文
- 中文
ELIZA: I heard you were teaching English over there.Tell me about it. Did you like it?
SUE: Oh, yes, it was very interesting.
ELIZA: What were the schools like?
SUE: Oh, I didn't actually teach in the schools.I taught after school. I taught in English institutes.
ELIZA: But you taught children, yes?
SUE: Yes. That's right.But children in Taiwan are very different from children in America.At least as far as studying is concerned.Many children in Taiwan go to special institutes after school
ELIZA: They actually study after school?
SUE: That's right.After their school day is over, they go to a special institute to study math or English.They are very serious about learning over there.
ELIZA: Hmm. That sounds pretty oppressive for the kids. Don't they ever relax?
SUE: Of course they do.You know, Eliza, before I went over there I thought the same thing.I thought that maybe kids in Taiwan study too much.But now that I've worked there, and taught them, I feel it is a good thing.Their parents are very concerned about their education. More than American parents are. And that is good. American kids don't study enough.
ELIZA: Asian cultures value learning very much. I know that.
SUE: So it was interesting for me to see parents very concerned about education.They would come to me after the class and ask how their son or daughter was doing.I don't think that's a bad thing. I think it's a good thing.In America, too many parents don't pay attention.
ELIZA: But aren't the kids tired out?
I mean, they go to school all day, and then they go to school in the evening too.
SUE: As an English teacher, I tried to make the lessons as fun as possible.I tried to have a good time with my classes. The students often enjoyed it.And if the students enjoyed it, they learned more. So it was a good experience.
ELIZA: Are the kids in Taiwan very obedient?
SUE: That's a stereotype we Americans have.We think that Asian kids are very obedient and quiet.But it's not true. There are plenty of naughty kids too.
ELIZA: Hmm. I know you taught in Costa Rica also.Which did you like better--Costa Rica or Taiwan?
SUE: I don't know. In Costa Rica, I taught adults.So it was a very different thing. So I really can't compare.
愛莉莎：聽說你在那里教英文。說說看，你喜歡嗎?
蘇：是的，非常有意思。
愛莉莎：那是什么樣的學(xué)校?
蘇：我不是在學(xué)校教。我教課后的，在英語培訓(xùn)機(jī)構(gòu)。
愛莉莎：你是教小朋友吧?
蘇：是的，沒錯。不過臺灣的小孩和美國的小孩非常不同。至少就讀書來說是這樣的。很多臺灣的小孩在放學(xué)后都上補(bǔ)習(xí)班。
愛莉莎：他們放學(xué)后還學(xué)習(xí)?
蘇：沒錯。放學(xué)后他們上補(bǔ)習(xí)班學(xué)數(shù)學(xué)或英文。在那里他們非常認(rèn)真地學(xué)習(xí)。
愛莉莎：聽起來相當(dāng)壓迫孩子，他們不休息嗎?
蘇：當(dāng)然有休息。
愛莉莎,我去那里之前也是這么想。 我認(rèn)為臺灣的小孩念太多書了。但是現(xiàn)在我在那里工作，教他們，我覺得這是好事。他們的父母非常關(guān)心孩子的教育，比起美國的父母要關(guān)心得多。那是好事，美國小孩念的書不夠多。
愛莉莎：亞洲的文化非常看重學(xué)識，我知道那一點(diǎn)。
蘇：看到父母這么關(guān)心教育，對我而言很有樂趣。下課后他們會來問我兒子或女兒表現(xiàn)得如何。我不認(rèn)為那是不好的，那是好事。在美國，相當(dāng)多父母都不關(guān)心。
愛莉莎：但是小孩子不是累垮了?他們白天一整天上學(xué)，晚上還要去補(bǔ)習(xí)班。
蘇：身為英文老師，我盡可能把課上得好玩。我試著和全班學(xué)生玩得愉快，學(xué)生通常都很喜歡。如果學(xué)生喜歡，他們就學(xué)得多。所以這是很好的經(jīng)驗(yàn)。
愛莉莎：臺灣的小孩都很聽話嗎?
蘇：那是我們美國人的刻板印象。我們認(rèn)為亞洲小孩都很聽話，很乖巧。不過這不是真的，也有很多頑皮的小孩。
愛莉莎：我知道你在哥斯達(dá)黎加也教過書。你比較喜歡哪里?哥斯達(dá)黎加或臺灣?
蘇：不知道。在哥斯達(dá)黎加我教的是成年人。所以是很不一樣的，我真的無法比較。
