[老外直言]:何时留学我之见(1)

    多年来，我与许多申请去国外大学读本科的中国高材生（17－19岁）交谈过。其中有一群特别的孩子总是让我感到吃惊，他们在6－12岁时被带到国外住了一两年，但回国后好几年过去了，他们说的仍然是相当于10岁美国孩子或英国孩子所说的英语———不错，他们说得很流利，但不得体。换句话说，在打好了扎实的英语基础回到中国后，对于如何加强这一基础，他们没有做什 么，或干脆什么也没做。这是些几乎不读英文读物的孩子。
　　还有一群同样令人诧异的孩子：这些孩子去过国外，学会一口地道、流利的英语，回来后重又上了国内的学校，而国内的英语教育很快就使他们的英语能力降低了———或者是，他们能说地道的英语反而吃亏。对于中国教育机构设置的考试，他们的成绩很糟，这是很典型的现象，而我的观点是，与其说这些考试是为了使教与学更为有效，倒不如说是为了迎合教育行政机构的意图。在中国的官方考试中，出过国能说一口漂亮英语的孩子往往只能得低分，可几乎不能实际运用英语的同学却是考试中回答选择题的行家，而那些选择题测的是晦涩的语法点和冷僻的词汇。这往往形成了前面提到的英语水平下降的环境，当从国外回来的孩子把注意力集中在学校所教的脱离实际的英语上的时候，他地道的英语口语就遭到了损害。
    Over the years I have spoken with many bright young Chinese (17-19 years old) applying to foreign universities for their undergraduate education. I am always stunned by one particular group: kids who, between the ages of 6 and 12, were taken overseas for one or two years and who now, years later, still speak the English of an American or British 10-year-old -- fluently, to be sure, but inappropriately. In other words, after acquiring a solid base in English and returning to China, they have done little or nothing to build on that base. These are kids who seldom read.
　　There is another, equally amazing group: kids who go abroad, learn to speak a very natural and fluent English and then are reinstalled in Chinese schools, where local English instruction rapidly degrades their English -- or who are penalized for their natural English. Typically they do poorly on the exams set by Chinese educational institutions; in my opinion these tests are far more oriented to bureaucratic goals than to promoting effective teaching or learning. Youngsters who speak excellent English learnt abroad tend to receive low marks on Chinese state exams, while classmates with little ability to use the language can become experts in taking multiple-choice exams testing obscure grammar points and little-used vocabulary. This often sets the stage for the degradation I mentioned earlier, as the Chinese child back from abroad focuses on the unreal English taught in school -- to the detriment of his authentic spoken English.