日志

Hundreds of secondary school pupils in England have already begun intensive lessons in Mandarin Chinese as the first initiative of its kind is rolled out across the country.

Secondary school pupils will study Mandarin for 8 hours a week over the course of the next 4 years through the programme - a significant increase on the time pupils currently spend on the subject.

Mandarin Chinese is the most widely spoken language in the world, and is seen as important for young people in the UK to master in order for the country to remain globally competitive in the future.

The programme is being led by participating schools, supported by the UCL Institute of Education, in partnership with the British Council, with the first lessons in Mandarin beginning this week as pupils return from their summer break. There are 15 schools participating in the first wave.

School Standards Minister Nick Gibb said:

A high level of fluency in Mandarin Chinese will become increasingly important in our globally competitive economy. As part of our drive to extend opportunity, we want to give young people the opportunity to study the language and to acquire fluency in both spoken and written Mandarin.
The Mandarin excellence programme helps us achieve this, offering intensive study in the language which will not only be personally enriching for students, but will also give them a significant advantage when they enter the world of work.

In addition to improving students’ fluency in the language, the UCL Institute of Education, in collaboration with other providers, aims to have trained at least 100 new qualified Chinese teachers by the end of the programme.

The Confucius Institute, based at the UCL Institute of Education, already has a network of 42 Confucius Classrooms across England and supports schools in starting and developing the teaching and learning of Mandarin Chinese and the study of China across other areas of the curriculum.

Katharine Carruthers, Director of the UCL Institute Of Education (IOE) Confucius Institute, said:

The UCL Institute of Education is delighted to be delivering the DfE’s Mandarin excellence programme. Over the last decade, our work in schools has inspired increasing numbers of secondary school pupils to take up Mandarin Chinese. This programme provides a real boost and unique opportunity for more motivated pupils to be on track towards fluency in Mandarin.
We are also developing new innovative teaching methods which will benefit the young people on the programme as well as the wider cohort of pupils learning Mandarin Chinese in our schools. The Mandarin excellence programme will undoubtedly further the UK’s relationship with China at all levels.

Mark Herbert, Head of Schools Programmes at the British Council, said:

Language skills are crucial for work and life in the global race, and Mandarin Chinese is one of the frontrunners when it comes to languages that matter most to the UK’s future prosperity. If the UK is to remain competitive on the world stage, we need far more of our young people leaving school with a good grasp of Mandarin in order to successfully work abroad or for businesses here in the UK.
Schools in England can find out more about the Mandarin excellence programme and register their interest on theConfucius Institute for schools website.

学汉语从娃娃抓起英国高调掀起“华务运动”
我要评论
2016年09月24日 06:05:10 来源： 新华网

http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2016-09/24/c_129296625.htm

学好汉语有多重要？看看英国政府的行动就知道了。
英国《每日邮报》网站截图
　　英国教育部前不久宣布在全国正式启动“卓越汉语教学”项目，计划在2020年前从英国7年级（相当于中国的初中一年级）及以上的中学生中，选拔和培养至少5000名能流利使用汉语的学生。
　　据《每日邮报》报道，这项雄心勃勃的汉语教育推广项目由伦敦大学教育学院和英国文化协会合作推行，而英国政府计划为此投入1000万英镑。
　　参与该项目的学生将在接下来四年的时间里密集学习汉语。每周学习汉语的时间要达到8小时，其中包括4小时的教师授课以及课外教学、课后自学和强化语言学习课程。为促进汉语教学，伦敦大学教育学院还将与其他教育机构合作，为该项目培训至少100名汉语教师。
　　学汉语从娃娃抓起，英国政府有何深意？英国教育部负责学校改革事务的国务大臣尼克·吉布指出，掌握流利的汉语对英国发展具有国际竞争力的经济日益重要，教育部希望给年轻人提供学习汉语的机会，提高他们的汉语口语和写作水平及熟练程度。他认为，上述项目可以帮助英国实现这一目标，对汉语的强化学习不仅将丰富学生的个人经历，还能让他们在未来进入职场时获得巨大优势。
　　古有中国为学习西方先进科技而掀起的“洋务运动”，现有英国掀起汉语学习的“华务运动”。其实，英国政府的这一决定并不是心血来潮。最近几年，英国人在教育领域已经做出过不少“向中国学习”的动作。
　　去年9月，英国政府就宣布将启动一项旨在提升英国学生汉语水平的教学计划。今年7月，英国教育部又宣布在全英一半的小学推广中式数学教学方法。
　　中式教学走进英国课堂英国学生表示“压力山大”
　　英国政要也在多个场合积极呼吁民众学习汉语。2013年，卡梅伦访问中国后立马表示：英国学生应该放弃法语，改学汉语。
英国《卫报》网站截图
　　时任伦敦市长的“政治怪咖”鲍里斯·约翰逊2013年在访问中国后对媒体说：英国小孩应该在学校学汉语！
英国《独立报》网站截图
　　时任财政部长的乔治·奥斯本2015年去了趟上海后也曾表示：希望英国小孩在学校学汉语！
英国《镜报》网站截图
　　英国政府对开展“华务运动”的热情满满，英国民众态度如何呢？一些网友对英国政府汉语教学计划表示了赞成，认为学习汉语有益无害。
　　网友alfredwong:
　　不论中国是否能保持经济增长，学习一门全球20%的人正在使用的语言无疑是有益的。学会汉语和英语，你就能和全球40%的人沟通啦。
　　也有一些网友表示学习汉语实在太难了。
　　网友：nelsoncifuentes: 想法很不错，但是汉语非常难学。我的前男友在学校学习了5年汉语，才仅仅能够串联一些简单的语句。他在5年时间里同时学习了西班牙语，却已经能够熟练使用。让孩子们学习汉语是一个好主意，但是如果花费了5年时间却一无所成就不太值得了。相比较而言，学习西语、俄语或葡萄牙语是更为现实的考虑。
　　虽然汉语学习困难重重，但英国人并没有放弃，针对楼上网友的“吐槽”，还有热心网友现场支招，传授学习汉语的技巧。
　　网友HCrimson：坦白地讲，汉语并没有那么难学。汉字很难学，但是想说好汉语并不难。汉语的语法和英语类似，与其他欧洲的语言相比，汉语的语法简单了很多。你需要做的是牢记汉语的音调……
　　看到英国政府积极推动汉语学习的态度，再看到英国娃娃学汉语的劲头，真心为他们的“务实”精神点个赞。