2012.05.24

 

教育：大鴻溝

  英語是全球性的語言，在今日尤為重要，但不是把英文拿來成為障礙，把英文能力和智力畫上等號是很危險的。我最近看到一個新聞標題：「教育：大鴻溝」，我了解為什麼大家都重視英語。為了給孩子最好的人生機會，為了達成這目的需要西方教育。畢竟，不可否認的，最好的工作都留給西方大學畢業生，這是一種循環。

  我在馬來西亞時常有人問我，「你是來度假的嗎？」「你是來探望孩子的嗎？你要停留多久？」我在馬來西亞教學兩年，在這期間我看到很多變化，我見過最大的改變就是英語教學的蜕變，如何從一個互惠互利的方式，變成大規模的國際事業。事實上我希望能再停留久一點，讓我告訴你跨世代溝通是多麼重要！

  英語不再是學校課程的外語學科，也不是英國的專利，英語教學已經成為全世界追逐的潮流，何樂而不為呢？畢竟，最好的教育來自最好的大學，根據最新的世界大學排名，那些名列前茅的都是英國和美國的大學，所以每個人都想接受英語教育；但如果你不是以英語為母語，就要通過考試。菁英分子總是拒絕他們，到處是路障，將學生擋在門外，使他們無法追求自己的夢想。把太多權力交由這麼小的一群人把持是危險的，這會讓障礙無限延伸。

  如果今天的成功可以看出是昨天規劃的成果，沒有完善的準備就等著失敗；做好準備才能邁向成功。

Education : The Great Divide

  English is a global language. We need one today more than ever, but not using it as a barrier. This cognition equates intelligence with a knowledge of English which is quite arbitrary. A head line I saw recently:” Education :The Great Divide”, I understand why people would focus on English. They want to give their children the best chance in life, and to do that, they need Western education. Because, of course, the best jobs go to people out of the Western Universities, it’s a circular thing.

  I get that all the time in Malaysia, ”Here on holiday are you, dear?” Come to visit the children? How long are you staying?” I have been living and teaching in the Malaysia 2 years. And in that time, I have seen a lot of change, this is the major change that I’ve seen how teaching English morphed from being a mutually beneficial practice to becoming a massive international business that it is today. Well actually, I hope for a while longer yet, let me tell you how important it is to be able to communicate across generations .

  No longer just a foreign language on the school curriculum. And no longer the sole domain of mother England. It has become a bandwagon for whole of the world on the earth. And why not? After all, the best-education according to the latest World University Rankings is to be found in the universities of the U.K. and U.S. So everybody wants to have an English education naturally. But if you’re not a native speaker, you have to pass a test. Elite reject them all the time, everywhere put a stop sign, and stop them in their tracks, they can’t pursue their dream any longer. Now it can be dangerous to give too much power to a narrow segment of society. Maybe the barrier would be too universal.

  If today’s success can be seen as the result of yesterday’s planning. By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. By perfection to prepare, you are preparing to success.