关于美国学校的双语浸透教学

    This is the VOA Special English Education Report.
    这里是美国之音慢速英语教育报道。

    In the last ten years, hundreds of American schools have begun to offer a new way to teach foreign languages. This method is called dual or two-way immersion.
    在过去的十年中,美国数百所学校已经开始尝试一种新的外语教学方法。这种方法被称为双重或双向沉浸式教学。

    Here is how it works at London Towne Elementary School in Centreville, Virginia, outside Washington. In some classes, only Spanish is spoken, even during the Pledge of Allegiance -- a morning tradition for American schoolchildren.
    在华盛顿郊外的弗吉尼亚州森特维尔市“London Towne”小学韭就采用这种教学方法。一些班级中的学生只讲西班牙语,甚至包括美国学童早上效忠宣誓这一传统仪式期间。

    (SOUND)
    (课堂声音)

    And this is a second grade class where the children learn math and other subjects completely in Spanish.
    这是二年级班的孩子完全采用西班牙语学习数学和其他课程的情形。

    (SOUND)
    (课堂声音)

    Later in the day they learn only in English. Half of the children are from families that speak Spanish at home. The other half are native English speakers. Myra Olmeda is the teacher.
    当天晚些时候,他们只学习英语。一半孩子来自讲西班牙语的家庭。另一半孩子母语是英语。玛拉·奥尔梅达是这些孩子的老师。

    MYRA OLMEDA: "When these both groups [come] together, they're learning, you know, one from the other -- which is the greatest thing that is happening."
    玛拉·奥尔梅达:“当这两部分学生聚到到一起,他们就会相互学习,这是正在发生的最重要的事情。”

    Helen Arzola teaches the youngest children.
    海伦·阿索拉教授最年幼的孩子。

    HELEN ARZOLA: "A child before eight is a language learning machine. That's their reason for being, for the most part. So this is the time to learn a language."
    海伦·阿索拉:“孩子8岁前是语言学习天才。在很大程度上来讲,这是这么做的原因。所以,这个时间段是学习语言的关键时刻。”

    She says her kindergarteners from English-speaking families may have never heard Spanish before. And she says children from Spanish-speaking families benefit from learning in their own language.
    她说,来自母语是英语的家庭的学前儿童以前从没听到过西班牙语。她同时表示,来自西班牙语家庭的孩子从使用母语学习中受益。

    HELEN ARZOLA: "The goal of the dual-language program is to teach low-income Hispanic children English -- good English, social English and academic English. And that can only happen if they have a good, solid foundation in their first language."
    海伦·阿索拉:“双向渗透教学项目的目标是教授低收入西班牙裔儿童英语 - 教给他们流利的英语,社交英语和学术英语。只有当他们母语基础扎实他们才能学好英语。”

    But some people are still not sure about these programs. They say bilingual education has not always taught Hispanic students enough English. K.C. McAlpin is executive director of a national nonprofit group called Pro-English.
    但有些人对这种教学方式仍持怀疑态度。他们表示,双语教学并没有教给西班牙裔学生足够的英语。K.C. McAlpin是一个名为“Pro-English”的全国性的非营利组织的执行董事。

    K.C. MCALPIN: "The experience of history has made us a bit skeptical, OK? Because it's another thing that sounds like on the surface is a great idea."
    K.C. MCALPIN:“历史经验使我们有点怀疑。因为这听上去好像另一个虚有其表的想法。”

    London Towne Elementary is in Fairfax County, Virginia. The county also offer immersion programs in French, German and Japanese.
    “London Towne”小学位于弗吉尼亚州费尔法克斯县。该县还提供法语,德语和日语的双向渗透教学项目。

    One sixth grader at London Towne says it's not like traditional teaching.
    “London Towne”小学一名六年级的学生说,这与传统教学并不相同。

    DANIEL SHANK-ROWE: "It's really just like being in the environment where everyone's talking Spanish. You just catch on."
    DANIEL SHANK-ROWE:“它就像处于西班牙语的环境中,而你能跟得上。”

    Another student says she likes to learn other languages. But a national survey found that in recent years foreign language teaching decreased in public elementary and middle schools. Fewer schools teach French, German, Russian or Japanese.
    另一名学生说,她喜欢学习其他语言。但是一项全国调查发现,近年来,公立小学和初中的外语教学课程减少了。越来越少的学校教法语,德语,俄语和日语。

    Some schools say a federal education law from the last administration has hurt language teaching. This law only requires testing of progress in math and reading. Schools also face language teacher shortages, and now budget cuts caused by the economy.
    一些学校表示,上届政府的联邦教育法损害了语言教学。该法律仅要求测试数学和阅读学习进展。学校还面临语言教师师资匮乏,以及经济危机导致的预算削减的问题。