半數英國小學將推廣中式數學教學法
Half of primary schools will adopt the traditional Chinese method of maths teaching in a Governmentdrive to stop British youngsters falling behind their Asian counterparts.
英國政府的一項新舉措將在半數英國小學課堂上推行中國傳統數學教學法，以防止英國青少年在數學上落後於亞洲同齡人。
Youngsters in the UK lag way behind those in China, Singapore and Japan in international league tables of numeracy. Critics blame "progressive" teaching styles that focused on applying maths to real-lifescenarios in an effort to make the subject more interesting. They say this has led to confusion and stopped children learning the basics.
在數字計算能力國際排名中，英國小學生已被中國、新加坡和日本的孩子們遠遠甩在後面。批評人士稱這應該歸罪於“漸進式”教學模式，這種教學模式側重於將數學知識應用於真實生活場景之中，以使得這門學科更有趣味。批評人士說這樣做會讓小學生們困惑不解，學不到基礎知識。
Currently, classes are often divided into groups based on ability, with each group given work of varying difficulty. Under the new approach, they will ditch "child-centred" styles and instead return to repetition,drills and "chalk and talk" whole-class learning. Under the Government's new plans, children as young as five will have drills to practise sums and exercises, and must master each concept through repetition before moving to the next.
目前，在英國的課堂上，小學生們會依照能力高低分成不同的小組，每個小組需完成難度不同的課堂任務。應用新式教學法後，他們將摒棄“以學生爲中心”的模式，取而代之以重複、訓練和“板書加口授”的整班統一教學模式。根據政府的新計劃，5歲的孩子就要接受訓練以提高計算和解題能力，而且必須通過重複練習來掌握每個概念，然後才能學習新的知識。
Nick Gibb, the schools minister, announced yesterday that training will be provided for 8,000 primary schools – half the country's total – to switch to the Shanghai "mastery" approach. "We are seeing arenaissance in maths teaching in this country, with good ideas from around the world helping to enlivenour classrooms," he said.
昨天，教育部長尼克·吉布宣佈此類訓練將在8000所小學(也就是半數英國小學課堂)中進行，要將教學方法轉換爲上海的“精通式”教學法。吉布稱：“我們預見到數學教學將在整個英國復興，我們從世界上別的國家吸收優秀理念，來讓我們的課堂充滿生機。”
"I am confident that the steps we are taking now will ensure young people are properly prepared for further study and the 21st-century workplace, and that the too often heard phrase "can't do maths" isconsigned to the past."
“我對現在採取的措施很有信心，一定能讓年輕人爲未來的學習和21世紀的工作做好充分準備;而且我們太經常聽到的‘數學差’的說法將成爲過去時。”
He has pledged ￡41million to provide textbooks and training for two teachers from each participating school, although the scheme will be voluntary. Mr Gibb and his predecessor as schools minister, Liz Truss, arranged exchanges between maths teachers in Shanghai and England, and set up 35 specialistmaths teaching centres to encourage the "mastery" approach.
吉布說，將拿出4100萬英鎊(約3億6千萬人民幣)爲參與此計劃的學校提供教科書，併爲每校培訓兩名教師;當然，是否參加這個項目取決於學校的意願。吉布先生和前任教育部長麗茲·特魯斯已經安排了上海和英國之間的數學教師交流項目，並且專門設立了35個數學教學中心，以推動“精通式”教學法的實施。
