所有人都在拼命学英语,这究竟是为了什么?当仅有的几种语言统领全世界时,我们又会失去什么?执教30年的英语教师Patricia Ryan和我们分享了她对英语的看法——别坚持说英语。
演讲文本(中英文)
I know what you're thinking. You think I've lost my way, and somebody's going to come on the stage in a minute and guide me gently back to my seat. (Applause) I get that all the time in Dubai. "Here on holiday are you, dear?" (Laughter) "Come to visit the children? How long are you staying?"
我知道你们在想什么,你们觉得我迷路了,马上就会有人走上台温和地把我带回我的座位上。(掌声)。我在迪拜总会遇上这种事。“来这里度假的吗,亲爱的?”(笑声)“来探望孩子的吗?这次要待多久呢?"
Well actually, I hope for a while longer yet. I have been living and teaching in the Gulf for over 30 years. (Applause) And in that time, I have seen a lot of changes. Now that statistic is quite shocking. And I want to talk to you today about language loss and the globalization of English. I want to tell you about my friend who was teaching English to adults in Abu Dhabi. And one fine day, she decided to take them into the garden to teach them some nature vocabulary. But it was she who ended up learning all the Arabic words for the lo...