在中国有多少英语学习者？

译者 apx200808

How many English learners in China?

在中国有多少英语学习者？

Sep 1st 2011, 17:55 by R.L.G. | NEW YORK

Sep 1st 2011, 17:55 by R.L.G. | NEW YORK

SEEING Red in China, a blog by an American teacher there, makes a provocative argument. Behind the eye-catching number that 300m people either are learning or have learned English in China is a depressing reality. Classes are extremely poor, the teachers themselves not fluent in English. Rote memorisation is the norm—a fact Tom, the blogger, buttresses with his own experience of reading Chinese texts out loud, for hours every day, at Beijing's specialist university for foreign languages.  He says he was never once asked to produce his own sentences. Shocking if true.

一位美国老师，出于对于中国教育的愤怒，在博客上发表了一篇具有挑衅意味的文章。在中国3亿英语学习者的背后隐藏着一个让人沮丧的事实。上课非常的无聊，老师们本身并没有真正受到纯正英语的浸染。死记硬背就是标准，Tom--这位在北京的学校体验过每天连续读几个小时英语的教育课程的博客作者，深深地体会到这一点。他说他从未被要求去说自己的句子。如果这是真的，那太悲哀了。

By the by, he makes another provocative point: that rural literacy in Chinese (not English) is in fact far worse than authorities say. Farmers simply don't use the written language enough to maintain their knowledge of thousands of characters.

顺便说一下，他还指出了另一个事实：中国农村的教育状况比官方所宣称的糟得多，农民基本不会使用文字来表达他们千年来的文化习俗。

I don't have anything like the experience to judge, but Victor Mair, who does and who passed it on to me, believes it rings quite true.  Any Sinophones or Sinophiles in the audience care to comment or disagree?

我没有亲身体会过，所以我不能妄下结论。但是Victor Mair，这位体验过，并且传达给我的人，相信这是真的。有中文系的人或中国爱好者来谈一下吗？