英语教学法原著选读4：各种教学语境下的不同英语课程目标
原书：《英语教学成功之道（Success in English Teaching）》，5-10页，上海外语教育出版社出版。点击书名号中的两个书名链接可分别链接至当当、亚马逊相关图书购买页。友情提示：今晚（9.17）当当价（10.8元）比亚马逊价（13.5元）要便宜。京东价11.9元，但显示上海无货。
翻译时间：2014.09.17
翻译概况：英文原文803字，译文1380字，汉英字数比1.7：1，不是我做不到1.5：1，实在是那样的话就不好读了，行话叫“可读性不佳”。
废话少说，上货。
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原文
Variations in course goals
English is taught as a foreign language in very different contexts around the world -- to schoolchildren and working adults, in small and large groups, for three hours or ten hours a week. Obviously, the goals of English courses vary according to the contexts in which they are taught.
The goals of different courses may be, or at least may appear to be, any of the following:
1 to enable the learners to communicate in real English, both spoken and written
2 to enable the learners to read technical publications in real English
3 to get the learners to memorize English grammar rules and vocabulary.
We use the expression ‘real English’ in 1 and 2 to refer to the English used in both inside and outside language classrooms: for example the English of instruction, conversations, magazines, books, airports, and the Internet. In contrast, the information about English grammar rules and vocabulary in 3 is often presented, practised, and tested in ‘unreal English’. The language in the exercises and tests would seem strange to native speakers, or even confuse them. Working with ‘unreal English’ may give learners some useful foundation in grammar and vocabulary, but it is a long way from the use of English for real communication.
Ideally, the goal of most English language courses would be like that in 1: to develop a general command of ‘real English’ for use outside the classroom. If learners can communicate effectively when hearing, reading, speaking, and writing ‘real English’, they will manage in almost any English language situation they meet outside the classroom. But, in many contexts, factors such as the shortage of time or the large number of learners in a class make this goal seem difficult or impossible to reach. When time is short, one common response is to limit the goal to what is considered most important for the learners. For example, in 2 the goal has been intentionally limited to reading technical publications. In higher education, reading is often considered the most important skill to master.
In very difficult conditions, for example large, unmotivated groups with little time, a common response is to work towards a goal like that in 3. The goal in the official syllabus may be more like that in 1 or 2, but in practice teachers find it easier to explain English grammar and give rules and formulas for learners to memorize. However, we believe it is possible to work towards communicative goals like those in 1 or 2, even in quite difficult teaching contexts. With a group of fifteen motivated learners for five hours a week, you can easily work towards the goals in 1. With a group, or many groups, of forty initially unmotivated learners for two hours a week, goals like those in 1 will present a much greater challenge and results will inevitably be modest. But we have seen many teachers working communicatively with groups of forty or more secondary-school learners -- those notorious ‘difficult’ adolescents -- and achieving good results.
What are ‘good results’? Well, when you observe a class, the first sign of good teaching is the attention and interest shown by the learners. If they are voluntarily paying attention, something good is probably happening. If they are showing clear interest -- listening eagarly, following instructions, asking and answering questions, mostly in English -- something very good is probably happening. Holding the learners’ attention, getting their interest and their active participation, are essential in English language teaching, as in all teaching. If you do not achieve these immediate objectives in each lesson, you are unlikely to reach the long-term goals of getting learners to master the elements and systems of Engish and use them in communication.
Last, but not least, your teaching goals and objectives should be apparent to the learners. They should feel that every activity you do with them is worthwhile, and that the whole course is worthwhile. They should never feel that you are just filling time until the bell rings to end the class, or that you are going mechanically through the book or the syllabus. Not all short-term objectives will be directly related to communicating in English. For example, you may decide that it is useful to get the learners to memorize some irregular verb forms, or find and underline all the conjunctions in a reading text. But this kind of short-term objective is really worthwhile only when it contributes towards achieveing the main goal of teaching English -- to develop a repertoire of English for use outside the classroom. If you or the learners lose sight of this main goal, their motivation for learning English as a foreign language is likely to weaken.
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译文
各种教学语境下的不同英语课程目标
在全球各地，英语教学作为外语教学的一种，教学语境可谓千变万化——教学对象有学童，有上班族，有小班教学，有大班教学，有一周三小时的，也有一周学十个小时的。显然，教学语境不同，英语课程的目标也就随之变化。
不同课程的目标可能是，或者至少看上去是下列之一：
1 使学习者具备使用真实英语进行口笔头交流的能力
2 使学习者具备阅读真实英语技术出版物的能力
3 使学习者识记英语语法规则和词汇。
我们在1和2中使用了“真实英语”这一表达，指的是实际使用的英语，不管是是否在语言教室以内：例如教学、会话、杂志、书籍、机场、以及互联网等各种载体、场合所使用的英语。与此相对，在目标3中，有关英语语法规则和词汇的信息经常是用“非真实英语”加以呈现、练习与测试的。此类练习与测试的语言对母语者来说显得奇怪，甚至会令他们困惑。使用“非真实英语”可能会帮助学习者在语法和词汇方面打下一点有用的基础，但这离真实交流所使用的英语还差得很远。
理想情况下，绝大部分英语语言课程的目的应该与1类似：学生要掌握在课堂外使用“真实英语”的能力。如果学习者在“真实英语”的听说读写等活动中都能够有效交流，那么他们在教室外所遇到的几乎任何英语语言环境中也都能应对自如。但是，在很多情况下，诸如时间紧张、班级人数太多等因素使得这一目标看来很难、或根本不可能达到。时间紧张时，常见的做法是把目标限制在认为对学生最重要的点上。例如，在2中目标就被有意识地限制为读懂技术出版物。在高等教育中，阅读经常被认为是应掌握的最重要技能。
在非常困难的情况下，如班额极大、动力不足、时间紧缺，常见的做法是把目标定位于3。官方对课程的目标要求可能更像是1或2，但实际上老师们发现讲讲英语语法、给学生们讲些规则、公式什么的用来记忆、背诵更轻松些。如果是15人的小班，学习动机强烈，每周学五个小时，那么很容易做到1。如果是一个、或多个一开始没什么动力的班级，每班40人，每周学两个小时，那么像1这样的目标就提出了大得多的挑战，教学成果也难免稀松平常。但是我们还是看到许多老师与40、甚至更多名中学生——就是那些“难搞”出了名的青少年学生——努力交流，并获得了上佳的教学成效。
什么是“上佳成效”？观察一个班级，良好教学的首要表现就是学生表现出的注意力和兴趣。如果学生主动、认真听课，那情况肯定不错。如果学生明显兴趣浓厚——热切地倾听，听从指挥，问答问题，基本上使用英语——那情况肯定非常好。英语语言教学中，至关重要的就是吸引学习者的注意力，使其保持兴趣，令其主动参与，这与所有教学一样。如果课堂上实现不了这些近期目标，那你也不太能达成使学生掌握英语语言成分及及系统、并在交流中使用这一长期目标。
最后，不可轻忽的是，你的教学目标对学生来说应该清晰明了。他们应该感觉到，你跟他们进行的每一项活动都是有价值的，整个课程也是有价值的。绝不应该让他们感觉你只是在填满课堂时间等待下课，或者你只是在机械地把书、把课程过一遍。不是所有的短期目标都应该与英语交流直接挂钩。比如，你可能断定让学生记忆一些不规则动词形式会有用，或者应该在一篇阅读文章里找到所有的连词并划出来。但这种短期目标只有在对达成英语教学的主要目标——课堂上厚积能教室外薄发的英语技能库——有所帮助时才有价值。如果你和学生忽略了这个主要目标，他们学习英语的动力可能就会削弱。
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评述
我觉得这一篇里最有趣的是：官方对课程的目标要求可能更像是1或2，但实际上老师们发现讲讲英语语法、给学生们讲些规则、公式什么的用来记忆、背诵更轻松些。实际情况的确如此。在中国，因为教师编制规模有控制，许多学校、特别是非重点学校的英语教师课负很重。一般来说英语教师担任班主任的情况相当普遍，再加上两到三个班的英语课——这是不少学校规定的标准课时数（12课时），整个人几乎是连轴转，连改作业的任务都不一定能及时完成，就别说再去探讨什么教学目标、教学艺术了。不瞒朋友们说，我也有过这样的想法，也对这种现状颇为不满。
但是如果不能承认现实、接受现实，就谈不上改变现实。如果我们把教学中的一切问题都归咎于“班级太大（一般都在40人以上，中学很多达到50-60人，超级大校每班70-80也不是不可能的，至于80以上，这里暂不讨论）、课负太重、教考脱节、时间太紧”，以及诸如此类的客观原因，那么我们自身就难以得到提高。我们还需要做什么呢？坐那里抱怨就是了。现实就是这样，换一个学校也未必更好：“好”学校班额大，“差”学校学生基础不好。或者说，这就是中国。我们成天说中国落后、中国不发达，我们要改变这种现状，但当需要我们付出努力、付出代价的时候，我们往往又往后退缩了。当然，腐败、落后、社会不公，这些都现实存在，但当我们无法提刀拿剑与这些不好的东西面对面搏斗的时候，做好我们手边的事情不是更实际吗？我们把学生教好，减少未来社会出现这些不良现象的几率，也是一种贡献。此其一。
以上现象是很常见的，英语教学的一般状况也就那样，但我们毕竟是追求不一般的人群，如果你要脱颖而出，就必须付出比别人更多的努力。说得高端大气一点，“格局决定高度”。你决定成为一个怎样的人，就能够付出怎样程度的努力。作者不是还说吗，“但是我们还是看到许多老师与40、甚至更多名中学生——就是那些“难搞”出了名的青少年学生——努力交流，并获得了上佳的教学成效。”这就说明这样不甘于平凡的人还是有的，甚至可以说是大有人在。此其二。
努力拼搏吧，朋友！虽然长路漫漫，你我却不孤单。