在一个洲做出的外交姿态能够影响另一个洲的中小学教室，这种情况不常发生。但戴维•卡梅伦(David Cameron)近日出访中国期间呼吁英国学生放弃学习法语和德语、改为学习汉语，此言让一场有关英国在语言学习上所面临困境的辩论再次升温。
虽然一些批评人士认为，英国首相的言论只是为了讨好东道主中国，但这些言论凸显出，英国的教育政策应与其贸易目标保持一致已日益成为一项共识。就在上个月，英国文化协会(British Council)曾警告称，英国对一些外国语人才的缺乏已到达危险的程度，而这些外国语被视为对英国未来保持繁荣以及全球地位至关重要。报告中列出的10种重点语言中，汉语被排在第4位，仅次于法语，紧随汉语之后的则是德语。
位于伦敦东部纽汉区（Newham，该区是伦敦最穷的区之一）的金斯福德社区学校(Kingsford Community School)校长兼创始人琼•德朗德(Joan Deslandes)非常迅速地看到了汉语的潜力。自该校13年前刚刚成立起，汉语就是11岁到13岁学生的必修课程，此外，今年该校有70名学生在英国普通中等教育证书(GCSE)考试中选择了汉语科目。迪斯兰兹承认，很多学校不敢尝试将一门公认难学的课程列为必修课，因为担心这会导致学校排名下降，但她认为这是将文化背景不同的学生们统一起来的一种方式。她说：“在我们学校，学生背景各有不同，单就所说语言来说就有60多种，但汉语不是其中之一。因此，学习这种语言时，所有人都处在一个公平的竞技场上。”
It is not often that a diplomatic gesture made on one continent is felt in primary school classrooms on another. But David Cameron’s exhortation from China this week that UK pupils should ditch French and German in favour of Mandarin has re-enlivened the debate on Britain’s difficult relationship with language-learning.
While some critics suggested the prime minister’s comments were designed merely to please his hosts, they underlined the increasing consensus that the UK’s education policies should align with its trade ambitions. only last month, the British Council warned of an “alarming shortage” of Britons able to speak languages identified as key to the UK’s future prosperity and global standing. Of the 10 languages prioritised in the report, Mandarin was fourth – just below French, and just above German.
Joan Deslandes, head-teacher and founder of Kingsford Community School in Newham – one of east London’s most deprived boroughs – was unusually quick to see the potential in Chinese languages. From when the school first opened 13 years ago, Mandarin has been compulsory for 11 to 13 year-olds, and 70 pupils took the subject for GCSE this year. Ms Deslandes admits that many schools are too afraid of league table slippage to try a subject perceived as difficult, but she saw it as a way to unite culturally diverse pupils. “We have over 60 languages spoken around our school, but Mandarin isn’t one of those,” she says. “For once, this is a language wher everyone is on a level playing field.”
