我在中文學校裏的最美好的記憶

 

今年紐約橙郡華人協會和中文學校成立三十周年了。吳會長號召中文學校的畢業生寫回憶文章。雖然女兒能聽會說中文，但是寫中文文章還有困難。所以她用英文寫了一篇回憶。我把它翻譯成中文，請欣賞。

 

《我在中文學校裏的最美好的記憶》

 

“對你有好處” ，這是我媽媽喜歡說的話。上個學期，在紐約大學的課堂上，我忽然想起了這句話。我們有一個教授，每次上課，他至少花5分鍾講幾個題目，並且他還告訴我們：這些題目將不會被考試。有些同學就對他“翻白眼”，不聽了，另一些同學還抱怨他浪費時間。但是這個荷蘭智者真的熱愛他所教授的內容。開講前，他總是對我們說：建議你們要認真聽講，對你有好處。

 

雖然中文學校是學習第二語言的絕好機會，但是中文成績既不會列在正規學校的成績單上，也不會提高大學錄取機會。所以我們都認為學習中文的價值不大。讓我告訴你吧，當年，每個星期六的早晨爬起來，去中文學校是一件多麽困難的事情。比這個更困難的是：到了學校之後，老師還要讓我們集中精力上中文課。在我5年級，9歲的時候，我們中文班裏有10個孩子。隻有幾個孩子能完成中文作業，而且每周聽寫生字的成績也不能反映出我們真實的學習能力，因為我們在各自正規學校裏的成績都很好。為了調動我們，老師開始實行發獎券的措施，並且自費買來書簽，橡皮，閃光的鉛筆…做獎品。老師宣布完成作業得多少獎券，聽寫生字得多少獎券…。當我們得到足夠的獎券後，就可以到老師的獎品盒裏挑一件自己喜歡的獎品。獎品盒是一個Totino's 披薩卷的包裝盒，現在我還記得它的樣子。同預期的一樣，我們開始完成作業，認真背寫生字，因為我們都感覺到自己的努力學習得到了回報。

 

在9歲的時候，我們搞不清楚短期獎勵和長遠受益的區別。因為我們不想隻為學中文而學中文，我們的老師給了我們一個學習中文的理由。她自費買獎品，她設計有趣味的教學方法。每個星期五下班回家，做完晚飯，她都認真批改我們的作業，再準備第二天活潑有趣的上課方式。

 

現在回頭看中文學校的日子，我多麽想能更好的利用那樣的學習機會。但是，現在，在實習生麵試的時候，我還是可以自豪地說：我能聽會說流利的中文。在紐約大學，我還可以聽懂中國留學生八卦美國同學的話，然後瞪他一眼，他還以為我聽不懂呢！

 

總而言之，我很感謝我的中文老師。在我明白學習中文的長遠受益之前，她就對我說：對你有好處。很幸運，我的中文老師就是我的媽媽。她就是我在中文學校裏的最美好的記憶。

 

附上原文：

《My Favorite Chinese School Memory》

 

對你有好處. English Pronunciation: Doy ni yo how choo.

 

It’s a simple phrase my mom likes to say, meaning “it’s good for you.”

I was reminded of it during my past semester at NYU. I had a professor who would spend at least five minutes of each class going over topics he warned us wouldn’t be tested on. Some students would roll their eyes and stop listening; others probably complained about a waste of time and tuition. But this wise Dutchman, truly passionate about the material he was teaching, would look at us before he began and say, “I suggest you pay attention and learn this anyway—it’s good for your health.”

Chinese School is an incredible opportunity to learn a second language, but grades don’t appear on a transcript, records aren’t sent to college admissions, and 100%’s are therefore seen as somehow less valuable. I can vouch that it’s extremely difficult to wake up on Saturday mornings and go to Chinese School. That being said, I guarantee it’s harder to get the kids to care once they’re there.

When I was in fifth grade, there were about ten of us in my Chinese School class. Few of us did our homework assignments to the best of our abilities and our weekly spelling quizzes were not a reflection of the work ethic we displayed in regular school. So our teacher decided to start issuing slips of paper that she called “bonuses” and, using her own money, she bought bookmarks, erasers, sparkly pens, etc. Completing your homework earned you this-many bonuses; getting a certain number of questions correct on a spelling quiz earned you that-many. When you collected enough, you could cash them in and pick a prize out of this giant Totino’s Pizza Rolls box that I can still picture today. As predicted, we started completing our homework and studying for our spelling quizzes, because through bonuses and prizes, we felt that we were being rewarded for our actions.

At nine years old, we weren’t expected to understand the difference between short-term rewards and long-term benefits. We didn’t care about learning Chinese just for the sake of learning it, so our teacher gave us a reason to care. She bought us prizes with her own money, she made entertaining lesson plans, and she spent every Friday night diligently correcting our homework after coming home from work and making dinner for her family.

Looking back on my time at Chinese School, I wish I had better taken advantage of the opportunity and resources it had given me. But I feel proud when I’m able to tell my job interviewer that I’m fluent in Mandarin. I like being able to glare at Chinese international students who think they can gossip without anyone understanding what they’re saying. And you should’ve seen the embarrassing smile on my face when I wrote that Chinese phrase above out of memory. For all that, I’m grateful to my teacher. She understood before I did the long-term benefit of attending Chinese School and learning a second language—it’s good for your health.

Or as she would say: 對你有好處.

Luckily for me, that teacher was my mother, and she is my favorite Chinese School memory.

 

 

[瀟瀟雨軒]

不錯，有毅力的孩子。

[Blue-Crab]

讀了你寫的中文和英文，覺得你也許更應該把英文學好。