多语言和多国经历，她们想要分享｜storyteen导师快问快答

Lydia 和 Becky，是 Storyteen Prep低龄段英语课堂上深受孩子们喜爱的两位老师。她们拥有截然不同的成长经历与专业背景，也因此形成了各具特色的教学方式，用自己的方式带领7-12岁的英语写作初学者开启英语写作之旅。

Lydia 拥有语言学背景，关注语言本身的结构与魅力，自己也在持续学习中文，因此，非常熟悉那些中国孩子们在学习英语时容易踩的“坑”，知道如何让学习语言变得生动好玩。

Becky 则有着丰富的环球旅行和跨文化经历，使她自然而然地关注英语所连接的更大的世界。她擅长把旅行中的所见所闻带进课堂，鼓励孩子们在不同文化的交流与比较中认识彼此，培养英语实践的乐趣。

在本次快问快答采访中，我们分别邀请了两位老师，从各自的经历与教学实践出发，聊聊她们眼中的英语学习与课堂。

Lydia：从“学语言”到“玩语言”

Q：

You have a background in linguistics and are currently studying Chinese by yourself. In what specific ways has this knowledge helped you when teaching English to children? In a previous course, you designed a language game called "Inventing English Idioms," along with many other assignments that were very popular with kids — how do you design activities like these?

你拥有语言学背景，目前也在自学中文。可以谈谈这些知识具体在哪些方面帮助了你教授儿童英语吗？在之前的一门课程中，你设计了一个通过仿照中文的成语来“创造英语习语”（Inventing English Idioms）的语言游戏，你还设计过许多其他深受孩子们欢迎的课堂作业——你通常是如何设计这类活动的？

A：

My background in linguistics gives me a deep awareness of the mechanics of language, and this knowledge has been a valuable asset in the ESL classroom. Rather than simply saying a sentence “sounds correct,” I can identify and explain specific patterns that students may use to take their writing to the next level. Having studied Mandarin, I am also primed to spot common mistakes that occur when students translate word-for-word from Chinese to English. At the same time, I strive to promote creativity and critical thinking rather than rote memorization of vocabulary and grammar. When I plan class discussions and homework activities, a key part of my teaching philosophy is the idea of literature as a conversation. I continually ask students to share their perspective on the main character’s actions, read between the lines to understand the author’s meaning, and draw connections between the story and their own lives. I like to use the text as a springboard for creative assignments; for example, my “inventing idioms” assignment was inspired by a story in which Junie B. Jones gets confused by a metaphor. The objective of this assignment was to innovate and experiment with non-literal language, and the students eagerly rose to the challenge!

我的语言学背景让我对语言的运作机制有着深入的理解，而这些知识也成为我在 ESL（英语作为第二语言）课堂上的一项重要优势。

与其简单地告诉学生一句话“听起来是对的”，我可以指出并解释其中具体的语言模式，帮助学生进一步提升自己的写作水平。由于我学习过普通话，我也能够更敏锐地发现学生在将中文逐字翻译成英文时容易出现的一些常见错误。

与此同时，我一直希望培养学生的创造力和批判性思维，而不是让他们机械地背诵词汇和语法。

在设计课堂讨论和课后作业时，我的一个核心教学理念是：把文学看作一场对话。

我会不断邀请学生分享他们对于主人公行为的看法，尝试从字里行间理解作者真正想表达的意思，并将故事与自己的生活联系起来。

我也喜欢把文本作为创意作业的出发点。比如，我设计的“创造英语习语”活动，就是受到《Junie B. Jones》中的一个故事启发的——故事里，Junie B. Jones 因为误解了一个比喻而闹出了有趣的误会。

这个活动的目标，是让学生尝试创新和实验非字面意义上的语言表达，而孩子们也非常积极地接受了这个挑战！

中文里有一个词叫“望文生义”，Lydia就利用这个概念设计了一个

极其有趣的中英文双语“望文生义”小作业，让孩子们发挥想象用英文进行创作

Q：

As we know, Chinese is a notoriously difficult and complex language to learn. What keeps you motivated to keep going? Do you think there's something special about Chinese as a language? Drawing on your own experience learning Chinese, what advice would you give Chinese children who are learning English?

我们都知道，中文是一门出了名的复杂、难学的语言。是什么让你一直保持学习中文的动力？你认为中文作为一种语言，有什么特别之处吗？结合你自己学习中文的经历，你会给正在学习英语的中国孩子什么建议？

A：

Multilingualism yields immense rewards, from cognitive and emotional benefits to opportunities for cultural exchange and career advancement. English speakers are often intimidated by the complexity of Chinese characters and tones, but my study experience has been a delight rather than a burden. For me, learning Chinese feels like piecing together a jigsaw puzzle to gradually discover a beautiful landscape. I believe every language is special, but on a personal level, simply because I have so many fond memories associated with Chinese, it holds a unique place in my heart. For students of English, here is my advice: you are learning a global language with a massive population of speakers, which means you don’t have to look far to find people to practice with and media to enjoy. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes! Meet new friends, consume content that interests you, and allow the language to occupy a meaningful part of your life.

我认为，掌握多种语言能够带来巨大的回报——无论是认知和情感层面，还是文化交流以及未来职业发展方面的机会。

复杂的汉字和声调常常会让英语母语者望而生畏，但对我而言，学习中文一直是一种愉快的体验而不是负担，因为学习中文就像是在拼一幅拼图：一点一点地把碎片拼起来，最终慢慢发现一幅美丽的风景画。

我相信每一种语言都有自己的独特之处，尤其是对我个人而言，仅仅因为中文承载着许多我珍贵的回忆，它在我心中也拥有一个非常特别的位置。

对于正在学习英语的学生，我想给他们的建议是：

你正在学习的是一门拥有庞大使用者群体的全球性语言。这意味着你不需要走很远，就能找到可以练习英语的人，也能找到自己感兴趣的英语内容。

不要害怕犯错！去认识新的朋友，接触自己感兴趣的内容，让这门语言真正成为你生活中有意义的一部分。

导师-Lydia

Lydia 在美国东海岸出生并长大，本科毕业于美国北卡罗来纳大学教堂山分校（UNC Chapel Hill）英语与语言学专业，并以最高荣誉成绩毕业。

她持有 TESL（英语作为第二语言教学）认证，拥有丰富的英语辅导经验，曾帮助英语学习者提升发音、词汇、语法能力，以及学术写作和文学分析能力。

此外，Lydia 还曾参与线上课程内容编辑工作，并在儿童博物馆主持双语故事活动，具有良好的跨文化沟通与教学经验。在工作之余，她喜欢阅读、参加知识问答游戏、研究烹饪、用尤克里里创作歌曲，并持续学习中文。

Becky：在“观世界”中建立“文化连接”

Q：

You've travelled to dozens of countries — what made you choose this lifestyle, and looking back, what's the biggest way travel has changed you as a person? For children who may not have the opportunity to travel to as many places currently, how do you help them connect with the wider world in the classroom?

你曾经去过几十个国家——是什么让你选择了这样的生活方式？现在回头来看，旅行给你带来的最大改变是什么？对于目前还没有机会去那么多地方的孩子，你会如何在课堂上帮助他们与更广阔的世界建立联系？

A：

I didn’t have a grand life plan to travel, the truth is after I left university I didn’t really know what to do with my life. My uncle taught English in Bratislava, Slovakia and he encouraged me to get my TEFL qualification so I could get a job teaching English abroad. I ended up moving to Hong Kong two weeks after I graduated university because I had a friend on the university Rugby team who was from Hong Kong and convinced me it would be a great place to live. It was the best spontaneous decision I ever made. I spent two years living in Hong Kong and travelling all over Asia. I think travelling has made me more adventurous as a person and has definitely made me more self sufficient. I am very good at solving my own problems and I have learnt to enjoy my own company as I get to explore new places on my own schedule. Travelling has taught me that there is no normal way of doing things and I love getting to experience cultural differences from place to place. In my classroom in Spain, I always try to show my students pictures from my own travels or experiences as it helps to generate interest if there is a personal connection to what we are learning. Equally I love asking my students questions about their own lives and experiences so we can compare and contrast our lives. An example of this would be discussions over how we celebrate different festivals and holidays.

其实我从来没有制定过一个宏大的人生计划，想着自己一定要去旅行。说实话，大学毕业之后，我并不知道自己到底想做什么。

我的叔叔当时在斯洛伐克的布拉迪斯拉发教英语，他建议我考取 TEFL（对外英语教学）资格，这样就可以去国外找一份教英语的工作。大学毕业两周后，我最终搬去了香港。当时，我在大学橄榄球队认识的一位朋友来自香港，他说服我那里会是一个非常适合生活的地方。

事实证明，这是我人生中最棒的一次“随性决定”。

我在香港生活了两年，并去了亚洲各地旅行。我觉得旅行让我的性格变得更加大胆，也让我变得更加独立。我非常擅长自己解决问题，也学会了享受独处，因为我可以按照自己的节奏去探索新的地方。

旅行让我意识到，世界上根本不存在一种所谓“正常”的生活方式。我喜欢亲身体验不同地方之间的文化差异。

现在，在西班牙的课堂上，我总是尽量给学生展示一些自己旅行时拍的照片，或者分享自己亲身经历过的事情，因为当学习内容与一个真实的个人经历产生联系时，往往更容易激发孩子们的兴趣。

与此同时，我也很喜欢询问学生自己的生活和经历，然后让我们比较彼此的生活。比如，我们可以讨论不同文化中庆祝节日和假期的方式。

Becky的工作坊里会融会不同国家和背景的故事和人物

Becky的工作坊里

会融会不同国家和背景的故事和人物

让孩子在课堂里遨游世界，开拓视野

Q：

Having taught children from so many different countries, what stands out more—the differences between them or the similarities? If you could distil your classroom experience into a single educational philosophy you believe in most, what would it be?

你曾经教过来自许多不同国家的孩子。在你看来，孩子们之间更突出的是差异，还是相似之处？如果将你的课堂经验提炼成一条你最认可的教育理念，那会是什么？

A：

I think the similarities will always stand out more. Whilst it is always important to be sensitive towards cultural differences, I have found teaching teenagers and children around the world to be very similar. Sometimes the references are different but the need for genuine connection is not. For example when I lived in Sri Lanka I connected with my kids over their love of cricket. Now I live in Spain we connect over their local football teams. My experience in my classroom is respect first and foremost. My students know that I value their experience and their opinions and that their voice will always be listened to. For me, effort and participation are far more important than getting answers correct.

我认为，孩子们之间的相似之处永远更加突出。

当然，理解和尊重文化差异非常重要，但在世界各地教过青少年和儿童之后，我发现，他们其实有着非常多的共同点。有时候，他们熟悉的文化背景和参照系不同，但人与人之间建立真实连接的需求并没有不同。

比如，我住在斯里兰卡的时候，会因为孩子们喜欢板球而和他们建立联系；而现在我生活在西班牙，我们会因为他们支持的当地足球队而产生共同话题。

在我的课堂上，最重要的原则始终是：尊重第一。

我的学生知道，我重视他们的经历和观点，也知道他们的声音永远会被认真倾听。对我而言，努力和参与远比是否能够答对问题更加重要。

Becky Meadows-Smith

Tutor, based in Spain

Becky毕业于英国Oxford Brookes大学历史系。她在英国、中国香港和西班牙的国际小学开展少年儿童英文语言、历史的教学研究工作。研发适合不同年龄段孩子的English Language Art内容,并进行大量实践。她在2018年获得了International House Certificate in Teaching Young Learners and Teenagers证书。

报名请咨询Rey老师

Storyteen是三明治旨在为全球华人青少年提供优质的流动教育资源的实验项目，包含创意写作、人文社科、科学前沿等多元学科，并创造孩子们与大师对话，与土地连接的教育实践现场。