海外课堂 | 英国线路:身临其境,用心丈量,深入探索
9天的环岛旅行已经结束,卸下一身疲惫,整理好心情,我们正式进入到位于英国南部的布洛贝克特学院进行了为期一周的课堂学习以及寄宿家庭初体验!我们用心观察、认真体会,在深入当地学习和生活环境中探索发现着中英文化的差异与不同。快来看看我们有什么不一样的感受吧! The nine-day trip around the island has come to an end, but our journey still goes on. We came to Brockenhurst College, which is located in the south of the UK, and started our courses there as well as British-style life in local families. Thanks to such arrangement, we have had the opportunity to experience the differences between Chinese and British cultures better. Let’s see what we have discovered.
学校,是我们最熟悉不过的地方了,但在我们眼中,英国学校和中国学校有哪些不同之处呢?
Schools are the place with which we cannot be more familiar. Whilst in our eyes, what are the differences between British high schools and Chinese ones?
感受一:衣着打扮
1. Dressing Code
最直观可见的是中英高中生在衣着打扮上的区别。在中国,学生在穿着方面的个性往往是受到约束的,打耳洞、染头发、指甲长、衣服太短、裤子太紧等等,都是“问题学生”;而在英国,整个校园就是开放式的,没有校服着装规定,老师也似乎不大管束学生的妆扮。但这看似自由的背后其实是更加严格的制度——只要有三次缺勤学生就会被劝退。
感受二:作息时间及午餐
2. Timetable and lunch
这里是上午9点开始第一节课,不会要求学生提前多早就到学校,准时就好。英国高中一节课有一个小时零5分钟,时间很长,但课程种类很多,我们在结构复杂的不同教学楼中穿梭,根据课表寻找自己上课的教室。
——Thomas 刘天洋
One of the great differences between the British high school and our school is the distinctive attitudes towards lunch. The lunch is quite simple here, mainly sandwiches brought by our host families with several snacks, while back in our ZIA canteen, there are types of dishes well prepared by the kitchen staff served as our lunch. Maybe this is due to the different break time. In UK, we have only half an hour to take a break in the noon, so lunch “doesn’t deserve emphasis” in such a short time. Dinner matters more!
——Victoria赖思卿
感受三:整体氛围
3. School atmosphere
Compared with high schools in China, the British schools have the atmosphere that bears with more freedom. Instead of focusing on something external or formal, they pay more attention to the cultivation of students’ thinking abilities. However, this does have disadvantage—beneficial ethos may be hard to form and self-management of the students is what it tests on.
——Selina 龚扬羽
来到英国高中的第一天就有一个非常明显的感觉——这里特别强调“独立自主”:可以自己完成的事情就要自己完成。还不太熟悉学校复杂构成的我们,也不会有人带领着去上课的教室;我们要么是通过地图自己探索,要么是勇敢开口求助当地同学。这里也很注重“主动开放”:在英语课上,我们大谈不同国家教育制度以及一系列问题,没有对错,你可以说出你所坚持的观点;这里的学生也超级主动愿意和你聊天,帮助你,小组合作去探讨一个问题的解决办法打造了思维更加开放的课堂!
——Angel 刘睿仪
这里好像有更多的可能性。英国高中有瑜伽课,这是我们之前从来没有接触过的,感觉很新奇。在瑜伽课上,我还与一位柔韧性很好的男生共同合作,完成了几项练习。英语课堂也十分有趣,大家一起讨论,一起做有意思的活动,在无形中就锻炼了口语能力。
——Eric 王雨宸
感受四:教育模式
4. Education mode
The class atmosphere in Chinese high schools is more serious than that in British high schools. Students here seem to have more opportunities to experience rather than merely memorizing all kinds of principles or theories.
——Vanessa 罗锦溢
The classes here are full of communications among students. The teachers may just come up with one point and then leave it to the students for discussion. Students are warmly welcomed to put forward questions, which also will mainly become a challenge for students to find solutions by themselves.
——Selina 龚扬羽
英国高中更强调讨论合作与对问题的自我探究能力,而中国高中则强调独立思维的敏捷性。二者相对比各有利弊,但我认为高中的授课模式应该是为大学做准备的;在高中更多的应该是培养学生的学习能力而不是知识。尽管英国高中学习比较简单,但其培养出的顶尖人才并不少。所以适当学习借鉴英国教育模式也是可行可取的。
——Jeffery 康庭杰
Personally speaking, Chinese education focuses more on vertically deep researching,while British education concentrates more on horizontally practice and application. Teachers in Britain will not only teach their students how to infer the process of formulas, but also let them have the chance to use these formulas in authentic situations.
——Allen苑博伦
感受五:特殊基础设施
5. Infrastructure for the disabled
这里和国内很不同的一点是在学校里频繁能看到一些坐轮椅或拄拐杖的人,而国内基本看不到。我觉得是因为校园中帮助残疾人的设施很齐全,比如:门上有坐在轮椅上伸手就能按到的开关,厕所除男女厕以外还专门供残疾人使用的厕所,楼道里有小电梯,楼梯旁有助力通道……很多细节都能体现出对残疾人的关照。而国内很多地方就缺少这些设施,让残疾人觉得不便甚至自卑,也就不愿意从家里走出来。希望国内能进一步完善基础设施来帮助身体障碍者,保障他们更加美好生活的权利。
——Doris李挚天芯
经历了一天的学习,回到寄宿家庭后,面对崭新的生活环境,我们的内心又产生了怎样的奇妙反应呢?
After a day of study in school, when we go back to our host families and face with the new living environment, what kind of reactions do we have in our mind? Let’s find out in the following paragraphs.
感受一:居住环境
1. Living environment
在我们住家周围,都是一栋栋小楼房,复式两层,里面很宽敞,有一个我梦寐以求的大厨房,一个温馨的、装修精美的小客厅,我很喜欢这种感觉。每一家都是独立的,不会相互干扰。
——David 曹一正
在英国家里人们好像不喜欢穿拖鞋,一般都是光脚或穿袜子在地板上行走。第一天洗漱的时候我还发现英国家庭的水龙头有的是分为两个——一个热水、一个凉水——这样就无法从一个水龙头出温水,还是会不大方便(这似乎折射出无论是喝还是用,我们中国人对于hot water的需求都多于外国人呀)。可能是源于“术业有专攻”的思维倾向,他们的洗手台也比较小,基本放不下什么东西。但这些仅是我的观察,不会影响我对这个家庭的好感。
——Alice 李江岚
感受二:饮食文化
2. Dining culture
In China, no matter it is breakfast, lunch, or dinner, hot meals are always the main courses, sometimes serving with cold dishes. However, in British families, it is usually (cold) milk, cereal, and fruits for breakfast and one simple sandwich for lunch. Luckily, dinner is diverse. There are roasted chicken, roasted pork chop, pasta, all kinds of dessert… which make us feel happy and satisfied.
——Eric 王雨宸
在中国,如果家里有客人来主人必定会顿顿热情款待,在英国则不然。很有意思的是我们的早餐基本就是麦片和牛奶,但住家妈妈会提前告诉我们它们在什么位置,让我们“help yourselves”就好,这种感觉像在自己家一样。晚餐则会非常丰盛,全家坐在一起聚餐,温暖而亲切。
——Tiffany何芸颐
感受三:成员关系
3. Family member relationship
British parents value their children’s private space much and the whole family atmosphere is more open and tolerate compared with that of Chinese families. Take intimate relationship for example, British parents will allow their adolescent children’s girlfriend or boyfriend to come to their home. They sometimes even give instructions on their relationship. Equal relationship between parents and children facilitates their mutual communication.
——Selina 龚扬羽
我的住家是男主人和女主人平均分担家务,甚至可能男主人做的家务更多一些(他会觉得这是男人的责任)。他们都有各自的工作,也都很尊敬对方。他们与我们同龄的儿子与他们的交流也是充满了尊重,那感觉就像成年人之间在交流。
——David 曹一正
感受四:对于孩子的教育理念
4. Children’s education idea
当住家五六岁的小女孩拎着一兜大袋子时,她的妈妈并没有帮助她而是在一旁鼓励她,让她一路拎回了家。西方人在子女教育中非常重视孩子的独立能力,希望他们从小学会自己做事,大部分孩子成年之后家里就不会再为TA提供生活经费了。而在中国,家长们普遍溺爱孩子,不愿意让小孩自己干活,这容易导致孩子缺乏独立能力,长大后无法融入社会。我们的家庭教育是要反思的。
——Tiffany 何芸颐
我住在一个妈妈和两个女儿(姐姐15岁,妹妹14岁)的家庭里。两姐妹非常自立和自信。
昨天晚上Hanna(妹妹)问她妈妈“我想剪短头发你觉得如何?”妈妈只给出了建议而不是“你不可以”或“你可以”这样直接的决定。这跟中国的父母有很大的区别;他们尊重孩子的想法。另外,Hanna有个小怪癖,她一年四季都会带毛帽子,而她的妈妈也很支持她;他们支持孩子的个性表达和发展。但在中国往往不大允许孩子有非常个性的表现出现,他们只会觉得这样的人是“怪胎”。这也让我想到为什么剑桥招生老师说中国的孩子最大的问题之一就是给人千篇一律的感觉。
——Kayla 张艺萱
正如任浚豪同学在回想寄宿生活时感叹的一样: “从刚一开始的紧张尴尬到后来的洽谈如流,在寄宿家庭中生活需要我们独立自主的能力也锻炼了我们的适应能力。我们感受到了不同的教育方式,也开阔了自己的眼界。”
不论是英国高中,还是寄宿家庭,都让我们有机会可以身临其境,深入了解英国的当地学习与生活,为我们以后的留学之路打好基础。
As Jerry mentioned when he recalled the life in his host family, “From having the feelings of being embarrassed and nervous at the very beginning to being able to communicate fluently and confidently with the family members later, our capacities of independence and adaption have also been exercised and enhanced. We have experienced different cultures and broaden our visions as well.”
No matter in Brockenhurst College or in host families, we are so honored to have the chance to get access to local cultures in depth, which must have laid a good mental foundation for our overseas study life in future.