约8000所英国小学将引进中国式数学教学方法

As reported by The Times, half of primary schools in the U.K. will soon adopt the traditional Chinese method of teaching mathematics.

据英国《泰晤士报》报道，英国半数小学即将引进中国式数学教学方法。

Teachers will be specially trained and given new textbooks with which to teach the "Shanghai math" method. The new teaching style will rely heavily on repetition, drills and "chalk and talk."

教师们将接受培训，使用新教科书，学习"上海式数学"教学方法。这种新方法将完全依赖于背诵、练习以及"填鸭式教学"。

Previous tests have shown that the average mathematics ability of 15-year-olds in Shanghai is three years more sophisticated than that of 15-year-olds in the U.K.

此前的测试结果显示，上海15岁学生的数学水平比英国同龄学生超前3年左右。

Nick Gibb, the Minister of State at the Department of Education, announced that training will be provided for 8,000 primary schools--half the country’s total--to switch to the Shanghai approach.

英国教育大臣尼克·吉布日前宣布，将会对8000所小学--约占全国半数--的教师提供培训，以引进上海的这种教学方法。

"We are seeing a renaissance in maths teaching in this country, with good ideas from around the world helping to enliven our classrooms," he said.

他说，"我们期待着英国数学教学的复兴，希望引进全球的优秀教学方法以活跃我们的课堂。"

Critics of the new program complain that the "progressive" math-teaching style used in China, Singapore and Japan is difficult to apply to real-life situations. Others say that the reform would lead to confusion, and could even stop children from learning the basics and enjoying the subject.

对这一新项目不满的批评人士表示，这种在中国、新加坡和日本所采用的"先进"教学方法，很难解决日常生活中的实际问题。还有人指出，这项改革会引起混乱，甚至会影响孩子们掌握数学的基础，阻碍他们的学习兴趣。

Mike Ellicock, chief executive of National Numeracy in the U.K., says it is necessary for children to learn the basics of math so that they can be confident about the subject, and repetition and drills are not the right way to achieve that. Ellicock believes it is inappropriate to simply import a teaching method from such a different culture.

英国算术基金会负责人迈克·埃利科克表示，孩子们当然需要掌握数学基本思想，这样他们才能在此基础上感受到自信。但要实现这一点，练习和重复并非正确的方式。他认为，从一种完全不同的文化中全盘引进教学思想是不合适的。