Name: 【TED】Patricia Ryan：別堅持說英語！ (Patricia Ryan: Don't insist on English!)
Uploaded: 2013-04-14T05:29:24.000Z
Duration: 10 min 36 s

and somebody's going to come on the stage in a minute

“來這裡度假的嗎，親愛的？”

Well actually, I hope for a while longer yet.

恩，事實上，我希望能再待久一點

I have been living and teaching in the Gulf

And in that time, I have seen a lot of changes.

這段時間裡，我看到了很多變化

who was teaching English to adults in Abu Dhabi.

all the Arabic words for the local plants,

所有當地植物在阿拉伯語中是怎麼說的

How did those students get all that knowledge?

這些學生是怎麼得到這些知識的呢？

It's not necessary to tell you how important it is

English is the undisputed global language.

英語卻無庸置疑地成為全球性的語言

But I do know that I've seen a lot of changes.

但我知道的是我見證過許多改變

When I first came out to the Gulf, I came to Kuwait

當我初次來到波灣，我是去科威特

in the days when it was still a hardship post.

當時教英文仍然是個困難的工作

to teach in the state schools there in Kuwait.

because the government wanted to modernize the country

是因為當地政府希望國家可以現代化

and to empower the citizens through education.

Now this is the major change that I've seen --

from being a mutually beneficial practice

to becoming a massive international business that it is today.

變成今天這種大規模的國際事業

No longer just a foreign language on the school curriculum,

英語不再是學校課程裡的外語學科

for every English-speaking nation on earth.

畢竟，最好的教育來自於最好的大學

according to the latest World University Rankings --

So everybody wants to have an English education, naturally.

所以自然每個人都想接受英語教育

譬如如果你碰到一位電腦科學家

Would he need the same language as a lawyer, for example?

他會需要有和律師一樣的語言能力嗎？

We English teachers reject them all the time.

但身為英語老師的我們卻總是拒絕他們

They can't pursue their dream any longer,

如果我遇到了一位只會說荷蘭話的人

would I stop him from entering my British University?

我會阻止他進入我的英國大學嗎？

但事實上，我們的確在做這種事