第1538期:Smartphone vs the classroom

We know it’s good to learn another language. It opens doors, makes you more employable, helps you make new friends, and it’s fun too. But to improve our linguistic skills, many of us have to endure hours of school lessons or evening classes, with our heads buried in textbooks. It’s no wonder then that technology appears to be providing a better and more accessible way of learning.我们知道学习另一种语言是件好事。它打开了大门，让你更有工作能力，帮助你结交新朋友，而且也很有趣。但是为了提高我们的语言技能，我们中的许多人不得不忍受几个小时的学校课程或夜校，我们的头埋在课本中。难怪技术似乎提供了一种更好、更容易获得的学习方式。There is certainly a huge demand for language learning, and having a smartphone means you can have a virtual teacher with you wherever you go. Many app developers are keen to cash in on the demand, and there are numerous learning apps available – including our own, free, BBC Learning English app! One of many popular apps, Duolingo, offers 91 courses in 30 languages and has more than 300 million users.语言学习肯定有巨大的需求，拥有智能手机意味着无论你走到哪里都可以有一位虚拟老师。许多应用程序开发人员热衷于根据需求兑现，并且有许多学习应用程序可用 - 包括我们自己的免费 BBC 学习英语应用程序！Duolingo 是众多流行应用程序之一，提供 30 种语言的 91 门课程，拥有超过 3 亿用户。Some educational apps offer languages not popular enough to be taught at evening classes, or at most universities. And others offer ‘invented’ language courses in Esperanto, Elvish and Star Trek's Klingon – lessons you might not find in a traditional classroom. Whatever you want to learn, apps allow you to go at your own pace and fit learning around other commitments. But they’re not perfect – you might not get your head round the grammar and will lack the peer support you could get in a classroom environment.一些教育应用程序提供的语言不够流行，无法在夜校或大多数大学教授。其他人则提供世界语、精灵语和星际迷航的克林贡语的“发明”语言课程——传统课堂中可能找不到的课程。无论您想学习什么，应用程序都可以让您按照自己的节奏进行学习，并围绕其他承诺进行学习。但它们并不完美——你可能无法理解语法，并且缺乏在课堂环境中可以获得的同伴支持。So, does technology spell the end of traditional classrooms and teachers? Guy Baron, head of modern languages at Aberystwyth University, thinks not. He told the BBC that apps should be used alongside classroom methods, not to the exclusion of traditional teaching. And he adds: "The apps are very conversational... they're not designed for degrees, but they could be additional resources."那么，技术是否意味着传统课堂和教师的终结？阿伯里斯特威斯大学现代语言系主任 Guy Baron 不这么认为。他告诉 BBC，应用程序应该与课堂方法一起使用，而不是排斥传统教学。他补充说：“这些应用程序非常具有对话性......它们不是为学位设计的，但它们可能是额外的资源。”Certainly technology is going to help in and outside the classroom. But attending a real lesson, facing a real teacher, probably forces you to be more committed.当然，技术将在课堂内外提供帮助。但是参加真正的课程，面对真正的老师，可能会迫使你更加投入。Motivation can be a problem when using an app. But if you have a genuine and practical reason to learn another language, you will no doubt stick with it.使用应用程序时，动机可能是一个问题。但是，如果你有一个真正和实际的理由去学习另一种语言，你无疑会坚持下去。词汇表open doors 打开（各种机会的）大门linguistic 语言的evening class 夜校textbook 课本，教科书accessible 容易获取的，可得到的virtual teacher 虚拟教师cash in 从……中捞到钱财course 课程Esperanto 世界语classroom 教室，课堂get your head round (something) 理解、弄懂（复杂的事情）peer support 同学之间互相支持spell the end 预示某事结束teaching 教学degree 学位resource 资源committed （态度）坚定的，投入的motivation 积极性，动力stick with it 坚持下去