VOA慢速英语2011--Kids in Britain + Online Tutors in India

Education Report - Kids in Britain + Online Tutors in India = Divided Opinions

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

这里是美国之音慢速英语教育报道。

India was once a colony in the British Empire. But now Indian tutors are helping 1 to teach math to some British children over high-speed Internet connections.

印度曾是大英帝国的殖民地。但现在印度的辅导老师（以下简称为导师）正通过高速互联网帮助教授一些英国儿童数学课程。

Early results suggest that online tutoring may improve student performance. But not everyone is happy at this so-called outsourcing of tutors.

初步的成绩表明，在线辅导可以提高学生表现。但并不是每个人都满意这个所谓的的“外包导师”。

It's three thirty in the afternoon at Raynham Primary School in London. Students are gathering 2 for their after-school math lesson.

现在是在伦敦雷纳姆小学，下午3点半。学生们聚在一起，参加他们课后的数学（在线辅导）课程。

Five time zones and thousands of kilometers away, their math tutors are also arriving for class.

相差五个时区的几千里之外（指印度），他们的数学老师也抵达课堂。

Each pupil gets an individual online tutor. The students work with activities on their computer screen and wear a headset and microphone to talk to their tutor.

每名学生都得到一名独立的在线导师。学生们在电脑上做题，并戴上耳机和麦克风与他们的导师交流。

Their classroom teacher, Altus Basson, says he has seen an improvement in results.

他们的课堂老师阿尔特斯·巴森（Altus Basson）说，他已经看到了成绩上的进步。

ALTUS BASSON: " Children who struggle to focus in class focus a lot better on the laptops."

巴森：“在课堂上很难集中注意力的孩子们在笔记本电脑上更容易集中注意力。”

Nine-year-old Samia Abdul-Kadir says she enjoys the online lessons.

九岁的萨米亚·阿卜杜勒-卡迪尔（Samia Abdul-Kadir）说，她喜欢在线课程。

SAMIA ABDUL-KADIR: "It helps me because sometimes when we're doing it in class, I don't hear the teacher very much and I don't understand, but online is better."

阿卜杜勒-卡迪尔：“在线课程对我有帮助。因为有时在课堂上，我听不清，也听不懂老师说的。但在线课程就好得多。”

Her friend, Abdul-Fadil Badori, agrees.

她的朋友，阿卜杜勒-法迪勒·贝多瑞（Abdul-Fadil Badori）对此表示赞同。

ABDUL-FADIL BADORI: "Online, you can hear it, it's not shared by everyone, everyone has different topics they're learning."

贝多瑞：“你可以听到在线课程，它不是所有人共享的，每个人都学习不同的题目。”

Tom Hooper started the company that provides the online tutoring -- BrightSpark Education.

汤姆·胡珀开设了这家提供在线辅导的公司 -- 小机灵教育（BrightSpark Education）。

TOM HOOPER: "Children today feel very confident online, they feel very engaged, they feel very in control. And that's half the battle with education. Give them control, make them feel confident and enjoy their learning and you'll see them start to improve and embrace it."

胡珀：“今天的儿童参加在线辅导时非常自信，他们非常有参与感、掌控感。而这些是教育中的大部分矛盾所在。让他们掌控，让他们感到有信心并爱上学习。你就会看到他们开始提高并欣然接受在线辅导。”

Online tutoring costs between twenty and twenty-five dollars an hour. An online tutor is about half the cost of traditional face-to-face coaching.

在线辅导课程每小时的费用在20到25美元之间。在线导师的费用大约是传统面对面辅导的一半。

But some people say an Internet connection is not enough of a connection for teaching and learning. Kevin Courtney is deputy general secretary of Britain's National Union of Teachers.

但一些人表示，互联网连接并不足以取代教学和学习之间的联系。凯文·考特尼（Kevin Courtne）是英国教师联合会副秘书长。

KEVIN COURTNEY: "We think there's something that's a really important emotional connection between a teacher and a child, whether it's a whole class or whether it's one-to-one. You need that immediacy of feedback, and we're not convinced that can happen across an Internet connection. In one of the wealthiest countries in the world, we think that we can afford to have teachers with the genuine emotional connection there with the children."

考特尼：“我们认为，无论是大课堂还是一对一教学，在老师和学生之间都存在着一种重要的情感联系。你需要那种即时回应，我们不相信通过互联网连接能发生这些。在这样一个全球最富有的国家（指英国），我认为我们有能力负担这种与学生存在真正情感联系的教师。”

BrightSpark Education says the online tutoring is used only as an addition to supplement regular teaching. The company says its service does not represent a threat to teachers' jobs in Britain.

小机灵教育表示，在线辅导仅作为常规教学的一个补充。该公司表示，他们的服务不会对英国教师的工作构成威胁。

Some parents say they are satisfied with the results. And what about the children?

一些家长表示对结果感到满意。孩子们怎么认为呢？

CHILDREN: "I love it!" "I love it!" "I hate maths!"

孩子们：“我喜欢它！” “我喜欢它！” “我讨厌数学！”

So math -- or, as the British call it, maths -- is still not everyone's favorite subject even with the latest technology to teach it.

因此，即使使用最新科技来教授数学课程，仍不是每个人都能喜欢它。