纸质书地位岌岌可危英国教育大臣担心英国孩子阅读不足

2014-05-08 14:48:39来源：可可英语

　　That means making children comfortable around books, with soft-furnished areas in classrooms and personalised guidance so that each child can be directed to the books he or she might enjoy. School librarians, whose ranks are at risk from government funding cuts, should be seen as “book experts”, says Penguin’s Prior. Above all, while successive governments have fretted about test scores, publishers want politicians to recognise the importance of reading for pleasure. If that can be achieved, they argue, imaginative teaching methods will surely spring forth.

　　这意味着要让孩子们乐意阅读，即把教室布置得温馨得体，并提供个性化帮助，指导每个孩子阅读自己喜欢的书籍。普赖尔说，学校图书馆管理员应该视作“图书专家”，而他们的地位因政府经费削减而岌岌可危。总之，几届政府都在为学生的考试成绩忧心忡忡之际，出版商则希望政客们认识到快乐阅读的重要性。他们振振有词地说，如果这个目标能够实现，那么富有想象力的教学必将源源不断地迸发。

　　The social context is crucial. A 2011 National Literacy Trust survey of British children found that a third of respondents did not have books of their own. Of these, 19 per cent were below the reading level expected for their age, compared with 7.6 per cent of those who did own books.

　　社会环境也至关重要。2011年英国国家文教信托(National Literacy Trust)对全国学生的调查研究表明：接受调查者中有三分之一没有个人的图书。其中，19%学生的阅读能力低于其年龄要求的标准，而对拥有个人图书的学生来说，这个比例仅为7.6%。

　　Inequalities were also picked up in the OECD study. England and Northern Ireland showed “one of the stronger associations between socioeconomic background and literacy proficiency” among the countries tested. What’s more, the report concluded, “unlike most other countries, this association is stronger among young people than among the overall adult population”.

　　经合组织的研究中，还涉及了不平等问题。在接受测试的所有国家中，英国与北爱尔兰呈现了“社会经济背景与读写能力之间存在更紧密的关联度”。而且，该研究报告得出以下结论：“与其它国家不一样的是，这种关联度在英国年轻人中比成年人更为突出。”

　　Such issues have come to the fore in a parliamentary inquiry into adult literacy now under way. “Whether or not you use the word ‘class’, it is about home environments,” Helen Casey, an adult literacy expert, told MPs at its first session last month. “Kids spend 12 per cent of their time in school; they spend the rest of their time not in school. The culture they grow up in is really important,” said another expert, David Hughes. Yet at least one of the MPs seemed sceptical of that approach, suggesting that amounted to “excuses for the education profession”.

　　如今英国议会正在调查成年人的读写能力，这些问题已经表露无遗。“不管用不用‘社会阶层’这个词，归根到底就是家庭环境影响。”上个月第一次议会全会时，成人读写能力专家海伦•凯茜(Helen Casey)这样对全体议员说。“孩子们12%的时间呆在学校，其它时间则都在校外，他们成长的文化氛围至关重要。”另一专家大卫•休斯(David Hughes)说。然而，至少有一位议员似乎对这种说法持怀疑态度，暗示此举会导致“为教师找开脱借口”。

本文关键字: 纸质书地位岌岌可危孩子阅读不足