※ 中央日報 第十九版 - 中華民國八十四年九月二十八日

    In 1973, when I was still a high school teacher, I happened to see in a newspaper that the Stanford Center at National Taiwan University was advertising for Chinese language instructors. Out of both interest and curiosity, I applied for the position. I could not have imagined that this would become the turning point of my teaching career.

    To me, teaching is an immensely enjoyable job, especially teaching non-native speakers Chinese. This is because in high school, teachers stand up on a podium and lecture to fifty or more students. The communication is one-way. Teaching Chinese, however, mostly entails teaching individuals in one-on-one classes, which in turn lends itself to frequent and direct mutual interaction and communication.

    Teaching at the Inter-University Program for Chinese Language Studies, also known as the Stanford Center, I have even more of a sense that I bear a heavy responsibility because the students who come here to study are all graduate students at prestigious universities in the U.S. A few are even professors who have already attained academic prestige. Their academic background and earnest approach to studying Chinese forces me to work hard and not slack off. Every day I spend considerable time and effort on lesson planning.

    I still remember feeling nervous during those first few years of teaching. Facing these international students who were older than me, I was a little overwhelmed. My first student was a political science professor. Although he had already achieved recognition in his particular field, he still approached studying Chinese with grace and humility. He was willing to set aside the status he attained from his previous accomplishments and begin studying Chinese from the basics. This humble attitude left a deep impression on me. Moreover, my students come from places completely different from the one I grew up in; the differences in culture, values, aesthetics, and world outlook have inspired me and broadened my understanding of different cultures. Because of this, I have a much wider perspective on the world and a greater respect for others.

    When lesson planning, besides my interests in language, history, and law, I also have to "do my homework" on topics like art, religion, and international current events in order to increase my students' interest in class. I naturally developed the habit of actively skimming materials on different subjects so I could be prepared to use the knowledge in class. This probably is the best example of how teaching can benefit both the teacher and student.

    Before arriving in Taiwan, these students have already passed the Chinese proficiency test administered by the American Board of Directors. But while they can read and understand Chinese, this does not necessarily mean that they can understand the situational context of the Chinese used in everyday life. Therefore, there are always interesting incidents when they first arrive in Taipei. For example, when I run into a student at lunchtime, I may greet them by saying, "Have you eaten yet?" At first, students do not understand that this is a common greeting Chinese people normally use. They always answer this question very seriously and with great deliberation: "I have not eaten yet, because of such and such reason." Another example is when a student's landlord says to them, "You're back," or "Are you going out," they think their landlord is very strange or controlling. When I encounter these situations, I use them as "teaching opportunities." After my explanation, students always have a look of sudden realization, and reply, "Oh, I see."

    With age and accumulation of teaching experience, I can generally categorize Stanford Center students into two types. The first is relatively older in age; they may be graduate students, PhD holders, or professors. They have a clear purpose for coming to study Chinese in Taiwan, so they take a very active approach to their studies, and they work very diligently to prepare for class. After going through a period of coursework, however, students who started out with a clear grasp of linguistics do not necessarily advance quickly in their studies. On the contrary, those who are able to master language skills and have an instinctive feel for the language are the ones who more quickly immerse themselves inside a Chinese language world. On top of this, they are also the ones who make Chinese friends relatively easily outside of class.

    The second type of students may be children of Chinese heritage or undergraduate students majoring in Chinese language and literature. Because of their backgrounds, they have to study Chinese. But if these young students are not able to motivate themselves, they are often unable to overcome the language difficulties they face over the course of studying Chinese. They may not have problems communicating in everyday life, but their grasp of the language is tenuous. Therefore, their language skills may always stay at a particular level and lack significant improvement.

    Besides teaching students Chinese, I have also worked with my colleagues to compile Chinese teaching materials during these past twenty years. This has been my interest outside of teaching. After I retire, I hope I will be able to write and edit more teaching materials based on my own experience and maybe even compile a practical dictionary to help more non-native speakers learn Chinese. (Edited by Hu Ying-Ping)

[September 28, 1995 / Central Daily News / Page 19]

開啟宏觀視野的華語教學
蔣慈

　　民國六十二年，那時尚在中學任教的我，在一個偶然的機緣裡，看見報紙刊登設於臺灣大學裡的「史丹福中心」徵求華語教師，我抱著半興趣半好奇的心情前往應徵，沒想到這竟成了我教育生涯上的轉捩點。

　　教書對我而言，是一項充滿了樂趣的工作，尤其是教外國人華語，因為在中學裡，是老師在台上講課，五十多個學生在下面聽講，屬於單向溝通；而教華語，多為一對一的單班教學，彼此互動交流頻繁而直接。在這所全名為「美國各大學中國語文聯合研習所」，簡稱為史丹福中心的地方教學，更有著「任重而道遠」的使命感。因為來這裡學中文的學生，本身都是在美國著名大學讀研究所的學生，有些甚至已經是有著學術聲望的教授，他們在學術方面的背景，以及對學習中文認真的態度，使我戰戰兢兢不敢鬆懈，每天都花了相當的工夫和時間準備課程。

　　還記得，頭幾年上課時那種緊張的心情，面對著這些年齡比我大的老外，我內心有些不知所措。我的第一個學生是一位政治學教授，雖然他已在自己專長的領域，有了相當不錯的成就，但他學中文的態度，卻是非常有風度、有修養，他願意擺下原有的身段，從基礎中文開始學起，虛心的態度，讓我印象非常深刻。而且，由於他們來自一個與我生長截然不同的地方，無論是文化差異、價值觀、審美觀和世界觀，均開啟了我對不同文化的人事物，一種新的啟迪作用，我也因此有了更宏觀的視野，更尊重他人的心。

　　在備課的時候，除了原有對語文、歷史和法律的興趣外，為了提昇學生上課的興致，我平時也得努力「做功課」，比方藝術、宗教、國際時事這些， 我很自然地養成了主動去涉獵了解的習慣，因為不知道那一天上課就需要派上用場，這大概就是「教學相長」的最佳實例。

　　儘管這些學生來臺灣之前，已先通過了美團董事會CPT的中文程度測驗（即中文托福），但是他們讀中文懂中文，卻不見得能瞭解中國人在日常生活用語上的差異。因此來台北不久後，總是會發生一些趣事。譬如我在中午遇見了某個學生，我問他「你吃過了嗎?」這類中國人的問候語，學生剛開始都不明白，老是很「嚴肅」而且慎重其事地回答這個問題：「我還沒吃飯，因為某某原因的緣故。」或者，學生因為房東向他說「你回來了……」「你要出門了……」這種話，而覺得房東很奇怪，或以為是想干涉他。碰到這種情況，就得採行「機會教育」，透過解釋和溝通，學生最後總會有種恍然大悟的神情，答道:「原來如此。」

　　隨著年齡的增長，和教學經驗的累積，我大致能將史丹福中心的學生，分成幾種類型：第一種是年齡層較高，身分可能是研究生、博士或教授，他們知道來臺學中文的目的，所以學習的態度很積極，準備也認真。在這當中，經過一段時間的課程後，原先對語言學方面極有概念的學生，未必進步較快，反倒是能掌握語言技巧，語感較好的人，愈快融入中文的語言世界裡。而他們也比較容易在上課之餘，交到本地的中國朋友。

　　第二類的學生，他們可能是部分的華裔子弟或唸中文系的大學生，由於背景使然，不得不來學。但在學習中文的過程中，這些年紀較輕的學生若不能自我鞭策，我會發現他們在某些語言障礙上，並未能克服，儘管日常生活上的溝通沒有問題，可是卻不精細，語文程度可能就一直停留在某個程度而無法提昇。

　　在這二十多年的教學生涯中，我除了教華語之外，也和同事編著華語教材，這是教書之外的興趣。我希望將來能根據自己的經驗，在退休後多編一些好的教材，甚至能編一本實用字典，來幫助更多的外國人學中文。（胡影萍整理）