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Anyone in the world

想像美國這個民主發源地，成為諸如中國或北韓這樣獨裁政權的想法，聽起來可能很荒謬。它是不可能發生的 - 不僅民眾不會容許！人民會有所警覺！

The idea of America, the fountain of democracy, becoming an authoritarian regime like China or North Korea often seems ridiculous. It just couldn't happen there - people wouldn't stand for it! People would notice!

問題是，我們曾見證1930年代，在希特勒領導下的德國，突然間由民主政治轉為獨裁政權。而今在美國上演的情節異常地似曾相識。且讓我們來檢視一下跡證。

The problem is, we have seen a democracy suddenly change into an authoritarian regime before - Germany in the 1930s under Hitler. And what has been happening in America is remarkably similar. Let's examine the evidence.

川普及他所屬的共和黨一直持續公開地以多種主要方式抨擊民主制度。首先，川普一直在攻擊新聞自由，稱其為“fake news 假新聞”。這是其他獨裁領導者常見的行徑，隨後被利用來作為限制監禁反對派記者的手段。川普一向對提出不合意問題的記者十分無禮。

Trump and his Republican party have been openly attacking democracy in a number of key ways. First, Trump has been attacking the free press - calling them 'fake news'. This is something other authoritarian leaders routinely do, and later use to imprison reporters who report against them. Trump is downright rude to reporters who ask him questions he does not like.

其次，川普一直在抨擊投票過程。他聲稱民主黨選民比共和黨選民更常利用的郵寄投票方式，是一種舞弊行為。目前沒有任何證據可以支持他的論點，但若川普無法勝選，他可能會利用這個藉口宣稱選舉不公。一旦選舉被宣告有弊，川普或許就可以利用最高法院來判定選舉結果。而法院應該是公正不阿的，不是嗎？

Second, he has also been attacking the voting process. He claims mail-in voting, which is used more by Democrat voters than his own Republican voters, is fraudulent. There is no evidence for this, but Trump may be able to use this excuse to declare the election unfair if he does not win. If the election is declared unfair, Trump may be able to use the supreme court to decide the result of the election. The court should be fair though, right?

很遺憾的是，答案是錯的。川普剛在最高法院新增了一位認同他觀點的法官。此時，最高法院的多數法官，都是傾向川普一派。川普掌控了法庭，而掌控法庭通常也是威權國家的關鍵特徵。

Well, sadly no. Trump has just added a new judge to the supreme court who favors his views. A majority of judges in the supreme court are now on Trump's side. He controls the courts. Controlling the courts is also a key feature of an authoritarian state.

令人驚訝的一點是，川普及其政黨不再費心於政策面。他們並未對第二任期提出任何新政策，他們並未做出任何承諾改善美國的未來。反之，他們希望民眾出於恐懼而投票給他們，出於對中國、外來者、對美國失去掌控權、和出於對民主黨的恐懼而交付選票。他們如今只是在販賣恐懼，這點幾乎與希特勒如出一轍 - 兜售恐懼（出於對猶太人、對德國積弱而敵人日益強大的恐懼）。他們在意的只有權力，而非他們能利用那些權力有何作為。

Shockingly, Trump and his party no longer care about policy. They have not proposed any new policies for the second term - they are not promising to do anything.to improve America in the future. Instead, they hope people will vote for them just because they are afraid - afraid of China, afraid of foreigners, afraid America is losing power, afraid of the Democrats. They are now just selling fear. And this is pretty much what Hitler did - sold fear (fear of Jews, fear that Germany was weak and its enemies were strong). All they care about is power - not what they can do with that power.

川普向來自豪地宣稱自己不是政客、也非典型候選人。他的確不是。事實上，在他四年的任期中對美國做出的改變很少。他打了一場幾乎全盤皆輸的貿易戰、也蓋了一些造價不菲的高牆、幫富人減了稅。差不多就做了這些事。他沒興趣治理國家，只想當總統。而希特勒原來也不是什麼政治人物，也非典型的候選人。他本來是個畫家。

Trump has always been proud to say he is not a politician. Not a normal candidate. It is true he is not. He has actually made very few changes to America in his four years. He has fought a trade war and largely lost, he has built parts of an expensive wall, and given the rich a tax cut. That's pretty much it. Because he is not really interested in governing, just being president. Hitler was also not a politician, not a normal candidate. He was a painter, originally.

希特勒和川普還有很多共同點。希特勒和川普所屬的政黨起初都不希望他們成為總統。然而當他們眼見這兩人如何善於煽動選民時，不得不同意擁護這兩名外來者。希特勒和川普都善於蠱惑人心、擅長煽動眾怒。希特勒和川普利用偏激的支持團體引發動亂、造成社會對立，爾後將這些問題歸咎於對手。川普現在正是如此，事實上他極端的支持者已被揭發佯裝成拜登的支持者。希特勒和川普都曾聲稱自己是重建秩序的唯一途徑，名符其實 - 製造問題，成為救世主。

And there is more that Hitler and Trump share in common. Both Hitler's and Trump's parties did not want them for President at first. They only agreed to these outsiders being their champions when they saw how good they were at exciting voters. Hitler and Trump are both demagogues skilled at whipping the public into anger. And both Hitler and Trump made use of extremist groups of supporters to cause riots and sow discord in society - problems that they then blamed their opponents for. Trump is doing this right now - his violent supporters have actually been caught pretending to be Biden supporters. Hitler and Trump both then claimed to be the only way to restore order. Create the problem, then be the solution.

希特勒最後的算計 - 當他的支持者燒毀德國國會大廈時，他咎責於共產黨員，時謂 “Reichstag Fire 國會縱火案”。隨後，他宣布進入緊急狀態，中止政府運作並奪取權力。川普尚未有類似“國會縱火案”的契機，讓他藉以中止政府、永久奪權。若他在下週大選中失利，我們是否會看到這一幕？

Hitler's final, finishing move, was when his supporters burned down the legislature in Germany, which he blamed on Communists, the so-called 'Reichstag Fire', After that, he declared an emergency, suspended the government, and seized power. Trump has not yet had his 'Reichstag Fire' - the moment that lets him suspend the government and seize power permanently. Will we see this if he loses next week's election?

或許川普不需要 'Reichstag Fire 國會縱火案' 相助，他曾戲言要延長總統任期 ( 如普丁和習近平所為 )。他可以這麼做嗎？或許吧！然而即使他做不到 ( 川普現在不年輕了 )，現在已有傳言他的兒子將在2024年參選。他有可能建立起像北韓一樣的金氏王朝、讓他的家族繼續掌權嗎？

But perhaps he does not need a 'Reichstag Fire', Trump has joked about extending the term Presidents can stay in office (something Putin and Xi have done). Could he do this? Perhaps. But even if he couldn't (and Trump is not young now), there is already talk of his son running for office in 2024. Could he create a dynasty like the Kims in North Korea? Keep the family in power?

川普和希特勒的最大差異處在於，如果川普落選，他可能將因逃稅和其他罪行入獄；而希特勒卻無相同顧慮。川普可以說是不顧一切地渴望能繼續掌權，這點讓他變得十分危險。若他的兒子繼續接班，或許也有能力可以保護川普。

Trump has one big difference with Hitler. If Trump loses the election, he may well go to prison for criminal tax evasion and other crimes. Hitler did not have to fear prison if he lost. Trump is highly, desperately motivated to stay in power - and that makes him very dangerous indeed. If his son followed him, he could also protect his father.

值得慶幸的是，目前尚有希望。川普的多數選民都是未受大學教育的男性白人。在美國，這個族群規模不大也正在流失中，預期未來影響力更將逐漸縮小。看來已有很多人意識到其中隱含的危機，川普下周也許會大敗。但是要慎防，共和黨對於自己無法勝選可能早已了然於胸，因而他們必要時可能會用盡一切手段、鑽研各種法律漏洞來保住權力。在選舉舞弊上他們會做到什麼程度，下週可見分曉。若川普繼續掌權，無疑將帶來巨大衝擊，它可能是美國民主終結的開端。如果美國不再是真正的民主國家，那麼要捍衛一個自由民主台灣的想法也將變得更加困難。

Fortunately, there is still hope. Most of Trump's voters tend to be white males without college education. In America, this group is small and shrinking, and going to shrink more in future. It looks like enough people have seen through the danger, and Trump will probably lose big next week. But watch carefully. The Republican party knows they cannot win the most votes really - instead they must use every trick in the book, every legal loophole, to keep power. How far they will go to cheat an election we will find out next week. It will be an immense shock if Trump retains power - and it may be the beginning of the end for democracy in America. And if America is no longer a true democracy, it will be much harder to defend the idea of a free and democratic Taiwan too.

全世界的命運懸而未決直到下週方見分曉，且讓我們期待一切順利。

Next week is one of those moments when the fate of the world may hang in the balance. Let's hope it goes well.

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Anyone in the world

這些日子以來，因為對COVID 19 的應變、持續不懈的民主、和高度的生活水準，台灣有許多值得驕傲的地方（嗯…當然不包含薪資水準…這又是另一篇該好好探討的主題了！）。但近日的一項調查，讓台灣的好名聲剎時間籠罩層陰影，一個少有人會猜想得到這文明小島的暗黑小秘密... 3個字...

I would say that with its COVID response, continued democracy and high standards of living, Taiwan has a lot to be proud about these days (well, not the salaries... - but that's another article topic!). But a recent survey has found a chink in Taiwan's reputation - a dirty secret that few would have suspected of this enlightened isle... 3 words…

台灣

Taiwan

喜歡

Likes

川普

Trump

現階段，幾乎所有西方民主和亞太國家都傾向支持拜登而非川普。然而在台灣，川普的支持率是42%，拜登則是30%（與新加坡相比，拜登獲得66%的支持，而川普則是12％）。如今看來，這點似乎有跡可循，因為在川普的帶領下，美國已明顯傾向支持台灣，而非中國；這樣說來，這應該是件好事吧？

Pretty much all democratic western and Asia-Pacific nations favor Biden over Trump now. But in Taiwan, Trump is favored 42% to Biden's 30% (contrast that with Singapore where it is 66% to Biden to Trump's 12%). Now, this is pretty understandable when it appears that, under Trump, America has moved considerably towards and in favor of Taiwan over China. This can only be a good thing right?

嗯…台灣的朋友們，關於這點，我有些好消息…和壞消息。讓我們先從壞消息開始（好結尾總是不會錯！）。壞消息是：其實川普一點也不關心台灣。實際上，我甚至不太能百分百確定川普是否知道自己的立場。川普是出了名的自戀，他所做的一切都是出自利弊權衡。他只愛自己和自己的支持者。他不做沒有好處的事，他總是要得到一些回報。他背棄了許多美國昔日的盟友、無視全世界。'America first 美國優先' 是他的口頭禪。因此，若你認為他會在乎一個遠在世界一頭、不論民主與否的華人島嶼，你可得再三思了。

Well, Taiwan, I have some good news ... and bad news. Let's start with the bad (it's always best to finish on a high). The bad news is that Trump does not care about Taiwan. In fact, I am not even 100% sure he knows where it is. Trump is a known narcissist and everything he does is transactional. He loves himself and those who love him. He doesn't do anything for free - he always wants something in return. He has abandoned many of America's former allies and turned his back on the world. 'America first' is his mantra. So, if you imagine for one moment that he cares about the people of a Sino-ethnic island, democratic or not, halfway across the world - think again.

不過！這裡有個好消息，川普不代表整個美國政府，天差地遠了！美國當局中還有許多其他有力人士，眾議院兩方（共和黨和民主黨）眼下都不怎麼欣賞中國，而其中的確有許多人真正關心台灣。事實上，過去幾年中雙方唯一達成一致的共識是，美國需要對習近平領導下的中國採取更強硬的路線。整個美國當局已經改變過去的想法。昔日，他們的態度是“wait and see and hope 靜觀其變”，相信市場力量和更進一步地全球化趨勢終將開明、馴化中國，使其融入國際社會。不過事情不如預期，而美國已經失去耐心。

But! Here's the good news. Trump is not the whole American government - far from it. There are many other powerful people in the American government, on BOTH sides of the house (Republican and Democrat) that currently don't like China, and many who do care about Taiwan. In fact, pretty much the ONLY issue that has united the two sides over the last few years is that America needs to take a harder line against Xi Jinping's China. America, as a whole, has changed its mind. Before it was 'wait and see and hope' - trust that market forces and greater globalization will civilize and tame China and bring them into the global community. It hasn't happened, and America has run out of patience.

不僅是美國。如今許多政府都開始無視中國威嚇，即使是那些身負中國鉅額貸款的國家亦如是。英國儘管在脫歐後急於達成貿易協定，仍舊譴責香港新法並拒絕華為參與5G網絡項目，而歐洲可能很快就會效仿。穆斯林國家不喜歡穆斯林在中國所遭受的暴行。而中國的鄰國則對中國掠奪南海感到憂心。中國或許認為自己可以透過商業或投資來收買盟友，然而，正如英國拒絕被收買，金錢外交恐非萬能，中國的盟友版圖正在迅速縮小。

And it isn't just America. Many governments are now turning their back on China, even those who owe substantial loans to the Chinese. The UK, despite being desperate for trade deals following Brexit, has condemned Hong Kong's new laws and rejected Huawei in their 5G network, and Europe may soon follow suit. Muslim countries do not like the mistreatment of Muslims in China. China's neighbors are concerned over China's grab for the South China Sea. China may believe it can buy friends through offers of business or investment, but, as the UK's rejection has shown, money will only get it so far, and its list of allies is shrinking fast.

因此，若你認為拜登任職總統後會再次與中國交好，從而損及台灣利益，也許可以再深思一下，拜登或許以前較親近中國，但當時的美國亦是如此。事實上，許多人認為，民主黨比起共和黨更為關心人權，他們會尋求與其他國家結盟，而非採取川普的孤立主義策略，預期會對中國採取更強硬的立場並鼓勵其他國家跟進。川普單純只想從貿易協議中獲得好處，但在美國有更多關注國際和社會的思想家，其實更關切中國（在習近平領導下）在人權和言論自由議題上的走向。拜登也許不會再發動另一場無意義的貿易戰，但這並不表示他會在中國議題上讓步。

So if you think that a Biden presidency would somehow make friends again with China to the detriment of Taiwan - think again. Biden may have been closer to China before, but then so was America as a whole. And, in fact, many think that the Democrats, who care more about human rights than the Republicans, and who will seek alliances with other nations instead of Trump's isolationist strategy, will actually take a harder line on China and encourage others to do so too. Trump just wants a good trade deal, but more internationally and socially-minded thinkers in America are more concerned about the direction China is moving (under President Xi) regarding Human Rights and Freedom of Speech. Biden might not start another pointless trade war, but that doesn't mean he's going to go easy on China.

令人掛心的是，西方和民主國家現正與俄羅斯和中國進行另一場冷戰。這實在令人遺憾，在過去的40年中，我們似乎什麼都沒學到，然而，意料之外的是，這對台灣是好事。因此，不必擔心下週的選舉。不論川普或拜登勝選對台灣來說都是勝利，只是拜登勝選可能對台灣更有保障。畢竟，若中國提出一個絕佳的貿易協議，你認為哪位總統更樂意出賣台灣？

It is painfully clear that Western and democratic nations are now in another Cold War with both Russia and China. This is terribly sad - in the 40 years I have been alive, it seems we have learned nothing at all - but, in a strange way, it is good for Taiwan. So don't fear next week's election. A win for Trump OR Biden is a win for Taiwan, but you are probably in safer hands with Biden. After all, which president do you think would be more willing to sell Taiwan to the Chinese if China gave them a fantastic trade deal?

我們有句老話：“the enemy of my enemy is my friend. 敵人的敵人就是朋友”，但有時“the enemy of my enemy is my enemy 敵人的敵人還是敵人” 也是真的。（參考電影“** Tracy狄克崔西” 中這句話的剪輯片段

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ADO4uuUJrA ）。你認為川普是哪一種角色呢？

We have an old saying: 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend.' But sometimes 'the enemy of my enemy is my enemy' is also true (watch this clip from the movie 'Dick Tracy' that uses this phrase:

). Which do you think Trump is, really?

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[ Modified: Thursday, 22 October 2020, 4:22 PM ]

Anyone in the world

"I failed Maths! 我數學考砸了! " 這是今早在衛理女中 Drammar 戲說文法課堂上一位學生對我說的第一句話 !

"I failed Maths!" That was the first thing one of my Drammar students at Wesley said to me this morning.

我問: 考了幾分?

"What score did you get?" I asked.

學生答 : 72分 !

"72!" She said.

我笑說："所以妳在考試中答對了近3/4，然後覺得自己搞砸了 ? 我覺得你數學其實蠻好的耶~"。

I laughed. "So you got nearly 3/4 of the exam right. And you failed? I think your math is pretty good, actually."

來自英國的我初抵台灣時，對於成績門檻標準如此之高曾感到十分驚訝。不過，這對於來自美國的人可能沒什麼大不了，因為台灣的教育制度多半借鏡美國而來。

Coming from the UK, I was pretty shocked when I first arrived in Taiwan and discovered that the grade boundaries were so high. Someone from the US would not be shocked of course, since Taiwan's education system is much borrowed from the US.

在英國，評分有明瞭的對比和邏輯。及格是50％，所以，若答對一半以上，就可以及格（儘管這只是拿到C，並不是非常出色）。答對60％通常是B，若是 “good” 或者是“A”，則是答對70％以上（就是答對2/3的試題！）。偶爾會出現額外80%以上的A *、或90％以上的A ^^，用以區分那些實在出色的學生。這樣的系統在歐洲很常見，尤其是在芬蘭這個教育體制被公認為世上最理想的國家。

In the UK, there is a nice symmetry and logic to grades. A pass is 50%, so if you know more than half you pass (though this is only a C grade so not really very good). 60% is usually a B so 'good' and an A is over 70% (so you got 2/3 of the exam right!). Sometimes an extra Grade like an A* is added for over 80% or even an A^^ for over 90% to help differentiate really excellent students. Systems like this are common in Europe, and notably are used by Finland, which is often considered to have the best education system in the world.

為何台灣的成績分界門檻正在傷害學生的自信 Why Taiwan's Grade Boundaries are Damaging Students' Self Confidence

現在，暫時反向思考一下，美國（以及台灣）也許有些充分理由，把成績門檻界定在約70%如此高的標準。在美國，很多測驗是選擇題，可能有很多相對簡單的題目，所以可能很容易拿到這70%。也許會有人持不同見解，以數學這科為例，通常會有非常明確的答案，要求較高的準確度以通過門檻非常合理。畢竟，如果你是設計火箭上火星的Elon Musk，若只有50％的精確度，你的火箭恐怕會墜毀！學校和政府機關或許也認為透過高門檻可以提高水準。

Now, just to play devil's advocate for a moment, there may be some good reasons for the US (and therefore Taiwan) having high grade boundaries with a pass rate of around 70. In the US, many tests are multiple choice, and may have many easier questions, so it may be a lot easier to get that 70. One could also argue that, in Math, a subject where there is usually a clear right or wrong answer, it is reasonable to expect a high level of accuracy to pass. After all, if you are Elon Musk and designing a rocket to Mars, and your calculations are only 50% right, your rocket is going to crash! Schools and governments might think they are raising standards by having high pass marks.

然而，這些高門檻存在一些大問題。首先，是學生的信心和動力。我在台灣多次見過，很多學生自認不擅長某個科目，但實際上他們的表現並不差。被打擊的動力可能導致學生學習狀況不佳、成績日益退步，終究成為學生擺脫不了的惡性循環。我知道很多學生就是乾脆地“放棄”了學校、考試、或特定科目。其次，更高的成績門檻並不會成就學生達到更高的水準或造詣：為了確保合理數量的學生通過考試，考題設計通常是相對容易的選擇題。而用選擇題來評判學生是最糟的方式之一（不過這是另一篇文章主題了）。其三，要評判通過70％考試學生間細微的差異，將會更困難。

However, there are some big problems with having these high boundaries. The first is student confidence and motivation. I have seen first hand many times in Taiwan who believe they are not good at a subject, when actually they are not bad. Lower motivation can result in them not studying well, and then they get worse and worse grades in exams - a vicious cycle many students never escape from. I know many students who simply 'give up' on school or exams or particular subjects. Secondly - higher grade boundaries do not result in higher standards or higher attainment among students: in order to make sure a reasonable number of students pass these exams, the exam questions are often multiple choice and easier. Multiple choice assessment is one of the poorest ways to judge students (but that's a topic for another post). A third problem is that concentrating all the students who pass in the top 70% of the exam grades makes it harder to differentiate between them.

台灣若繼續以美國的教育制度為藍本，將錯失機會、成為一場災難。美國的教育制度和評等早已日益衰退，不再是該追隨的模式。任何一個教育工作者都不該忽視像芬蘭這樣成績門檻較低，卻具成功經驗的國家。低門檻也許會給人降低標準的錯覺，但只要將試題難易度做適度的結合、擺脫程度受限、連一隻訓練過稍有運氣的猴子都可能僥倖過關的選擇題型式，問題自然迎刃而解。即使答對50%終究只能得到C的成績，對多數的學生而言仍會希望得到 B 或 A，而C則是有搞砸的意味。若我們持續認定答對 2/3 的學生考差了，無疑地將繼續削弱這些年輕人努力、相信自己的能力；而缺乏自信將會對人生產生深遠的負面影響。

For Taiwan to continue modelling its education system on the US, is a missed opportunity and a tragedy. The US education system and ratings have been in decline for a long time now - it is no longer a model to aspire to. No educator can ignore the successes of countries like Finland which have lower pass boundaries. Lowering pass boundaries might feel like lowering standards, but the answer is simply to have a better mix of easy and hard questions on the papers, and to move away from limited multiple choice questions that a trained monkey could get right with sufficient luck. A 50% pass is still only a C - and most students will still want a B or A, but at least a C does carry the stigma of a a FAIL. As long as we continue to say that students who get 2/3 of a test right are in fact failing, we will continue to demotivate our young people from trying their best and believing in themselves. And a lack of confidence can have far-reaching and damaging life consequences.

台灣當局意下如何 ? 是否該起身做些改變 ?

How about it, Taiwan government? Time for a change?

你怎麼想呢 ? 是否也認為只有答對70%就是考砸了? 請在下方留言讓我們聽聽你的看法 ! 若你認同這是台灣教育制度亟待改變之處，請不吝分享和按讚。當足夠的人意識到必須改變，改變就會開始！

And what do you think? Do you think 70% should be a fail in a test? Let us know in your comments below! And if you think this is something we need to change in our education system in Taiwan- share and like this post. Change happens when enough people say it must!

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Anyone in the world

再過一兩週美國大選即將到來，美國總統聲稱選票上將出現大規模舞弊，而此次選舉可能出現不公 ( 當然，這僅適用於他輸了大選之時)，此時， 'fraud 舞弊 / 欺詐' 這個字可就顯得至關重要了！

With a US election coming in a week or two, and with a US President claiming that there is going to be massive fraud in the ballot voting and that maybe the election will be unfair (only unfair if he doesn't win, of course), the word 'fraud' has never been so important!

'fraud' 來自拉丁文 'fraus 謊言' 一詞。不過，時至今日它的含義除了謊言之外，更多層面上指的是詭計或欺騙。

It comes from latin 'fraus' meaning a lie. However, these days it has more the meaning of a trick or cheating than just a lie.

該如何記住這個字呢？嗯…它聽來有點像美國的 'Ford 福特' 汽車公司。正當我因為把這家知名的汽車公司和舞弊一詞聯結在一起感到內疚不安時，剛好讀到福特公司因銷售劣質柴油發動機零件而遭定罪的消息。所以這樣的聯想也許並不全然不公。雖說很多汽車公司 ( 近期最知名的是福斯)，都存在舞弊詐欺問題。

And how to remember this word? Well, it sounds a bit like 'Ford' the American car company. And I was feeling guilty about associating this storied car company with cheating, until I read that Ford has just been convicted of fraud over selling bad Diesel engine parts. So maybe it's not so unfair. Though a lot of car companies (most famously Volkswagen recently) have had problems with fraud.

再過一兩週美國大選即將到來，美國總統聲稱選票上將出現大規模舞弊，而此次選舉可能出現不公 ( 當然，這僅適用於他輸了大選之時)，此時， 'fraud 舞弊 / 欺詐' 這個字可就顯得至關重要了！ With a US election coming in a week or two, and with a US President claiming that there is going to be massive fraud in the ballot voting and that maybe the election will be unfair (only unfair if he doesn't win, of course), the word 'fraud' has never been so important! 'fraud' 來自拉丁文 'fraus 謊言' 一詞。不過，時至今日它的含義除了謊言之外，更多層面上指的是詭計或欺騙。 It comes from latin 'fraus' meaning a lie. However, these days it has more the meaning of a trick or cheating than just a lie. 該如何記住這個字呢？嗯…它聽來有點像美國的 'Ford 福特' 汽車公司。正當我因為把這家知名的汽車公司和舞弊一詞聯結在一起感到內疚不安時，剛好讀到福特公司因銷售劣質柴油發動機零件而遭定罪的消息。所以這樣的聯想也許並不全然不公。雖說很多汽車公司 ( 近期最知名的是福斯)，都存在舞弊詐欺問題。 And how to remember this word? Well, it sounds a bit like 'Ford' the American car company. And I was feeling guilty about associating this storied car company with cheating, until I read that Ford has just been convicted of fraud over selling bad Diesel engine parts. So maybe it's not so unfair. Though a lot of car companies (most famously Volkswagen recently) have had problems with fraud. 所以，記得這個句子：'I'm afraid that Ford (and other car companies) sometimes commit fraud. 恐怕福特 ( 和其它汽車公司) 有時會舞弊 '。Ford 和 fraud 聽來很相似但拼法不同，所以句中的 'afraid' 可以幫我們拼出這個字，因為它和 'fraud' 的拼法非常雷同 (只需把 i 換成 u )。 So remember this sentence. 'I'm afraid that Ford (and other car companies) sometimes commit fraud.' Ford / fraud - sound similar! But the spelling is different - so the word 'afraid' in the sentence helps us spell the word since it is almost the same spelling (just swap the i for u!). 所以，回到川普和他 'fraud 舞弊' 的主張。儘管毫無實證顯示郵寄投票會發生大規模舞弊，但真相對川普而言一向不怎麼重要。諷刺的是，川普自己被指控多項詐欺罪，包括因稅務詐欺而受到調查。現在選舉只剩2週時間！且讓我們靜觀其變！接下來的發展可能會很有意思！ So back to Trump and his 'fraud' claims. There is no evidence at all that mail-in voting causes mass fraud, but facts rarely seem to matter to Trump. Ironically, Trump has himself been accused of many frauds, including being investigated for tax fraud. Only 2 weeks now to the election! Let's see what happens! It's going to be interesting!

所以，記得這個句子：'I'm afraid that Ford (and other car companies) sometimes commit fraud. 恐怕福特 ( 和其它汽車公司) 有時會舞弊 '。Ford 和 fraud 聽來很相似但拼法不同，所以句中的 'afraid' 可以幫我們拼出這個字，因為它和 'fraud' 的拼法非常雷同 (只需把 i 換成 u )。

So remember this sentence. 'I'm afraid that Ford (and other car companies) sometimes commit fraud.' Ford / fraud - sound similar! But the spelling is different - so the word 'afraid' in the sentence helps us spell the word since it is almost the same spelling (just swap the i for u!).

所以，回到川普和他 'fraud 舞弊' 的主張。儘管毫無實證顯示郵寄投票會發生大規模舞弊，但真相對川普而言一向不怎麼重要。諷刺的是，川普自己被指控多項詐欺罪，包括因稅務詐欺而受到調查。現在選舉只剩2週時間！且讓我們靜觀其變！接下來的發展可能會很有意思！

So back to Trump and his 'fraud' claims. There is no evidence at all that mail-in voting causes mass fraud, but facts rarely seem to matter to Trump. Ironically, Trump has himself been accused of many frauds, including being investigated for tax fraud. Only 2 weeks now to the election! Let's see what happens! It's going to be interesting!

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[ Modified: Tuesday, 20 October 2020, 6:14 PM ]

Anyone in the world

近日，我寫了一篇關於 'police' 一字常見的英語錯誤文章 ( 你可以在此參見那篇文章)。隨後，一位老師同儕寄給我一張國家英語考卷的照片，他們在試卷上發現了同樣的錯誤 : police是複數，不是單數 - 因此 'police' + 'was' 文法上是錯的。這已經不是我第一次在政府主導的英文考試中發現問題，事實上，在同篇文章中還有另外兩個錯誤，這不禁令我感到憂心。https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=380676753301877

Recently, I wrote a post about a common English mistake involving the word 'police' (you can read that article here). A fellow teacher then sent me this picture of a high school government English test where they had found the same mistake: police is plural, not single - so 'police' + 'was' is wrong. This is not the first time I have found mistakes in English tests administered by the Taiwan government, and, in fact, there are two other mistakes just in this article. I find this a bit troubling.

台灣高中英文紙考糟糕的文法，正在危及學生的英語能力。 Poor grammar in Taiwan's high school test papers is damaging Taiwanese students' English ability.

論功行賞理所應當。我知道這些文章出自非母語人士的台灣同胞之手。他們的英文程度極高，多數表現也很出色。我學中文的程度遠不及他們，我甚至尚無法閱讀或書寫中文，因此，非母語人士可以達到如此高階精準的英文程度讓我感到相當敬佩。因此，前例並非在批判寫這篇文章的人 - 差之千里。

Now, credit where credit is due. I know these papers are being written by non-native Taiwanese speakers. Their level of English is very very high and, largely, they are doing a great job. My Chinese is very far from perfect and I cannot even read or write, so it is just amazing to me that non native speakers can achieve such a high level of accuracy. So it's not that whoever wrote this article is doing a bad job - far from it.

無論如何，這是一份英文試卷。我們要求學生掌握完美的字彙和文法以在考試中取得高分。我們要求學生仔細檢查自己的成品。綜然英語考試只注重這些相當有限的能力 ( 這些測驗幾乎毫無創意可言)讓我深感遺憾，但那是另一回事。如果我們要求學生專注於文法的精準掌握，那我們是不是也應該確保自己毫不出錯 ? 更重要的一點，若學生吸收了這些錯誤的英文，他們很可能會複製這些錯誤，在未來的測驗中重蹈覆轍。對一個用來評測學生的考試系統來說，重覆這些錯誤是很嚴重的事。

However. This is an English exam test paper. We are asking students to somehow have perfect vocabulary and grammar in order to score highly on the test. We are asking them to check their work carefully. It is sad to me that English exams focus only on these rather limited skills (there is very little creativity in these exams) but that is a matter for a different discussion. If we want to focus students' attention on grammatical accuracy, then should we not make sure our own accuracy is 100%? And more importantly, if students are reading English with mistakes, they may copy those mistakes and then get future exam questions wrong. That's pretty bad for a testing system to be reproducing mistakes that it will later examine students on.

老實說，英語文法很難，真的很難。即使你基本上知道所有的規則，也有成千的例外和陷阱等著你出錯。因此，要求精通英語的非母語英文老師不犯任何錯誤並不合情理 ( 實際上，許多母語老師也會出錯 )。所以，我們該怎麼應對呢 ?

Now, let's be honest. English grammar is hard. Really hard. Even if you basically know all the rules, there are thousands of exceptions and pitfalls ready to trap you. It is not reasonable to assume even the most learned non-native English teacher will never make a mistake (and indeed, many native speaker teachers also make mistakes). So what can be done?

嗯，實際上，有一個簡單的解決方案-也因此我常為台灣政府為何不採行此做法做感到費解。讓母語人士對這些文件進行校對。當這些文章在文法上出了錯的時候，母語人士可以直觀地辨識出錯誤，也可以在文章型式和結構上微調改進，以確保學生所讀是正確自然的英文。這個做法甚至要價不高！以牛津英語大師翻譯服務為例，一篇水準適中的英文作品（如這些考試文章）校對僅NT$0.5/字。我粗估上述文章約150字，因此僅NT$75就可完成校對，對母語者而言僅需要一點時間即可完成。我們提供高品質的服務，當然，若有需求，我相信在坊間可以找到更價廉的服務。或者也可以聘用全職的母語者專職把關，相信可省下更多相關費用！對於在全台發行的試卷來說，這是一筆很小的支出，絕對值得用來確保學生獲得正確的英語知識。對英文老師來說，要向學生解釋官方試題的錯誤是件尷尬的事，畢竟，這樣的過程傳達了什麼訊息，又讓老師有何立場來要求學生不出錯呢？

Well, actually, there is a simple solution - so simple I am puzzled why the Taiwanese government is not doing it. Get these papers proofread by a native speaker. A native speaker can simply 'feel' when writing is grammatically wrong, and can also make subtle improvements in style and syntax to make sure that students are reading examples of good natural English. And it's not even expensive to do this! Our own Oxford Master Translation Service charges just NTD0.5 per word for proofreading where the English is reasonably good (as it is in these test papers). The above article is around 150 words I reckon, so would cost just NT75 to check - and would take a native speaker just moments to do. And we are a high quality service - I am sure you could find even cheaper if you needed to. Or appoint a full time native speaker proofreader to the staff and save even more! For test papers that are going out nationwide, this is a small cost and would absolutely be worth it to ensure students are getting a diet of good English. It is embarrassing for English teachers to have to explain to students why official test papers are getting their English wrong - what message does that send to the students about being precise?

我其實不認為文法該是這些考試的主要重點，但如果我們要檢測學生以確保他們的英語程度，那麼我們是不是該從自身做起？台灣政府意下如何呢？是不是該開始好好校對了呢？

I actually don't think grammar should be the main focus on these exams, but if we have to examine students on getting their English right, we need to make sure ours is first. How about it, Taiwan government? Time to start proofreading?

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[ Modified: Thursday, 15 October 2020, 11:57 AM ]

Anyone in the world

我在台灣常聽到一些常見的英文錯誤，總在我這老外耳邊縈繞不止。最近，我寫了一篇關於 'police 警察' 這個字彙大家常犯的錯誤 ( 你可以在此讀到該篇文章 ) 。不過今天，我們要談論一個比 'a police' 更普遍的錯誤。

https://www.facebook.com/englishsandwichoxfordmasters/posts/2823754817946694

There are a few super common mistakes that I hear all the time in Taiwan, and they really clang on my foreigner ears. Recently, I wrote an article about the mistake people often mistake with the word 'police' (you can read that article here). But today - we are going to talk about a mistake that is ever more common than saying 'a police'.

『Children 孩子們』。是的，我們要談談 Children 這個字彙。你也許知道孩子的單數是 'a child'，而複數則以 'children' 來表示。但這點似乎很容易被遺忘，在台灣我常會聽到 'a children'，這對一位母語人士而言是個很難一笑置之的錯誤。即使我3歲大、以英文為母語的女兒，有時仍不免會犯這個錯，自稱為 'a children'。此外，有時我會看到台灣的學生寫 'lots of childs' ( 有趣的是，我女兒倒是從未犯過這個錯誤，可能是她從未聽我說過 'childs' 這個字 - 所以這個字對她而言並不存在 - 儘管 'child's' 這個字倒是可能出現…)。

Children. We need to talk about children. So you probably know that one çhild is a 'child' and a group of them is 'children'. But it can be easy to forget - I often hear 'a children' in Taiwan - which sounds really terrible to a native speaker. Even my three year old daughter who is a native English speaker still makes this mistake sometimes and calls herself 'a children'. I sometimes see students in Taiwan writing 'lots of childs' (my daughter never makes that mistake, interestingly, probably because she never heard me say the word 'childs' - it does not exist - though of course 'child's' is possible).

其實這樣的錯誤無可厚非，英文中要在字尾加上 's' 讓名詞成為複數已經是一件麻煩事，當有些名詞不能只靠加 s 來表示複數，而必須改變整個單字時，只會讓人更抓破腦袋！因此，如果是你、你的孩子、或學生犯了同樣的錯誤，這下該如何是好？

I don't blame anyone for making this mistake - it is already a pain in the ass to need to add 's' and make nouns plural in English. It gets worse when you can't just add s and have to change the whole word! So if you are making this mistake, or your children or students are - what can you do?

試著重複這個簡單的練習 :

我看到一個孩子，接著又看到更多的孩子。

Try repeating this simple drill:

I saw a child, then I saw many children.

這樣就可以替換掉你習慣的錯誤了。不過聽力仍然是提高英語口語能力的最佳方式，你會希望聽到很多自己感興趣的英語原文，你聽到越多正確的文法，你能重複使用的資料庫就越多！所以哩…上Netflix看一些英語動畫、電影、或影集！不用特別去學文法，只要像個孩子一樣的自然吸收！

That gets you swapping the forms over. But listening is still the best way to improve your English speaking - you want to be hearing lots of good native speaker English that you enjoy listening to - the more you hear the right grammar, the more you will repeat it! So get on Netflix and watch some English cartoons, movies or TV dramas! You don't need to learn English grammar - just absorb it as children do!

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[ Modified: Thursday, 15 October 2020, 11:29 AM ]

Anyone in the world

然而， "police 警察" ( 作為名詞僅跟 'the' 一起使用 ) 實際指的是組織、一群人 - 它指的是國家整個警力。最近，美國有一場 'defund the police' 削減警察經費的運動 - 起因於人民對警察射殺數位黑人而引發的怒火。這裡的 'The police' 是指所有警員。

However, "the police" (as a noun it is only ever used with 'the') is actually an organisation, a group of people - it means the whole police force in your country. Recently there is a campaign in America to 'defund the police' - to lower their funding due to people's anger about their shooting of several black men. 'The police' here means all the police.

如果我們想說的是單一警察 - 該說 'a policeman 一位警察' 或是 'a policewoman 一位女警' 或 ( 避免性別) 可以說 'a police officer 警官' 。我們也可以說 'a police car 一輛警車' 或 'a police station 一個警局' 都可以用 'a' 一個單數來表達。

If we want to say one individual police officer - we need to say 'a policeman' or 'a policewoman' or (to avoid any gender) 'a police officer'. We can also talk about 'a police car' or a 'a police station' - all using 'a' meaning one - no problem.

若你認識任何台灣警官，請記得跟他們分享這篇文章！在英文用法中，應該是 'the police 警察', 或 'a police officer 一位警官'，但絕非 'a police' !

If you know any Taiwanese police officers out there, then remember to share this post with them! They are 'the police', or a 'police officer' but never 'a police' in English!

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Anyone in the world

親愛的 Matt 老師 :

當我第一次聽到學校開設了一個名為Drammar戲說文法的課程時，我腦中浮現的畫面是一間平凡的教室中，一個無趣的老師分發著枯燥的文法講義，並指定乏善可陳的作業。但上了一個月的Drammar課程後，一切與我的想像完全相反。在Drammar課程中，我們不但和同學互動以改善溝通和合作技巧，還同時學習如何演出、談吐得宜和正確的文法。7F所有的學生在過去的一個月裡，都樂在Drammar課程中，我們想要感謝您在每堂課中為教導我們所付出的心力。也祝您教師節快樂！

Dear Teacher Matt:

When I first heard that we had a class called Drammar, I thought of a boring classroom with a boring teacher handing out boring grammar worksheets, and assigning boring homework. But after a month of Drammar lessons, I learned that it's the exact opposite. In Drammar not only do we get to interact with our classmates and work on our communication and cooperation skills, we also learn how to act, speak properly, and study grammar all at the same time. All the students in 7F have enjoyed the Drammar lessons this past month, and we want to thank you for all the effort you have put into every class to teach us. Happy Teacher's Day!

由衷地

Sincerely,

衛理女子中學7F學生!

the Students from 7F

Wesley Girls' School

教師節那天，戲說文法Drammar班學生的一封信，差點讓我噴淚 ! This letter from my Drammar Students on Teacher's Day almost had me in tears!

在教師節那天，我被來自衛理學生寫的這封信深深感動。這些年來，我收過很多學生寫的精緻卡片和短箋，甚至還有一本思維&笑話的手工書。不過這封信讓我感動的是，這位學生懂我的理念，她真的理解我在 Drammar 戲說文法課堂中想傳達的理念，擺脫無聊的文法練習，透過正確的使用語言來讓學生自然地學習文法。此外，在課中教的許多其它技巧，也使這課堂真正具備多面向，溝通、演出、肢體語言，口條清楚而自信的開口說英文。團隊合作也是我們在 Drammar 戲說文法課堂中注重的能力養成。但最重要的一點，我很開心那些在台灣經歷過糟糕的傳統刻板學習過程的學生，終於可以瞭解學習使用語言可以很好玩。當然，Drammar課程並非學習英文的唯一途徑，事實上，我自己已為英語學習設計了超過50種不同的課程，而Drammar 戲說文法 Lv1 只是其一，不過它肯定是深受學生喜愛的大熱門。為此，衷心且大聲地向我在衛理七年級的學生及過去四年來所有教過的學生們深表謝意，謝謝你們的理解與支持 !

I was greatly moved by this letter from my students at Wesley on teacher's day. I have had several nice cards and notes from students over the years, even once a whole handmade book of thoughts and jokes. But what moved me about this student's letter - was that she got it. She really understood what we try to do in Drammar class - get rid of boring grammar exercises, and learn grammar the natural right way by actually using the language correctly. And yes the many other skills we teach that make this class really 3D - communication, acting, body language, speaking clearly and confidently. Group work is also a vital skill we use all the time in Drammar. But most of all, I am just happy that students, who I feel often have a bad experience of learning English in traditional ways in Taiwan, can finally feel that using language can be fun. Drammar is not the only way to learn English - indeed I myself have now designed over 50 different courses for learning English and this Drammar Lv1 Course is only one of them - but it's definitely been one of our big hits with students. A big heartfelt thank you and shout out from me to my students at Wesley Year 7, and all the students I have taught at Wesley the last 4 years!

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Anyone in the world

幾個月以來，川普總統一直不鼓勵戴口罩，甚至公開嘲諷他的政治對手 Joe Biden 戴口罩。他私下舉行的集會和會議中，無人戴上口罩或保持社交距離。對川普而言，戴上口罩有損他企圖營造出強而無畏的形象，他同時希望握有投票權的公眾可以忘了冠狀病毒 (更重要的是，他希望大眾可以忘了他在控制冠狀病毒的表現上實在不怎麼樣…)。他宣稱這個病毒並不嚴重 ( 儘管他曾公開憂心地稱此病毒為 ”殺手” )。

For months President Trump has been discouraging of mask wearing, and even openly mocked his political rival, Joe Biden, for wearing one. He has held rallies and meetings in private where no-one was wearing a mask or social distancing. For Trump, wearing a mask damages his brand - he wants to appear strong and unafraid, and he wants the voting public to forget about coronavirus (and more importantly forget that he hasn't done a very good job controlling it). He told the public that the virus was not serious (even though he was publicly recorded fearfully calling it 'a killer').

因此，儘管看到任何人染疫都不是一件好事，但我們不禁認為川普確診新冠病毒不過是早晚的事，多少算是咎由自取，彷彿天意註定懲罰他對病毒、及其他試圖透過戴口罩防止病毒傳播群眾的輕蔑。在英文中，我們可以說川普得到他應有的懲罰 'just deserts'，這裡的 'deserts 應得的賞罰' 來自 'deserves 應受' 一字，可說他得到應有的懲罰。不過 'deserts' 聽來有點像 'desserts 甜點' 一詞，可以想像一下，川普得吃下摻雜了令人作噁的 Covid-19布丁作為懲罰，這將有助於記住這個片語 ! (其實，英國有部很棒的喜劇電影 "Hot Fuzz - 終棘警探 " 就曾開過這樣的玩笑，片中一位警察局長在吃冰淇淋時說道 : 罪犯得到他們應有的懲罰 'just deserts' ! https://getyarn.io/.../62b561b8-457c-40f0-b844...

So, though it is never nice to see a fellow human being suffer, but one can't help feel that Trump's Covid-19 diagnosis was not just inevitable, it was somewhat deserved, as if fate were punishing him for his lack of respect for the virus (and for others who tried to prevent its spread by wearing masks). In English, we can say Trump got his 'just deserts' - the 'deserts' here comes from the word 'deserves' - so he is getting a punishment he deserves. But it sounds like the word 'desserts' - so imagine Trump having to eat a disgusting Covid-19 pudding as punishment and that will help you remember the phrase! (Indeed, an excellent British comedy movie "Hot Fuzz" actually made this joke when a police chief talked about criminals getting their 'just deserts' whilst eating some ice cream! https://getyarn.io/.../62b561b8-457c-40f0-b844...

你也認為川普是得到應有的懲罰嗎? 請在下方留言讓我們聽聽你怎麼想 !

Do you think Trump deserves this 'just deserts'? Let us know in the comment below!

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[ Modified: Thursday, 15 October 2020, 11:07 AM ]

Anyone in the world

我是遊戲迷 ! 不僅是因為我愛玩 (真心不騙！)，而且身為教育工作者的我非常專業。當我還在牛津大學唸書時，我察覺到將遊戲作為學習工具有很多未開發的潛力。這其中有很多以科學為基礎的論述：我們之所以如此喜歡遊戲：它觸發了我們大腦中解決問題的區域，而人類天性就愛解決疑難雜症 ! 遊戲同時也觸發了創意的區塊 - 將兩者結合，我們會獲得高度成癮的體驗！身為父母 (我同時也是一位家長)，我們經常憂心孩子玩遊戲 (電玩給人的印象至今依然不佳)，因為我們擔心孩子會因此沉迷。然而實際上，孩子愛玩遊戲是因為它是鍛煉大腦的利器 - 是一種運動。以此觀點出發，遊戲對學生和及其大腦發育非常有益。

I am a big fan of games! Not just because I like playing them (I do!) but professionally as an educator too. When I was studying at Oxford University, I realised there was a lot of untapped potential for games as a learning tool. There are good science-based reasons for this: the reason we like games so much is that they trigger the problem-solving parts of our brains - and human beings just LOVE problem-solving! Games also trigger the creative parts too - and put these two together and you have a highly addictive experience! As parents (and I am a parent too), we are often afraid of our children playing games (computer games have a very bad reputation still) as we worry they get addicted. But the truth is, they love the games because they are a workout for their brains - they are exercise. From this perspective, games can be highly beneficial to students and their brain development.

不過電玩的確有缺點。它們可能是完全與世隔絕的，絕大部份的互動僅存在玩家和螢幕之間。他們因此不常運用到人類成功所需解鎖的第三項技能 - 溝通技巧。的確，有些遊戲的進行仰賴與人合作或競爭，但如果真的要進行互動，也許該離開視窗。此時桌遊正可以派上用場。桌遊是高度的社交活動，近來非常流行。我想多數的父母會非常支持孩子玩棋盤遊戲等桌遊。

But computer games do have a downside. They can be quite insular, with the interaction mostly between player and screen. They thus do not always exercise the third skill humans need to succeed - communication. True some games can be played cooperatively or competitively, but if you really want interaction, you maybe need to remove the screen. Here is where board games come in. Board games are highly social activities, and are recently very popular. Most parents would be highly supportive of children playing board games.

最典型的社群遊戲是RPG (角色扮演) 。在角色扮演遊戲中，玩家可以做任何自己想做的事，他們的行為只受限於自身想像力及成功通關與否。遊戲成功的機率取決於運氣及地下城主 (遊戲中扮演神般角色的玩家) 所控制。舉例來說，我想與龍搏鬥，我可以告訴城主我想要使用我的寶劍或魔法杖，此時城主會決定我該擲出幾點以獲得成功。因此，角色扮演結合了 “創意” (玩家需共同想像和創造世界)、“問題解決能力” (玩家共同創造和解決問題)、和 “溝通能力” ( 前述這些都需要社交互動)。而創意、問題解決能力、和溝通能力正好是牛津大學指名為未來成功所需具備最重要的三項技能。

And the most social game type of all, is an RPG (Role-Playing Game). In an RPG, players can do anything they wish - their actions are only limited by their imaginations and by whether they succeed or not. Their chance to succeed depends on a dice Roll and is controlled by the Dungeon Master (a player who assumes a god-like role in the game). So, say I want to fight a dragon - I can tell the Dungeon Master I want to use my sword, or I can tell him I want to use my magic staff - the Dungeon Master will then tell me what number I need to Roll to succeed. So RPGs combine creativity (as the players must imagine and create the world together), problem-solving (as players create and solve problems together) and communication (all this requires social interaction). Creativity, problem-solving and communication happen to be the three skills Oxford University has named as the most important skills for success tomorrow.

設計新的英語桌遊! Designing New Board Games for English!

在台灣身為一名英語老師，我們還面臨另一個難題，讓學生使用英語互相交談可能很困難，我們在讓學生用英語表現和演出方面已取得很大的進展 ( 有興趣的話，可以參考我們的Drama 戲劇 + Grammar文法=Drammar 英語戲說文法課程 )；然而這不等於可以讓他們為達溝通目的而自發地造句、自在地使用英文交談。問題在於，如果要求兩位台灣學生彼此自然地交談，他們幾乎總會在沒人注意時自動切換回中文。這很正常，因為學生想完成任務、所以作出決定來解決問題 - 而中文是他們的母語，他們知道對方也會說中文，所以最快達標的捷徑就是用母語溝通。即便年紀稍長的學生也是如此，我發現只有成年人才足以成熟地約束、強迫自己選擇較難的途徑，堅持使用英文。如何讓學生持續使用英文呢? 當然，你可以在學生脫口說中文時祭出威嚇、懲罰手段，相對的學生們很快也會厭惡你的課。我曾經嘗試一些可笑的懲處，像是在課堂上跳舞，但有些學生對此厭惡至極。我也嘗試過一些利誘方式，比如提供零食或獎勵給在課堂上使用最多英文的班級，這多少有點奏效，但也並非適用每個學生，有些人根本不在乎獎品。我也嘗試過讓學生在只能說英文的前提下，進行西洋棋或其它桌遊，但學生在玩西洋棋時所說的英文就像中文一樣簡單。因此，早期所做的這些實驗不免令人有些挫折，頂多只取得了些許成功。

As English teachers in Taiwan, we face an additional difficulty - it can be hard to get students to speak to each other in English. We've already had a lot of success with getting students to act and perform in English (check out our English Drammar Course = Drama + Grammar, if you are interested) but that is not the same as getting them to freely converse - to spontaneously create sentences and use them for a purpose. The problem is, if you ask two Taiwanese students to communicate with each other naturally, they almost always switch into Chinese as soon as no-one is watching. And this is natural, as the students want to get the task done, make a decision, solve a problem - Chinese is their first language and they know the other person also speaks Chinese - so the shortest route to their goal is to communicate in their native language. Even older students will do this, and I have found only adults have the commitment and maturity to force themselves to take the harder path and to stay in English. So how to make students stay in English. Sure you could use threats and punishments if they utter a word of Chinese - but students will quickly hate your class. I tried making students pay a silly penalty, such as needing to dance for the class, but some resented this. I've tried incentives, such as food or rewards for classes that use the most English - this works a bit, but not for every student. Some don't care about the prizes. I had tried having students play Chess or other board games under the condition they talk in English - but you can play Chess speaking Chinese just as easily as you can speaking English. So my early experiments were frustrating and only partial successes at best.

我總說語言是一種工具，不是一門學科，我們不該用學習學科的方式來學習語言，我們應該使用它來達成目標。我突然有了英語角色扮演的靈感。在PRG角色扮演中，學生必須使用英語才能進行遊戲，他們需要告訴老師(城主/關主)他們想做什麼。我留意到學生們其實非常擅長和老師用英文對話，尤其當老師是個老外時。現在，他們所有的互動都需經由老師，再由老師用英文聽答。如此一來，依計畫看來，全班都只能使用英語溝通，只有在遇上不明白的地方，才以中文為輔。

I've always said language is a tool, not a subject. You should not study a language, you should need it to achieve a goal. And that's when I hit on the idea of an English RPG. In the RPG, students MUST use English to play the game. They have to tell the teacher what they want to do. I've noticed students are pretty good about speaking English to teachers, especially when the teacher is a foreigner. Now all their interactions go to the teacher, and the teacher will listen and reply in English. The plan is that, suddenly, the whole class will only be in English, with Chinese used as a backup if there is something not understood.

自今年9月開始在BTS (By the Student) 無界塾 - 由一手打造Pagamo 線上遊戲學習系統，以創新教育聞名遐邇的葉丙成教授所創立。我們將開始3個新的桌遊課程。針對5年級生，將進行一款名為 Englishero 的遊戲，學生們在遊戲中扮演超級英雄。他們可以選擇自己的超能力，每個回合說出自己想做的事或挑選任務卡。他們可以選擇救人、幹壞事、與其它超級英雄競爭、遊歷冒險城各處地方。他們必須選擇隱藏或公開自己超級英雄的身份。他們甚至可以設計自己的超人裝。

Starting this September at BTS (By the Student) School, a school run by Professor Benson Yeh who is famous for his work gamifying education in Pagamo, we will be opening three new Board Game Courses. For the Year 5s, a game called Englishero, where students play as superheroes. They choose their powers, and say what they want to do each turn, or pick up mission cards. They can save people, or do bad things, fight other superheroes, visit the many locations in Venture City. They have to choose whether to be a secret superhero or a public one. They can even design their costumes.

第二款遊戲名稱是 'Game of Business' 的商業遊戲，旨在教學生如何開始自己的公司。他們必須獲得投資、利用這筆錢來發展公司的各個部門，多少預算用於研發?多少預算用於營銷?他們必須開發一個品牌和產品來銷售，決定在何處建廠? 目標市場在哪裡? 同時，他們也需要處理一間公司所可能面臨的各種問題，例如 : 員工不滿、訴訟等。

A second game, with a working title 'Game of Business' is designed to teach students how to open their own company. They have to get investment and use that money to develop the different departments in a company - how much to spend on R&D, how much on marketing? They need to create a brand and products to sell. They need to decide where in the world to put their factories, and where to sell their products. And they will have to deal with the many problems a company faces - unhappy employees, lawsuits and more.

第三款遊戲 'Game of Investment' 投資遊戲，將教學生如何投資股票。他們需要選擇一個投資組合，觀察它如何隨著世界情勢表現，如：戰爭、新技術誕生、流行病，並在合適的時間點賣出、買進。

And the third game, 'Game of Investment' will teach students how to invest in stocks. They need to select a portfolio and watch it grow as world events occur - war, technological discoveries, pandemics - selling and reinvesting as they see fit.

身為這些遊戲的設計者，今年夏天對我來說創意爆棚又瘋狂，Englishero幾近完成，但還有兩款遊戲要完成 (再兩週就開學了)。我會隨時更新後續進度、以及學生對這些新學習方式的反應！希望首度能讓學生自然、自發、持續地使用英語！

It's been a crazy summer of creativity for me as the designer - I have nearly finished Englishero but still have the two other games to go (with only two weeks left before term starts!). I'll keep you posted with news about the development and how students respond to these new ways of learning! Hopefully, we get students using English naturally, spontaneously and consistently for the first time!

跟大家分享 Englishero 地毯尺寸的遊戲墊....

For now, enjoy the pics of Englishero!

如果你對這些遊戲有興趣，我們正在考慮盡快開始一些線上RPG課程！請持續關注 English Sandwich、Oxford English Masters 和我個人頁面 Matthew David Townend 以獲得更多訊息！

And if you are interested in playing these games - we are considering starting some online role-playing game classes soon! So keep watching English Sandwich, Oxford English Masters, and my page Matthew David Townend for more info!

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[ Modified: Wednesday, 7 October 2020, 1:32 PM ]