在我看来,不自然,或者说套路,目前是IELTS Interview存在的最大问题。这方面的问题,我将在“IELTS口试纵横谈”这章较深入地探讨。再者,考生的回答往往言不由衷,不能合乎情理。请看我和一位学生就口试第一部分的问答: ---Would you talk about a person in your family whom you feel very close to? ---My father. He is a hotel manager and I also work in a hotel. We often talk about hotel management at home.
父女之情(You are supposed to talk about someone very close to you.) 就在于谈工作?谈饭店管理?你的真实感受在哪里?你把这种感受用英文讲出会很困难吗?如果有的话,是哪方面的问题?是否脑子里的既定模式在作怪?是否你在小学作文中就在建筑这种模式,以至今日用另一种语言表述出来都浑然不觉?
再如,谈起春节,会听到这样的说法(取自某培训学校口语教材Answer Key): During the Spring Festival, we eat delicious food, visit relatives and friends, and watch TV to welcome the New Year.
如果考官对中国的事情不甚了了,他的疑惑就可能是:Why watching TV can be part of it? 只要有文化间的交流,就会有差异造成的不适感或误读。如何找一些有共性的话题来谈,是辅导教师和考生共同需要考虑的。
当考生被要求Describe a place of attraction (interest) ---描述一个名胜时,一些现成的“答案”可能会这样告诉考生:
颐和园, or the Summer Palace, is a place of extraordinary beauty. The Long Corridor and the bridges are the crown jewels of this masterpiece of traditional Chinese landscaping and architecture. This public park, once an imperial garden, has attracted many visitors from China and around the world. It is usually crowded, but you can still manage to find peace and quiet in谐趣园, literally the Garden of Harmony and Enchantment.
Let me talk about the Summer Palace. I used to live near this park and I ve been there many times. The Long Corridor and the bridges are all very famous. It is a world cultural heritage site now. The place I like best is called 谐趣园, --- it s a small garden with a pond in it. There is a nice teahouse by the water. Well, recently they put the ticket price up, 30 Yuan per person. I guess that s a bit too expensive for me.
对于考官,你是外国人。如果对方差不多能听懂你的话,能据此做出反应;虽然你的语法、词汇不扎实,谈话有阻涩感,但谈话仍能进行下去,双方没有什么特别的不适,说明交流基本有效(effective communication,Band 5或6),应该是一个不错的结果。记得有一次模拟口试,一考生说他喜欢游泳,我顺口问道:What style are you good at? 这个考生找不到合适的词,情急之下,用手比画出自由泳姿势。我很高兴他能这样做,因为交流的目的达到了。这当然也反映了语言的局限,但更是积极、不轻言放弃的态度。尤其是在这个情形下,这种反映很恰当、很自然。
可以说中国教育的很多弊病都能体现在IELTS Interview上来。就我个人而言,应该说听了太多人云亦云的话,故每当模拟口试时有考生说出我意料不到又合情合理、或个性十足的话来时,我作为听者,简直是心存感激。本来我们的生活经历各不相同,脾气秉性各有千秋,怎么一到考试就变得如此相似?对北京人的看法除了Very kind, very friendly, very warm-hearted以外,能不能有点别的?