中国与泰国的文化教育交流

 　　中国与泰国的文化教育交流

       Kuapan Nakbubpa is an assistant professor of the Thai department at Beijing Foreign Studies University.

　　She first came to China in 1992 at the age of 47. The big change that came with moving from all that she knew in Thailand to China, where she knew virtually no one, weighed heavily on her mind back then.

　　"I think too much (before leaving) because I don't know much about China. I know nothing about Chinese language. But fortunately, before I came here, there are a few Chinese teachers came to my university and we knew each other well. So that is the reason why I came here and I have friends here."

　　Without knowing much of the city, she arrived in Beijing.

　　However, the cool, arid¹ weather of northeastern China was in stark² contrast to the humid warmth of Thailand.

　　Likewise, the language barrier made living in Beijing particularly difficult, especially back in the 90s.

　　But before long, Kuapan adapted, getting a bit of help from local friends and even a few strangers.

　　"The first time I came here, I don't know how to buy food to cook; my students often came to help me. Such as sometime, I caught a taxi. I said to the taxi driver that I am a foreign expert, I am a teacher. He told me don't worry, I will take you to your building."

　　As Kuapan adjusted to the change in her surroundings, Beijing started to feel more like a second home.

　　This allowed her to focus more on teaching.

　　There are many exchange programs in Chinese universities and school, which are part of a cooperation agreement between Thailand's Education Ministry³ and the Chinese government.

　　Her particular exchange program, between Beijing Foreign Studies University and Rajapat Chiang Mai University in Thailand, started 20 years ago.

　　Currently⁴, Kuapan teaches courses on the Thai language and culture.

　　However, she gradually feels that two-hours teaching time every week is not enough to provide students with a thorough⁵ understanding of her native language.

　　Kuapan, therefore, goes the extra step to ensure that her Chinese pupils learn Thai.

　　"Teach them how to correct the right consonant⁶, vowel⁷, but I cannot in two hours. So I ask them to come to my room at night so everyone will come here every time a week. I can improve each one of the group the same, because I cannot teach them well within two hours a week."

　　Her devotion to teaching not only helps her students in their lessons, but Kuapan also sees it as a way to promote the benefits of the teacher exchange programs.

　　Last year, Chinese educational institutes sent 10,000 Chinese language instructors⁸ to the kingdom as part of a Sino-Thai education and cultural exchange plan.

　　In the exchange, about 500 to 1,000 Thai language professionals came to China and teach.

　　With the expansion of the exchange programs, more and more Thai students are choosing China as a destination for overseas study.

　　Pawonwan Boondicharoen is a graduate student studying Thai-Chinese translation at the Beijing Foreign Studies University. She came to Beijing in 2012.

　　"Before I came here, I knew that China had a long history and beautiful natural landscapes. I saw a program on the discovery channel about Chinese culture and history--I thought it would be really interesting, so I came."

　　Like Pawonwan, her classmate Hathairath Udomlarptham also had a big interest in China and chose Chinese as her undergraduate major back in Thailand.

　　And after arriving in Beijing, she found Chinese people are even more kind than she thought.

　　"There is one time I got lost, and I asked for direction from an aunty. She said, 'Oh, come here, I will lead you the way.' She just not took me to the direction, she led me there, and then she also asked me do you want to have dinner together? I say, 'What? You are so friendly.'"

　　While there are many differences between Thailand and China, these exchange teachers and students can find similarities among the two societies as they spend more and more time abroad.

　　For CRI, I am Alex Aucott .

1 arid   

adj.干旱的；(土地)贫瘠的

参考例句：

• These trees will shield off arid winds and protect the fields.这些树能挡住旱风,保护农田。
• There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。

2 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

3 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

4 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

5 thorough   

adj. 彻底的，完全的，精心的

参考例句：

• He made a very thorough analysis on the situation.他对形势的分析很透彻。
• The committee reported its findings after a thorough investigation.委员会在彻底调查以后报告了调查结果。

6 consonant   

n.辅音；adj.[音]符合的

参考例句：

• The quality of this suit isn't quite consonant with its price.这套衣服的质量和价钱不相称。
• These are common consonant clusters at the beginning of words.这些单词的开头有相同辅音组合。

7 vowel   

n.元音；元音字母

参考例句：

• A long vowel is a long sound as in the word"shoe ".长元音即如“shoe” 一词中的长音。
• The vowel in words like 'my' and 'thigh' is not very difficult.单词my和thigh中的元音并不难发。

8 instructors   

指导者，教师( instructor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The instructors were slacking on the job. 教员们对工作松松垮垮。
• He was invited to sit on the rostrum as a representative of extramural instructors. 他以校外辅导员身份，被邀请到主席台上。