漢語之花盛放在澳洲沙漠

隨著中澳貿易往來和文化交流日益加深，漢語學習對澳大利亞人而言越來越有特殊意義。截至2017年，由西澳大學孔子學院參與教學的漢語學習人數超過6000人，比前一年增長四成。

西澳大利亞大學孔子學院于2005年5月20日揭牌成立，是中國在澳大利亞創建的第一所孔子學院，由西澳大利亞大學（以下簡稱西澳大學）與浙江大學合辦。學院派教師和志愿者到珀斯、奧爾巴尼、班伯里、杰拉爾頓和卡爾古利各地區的43所中小學協助漢語教學，為中小學提供免費的中文教學支持。

26歲的寧波姑娘朱意煒就是其中一名志愿者。去年1月，她通過國家漢語辦公室在國內的選拔，作為浙江大學畢業生赴西澳大學孔子學院，并將于今年12月底結束任期回國。作為志愿者，她協助中文教學和文化推廣工作，讓澳洲本地學生和居民體驗中國文化的博大精深，這也讓她充分感受到澳大利亞人學習漢語的高漲熱情。

由此，朱意煒給本刊發來一篇親歷，記錄這段跨文化交流的特殊經歷—

初見卡爾古麗

作為西澳大學孔子學院的一員，珀斯是我最先踏上的澳洲土地。它被稱為這個世界上“最孤獨的城市”，因為附近再無第二個相當規模的大城市作伴。因為工作安排，兩周之后，我和另外一位志愿者就出發前往距離珀斯車程6個多小時的小城卡爾古麗，去開辟一個新的漢語教學點。這是一個120多年前因淘金熱而發展起來的城市，至今仍以礦業聞名澳大利亞。前往卡爾古麗的這一天，我們眼見著路邊的植被由茂盛變為稀疏，土壤漸漸裸露并且顏色變得越來越紅，一路上車輛寥寥，一直與我們相伴的，是與公路并行的從珀斯往內陸輸水的管道。

兩位中文教師志愿者的到來，對小城卡爾古麗當地居民來說是件大事。到達第二天，我們就接受了當地報社的采訪。我們任職的學校是當地的一所私立學校，教學對象是該校小學部的學生約140人，從學前班到六年級，這樣大跨度的教學對象，一開始就對我們形成了挑戰。初來乍到，我們受到了學校同事和學生們的熱情歡迎，但同時也苦于記不全他們的名字。

學說漢語樂趣多

終于到了正式開課的日子。剛開始的幾個課時里，我們向學生們介紹了中國的基本情況、文化歷史和漢語的一些基本知識。對于中國文化，孩子們最感興趣的永遠是美食，滿屏看得到吃不了的中國菜品圖片在每個班級都引起驚嘆。

不過，因為卡爾古麗的教學點是新開設的，所以學生的中文基礎和教學物資的積累幾乎都為零。曾經有段時間，我每天一到辦公室，不是舊物堆里翻找，希望能找到一些材料，就是剪剪貼貼，不管用不用得著，先做一點什么出來再說。漸漸地，我也發現了一些竅門。比如第一個語言教學主題是“家庭”，在教學過程中，一些低年級的孩子會扳著手指計算自己有多少堂表親和叔叔阿姨，數個沒完。看著他們數手指，我突發奇想，結合一首當地孩子熟悉的《手指歌》的內容，制作了貼有熊貓頭像的手指套，套在手指上，改編《手指歌》，一邊唱一邊教說家庭成員稱謂。對于中國國寶熊貓，孩子們都很喜歡，還爭著搶著把指套戴起來，很快就學會了。

而針對中高年級學寫漢字，我找了塊小白板，畫上田字格就可以帶去每個教室重復使用了；沒有現成的詞卡，我就自己制作模板打印塑封，不僅完全貼合課程需求，還經濟實用。

隨著教學的開展，當地孩子的中文水平慢慢提高了。我們平日里在校園里走動，就能聽到學生們在使用簡單的漢語詞匯。有一次和學前班的老師閑聊，她們告訴我，漢語課以外的時間，時不時能聽到有學生開心地大聲說著學到的漢詞，或是唱著學到的漢語歌，甚至還有孩子會用中文說自己分到的玩具的顏色。到了放學的時間，家長們會趁著接孩子的功夫和我們聊上一陣子。有一次，一位爸爸興奮地告訴我們，他的孩子給遠在中國工作的叔叔發了一條“你好”的短信。每每聽到這樣的好消息，我就很開心，自己的努力總算有所收獲。

一筆一畫最怡情

語言教學漸入佳境后，我常常想，如果能配合教學，給孩子們帶去更多的文化體驗就更好了。

一開始，我非常想開設書法課，但一直苦于缺乏材料，在卡爾古麗，筆墨紙硯“一應俱無”。遠在珀斯的西澳大學孔子學院院長知道后，就千里迢迢開車趕來，送了大量的書法材料。我設計了針對五六年級學生的書法入門課程，從每個年級的漢語課課時中各抽出幾節課，專門進行書法教學。

當我拿出墨水、宣紙和毛筆時，學生們的眼睛就沒離開過這三樣東西。這對他們來說，是非常新奇的書寫工具。有孩子睜大了眼睛跟我說：“我在電視上看到過！”還有孩子摸著毛筆問我：“這么軟，怎么寫字呢？”

顯然，好奇心是最好的學習動力。學生們從筆畫開始學習，然后學寫“福”“樂”等字以及他們的中文名字（在第一學期的時候就已經為他們取好）。有學生指著自己寫的字，仰頭問我：“中國的孩子也這樣寫字嗎？”學生們很是喜愛這種獨特的書寫體驗。在他們眼里，中國字原本就很神秘，如今用毛筆渲染在紙上，更增添了幾分中國韻味。孩子們寫完一張紙又要一張紙，打算把字送給家人或朋友。

值得一提的是，因為卡爾古麗地處內陸，有非常多的澳洲土著生活在這里，他們的母語為土著語，因此對本校的一些土著學生來說，學習英語已經要比其他同學花更多的精力，再要學習中文便自然有抵觸情緒，所以我們特意關注他們。而隨著接觸時間變長，這一類學生也能較好地融入到中文課堂中。令我感到意外的是，一些土著學生對書法特別感興趣。有個土著學生告訴我，寫書法很像畫畫，比如“月”字，他覺得就像一個彎彎的月亮掛在沙漠的天空里。聽到這樣的描述，我心中莫名有一絲感動，一個七八歲的孩子竟也讀懂了中國的漢字文化，同時自己心里隱隱生出“舉頭望明月，低頭思故鄉”的情結。

書法課的最后，學生們欣喜地互相展示作品，我也感受到了前所未有的滿足感——就連平時不愿開口講中文的孩子，在書法課上也興致勃勃地拿著毛筆寫了又寫，描了又描。事實上，孩子們這股對書法的熱情一直不減，在期末，孩子們又用筆墨書寫了圣誕與新年祝福，樂趣滿滿。

學習漢語永遠不會太遲

一開始，我們的教學對象只是小學生。等到下半年，有不少高年級的學生甚至是當地居民也跑來學習漢語。

學校中學部有一位女生Zoe獲得了去中國游學一年的機會。她在卡爾古麗生活，從未有機會學習漢語。針對她的情況，我們利用備課時間，開始了一段“突擊”教學的日子。Zoe勤奮好學，在短短的十節課時間內，她的中文水平實現了巨大的飛躍。如今，她已經開始了在中國東北的游學生活，時常能看到她在社交媒體上分享她在中國的見聞。作為中文“啟蒙老師”的我，也很為她驕傲。

在這里，其實不少成年人也對學習漢語有著極大的熱情。在學校的漢語課堂上，總會有一位本校的老師隨堂管理，隨堂次數最多的一位，是本校的體育老師，日積月累，他學會了不少中文詞句。有時聊天，他突然就會蹦出幾個發音不標準的中文詞，其他澳洲同事對他刮目相看。而他也成了很好的榜樣，帶動其他同事對漢語學習躍躍欲試。去年10月，我們的成人漢語入門課程終于在當地的大學開設起來，來學習的學生中有大學學生，也有教職員工以及我們任職學校的澳洲同事等等。

我們這一次系列課程，雖然目標是“入門”，但是成人學員們的學習能力比較強，有時甚至會“推著”老師走——大人們旺盛的好奇心一點也不輸孩子們。課程結束之前，一位學員說，他幾個月之后就要赴中國旅游，如果能在去之前掌握更多的漢語生活用語，就能在中國有更好的旅行體驗。我整理了許多日常生活、旅行場景中的對話給他，他全部“啃”了下來。

其實，初到卡爾古麗，我心里很沒底，這樣獨特的自然與人文環境，這樣偏遠的地區，所有在這里開展的工作，對我來說都是第一次。在當時看來，四個學期的工作將會是漫長而辛苦的。但是當月歷翻到8月，我發現自己的內心早已沒有了當初的那一份不安，不知從什么時候起，我的工作模式已經從“盡力而為”切換到了“享受一切”。

在卡爾古麗工作與生活的這一年，感觸最深的還是當地同事或朋友的生活態度。澳大利亞人天性積極樂觀，卡爾古麗人似乎比他們生活在別地的同胞更勝一籌，他們十分喜愛自己生活的這個內陸小城，時不時拿漫天的風沙開開玩笑，對生活中的種種不便也處之坦然。只要跟他們交談，你就能感受到流淌在他們血液里的隨遇而安的天性，這與我們中國人安土重遷的文化差異巨大。但是對我們年輕人來說，這樣的生活卻充滿了冒險色彩，是值得一過的另一種生活。這一年，我生活在這里，工作在這里，讓更多的澳大利亞人接觸漢語、喜愛中國文化，卡爾古麗于我，便是一種“詩與遠方”。

Girl from Ningbo Teaches Chinese in Western Australia

By Zhu Yiwei

As trade and cultural exchanges between China and Australia keeps growing， Chinese as a language is becoming increasingly important to Austria. Statistics in 2017 indicated that Confucius Institute of the University of Western Australia enrolled over 6，000 students learning Chinese， an increase of 40% year on year.

Confucius Institute of the University of Western Australia came into being on May 20， 2005， the first of its kind in Australia. It is a partnership between the University of Western Australia （UWA） and Zhejiang University in Hangzhou， China. Teachers and volunteers from the institute now assist Chinese language teaching in 43 primary schools and high schools in Perth， Albany， Bunbury， Geradton， and Kalgoorlie， key cities in Western Australia.

The 26-year-old Zhu Yiwei， a graduate from Zhejiang University， passed a qualification test and was selected as a volunteer by Confucius Institute Headquarters （Hanban） in January 2017. While teaching Chinese and promoting Chinese culture in schools in Kalgoorlie， she has also experienced Australians passion for learning Chinese. The following is her story she sent us from Kalgoorlie for Cultural Dialogue.

After a brief stay in Perth， another volunteer and I went to Kalgoorlie， a desert city that takes a drive of 6 hours from Perth to reach. We were there to set up a Chinese teaching course in a local private school. Kalgoorlie was born into a settlement over 120 years ago because of a gold rush. Today， mining is still the citys economic pillar. As we drove along， trees decreased in number and the soil became naked and turned increasingly red. The highway was almost empty as there were not so many cars. In our company all the way to Kalgoorlie was a water pipe system going in parallel with the highway. The pipe system distributes water all the way from Perth to outback.

Our arrival was a big event in Kalgoorlie. On the second day， a local newspaper journalist interviewed us. The private school where we were to work had about 140 students in six grades in the primary school department. The students and teachers gave us a warm welcome. We had trouble memorizing their names.

At the very beginning， we introduced China to students. Pictures of Chinese cuisine always created the biggest wow in classrooms. As the course was new and we had no teaching materials， we needed to be creative in teaching. In the first class， I taught them the relation names of family members and relatives. Seeing kids count on their fingertips how many aunts， uncles， cousins on father and mothers sides they had， I hit upon the idea of adapting a local nursery rhyme “Song of Fingers” to teach the Chinese words. So I made finger cots and painted pandas on them. And I adapted the rhyme. Kids loved the panda images and found little difficulty in citing Chinese words. Pretty soon they learned how to name the relations of their family members and relatives in Chinese. For children in fifth and sixth grades， I made word cards and had the cards plastic-packaged. They were cheap and perfect for the course.

As the course proceeded， more and more children began to speak Chinese in the campus. I was happy to hear Chinese words and sentences spoken loudly here and there. Teachers of a preschooler class told me that children sang Chinese songs now and then and children pronounced Chinese words loudly.

I wanted to teach calligraphy in the school， but the school didnt have any Chinese brush-pens， ink， and Xuan paper. After learning about the situation， the director of Confucius Institute of UWA drove all the way from Perth and brought us all the necessary supplies. I adjusted the classes and found time to teach children to practice Chinese calligraphy. The first time I demonstrated the brush-pen， ink and rice paper to children， their eyes widened and found these tools incredible. One declared， “I saw them on television.” Another touched a brush-pen and wondered aloud how the soft hair could write. They learned fast. After learning the essentials of brush-pen writing， they were able to write their Chinese names and well known Chinese words such as 福 （fortune， good luck） and 樂 （happiness， joy）. They wrote happily and asked for more paper. It turned out that they wanted to show off their Chinese and give away their brush-pen writings to their friends and relatives.

In Kalgoorlie live some aboriginals. They speak their own language. Some children of these aboriginal families have trouble speaking English and have to spend more time learning English. For this reason， some of these children didnt want to trouble themselves with the Chinese language. I went out of my way to get them interested. As the course went on， they became interested. To my surprise， some showed special interest in calligraphy. One told me， practicing Chinese calligraphy was like doing a drawing. He pointed out that 月 looks exactly like the moon high up in the sky above the desert. I was touched by the comment and there and then， I suddenly found myself miss my home back in China.

In the first six months， we taught primary school students only. In the second half， some students from high school and some local residents came to learn Chinese. Zoe， a girl from the secondary school， was to spend a year in China. But she had never learned a Chinese word in Kalgoorlie before. So she came to me. I designed a crash course for her. She learned amazingly fast within ten classes. Now she is in a school in northeastern China and she often shares her experience in China on the social media with her friends. Seeing her progress in Chinese， I as her first Chinese teacher feel extremely happy for her.

Adults in Kalgoorlie are more passionate about learning Chinese.

In my classes， I work with a local teacher. I teach and a local teacher observes. These teachers take turns to attend my classes. A PE teacher has attended my class most. Before long he was able to speak some Chinese words while chatting with his colleagues. His colleagues felt amazed and they wanted to come to my class. In October 2017 we started a Chinese course at a college in Kalgoorlie. This course has attracted college students and faculty members as well as colleagues from our school. Though it is only an essential course， adult students are making amazing progress and are pushing us forward. Their curiosity can well compete with that of youngsters at the school.

When I was first in Kalgoorlie， I wasnt sure about the success of my mission there. It was the first time I worked in such a remote place with its natural and cultural particulars. I thought the time I would spend there would be a long challenge. But in August I found my sense of uncertainties gone. I dont know when my work philosophy in Kalgoorlie changed from “I will try my best” to “I really enjoy everything here.”

Teaching Chinese in Kalgoorlie has given me a lot. One impression stands out： my friends and colleagues have a unique optimism toward life. They love their home city in the inland and often joke about sandy winds. They are reconciled with what they have from nature and they are contented with their special position in life. For me， working in Kalgoorlie is like leading an alternative life worth leading and trying out. Kalgoorlie is like “poetry and another world”.