外語學(xué)人的跨文化交流之旅

2008年我在德國洪堡大學(xué)做訪問學(xué)者，為了學(xué)習(xí)德語，我通過該校“語言雙人自行車”項目（Language Tandem）結(jié)識了一名德國大學(xué)生，兩人互學(xué)對方的語言，我也由此踏上了跨文化民間交流之旅。

我第一次接觸語言交換活動是在德國。語言交換兼具文化傳播與語言學(xué)習(xí)兩大功能，來自不同國家的兩人結(jié)伴進行語言交換，既是高效的外語學(xué)習(xí)模式，又是深入對方文化的交流模式。到目前為止，我已先后經(jīng)歷過至少五個語言伙伴，德語伙伴Julia，英語伙伴Nico、Edward、Kevin、Lisa。我們基本每周見面一次，每次聊天兩個小時左右。第一個小時全部使用英語，第二個小時則全部使用漢語。我們既會漫步校園、City Walk、自行車騎行，邊走邊聊，也會在工作室、咖啡廳就著一杯中國茶或一杯熱美式，用漢語聊聊孔夫子，聊聊碳中和，聊聊什么是我們正在參與并見證的中國式現(xiàn)代化。在這個過程中學(xué)到生活中最鮮活、最實用的外語，傳播中華文化，了解異域文化。每一次交流都有著十分寶貴的意義，讓我有一種文明互鑒、文化共通的滿足感。在這個漫長的過程中，我們不僅相互學(xué)習(xí)語言，也深入了解對方的國情和民情，了解各自的民族文化，經(jīng)過較長時間的交流接觸，我們都成了代表各自母語文化的民間交流使者，帶動了身邊許許多多熱衷于跨文化交流的友人，彼此建立起日漸深厚的情誼。

我與第一個語言伙伴德國姑娘Julia的故事值得分享。那年寒假，我從柏林去到她的家鄉(xiāng)斯圖加特，體驗德國首都以外的風(fēng)土人情。恰逢圣誕節(jié)，作為外語學(xué)習(xí)者，我在當(dāng)?shù)刈隽艘淮屋^為深度的文化觀察。通過語言交換和一定的深度探訪，我發(fā)現(xiàn)東西方文化之間其實有著很多相似的特征，是人類共通的文化。后來，Julia也曾兩次到訪中國，與我的家人一起包餃子，體驗傳統(tǒng)民俗。雖然停留短暫，但中國文化給Julia留下的印象非常美好。從今年起，Julia開始了她在中國的德語教師之旅。

重慶正在加快建設(shè)中西部國際交往中心，國際地位日益顯著，國際化程度快速提升。在日新月異的現(xiàn)代化新重慶，已經(jīng)涌現(xiàn)出越來越多的外語學(xué)習(xí)者、旅游者和國際工作者，重慶市民出境旅游和從事國際交流活動也越來越多。經(jīng)常聽到身邊有朋友說，希望能夠重新進入大學(xué)課堂，再去學(xué)學(xué)外語。我建議閱讀一些外語原版書籍，聽聽外語廣播，結(jié)識一個語言伙伴，既能學(xué)好外語，又能做一個體驗感滿滿的文化交流使者。

本文作者、譯者：

何武，西南大學(xué)外國語學(xué)院教授、英語系主任

Cayla Ham，西南大學(xué)外國語學(xué)院美籍教師

A Foreign Language Teachers Personal Experience in Cultural Exchange

Translated by He Wu and Cayla Ham

In 2008， I went to Humboldt University of Berlin as a visiting scholar. In order to learn German， I was enrolled in the universitys Language Tandem service. Being paired with a local college student as a language partner， we were able to reciprocally learn a foreign language from a native speaker. And since then， Ive embarked on my journey as a personal cultural messenger.

It was in Germany that I met language tandem the first time. Language tandem plays well both for cultural exchange and language learning， in which two persons from different countries pair up and learn the foreign language from each other. This not only effectively and efficiently allows for language learning， but for cultural learning as well. So far， Ive cooperated with at least six language partners， including Julia from Germany， Nico from the U.K.， Edward， Kevin and Cayla from the U.S.， and Lisa from Cape Verde. We usually meet once weekly， and chat for two hours every time. The first hour is exclusively for English and the second totally for Chinese. We might be walking and talking on the campus or wandering through streets around the city; we might be drinking tea or coffee in a bar， talking sometimes about Confucius and Plato， sometimes about climate change and carbon neutrality， and particularly often about the Chinese-style modernization we are witnessing and experiencing. In this way， both of us could get a good teacher of the target language， learning from each other the fresh and most practical expressions， we could learn about different cultures， and we could have our own cultures better understood by others. Every meeting has its precious meaning， helping us to mutually have a better understanding of the civilization and the day-to-day life between cultures. During the course， we do not only learn each others language， but we also learn about the country， people and culture related with the language. And with frequent and friendly contact we have gradually become ambassadors representing different cultures， contributing to a better understanding between different nations. And many of our friends from both sides have started similar relations and built friendships.

The experience with the German girl， Julia （my first language partner）， is worth a special account. At the time of 2008 winter vacation， I visited Julias hometown -- Stuttgart -- to learn about Germany outside of its capital Berlin. It happened to be Christmas time， so as a foreign language teacher， I could observe how the local people celebrate their most important festival. With language exchange and deeper connection， I find that Eastern and Western cultures actually share many similarities; after all， we all belong to the human race. Julia had visited China two times thereafter， excitedly learning to wrap jiaozi with my family and tasting Chinese traditions. The two short-time stays at China must have left beautiful impressions on Julia. From this September， she has come to Chongqing in order to work in China as a German language teacher at Southwest University.

As an important international exchange center in western China， Chongqing has been gaining its international prestige day by day. Its rapid development and modernized conditions are attracting more and more students， tourists and workers from abroad， and the amount of local people traveling abroad keeps rising faster year by year. Many of my friends have claimed that they want to go back to college to learn English. I suggest they read some favorite English books at home， hear some English radio programs on the way to and from work， talk regularly with a fixed language partner， and then they can learn the language more easily while being an accomplished cultural messenger at the same time.