《The Economist》《经济学人》中文版

Mandarin 2.0
普通话2.0
Jun 7th 2007 | SAN FRANCISCO
From The Economist print edition

How Skype, podcasts and broadband are transforming language teaching
网络电话Skype，播客podcasts及宽带网络是如何使语言教育改变

IT IS early evening in Berkeley, California, and Chrissy Schwinn, a sinophile environmentalist, walks ten feet from her kitchen to her home office for her Chinese lesson. She has already listened to that day's dialogue, which arrived as a free podcast, on her iPod. She has also printed out the day's Chinese characters, which arrived along with the podcast. Now her computer's Skype software—which makes possible free phone calls via the internet—rings and “Vera”, sitting in Shanghai where it is late morning, says Ni hao to begin the lesson.
一个傍晚，在加州伯克利，迷上中国的环境学家Chrissy Schwinn从她的厨房走到自己的家庭办公室里，开始了她一天的中文课程。她已经在网上把今天的会话课下载到了iPod，预习了。她也把今天随播客文件一起下载的中文字打印出来了。下载，她计算机里装的免费网络电话软件Skype响了起来，在地球的另一端，“Vera”坐在上海的办公室里，向她说“你好”，这就开始了一天的课程。

One might call it “language-learning 2.0,” says Ken Carroll, an Irishman who in 2005 co-founded Praxis, the company that provides Ms Schwinn's service, after hearing about these “Web 2.0” technologies from his slightly geekier co-founders, Hank Horkoff, a Canadian, and Steve Williams, a Briton. The penny dropped at once.
合伙建立Praxis的爱尔兰人肯.卡洛尔说：你可以把这称为“语言学习2.0“。在2005年当他从稍懂些技术的加拿大合伙人 Hank Horkoff，及英国人Steve Williams那里听到“Web 2.0”这个术语时，他们就立即开始行动了。这个公司现在提供类似Schwinn太太的服务。

“Tens of millions” of people in 110 countries now download the free ChinesePod podcasts, Praxis's flagship service, says Mr Carroll. About 250,000 listen regularly and “several thousand” pay for the premium services, which include individual Skype chats with teachers.A second service, SpanishSense, is out, and more will follow.卡洛尔先生说，110个国家的“成千上万的人”现在下载Praxis的主要服务，免费的中文播客。有25万人经常收听，有"几千人“享受包括与教师通过Skype电话个别交谈的付费服务。作为第二种服务的“西班牙风情”也推出了。以后还会推出其他更多的服务。

As a businessman, Mr Carroll loves the economics behind this scheme. Having taught English in Shanghai for a decade, he always knew that the old technology of classrooms and books would never “scale” to cover the world. Now he has 35 employees, all in Shanghai, serving customers globally. He hires the city's best language teachers and pays them about $500 a month, a good wage by local standards.
作为生意人，卡洛尔喜欢这种授课方式的经济效果。他在上海教过十几年英文，他深深知道那种旧式的教室及书本方式永远不能达到世界规模。现在他有35个雇员，他们都在上海，为世界上的客户服务。他雇佣了上海最好的语言教师，每月付他们500美金，这在当地是一笔很好的收入了。

The customers are everywhere from Berkeley to Alaska and the Vatican. In the past, when language instruction—along with haircuts and massages—was a “non-tradable” sector of the economy, many people would not have found a native Mandarin speaker as a teacher in their town at all. Now they need only a broadband connection.
从伯克利到阿拉斯加，到梵蒂冈，到处都有他们的客户。过去，语言教授跟剃头及按摩一样都是经济经济中“不可交换”的部门。很多人在自己的居住地可能都找不到一个讲普通话的中国人。可是现在他们可以通过网络来实现了。