VOA慢速英语:Economic Forces Push Spanish to Learn English

Spain is struggling with a recession. More than one in five Spaniards are out of work. Unemployment is the highest of the seventeen nations that use the euro. But one area of the economy that seems to be doing well is English classes.
西班牙正疲于应付经济衰退。超过五分之一的西班牙人失业。西班牙的失业率在欧元区十七个国家中是最高的。不过经济体中有一个领域的情况似乎比较好，那就是英语学习班。

A report this year from the EF Education First company listed Spain is a "low proficiency" country in English. Spain ranked just below Italy and just above Taiwan.
来自EF英孚教育今年的一份报告将西班牙列入英语方面欠精通的国家。西班牙排在意大利之后，略高于台湾。

About a fifth of the world speaks Spanish.
全世界大约五分之一的人口使用西班牙语。

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There are many Spanish language TV shows and movies. Spaniards can also watch Hollywood movies dubbed in Spanish or news from Latin America.
全球有许多西班牙语电视节目和电影。西班牙人还可以观看西班牙语配音的好莱坞影片或来自拉丁美洲的西班牙语新闻。

One of the few English voices on Spanish TV belongs to Richard Vaughan.
西班牙语电视台少量的英语声音来自Richard Vaughan。

RICHARD VAUGHAN: "Hello and welcome back to another half-hour segment of Cloverdale's Corner. Today is Tuesday, and Lourdes has had to leave but we still have four people here ... "
Richard Vaughan：“您好，欢迎回到另外半小时的Cloverdale's Corner版块。今天是周二，Lourdes不得不离开了，但是我们这里仍然有4人。”

Richard Vaughan is from Texas but for thirty-five years has lived in Spain. He operates that country's biggest English teaching company. It even has its own TV channel. "Aprende Ingles" -- Learn English -- is Spain's only national channel in English.
Richard Vaughan来自得克萨斯州，但是已经在西班牙居住了35年。他经营着西班牙最大的英语教学公司，该公司甚至有着自己的电视频道。"Aprende Ingles"——学习英语——是西班牙唯一的英语国家频道。

He says people watch his channel and take his classes to get a better job.
他说，人们观看他的电视频道，并参加他的课程是为了找到更好的工作。

RICHARD VAUGHAN: "People don't learn English here for cultural reasons. Some do. But the motive is always, ninety-nine percent of the time, professional."
RICHARD VAUGHAN：“这里的人们学习英语不是因为文化原因。一些人是这样。但是大部分人的动机，99%的人是为了职业考虑。”

Modern changes in the world economy -- globalization -- may offer chances for a better job in another country. But economic problems at home can also make people feel they have few other choices.
现代世界经济的转变，全球化可能会在另外一个国家提供更好的工作机会。但是国内的经济问题也会使人们觉得他们已经别无选择。

NICK BYRNE: "People realize, you know, they are not only going to have to be mobile out of a choice, but they are going to have to be mobile because of necessity."
NICK BYRNE：“人们意识到，他们不仅仅因为别无选择才行动，而且也是因为必要性。”

Nick Byrne is director of the language center at the London School of Economics.
Nick Byrne是伦敦经济学院语言中心的主任。

NICK BYRNE: "We found that, in our university language centers across the UK and indeed across Europe, that language learning is up. We're not talking about people doing a whole degree in languages, but people going on evening courses -- English courses particularly."
Nick Byrne：“我们发现，在英国甚至整个欧洲大学的语言中心，语言学习的人正在增加。我们说的并不是为了获得语言学位的人，而是参加夜间课程的人，特别是参加英语学习班的人。”

In Spain, some of those studying English hope for jobs in Britain or the United States. But others want to work for international companies with offices in Spain. Many companies now require workers to be bilingual.
在西班牙，一些学习英语的人希望在英国或美国找到工作。但是其他人希望在跨国公司驻西班牙办事处工作。现在，许多公司要求员工需掌握双语。

Dominic Campbell is an American who lives in Madrid and teaches English part time.
Dominic Campbell是居住在马德里的一名美国人，他兼职教人们学习英语。

DOMINIC CAMPBELL: "It's a lot of jobs now are actually mandatory that you know at least two languages and a lot of them actually want at least Spanish and English. And, a lot of them are asking for Spanish, English and French -- especially airlines."
Dominic Campbell：“现在有许多工作强制要求你必须至少会使用两种语言，其中许多工作要求至少会使用西班牙语和英语。甚至有的工作要求会用西班牙语，英语和法语，尤其是航空公司。”

Mr. Campbell says many of his students thought speaking Spanish was enough.
Campbell表示，他以前的许多学生曾经认为会说西班牙语就足够了。

DOMINIC CAMPBELL: "They just think, you know, 'My English is poor, I don't want to speak it, I don't want to learn how to speak it. I've got Spanish, that's all I need.'"
Dominic Campbell：“他们只是觉得，你知道的，我的英语不好，我不想说，也不想学英语。我已经会说西班牙语了，这就是我需要的。”

But people also need jobs. More than forty percent of Spaniards in their twenties are out of work. Inigo Gomez  has a degree in education.
但是人们也需要工作。超过40%的20多岁的年轻人失业。Inigo Gomez拥有教育学位。

INIGO GOMEZ: "I'm a teacher, and I couldn't find a job here. So I think it's a good idea to go to the United Kingdom and try to find a job as a Spanish teacher."
Inigo Gomez：“我是一名教师，我在这里找不到工作。所以，我认为去英国是一个不错的主意，并尝试找一份西班牙语教师的工作。”

And while he does that, many Spaniards for the first time will be spreading their new education in English at home.
当他想这样做的时候，许多西班牙人将首次在国内传播英语方面的教育。