A部分

Japan has a significantly better record in terms of average mathematical attainment than England and Wales. Large sample international comparisons of pupils’ attainments since the 1960s have established that not only did Japanese pupils at age 13 have better scores of average attainment, but there was also a larger proportion of ‘low’ attainers in England, where, incidentally, the variation in attainment scores was much greater. The percentage of Gross National Product spent on education is reasonably similar in the two countries, so how is this higher and more consistent attainment in maths achieved?

A部分

日本在数学成绩方面的平均水平明显优于英格兰和威尔士。自20世纪60年代以来，针对学生成就的大样本国际比较表明，不仅13岁时日本学生的平均成绩更高，而且在英格兰有更高比例的“低成就者”，与此同时，英格兰的成绩变异性也更大。两国在教育上的国民生产总值支出百分比相差不大，那么是如何实现这种更高、更一致的数学成就的呢？

B部分-第1段

Lower secondary schools in Japan cover three school years, from the seventh grade (age 13) to the ninth grade (age 15). Virtually all pupils at this stage attend state schools: only 3 per cent are in the private sector. Schools are usually modern in design, set well back from the road and spacious inside. Classrooms are large and pupils sit at single desks in rows. Lessons last for a standardised 50 minutes and are always followed by a 10-minute break, which gives the pupils a chance to let off steam. Teachers begin with a formal address and mutual bowing, and then concentrate on whole-class teaching.

B部分-第1段

日本的中学共有三个学年，从第七年级(13岁)到第九年级(15岁)。几乎所有的学生都在国立学校就读，只有3%在私立学校。学校通常设计现代化，远离道路，内部宽敞。教室很大，学生坐在排成一行的单人桌子旁。课程标准化，每节课50分钟，总是跟着10分钟的休息时间，给学生一个发泄的机会。老师开始时进行正式讲话和互相鞠躬，然后集中进行整班教学。

B部分-第2段

Classes are large – usually about 40 – and are unstreamed. Pupils stay in the same class for all lessons throughout the school and develop considerable class identity and loyalty. Pupils attend the school in their own neighbourhood, which in theory removes ranking by school. In practice in Tokyo, because of the relative concentration of schools, there is some competition to get into the ‘better’ school in a particular area.

B部分-第2段

班级规模大，通常约40人，没有分班。学生在整个中学阶段都在同一个班级上课，并形成了相当的集体身份和忠诚度。学生就读自己所在社区的学校，理论上消除了学校之间的排名。实际上，在东京由于学校相对集中，会有一些争夺进入特定地区“更好”的学校。

C部分

Traditional ways of teaching form the basis of the lesson and the remarkably quiet classes take their own notes of the points made and the examples demonstrated. Everyone has their own copy of the textbook supplied by the central education authority, Monbusho, as part of the concept of free compulsory education up to the age of 15. These textbooks are, on the whole, small, presumably inexpensive to produce, but well set out and logically developed. (One teacher was particularly keen to introduce colour and pictures into maths textbooks: he felt this would make them more accessible to pupils brought up in a cartoon culture. ) Besides approving textbooks, Monbusho also decides the highly centralised national curriculum and how it is to be delivered.

C部分

传统的教学方式是课堂教学的基础，课堂异常安静，学生们会记录老师讲解的要点和示范的例子。每个人都有一本由中央教育机关-文部科学省提供的教材副本，作为免费义务教育至15岁的概念的一部分。这些教科书整体上较小，可能制作成本较低，但排版得当且逻辑清晰。（一位老师特别热衷于在数学教科书中引入色彩和图片：他认为这会使在卡通文化中长大的学生更容易接受。）除了批准教科书，文部科学省还决定高度集中的国家课程以及如何进行教学。

D部分-第1段

Lessons all follow the same pattern. At the beginning, the pupils put solutions to the homework on the board, then the teachers comment, correct or elaborate as necessary. Pupils mark their own homework: this is an important principle in Japanese schooling as it enables pupils to see where and why they made a mistake, so that these can be avoided in future. No one minds mistakes or ignorance as long as you are prepared to learn from them.

D部分-第1段

所有的课堂都遵循相同的模式。开始时，学生将家庭作业的解答写在黑板上，然后老师进行评价、纠正或补充。学生自己批改家庭作业，在日本教育中，这是一个重要原则，因为它使学生能够看到他们犯错的地方和原因，以便以后避免这些错误。只要你愿意从错误中学习，没有人会介意错误或无知。

D部分-第2段

After the homework has been discussed, the teacher explains the topic of the lesson, slowly and with a lot of repetition and elaboration. Examples are demonstrated on the board; questions from the textbook are worked through first with the class, and then the class is set questions from the textbook to do individually. Only rarely are supplementary worksheets distributed in a maths class. The impression is that the logical nature of the textbooks and their comprehensive coverage of different types of examples, combined with the relative homogeneity of the class, renders work sheets unnecessary. At this point, the teacher would circulate and make sure that all the pupils were coping well.

D部分-第2段

讨论完家庭作业后，老师会慢慢而又不断地解释课程内容。在黑板上演示例题，首先与全班共同解决教科书中的问题，然后让全班个别完成教科书中的问题。数学课上很少发放补充练习题。给人的印象是，教科书的逻辑性和对不同类型例题的全面涵盖，再加上班级的相对均质性，使得练习题变得不再必要。在这一点上，老师会巡视并确保所有学生都应付得来。

E部分-第1段

It is remarkable that large, mixed-ability classes could be kept together for maths throughout all their compulsory schooling from 6 to 15. Teachers say that they give individual help at the end of a lesson or after school, setting extra work if necessary. In observed lessons, any strugglers would be assisted by the teacher or quietly seek help from their neighbour. Carefully fostered class identity makes pupils keen to help each other – anyway, it is in their interests since the class progresses together.

E部分-第1段

令人惊讶的是，大型的混合能力班级可以在从6岁到15岁的整个义务教育期间保持在一起。老师们说，他们会在课后或放学后给予个别帮助，如果需要额外帮助，会布置额外的作业。在观察到的课堂中，任何有困难的学生都会得到老师的协助，或者悄然向旁边的同学求助。精心培养的班级认同感使学生热衷于互相帮助-无论如何，这符合他们的利益，因为只有整个班级共同进步才行。

E部分-第2段

This scarcely seems adequate help to enable slow learners to keep up. However, the Japanese attitude towards education runs along the lines of ‘if you work hard enough, you can do almost anything’. Parents are kept closely informed of their children’s progress and will play a part in helping their children to keep up with class, sending them to ‘Juku’ (private evening tuition) if extra help is needed and encouraging them to work harder. It seems to work, at least for 95 per cent of the school population.

E部分-第2段

这似乎不足以帮助慢学生跟上。然而，日本对教育的态度是“只要你努力，几乎可以做到任何事情”。家长们密切了解孩子的进度，并在帮助孩子跟上课程方面发挥作用，如果需要额外帮助，会送他们去上“塾”(私人晚间补习班)，并鼓励他们更加努力学习。这似乎有效，至少对于95%的学生群体来说。

F部分-第1段

So what are the major contributing factors in the success of maths teaching? Clearly, attitudes are important. Education is valued greatly in Japanese culture; maths is recognised as an important compulsory subject throughout schooling; and the emphasis is on hard work coupled with a focus on accuracy.

F部分-第1段

那么，在数学教学的成功中主要有哪些因素起到了重要的作用呢？显然，态度是重要的。教育在日本文化中被高度重视，数学被视为整个学校教育中重要的必修科目，强调勤奋学习和注重准确性。

F部分-第2段

Other relevant points relate to the supportive attitude of a class towards slower pupils, the lack of competition within a class, and the positive emphasis on learning for oneself and improving one’s own standard. And the view of repetitively boring lessons and learning the facts by heart, which is sometimes quoted in relation to Japanese classes, may be unfair and unjustified. No poor maths lessons were observed. They were mainly good and one or two were inspirational.

F部分-第2段

其他相关因素涉及班级对较慢学生的支持态度、班级内部的竞争缺失，以及对自主学习和提高自己水平的积极强调。而有关日本课堂上反复乏味的概念和死记硬背的观点，可能是不公正和无根据的。没有观察到糟糕的数学课程，它们主要都是好的，有一两节甚至具有启发性。