In Memory of Frank Tang

摘 ? 要：對于從20世紀90年代走來的英語教師而言，鄧炎昌先生（英文名Frank Tang， 1923—2020）是一位聲望卓著的英語界前輩。鄧先生生前擔任高級顧問，負責人民教育出版社與朗文出版社聯合出版的新教材的終審工作。鄧先生與劉道義教授團隊一道，為保證新教材質量上乘、語言地道鞠躬盡瘁。本文介紹了鄧炎昌先生的一生、他所取得的成就、他的個性以及他對祖國的一腔赤誠，以此緬懷。

關鍵詞：鄧炎昌;文化交流;英語教師

A Pioneer in Cultural Exchange

Frank Tang （1923—2020） is remembered as a pioneer who has made remarkable achievements in the cultural exchange between America and China. Throughout his career， he was dedicated to discovering differences between the two cultures and， especially， the two languages， sparing no efforts to remind fellow scholars as well as his students of the importance of cultural and linguistic differences in communication from the Chinese language to English， and vice versa.

Some of the ideas or notions in Chinese seem so commonly used in everyday life， yet when translated into English， they would most likely cause misunderstanding or embarrassment on the part of the listener. The Chinese phrase “你辛苦了”， for example， is an expression often used to convey thanks to someone who has done the speaker a favor or a good turn. However， the expression shouldn’t be literally translated as “You are tired”. And similarly， “你吃飯了沒有？ ” shouldn’t be translated as “Have you had your meal？” as a way of greeting someone. Instead， we should say “How are you？” in the latter example， and “Thank you” in the former.

As a native speaker of English， Tang was aware of his advantages as a Chinese-American scholar， and he took on himself the role of an educator seriously， seizing every opportunity to make cultural and linguistic observations and comparisons. His book American Society and Culture was well received by Chinese scholars and students， and Language and Culture， a book he co-authored with Prof. Liu Runqing， has seen as many as 30 print runs since its first publication by the Commercial Press.

A Keen Explorer in English Language Teaching

Professor Tang was always very keen on exploring new ways of teaching English in the Chinese classroom. When he first began to teach at Beijing Foreign Languages Institute （now known as Beijing Foreign Studies University）， he found that the teaching methods were somewhat awkward， especially in the freshman stage. Students were asked to analyze each sentence in a passage of 3 to 4 pages. They also had to make as many sentences as possible based on the text they were reading. They were required to study every word intensively they came across. This “Intensive Reading” method in his eyes seemed to be unproductive and inefficient. From his perspective， this could hardly suit the beginners in their acquisition of the English language.

Professor Tang believed that language learning should start with listening time and again to a simple language topic until the learners could generally understand the meaning. And then， the learners could go on to try to recount what they had listened to without thinking much of grammar rules， or being afraid of making grammar mistakes. This idea of his later materialized into an academically approved approach called the audio-lingual method， and it has profoundly promoted the teaching efficiency， and greatly built up the confidence in English learners. In fact， Professor Tang was himself a practitioner of new ideas in teaching methodology. His years of hard work yielded another two works English Conversation and 50 Everyday Topics in English， both being very popular among English major students and general readers motivated toward English learning.

A True Patriot

Professor Tang is saluted as a true patriot. Shortly after graduating from South California University， young Frank returned to China in 1948. After three years of study in Yenching University， he was actively engaged in the reconstruction of China， his motherland. He was never hesitant to devote himself to the English language education in China. Even during the 1960s when Professor Tang was suspected of being an American spy， he was looking forward with optimism. Even in those years， he never regretted his big decision to serve his own country. A worn-out man that he seemed to be in those days， he remained faithful to his motherland and hopeful for the future.

Professor Tang was friends with many foreign professors and kept a good relationship with the US Embassy in China. However， he never became attached to any political party， preferring to keep his distance and individuality intact throughout. With absolute trust and sacred duty to the motherland he adored， he would always cherish in his mind a good wish of seeing his country become better. But few people knew that behind all Professor Tang’s success and hardship stood a woman who gave her heart to the man she married.

A Family Man

Indeed， just as Professor Tang once said， “Without the love from her family， without the aid of the hospital where she was working， and above all， without her devotion， my life wouldn’t have been so happy.” It was at a student party that young Frank got to know Miss Huang Yiya， a pretty and kind-hearted nurse in Beijing Tongren Hospital. She fell in love with him， married him， and became a mother of two children （Deng Ying the daughter and Deng Gang the son）. She was a loving companion to Tang for over 70 years. In Tang’s eyes， she had been an angel with a heart of gold， who took good care of his everyday life， understanding and supporting him all along， even though in times of hardship.

A Busy Bee

The reform and opening-up policy eventually arrived in the late 1970s. This greatly lifted Tang’s spirits and brought back his passion for cultural research and teaching innovation. No exaggeration， he became a busy bee. He undertook more than his fair share of hard work in the initiatives to set up the Center for American Studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University. Based on years of relentless and hard work， he published American Society and Culture. He lectured in universities across China; he exchanged views with American scholars， professors， as well as officials and various friends he had made. This， in return， effectively promoted the mutual relationship between China and America. For years he was commissioned to review and finalize The National College Entrance Examination Paper for English. He was honored with such a post as Senior Advisor on the Chinese side （while the well-known British author L.G. Alexander as the Senior Advisor on the English side） for the newly-compiled Students’ Books， jointly published by People’s Education Press and Longman Press in the 1990s. He was also annually invited to attend the convention of National Teaching and Research Society for Primary and Middle Schools， where he was highly respected and admired—even after he had settled down in Hawaii， America since he was 70. Tang bloomed even in his old age.

A Renowned Scholar

Tang’s dream to be a scholar came true. Actually he became a renowned scholar both in China and in America. The achievements he had made happened to fall on the time when opening China was in urgent want of global contact， and English， as a working language， played a vital role in international affairs. The awareness of this cultural comparison in languages certainly made it more smooth and easy in connection， negotiation， and communication. Apart from that， he largely devoted himself to China’s basic English language teaching and research in the last decades of his life. Tang had introduced to China what the most advanced theories and approaches were in language learning. This has greatly promoted the development of China’s English education， and， as a result， narrowed the huge gap between China and developed countries. He published his article “A Random Talk on American Foreign Language Teaching and Research” in Curriculum， Teaching Material and Method， an academic journal published by People’s Education Press in which he introduced the audio-linguistic method， Chomsky’s transformational-generative grammar， the cognitive psychology， the communicative approach， etc. Most importantly， Tang laid special emphasis on the necessity of making every effort to develop a teaching and learning system that would work for Chinese children. He believed that to achieve this goal， we must have a clear understanding of what was happening abroad.

A Modest Teacher

Although he was a well-known and respected scholar， he was very modest. He never claimed credit for himself. He was always willing to let his colleagues to take the spotlight while he himself would hide behind the team. Even when fame and honor showered upon him， he remained modest and humble. In his dictionary there was no such word as “arrogant”. As an easy-going person， he always appeared amiable with a smile on his face. He was very willing to communicate with young people. He took it as a pleasure to listen to any questions of them， and rewarded them with satisfactory answers.

A Model for Us All

Today， those cultural and language differences that Tang had talked about may no longer seem that new to us. Most of us find it easy and natural to say “Mr. Wang” instead of “Teacher Wang”， or “This is my wife” instead of “She is my wife” when introducing your wife to a friend. And few would ask such an abrupt question like “How old are you？” unless that person is close enough to you. However， decades ago， many English learners in China owed their progress to Professor Tang’s cultural and linguistic sensitivity， curiosity， and substantial work of explaining and theorizing. As a forerunner， the contribution he had made was immense and influential. Today， his influence continues. It is felt by generations of Chinese speakers of English， seen in students’ English textbooks， and alive in the communications between Chinese and English cultures. In many ways， Frank Tang was a model for English teachers and language researchers. He was also a model for us to look up to for the ways he devoted to his work， his friends， and his country that he loved dearly. As a scholar， a man of integrity， and a true patriot， Tang always commands our deepest respect.

鄧炎昌教授，1923年出生于美國亞利桑那州菲尼克市，1948年6月畢業于美國南加利福尼亞大學國際關系系，1948年9月至1951年6月在燕京大學學習、研究。1957年6月進入北京外國語學院（今北京外國語大學）英語系工作，曾擔任系副主任。20世紀70年代末參與創建英語系美國學專業方向，并擔任美國學研究中心主任。鄧炎昌教授長期從事英語教學工作，一直致力于東西方文化的研究。與此同時，70年代，鄧炎昌教授曾與陳琳、吳青教授同辦廣播英語教學;80年代曾任高考試題審題委員，并曾參與過教學大綱和教材審查及全國英語教學調查結果的評審工作，為我國基礎英語教育做出了不可磨滅的貢獻。（部分資料整理自劉道義《紀念我的老師鄧炎昌》）

本文作者葉在田，曾任杭州市教育局教研室和浙江省教育廳教研室教研員。浙江省特級教師。退休后仍從事高中英語寫作教學和研究。在20世紀80至90年代，作為省級專業領導者與指揮者，廣泛參與并深入推動浙江省基礎外語教育課程改革工作。退休后仍從事高中英語寫作教學和研究，先后撰寫《高中英語寫作捷徑》（Access to English Writing）和《英語寫作入門》（ABC in English Writing）等著作。