留學澳大利亞——你真的要去嗎？

澳大利亞,一直是很多中國學生留學的首選國家之一,一流的教育質量和高品質的生活方式,讓莘莘學子們對這個以袋鼠聞名的國家趨之若鶩。不過,對于準備赴澳留學的人來說,未知的未來卻充滿著讓人不安的因素,遠離家鄉奔赴這樣一個陌生的國度,生活還會如設想中的那樣美好嗎?特別是此前傳聞有多名在澳留學生被害以及多名因簽證過期或出勤率不達標的中國留學生被澳方羈押遣返的消息被媒體曝光后,這樣的疑慮越來越多地縈繞在我們心中。

本期《體驗》,我們采訪了三名初到澳洲或已經在澳洲學習生活了一段時間的留學生,讓她們給大家講講自己的親身經歷?；蛟S對您的出行能有所參考。另外,我們還采訪了澳大利亞駐華大使杰夫先生,請他談談對于到澳洲留學的看法和建議。

主人公:趙青青,性別女,年齡和體重是不能說的秘密。最愛做的事情是宅在家里,最常進入的狀態是白日做夢?，F在澳洲昆士蘭大學旅游管理學院讀研,瑣碎并幸福地生活于校區附近的小公寓內。

現居城市:布里斯班

最初總是興奮而辛苦的

未來得及和父母來個行前擁抱,我就匆忙踏上了飛往澳洲的遠征旅途:長沙——上?！录悠隆祭锼拱?。

從開始考慮留學到真正出發,我準備了一年半。這一段時間里,我背過“機經”,當過“烤鴨”,參加過中介的學校推介會,準備過申請材料,也為學校和專業的選擇傷透過腦筋。當一切都塵埃落定,收到錄取通知書,通過簽證,訂好機票,我卻開始心虛了。我不敢相信,有這么一天我會離開我熟悉的一切,去追求可能我到現在還不是很肯定的一個目標。很多親朋好友都說我很勇敢,很堅強。在和父母離別卻沒有哭出來的那一刻,我也相信我是勇敢堅強的?？墒钱旓w機從上海浦東國際機場緩緩起步時,空前的想念和不舍以及對未來的恐懼壓頂而來,舷窗外一片模糊。

布里斯班的生活是簡單平淡的。

剛來的頭幾天,公交車是新鮮的,學校是新鮮的,食物是新鮮的,就連硬幣都顯得那么新奇。新鮮勁過了之后剩下的就是真實的生活——住房是所有留學生都會遇到的問題。

第一個月住寄宿家庭是大多數人的選擇,住得好不好基本靠運氣。房東是澳洲本地人還是操濃重口音的印度人,又或者是華人家庭——在入住之前一般是無法知曉的。我被認為是很“幸運”地住到了一個澳洲本地人家里,但一個月之后的事實證明,在這件事上我并不是那么一個“幸運兒”。生活方式的差異和溝通交流的障礙引發了大大小小的問題,委屈是我來到澳洲的第一個月里體會得最深的情緒。既然如此,我就得另謀出路——租房子。這實在是個精神體力雙重消耗的活。首先我得從澳洲各式租房網站上搜尋合適的房源,然后再和房屋中介約定看房時間,看房之后再下決定要不要租。有的時候一個房子因為地理位置等原因太搶手了,會有幾批人去看房,這時候就得集中所有的智慧和經驗:租,還是繼續看房?這是一個問題!

還有一種方式就是通過朋友提供的信息來租房。來澳洲一段時間之后,會結交到不同的朋友,交流過程中可能就會得到不錯的房源信息,我算是這種方式的受益者。我和三個朋友一起合租了一套不帶家具的公寓。所有的床,桌子,凳子等都是買回來后自己一個床架,一個螺絲釘地拼湊起來的,沙發、冰箱等生活用品都是從二手市場淘回來的。這個過程中間的辛苦就不用多說了,但累過之后看著自己一點一滴建起來的這個“家”,溫馨滿溢。

住房問題解決之后,就是學習了。但實際生活中,下一個問題往往都不會等到上一個解決了它才出現,它們愛扎堆。我一邊要租房買家具,一邊就開始上課了。作為剛跨入另一個教育體系的新人,所有的考驗在迷茫中就已經開始。我一周只有4節課,其他的時間完全自由支配。就算是這樣,我還是感覺到時間嚴重不夠用。4個老師一上來都是講這個學期的教學安排,作業和考試。平均算下來我一個星期要交2篇小論文,一個學期里還有3個小組作業和2個期末考試。上課基本沒有指定的教材,有的只是老師列出的一個推薦閱讀清單。也難怪我到澳洲之后愛上的第一個地方就是昆士蘭大學(UQ)的圖書館。

在我看來,如果可以通過圖書館來衡量一個學校的實力的話,昆士蘭大學不愧是名列澳洲前八的名校。其他圖書館不說,St. Lucia校區的社會科學人文圖書館和旅游學院的研究生圖書館是我最愛去的兩個地方。每一個圖書館都配有多臺電腦,和分布在圖書館不同樓層的打印機是聯機的,所有UQ的學生都可以使用自己的用戶名和密碼登陸學校電子系統,自由使用學校提供的任何資料和服務。如果那么不巧想要借的書UQ的圖書館里沒有,我還可以向圖書館遞交申請,圖書館的工作人員會在一個星期左右的時間里將書的電子版本發到指定的郵箱,當然這種機會是不多的。每個圖書館里都有帶電源插座的個人學習室和小組討論室,對所有學生開放但是要提前預定。不過要是沒有預定到學習室也不用沮喪,公共自習的地方有很多,甚至隨地坐下,背靠在墻上,打開書本或筆記本電腦就可以開始學習。圖書館所有的地面都鋪上了地毯,開放中央空調,環境實在是讓人沒什么好挑剔。最讓我感動的是圖書館的工作人員,不論有任何關于書或圖書館的問題,都會盡自己最大的努力幫助讀者,直到問題得到解決。

有讓我非常喜愛的圖書館當然是美事一樁,但面對要讀的書,還是挺頭疼的。盡管我能借出的書本多達40本,但我還是先將精力集中在了老師重點推薦的幾本書上。每周的閱讀量視自己的情況而定。雖然我不讀也沒有關系,不會有人來檢查,但由此導致的諸如論文不知所云,被老師給個低分或考試不及格導致課程過不了等后果全部自負。

我現在已經習慣了在這里的生活,也在慢慢適應新的教學方式和與國內不同的學習壓力。盡管是在異國他鄉,我和我的朋友們仍然懷揣著夢想,在一起努力著。

主人公:張翼,一個土生土長的北京女孩。六年前只身一人到澳大利亞求學?，F在在位于西澳的默多克大學攻讀碩士學位,一個徹徹底底的樂天派而且有一顆永遠也長不大的心。閑暇的時候喜歡和朋友聊天、看書、胡思亂想還有旅游,最大的夢想就是有一天能周游世界。

現居城市:佩斯

在澳洲,做好自己的管家

“藍天白云,人群稀少,景色頗美”是我六年前只身一人來到澳洲時對這個地方的印象。六年轉眼就過去了,而我也對這個國家有了更深的了解。

我所在的城市叫佩斯,是西澳的首府。西澳是澳大利亞最大的一個州,占國土總面積的三分之一,而佩斯也被評為世界上最孤獨的城市,因為她離最近的阿德萊德還有將近兩千七百公里的距離,這里是澳洲首府中日照時間最長的城市,平均日照為7.9個小時。佩斯環境優美,擁有世界上數一數二的海灘。去海邊沖浪或坐在沙灘上閑談早已成為佩斯人民生活的一個重要組成部分。因為澳大利亞是一個文化多元化的國家,所以這里云集了各種文化和信仰,大家在一起生活得歡樂融洽。佩斯給人一種其他城市所沒有的親切感。當地人一般都很熱情,不管認不認識都喜歡在一起聊聊國家大事或者侃侃家常。

因為剛到澳洲的時候還沒有滿18歲,我必須住在當地人的家里,也就是傳說中的homestay。我homestay的對象是一對和藹的老夫婦,女的是新西蘭人,叫Rita,男的是荷蘭人,叫Hank,但是兩個人都在澳大利亞住了10多年了。兩個人都很熱情,而且把我照顧得無微不至。一看到我就親切地問我一大堆問題,好像想在一天之內把我了解個徹底。他們還特地幫我布置了房間,在我的床頭放了一個毛線制的娃娃?？吹侥莻€溫馨的房間,我的心情頓時好了很多?？赡苁且驗槁眯械钠v,在這個陌生國度的第一個晚上我睡得卻很香很甜,沒有因為想家而失眠。

第二天早上,homestay老太太做早餐的香味兒把還在睡夢中的我叫醒。我趕緊穿好衣服,順著香味兒來到了廚房。Rita一看見我就熱情地問我晚上冷不冷,有沒有睡好。我一個勁兒的點頭,眼睛早已瞄上了她正在做的薄煎餅(pancake)。Rita告訴我這是西方人經常吃的一種食物,可做早餐也可做甜點,她還告訴我如果蘸上楓糖或者冰淇淋就更好吃了。早已餓得前心貼后背的我,沒用一會兒就把薄煎餅都消滅掉了,Rita看看我狼吞虎咽的樣子,在一旁笑個不停。吃完早餐后,Rita和Hank開車帶我去了一個野生公園看袋鼠。本以為星期日路上會有很多車,誰想到一路開過去也沒有看見幾輛。后來Rita告訴我這里的商店星期日都關門,所以一般大家要么在家待著,要么去遠地旅行,市里車輛很少。澳洲交通法的另一個有趣之處就是對司機的年齡沒有約束。在澳洲東部的幾個州,到了一定年齡的司機會被要求定期做一次測試,只要通過了測試就可以繼續駕車,不管你是多少歲。在西澳,這種測試根本不存在,只要不出事故,就算到了八十歲,你也可以駕車。

經過兩天的休整,我早已恢復活力,做好了上學的準備。星期一早上,在Hank和Rita的陪伴下我來到學校。熱情的老師把我帶到我的教室并向同學們介紹了我。教室的布局很隨意:兩側的墻上貼著學生的繪畫作品,桌椅被推到了角落里,大家圍著老師席地而坐,老師正坐在桌子上繪聲繪色地講著什么,所有的一切都是那么的舒服自然。我找了個地方坐下,繼續聽那個老師講他周末外出時的神奇經歷。在問候了每個人以后,老師給我們介紹了那個學期的課程安排。國外學校的一個特點就是培養學生的自律能力。老師一般都是講完課就走,不會追著你要作業,他們認為學習是學生自己的事兒,不應該讓別人來操心。但是如果學生有問題,老師都會很負責地幫你解答。一般學校在學期開始的時候就會告訴學生上交作業的日期,這樣學生可以有效地安排自己的時間。這種教學方法要求學生有很強的自律能力,對于被老師家長管慣了的中國學生來說還是具有一定挑戰性的。澳洲的移民局對國際學生的出勤率查得很嚴,一旦學生的出勤率低于85%,學校就會向學生發出警告,如果接到多次警告還不悔改,那移民局就會取消學生簽證并責令其在一個月之內離開澳大利亞。近幾年來,澳大利亞就有多起中國學生因為出勤率不達標而被遣送回國的事例。

在澳大利亞上學還要注意的就是要對自己所學的課程有所了解,特別是上大學的學生。哪個學期應該選哪個科目都是學生自己的事兒,如果有問題可以向老師學校請示。在澳洲的學校一般不會有人催著你選課,也不會有人告訴你應該選哪門課。有些學生因為和老師學校交流不夠導致最后選錯科目或者錯過了注冊時間,這樣不僅耽誤了自己的時間還造成一定的經濟損失。在外留學最需要的就是不懂就問的精神。在這里沒有人會笑話你問的問題有多低級,尤其是在學校,老師都很鼓勵學生多問問題,不管你覺得那個問題有多愚蠢。這里的老師還鼓勵每個學生說出自己對某事物的看法,不管學生的想法有多么不著邊際。作為中國學生我們有時會很拘謹,但是這邊的老師堅信只有大聲地說出自己的想法,學生才會對事物有真正的認識和了解。

主人公:He Yun, Master candidate in Tsinghua University, is currently studying in Sydney University as a visiting research fellow.

現居城市:Sydney

Chinese Students Need some Change

After a day's flight, I finally arrived in Sydney's Kingsford airport. It was the end of July, deep winter for most other places in the southern hemisphere, but not for Sydney. It's located in the southeast of Australia, very close to the tropic, so even in winter, temperatures could reach as high as twenty degrees in the daytime. Unlike many of my friends, I was sensible enough not to bring my Beijing winter wardrobe all the way across the Pacific. Not only would it have taken up all the space in my suitcase, it would've been completely useless; the weather here is so warm, no heavy clothes are necessary.

Airports everywhere all have the same feel, but the air surprised me. As soon as I got off the airplane, a surge of fresh air rushed into my lungs, and chased away my weariness. All of a sudden I felt alive again. The sky was so blue and clear. When I reached out my arms, it felt as if I could really touch the sky.

My friend Janet, picked me up from the airport. She was nearly eightyfour years old, but looked barely sixty. However, her eyes weren't so good. Driving to Maroubra (where I lived) became the first adventure I had in Sydney. We drove around and around the airport before we finally found the way out. It was fun. People of her age in China wouldn't risk driving on the road. In the rare occasion when they do, it takes a large amount of courage and they have to face strong objections from their family. In Australia the situation is different. Old people here either drive or take public transportation by themselves if they need to travel. Of course, there are advantages for being old. On almost all the municipal buses there are priority seats prepared especially for old people. Also, a young driver would often let an aged driver pass first when both are turning at an interchange. In all, older people in Australia generally prefer to live independently, but they still enjoy the respect and special care from other members in the community.

I settled down quickly. I lived with two nice ladies, Rachael and Rebecca. Rachael is Rebecca's mother; she works as a secretary in a company. Rebecca is a freelance writer. Both of them are very devout Christians. They lived in a lovely three bedroom house in a middle class area. I rented one of their rooms. It cost $120 Australian dollars (about 600 RMB) per week, very expensive for a Chinese student but very cheap by local standards. Most of my friends had to spend $150 to $200 dollars a week on their housing. Even though it's not cheap, both food and other expenses weren't normally included in this price.

Since I had already applied for an internship at the Lowy Institute, I only needed to take three classes at Sydney University, whereas a full time student is usually required to take four. The way classes are run here is very different from a Chinese university. Most of the classes on the Master's programme involve a two to three hours seminar, in which students are encouraged to participate in active class discussions and teachers only play a supplementary role. Undergraduate classes are slightly different. They are usually composed of one class and one tutorial. A typical class is very similar to what we have in China, usually involving the teacher explaining a basic idea from their field to their students. A tutorial, however, is very different. Teachers would often send one of their tutees to either help the students run a discussion or answer their questions.

There are lots of Chinese students everywhere. In my journalism class there were just six local students but ten Chinese students. In class, students from the same country would often sit together so they could chat in their shared language. Very interestingly, I found that most of the teachers when speaking, would prefer to face the local students rather than international students. I didn't think they did it intentionally. But since most of the international students were not confident enough in their English, they wouldn't normally want to speak or participate in any of the class discussions. Teachers often expect a response when they're talking to the class. Naturally they would prefer to look at the local students, who are generally active and talkative, instead of the international students, who don't always know how to respond. The difference was quite striking for me, because I'm used to having the teachers' attention in class. I think in order to change this situation, more and more Chinese students should be brave and speak up, voicing their opinions.

Sydney University has a beautiful campus. Their oldest building, the Quadrangle, was built in 1865. From outside, it looks like a Gothic castle, with tall slim towers and long corridors. There is also a huge pendulum in one of the towers. At 12 o'clock everyday, the pendulum would strike, sending out a lovely piece of music. It was the symbol of the spirit of the university.

In front of Quadrangle is Victoria Park. It looks more like a garden to me, with two small ponds and several aches of lovely green lawn. There are lots of pigeons, ducks, magpies and other nameless birds living in this area. Students would often bring their lunch and settle down to eat on one of the many benches scattered across the lawn, feeding their leftovers to the birds. The birds, because they are so spoiled by people constantly feeding them, sometimes can get pretty aggressive when they're hungry. Once I went down to the park with a sandwich in my hand, a big pigeon swooped right passed me. Before I realized what had happened, the sandwich was gone. I got robbed by a pigeon!

Sydney University also has what they call the 'biggest library in all of the Southern Hemisphere' - the Fischer Library. However, I didn't find it to be particularly big. Compared to Tsinghua University or Peking University's libraries, I'd say their book collections are quite modest. What's interesting is that, there is a Chinese library on the seventh floor of the Fischer, in which you can find most of the contemporary Chinese writers' works.

A school year usually has two semesters. The first semester runs from March to May, and the second from July to November. At the beginning of each semester, school is often slow. If you are a new-comer to Australia, you will find plenty of time to explore the city. I saw the famous Sydney Opera House the second day I arrived in Australia. Its roofs shone under the sun like pieces of shells freshly emerged from the sea. It is said that if you put all the roofs of the Sydney Opera House together, they would form a perfect oval-shape. That was the idea of the original designer, John Utzon. The sea was beautiful, stunningly blue like sapphire and twinkling like the stars. Every so often a ferry full of tourists would pass by, and you could hear the people on them marveling at the beauty of this great architecture.

There are many Chinese people in Sydney. In fact, if you live in the city, you wouldn't even feel it's that much different from say, Beijing or Shanghai. You see people of all colors and cultures in the street. You see buildings of different styles. There is even a Chinese style park in the centre of town, called Suzhou Garden, with a lovely big jade Buddha sitting outside greeting guests from around the world.

Of course they have western restaurant, but they also have many Asian restaurants too and not just Chinese. In any one street it's possible for you to find Chinese food, Japanese food, Korean food, Thai food, etc. all at the same time! If you love food and wanted to taste something new for every meal, Sydney would be a good place to go. Of course, eating in a restaurant can be very expensive. A meal will cost at least $7 dollars, and that's just the cheapest ones. Once I had a bowl of noodles in a Chinese restaurant. I didn't look at the price on the menu, because I thought, hmmm, how expensive can noodles be, I mean, they're cheap everywhere. But when the bill came, it turned out that it had cost me $13 dollars! I could have kicked myself! In China it wouldn't even have cost me 13 RMB.

But you can't always compare prices like that; otherwise your life will be miserable. The best way to balance your costs here is to find a job. Since I had an internship, I didn't have the time to get one. However, an international student would normally work up to twenty hours every week in a cafe, shop or restaurant. Sometimes those hours would be enough to pay for their entire food costs and their rent. So if you are coming to study in Sydney, I strongly suggest you find a part-time job. If Australian expenses are too much for your RMB account, try to make dollars and then spend dollars! Trust me, once the financial burden is lifted, you will find this country considerably more enjoyable!

【編者手記】:

問題總會有解決的辦法,這三位看起來柔柔弱弱的女孩子以自己不服輸的性格在陌生的澳大利亞爆發出自己的潛能,學會了享受在澳大利亞的生活。在澳洲遇到的一切事情,都極大地豐富和豐滿了她們的人生。毋庸置疑,這些獨特的經歷會讓她們比同齡人更多一份歷練,多一份對生活的感悟和理解。

熟練的口語會幫助留學生解決很多實際問題

在不久前的“澳中杰出校友頒獎大會”的啟動儀式上,《雙語時代》就中國留學生的相關問題采訪了澳大利亞駐華大使杰夫先生。讓我們一起看看大使先生都有些什么樣的建議:(BT: 《雙語時代》 G: Ambassador Geoff)

是什么賦予澳大利亞誘人的魔力?

BT: Mr. Ambassador, a lot of Chinese students have studied or are studying in Australia. So compared with other countries, what do you think are the specialties of Australian higher education that attract Chinese students most?

BT:大使先生,許多中國學生曾經或者正在澳大利亞求學。同其他國家相比,您認為澳大利亞高等教育的哪些特色最吸引中國學子?

G: Australia has a very strong international reputation for its entire education. We have a long tradition of excellence in higher education. We offer a full spectrum of high quality courses from the sciences right through to the humanities. I think Australia has also has many other attractions. It's pretty much in the same time zone as China is also not far away, there are many Chinese who live in Australia and so there's a sense that Australia has a welcoming openness visible environment for Chinese students. We have international recognized researchers; we have a very large number of Nobel Prizes particularly given the per-capita population of Australia and we place high value on giving Chinese students and any foreign students for that matter, a broad experience of living in another country and of course English is an important element given that so many Chinese students have studied English and want to do their higher education in English. So there're many factors that come together, but it should be recognized that we have now currently a hundred and twenty seven thousand Chinese students studying in Australia and in absolute numbers that's more than. That presence is very welcome in Australia.

G:澳大利亞整體的教育水準在國際上都享有盛譽。我們在高等教育方面有著卓越的傳統,提供從自然科學到人文科學各個領域的高質量課程。我認為澳大利亞還有其他吸引人之處——它和中國幾乎位于相同的時區,離中國不遠,許多中國人居住在澳大利亞。因此,人們總感覺澳大利亞對于中國學生來說有一個熱情好客、開放透明的環境。我們有享譽國際的研究人員,有著大量諾貝爾獎獲得者,從澳大利亞人均擁有諾貝爾獎的數量來看更是如此。我們很重視包括中國學生在內的外國留學生在澳的生活情況。當然,英語是一個重要的因素,因為許多中國學生學過英語,而且希望用英語完成高等教育。所以這是許多因素綜合的結果。但是,需要認識到的一點是目前我們有127,000名中國學生在澳大利亞學習,如果從絕對數量上來說,還不止這些。澳大利亞十分歡迎中國留學生。

身在異國的我們能夠得到有效的保護嗎?

BT: However, some Chinese students told us they may be confronted with some difficulties when they are living or studying in Australia, like housing problems or security worries in certain regions. What kind of help can the Australian government offer?

BT:不過有一些中國留學生告訴我們,他們在澳大利亞居住或求學的時候也會遇到一些麻煩,比如住房問題或者某些地區的安全問題。對此澳大利亞政府能夠提供哪些幫助?

G: The Australian government provides quite a comprehensive range of services. First of all, we have an Education Services for Overseas Students Act. So it's an act of the federal parliament of Australia designed to protect the rights and interests of foreign students from any destination coming to Australia to study. We have also a registration process of education agents and have a capacity to identify those agents which is reputable; we'd strongly recommend you use reputable agents. We've also recently established the Australian government international students' house clause, to address specific concerns that students may have, and address it through proper intergovernmental processes.

It's very important though when coming to Australia that students prepare themselves properly, obviously English language is an extremely important part in doing that and although Chinese students may be very good at passing written exams in English, oral English can be quite different than written English and it's important to build skills in communication so I urge first and foremost students to practice as much oral English as they can and understand the colloquial differences of English. Secondly it's very, very, important that students work only with reputable education agents and those agents will provide a whole range of services to insure that the students are well established in Australia. Obviously it's important to prepare well in advance in terms of identifying accommodation - where you wish to live - but all Australian university campuses have quite substantial student welfare services. These services are provided by the university administration themselves, but also through the various student unions and student bodies at the universities. So there is quite a lot of infrastructure there to insure that most students have a very satisfying experience in studying in Australia. And I must say that the vast majority of experiences of foreign students and particularly Chinese students studying in Australia are very, very positive.

G:澳大利亞政府提供了全面的服務。首先我們有一個《海外學生教育服務法案》。它是由澳聯邦議會法案授權,目的是保護所有國家的留學生在澳大利亞的權利和利益。同時我們對于教育中介也有一個注冊過程,我們有能力鑒定出那些中介的優劣。我們強烈推薦你們尋找一些聲譽好的中介機構。我們最近剛剛制定了澳大利亞政府針對外國留學生住房的條款,以通過恰當的政府間的合作來解決留學生在這方面的問題。

要來澳大利亞留學的同學得做好充分的準備,顯然對英語的掌握是重中之重,這非常重要。雖然中國學生在英文書寫上沒有問題,但是英語口語和書面英語卻很不同。加強用英語交流的技能十分重要,我給留學生們至關重要的建議就是盡量多練習口語,并且理解英語口語上的不同。其次十分重要的是,留學生要和有一定聲譽的教育中介合作,因為只有那些中介才能提供一系列完整的服務保證留學生在澳大利亞的成長。當然,提前確認住宿(你想要住在哪里)也至關重要。所有的澳大利亞大學校園都有很多學生福利服務,這些服務由學校的行政機構自行提供,但同時也通過大學的各種學生社團或機構提供。因此,有眾多基礎設施能夠保障大多數在澳大利亞求學的學生能夠享受一個令人滿意的生活。我必須強調,絕大部分外國留學生,尤其是中國留學生在澳大利亞的生活都是非常愉快的。

人才流失?或許是人才回潮!

BT: Nowadays, China has suffered from continual brain drain, while Australia is very successful in attracting talents. Could you share with us some of your country's experience in this regard?

BT:如今中國正面臨著持續不斷的人才流失,澳大利亞在吸引人才方面卻極為成功。您能與我們分享一下澳大利亞在這方面的成功經驗嗎?

G: Well, certainly the number of foreign students including from China studying in Australia has increased quite substantially in recent years and many of these students do find that they are able to stay in Australia to continue to work if they have achieved an Australian qualification and education. That has to be looked at in specific circumstances and essentially it depends on the mix of skills that the student has. So that often means that students will stay in Australia longer than their formal studies. Obviously if you are going on and doing postgraduate work or research, scientific work, then there are outstanding facilities for that and many students who then graduate and go on and do research are very attracted by the quality of the facilities. Also the quality of life in Australia is very attractive and many students once they experience that, find that they would like to continue living in a environment that is very clean and very relaxed and people find it very attractive place to live. And of course we also offer a range of scholarships to attract students including the Australian government 'Devon' scholarship plan.

But I'd like to say on the brain drain question. I think what is clear is that what we are getting is a flow backwards and forwards and I think rather than being a brain drain in the sense that it's one direction - students from China when they're educated in Australia may stay on longer than their formal studies. But my experience is that most of them come back at some stage and they're coming back with new experience, new skills, and a better understanding of the world; how it works and in that way they are able to contribute so much more to the development and well being of China. So I think this is something that there is no need to worry about. I really do think that most students come back and that certainly been possible since China's reform and open door policies, that people in China are more or less free to move as they choose. It's a very healthy situation and one that we encourage. We don't seek to retain skill in Australia, we are very happy for the individuals to make their own career decisions and wish them all the very best in doing so.

Interestingly there is a small but not insignificant flow in the other direction. I'm finding more and more Australians, who have been educated in Australia, Australian citizens coming to China and making China their permanent home. They tend to be in the business areas and most of the major five star, well not most, but many of the major five star hotels in China, the general manager will more likely than not be an Australian. So I think that's quite significant and is bringing those skills from Australia back to China. But increasingly particularly for post grad work there is an increase in interest by Australians to study in China. Increasing numbers of Australians want to learn Chinese and the only place you can properly learn Chinese is in China. So I think you'll see in the years to come not only more Chinese people who have been educated in Australia returning home but many more Australians coming to make China their home and in doing so transferring their skills. So I think it's a very dynamic two way flow and relationship, and will only grow in the future.

G:包括中國留學生在內的外國留學生在澳大利亞的數量在近幾年確實上升很快,許多留學生也發現如果他們接受了澳大利亞教育或學位認證后,可以繼續留在澳大利亞工作。但是這決定于具體的環境和某個學生所掌握的技能,尤其是當留學生待在澳大利亞的時間比正式求學還要長的時候。很顯然,如果你在澳大利亞繼續攻讀研究生,或者做研究和科學工作,許多畢業生都是被澳大利亞先進的設備所吸引。澳大利亞的生活質量也很吸引人,許多學生一旦在這種環境中生活過,就會想繼續生活在這種干凈、閑適的氛圍中。當然,我們也提供大量獎學金吸引留學生,包括澳大利亞政府的“德文”獎學金計劃。

但是,就人才流失這個問題,我想說的是我們看到的應該是一個有去有回的流動,而不是人才流失這一種單向流動。中國留學生畢業后可能會在澳大利亞待上比之前正式學習更久的時間,但是我所看到的是到某個階段他們中的大部分就會帶著新的經驗、技術以及對世界更好的理解而回到中國。這樣,他(她)就能為中國的發展和福祉做出更大的貢獻。因此我覺得就這一問題(人才流失)無須擔心。我認為自從中國實行改革開放政策以來,大部分中國留學生都會回國,中國人也可以更為自由地選擇居住的地方?，F在的形勢很好,我們也很鼓勵這樣的情況。我們并不想把技術限制在澳大利亞,我們很高興個人能夠自己決定他們的職業,并且祝愿他們每個人都能成功。

有意思的是,還有一小部分人是反向流動的。我發現越來越多曾接受過本國教育的澳大利亞公民來到中國,并且在中國定居。他們投身于商業領域和許多五星級酒店的管理。因此,我認為他們將澳大利亞的技術帶到了中國,意義重大。但是更有一些澳大利亞研究生對在中國學習十分感興趣。越來越多的澳大利亞人想要學習中文,而最佳的學習地點當然是中國。因此我認為,這些年你們不僅會發現許多在澳受到教育的中國留學生回國,也會看到更多的澳大利亞人在中國定居,帶來他們的技能。在我看來,中澳之間的人才雙向流動是很活躍的,兩國之間的關系在未來也會不斷深化。

如果你已經決定留學澳大利亞的話……

BT: Many of our readers plan to study abroad. Could you, Mr. Ambassador, offer a word of advice for people who want to study in Australia?

BT:許多讀者計劃出國留學。大使先生,您能給那些想要去澳大利亞留學的人一些建議嗎?

G: Well, I've already made many of those points in my answers to earlier questions so perhaps I can just summarize. Now as I said oral English is very important and not only for your coursework and study but just to make your community experience that much more fulfilling. So as I said please try and get as much exposure to oral English and when you're doing that remember that there are different ways of speaking in different communities. English is a very diversified language and Australians have an accent and a colloquial way of speaking and we sound different than Americans and different than British and different than Indians when they speak English, so you need to be aware of that.

It's also worth bearing in mind that the Australian education system is very different in its approach and philosophy than the Chinese education system. Where, as I think, still today in China, reflecting Confucians traditions in history there is an emphasis on rout learning and finding the right answers. Australian education system is very differently trying, and works differently trying to encourage creative and independent thinking, and the emphasis is less on trying to find a right answer to a problem but rather than learning, and rather more it's to learn the skills of problem solving and it's often more not the answer you get but how you think about solving the problem and understanding also that there can be many answers of different degrees of a appropriateness to any one question. So it's a much more creative and independent way of learning than what you are accustomed to in China. So you need to be adaptable in your approach to different learning teaching methods. Also it's very important for you to think creatively about the course you are going to do and the reasons why you are studying the course. It's really very important not to be thinking only in terms of the piece of paper that you're going to get at the end of your study. You really must to make the experience rich and fulfilling and to get the most value out of it, think of it as a lifetime experience and not be driven or focused just on the piece of paper that you get at the end of it.

I've mentioned already the importance of having a recognized education agent to help with the process of making the transition from China to Australia both in terms of selecting courses and enrollment processes and all the a visa process, participating in pre-departure seminars and assistance in finding accommodation. So it's very important. Word of mouth and longstanding are good ways of identifying reputable agents and as I also mentioned it's very important that you plan your accommodation and where you're going to live and those sort of personal matters well in advance and don't leave everything till you start at the university because the reality is, as you'll know, as students, once first term begins suddenly you'll find yourselves incredibility busy and if you haven't sorted out all the important basic requirements in terms of living and so on, (say,) accommodation, then you'll find yourself always constantly running to catch up and putting yourself under unnecessary pressure. So that's about it I think, but I would wish students studying in Australia every best. Best Wishes.

G:我已經在之前的回答中提到很多了,或許我只需再概括一下。正如我所說的,口語十分重要,不僅僅對于你的課程和學習,也會使你的生活十分充實。因此,試著多開口說英語,當你這么做的時候請記住在不同的環境下口語的表達方式也不同。英語是一門變化多樣的語言,澳大利亞人有自己的英語口音,而且口語的表達也不同,我們的發音不同于美國人、英國人或者印度人,這一點必須注意。

還有一點要牢記的是澳大利亞的教育體制在方法和思想上和中國的迥然不同。就我所知,當今中國仍然受到歷史上儒家思想的影響,因此很強調追根尋底和找到正確答案的學習。澳大利亞的教育體制則不同,它嘗試鼓勵創新和獨立思考,而很少強調找到一個問題的答案,而是強調學習的過程。它更為注重學習解決問題的能力,不僅僅是得到一個答案,而是讓你思考如何解決問題,并且明白問題的答案不止一個。因此,和你們所適應的中國教育相比,它在學習上更強調創新和獨立。你們也必須能夠適應不同的教學方式。另外,重要的是你們必須創造性地去思考如何學習你們的課程以及你們為什么要修這門課。你們不僅要思考如何應付學期末的論文或考試,更重要的是你們必須讓這個過程變得充實而有收獲,把它看做是一種人生經歷一樣,而不能整天只想著期末論文或考試。

我之前已經提到了與一家聲譽較好的中介合作的重要性,它們能夠全程幫助你從中國申請到澳大利亞讀書,包括提供課程選擇、學校錄取、簽證申請、參加臨行前的研討會和住宿方面的幫助。因此,正確的選擇至關重要。當然,口碑和歷史都是鑒別一家好中介的方法,我也提醒你們提前計劃好住宿或者你要在哪里居住這類的個人問題,不要等到開始上學了才去準備。因為作為一個剛剛開始第一學期的新生,你會忙得焦頭爛額。如果你沒有事先解決好這些基本的需求問題,比如住宿,那你會為了這些而疲于奔命,面臨不必要的壓力。

這些就是我想說的,我希望在澳大利亞留學的學生都能一切順利。

結語:正如大使所說的那樣,教育水平享譽全球的澳洲是中國學生出國深造的一個不錯選擇。在準備出國留學之前,最重要的事情就是找合法經營服務質量有保證的中介公司為你打點一切。至于文化、語言等其他方面的事情,則需要自己在國內就盡量通過網絡來增加了解,強化英語的實際應用能力。如果能夠說一口流利的英語,在澳大利亞的生活幾乎就適應了一半!只要擁有一個準備好接受挑戰的心態,任何問題都能夠迎刃而解。如果你已經作出了決定,要踏上異鄉的這片國土給自己的人生畫冊上添上一筆,下面的這些信息或許對你會有所幫助:

澳大利亞概況:

衣著:在澳大利亞生活,夏季一般只需穿輕薄服裝,但夜間有時需要加穿外套或毛衣。澳大利亞南部地區冬季則需穿較厚的服裝,如大衣或外套;

生活指數:澳大利亞當地的生活開支和學費都在學生可以承受的范圍內,你還可以在學習期間打工來賺取部分生活費用。一般單身學生一年生活開支為8000至12,000澳元。包括衣食住行、醫療及娛樂的開支;

住宿:有多種住宿可供選擇,包括租房、旅社、住宿學院和寄宿學校;

課余兼職:獲取學生簽證的海外學生經父母許可可在澳大利亞兼職工作。在學校期間,每周最多可工作20小時,假期則可全天工作。這些經歷有助于海外學生結交朋友,加深對澳大利亞的認識。但學生必須確保自己的學業不會受到兼職工作的影響,也不應把兼職工作視為在澳大利亞上學的主要經濟來源;

語言:澳大利亞最常說的語言包括英語、意大利語、希臘語、廣東話、阿拉伯語、越南語和普通話;

參考學費:(1澳元折合約為5.67元人民幣)

本科課程 研究生證書/研究生文憑課程 碩士/博士課程

文科、商科、經濟學、法律類:

13000至23000澳元/年

以實驗室研究為主的理科、工程類:

15000至25000澳元/年 9000至16000澳元/年 15000至25000澳元/年

(以上資料根據《澳大利亞留學生活指南》整理編輯)

留學澳洲網站鏈接:

留學澳大利亞官方網站:www.studyinaustralia.gov.au

國家聯絡委員會(為在澳的國際學生提供學業和福利事務方面的信息):www.nlc.edu.au

澳大利亞大學協會:www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au

太傻網:www.taisha.org/abroad/australia/

滴答網:www.tigtag.com

澳洲中文網:www.ozchinese.com