Which is more important, fluency or accuracy?
说英语的流利程度和精确性哪个更重要呢?
The idea that there is a clash between fluency and accuracy is quite false: they are equally important. There are times when we concentrate on fluency and times when we concentrate on accuracy. We don’t give or require grammatical explanations with the same high level of intensity all the time. For example, if we are conducting a conversation lesson, our main objective is to build up the student’s confidence and to give the student the opportunity to express him/herself freely. In this situation, fluency takes precedence over accuracy. We tolerate a great deal of error. If, for example, a student says *He go* (for He goes) we might completely ignore the mistake and leave it uncorrected. Our main criterion is that the student is making him/herself understood. We listen. We don’t interrupt. After the student has finished speaking, we praise the student’s effort and give him/her as much encouragement as possible. We correct only those errors (just one or two) that have really interfered with communication.
那种认为说英语的流利程度和精确性不能兼容的观点很站不住脚：其实，它们同样重要。在说英语时，有时我们讲求流利，有时我们讲求它的准确。此时，我们对语法解释的要求不是一成不变的。比如，在组织一堂会话课的教学时，主要目标是增强学生们的信心以及给学生们提供一个自由表达的机会。在这种情形下，说英语的流畅程度比准确更重要。我们允许犯很多错误。比如，如果一个学生把He goes说成*He go*，我们尽可以忽略不计，把它放在一边。我们此时衡量学生的标准是看他是否让人懂得他的意思。我们只听，而不打断他的讲话。在学生发言完毕之后，我们要表扬他为此付出努力，尽量给予更多的鼓励。我们只纠正确实影响交流的一两处错误。
If, on the other hand, you are drilling students in some aspect of language like always remembering to add ’s to the third person singular in the simple present (He goes, not *He go*) then you want 100% accuracy and you don’t accept anything less. What is acceptable in one situation may be quite unacceptable in another!
如果你在着重训练学生其他方面的技能，比如一般现在时第三人称单数加-s(说He goes,而不说*He go*)，那么你讲求的就是语言上百分之百的正确，否则你不会接受。其实，任何事物都不是一成不变的，在一种情形中可接受的准则在另一种情况下则很不可接受。
文：路易亚历山大 新概念英语作者