For Canaan Elementary’s second grade in Patchogue, N.Y.，today is speech day ,and right now it’s Chris Palaez’s turn. The 8-year-old is the joker of the class. With shining dark eyes, he seems like the of kid who would enjoy public speaking.
对于纽约州帕科格的迦南小学二年级学生来说，今天是演讲日，现在轮到克里斯·帕莱兹了。这个8岁的孩子是班上最爱开玩笑的人。他有一双明亮的黑眼睛，看起来像个喜欢在公众面前演讲的孩子。
But he’s, nervous.“I’m here to tell you today why you should … should…”Chris trips on the“-ld,”a. pronunciation difficulty for many non-native English speakers. His teacher ,Thomas Whaley ,is next to him, whispering support.“…Vote for …me …”Except for some stumbles, Chris is doing amazingly well. When he brings his speech to a nice conclusion ,Whaley invites the rest of the class to praise him.
但他很紧张。“我今天来告诉你为什么你应该……应该……”克里斯的演讲卡在“-ld”上，这个发音对于许多非英语母语人士来说比较困难。他的老师托马斯·惠利就在他旁边，轻声鼓励，“……投票给……我……”。除了一些失误，克里斯表现非常好。当他完美地结束演讲时，惠利邀请全班同学表扬他。
A son of immigrants, Chris stared learning English a little over three years ago. Whaley recalls how at the beginning of the year，when called upon to read，Chris would excuse himself to go to the bathroom.
克里斯是移民的儿子，三年多前开始学英语。惠利回忆道那年年初，克里斯被要求朗读时，他总是找借口上厕所。
Learning English as a second language can be a painful experience. What you need is a great teacher who lets you make mistakes. “It takes a lot for any student，” Whaley explains，“especially for a student who is learning English as their new language，to feel confident enough to say，‘I don’t know，but I want to know.’”
把英语作为第二语言学习可能是一种痛苦的经历，你需要的是一个让你犯错的好老师。”“对于任何一个学生来说，”惠利解释说，“尤其是对于一个将英语作为新语言学习的学生来说，要有足够的信心说‘我不知道，但我想知道。’”
Whaley got the idea of this second-grade presidential campaign project when he asked the children one day to raise their hands if they thought they could never be a president. The answer broke his heart. Whaley says the project is about more than just learning to read and speak in public. He wants these kids to learn to boast about themselves.
有一天他问孩子们，如果认为自己永远不可能成为总统的话就举手，答案让他心碎。惠利想起了二年级的总统竞选项目，这个项目不仅仅是学习在公共场合阅读和演讲，他还想让这些孩子学会表扬自己。
“Boasting about yourself，and your best qualities,” Whaley says，“is very difficult for a child who came into the classroom not feeling confident.”
“表扬自己，表扬自己最好的品质，”惠利说，“对于一个走进教室却没有自信的孩子来说是非常困难的。”