国内的“课外辅导班”用英语应该怎么说？

我们在写作和口语中有时候需要表达这样的概念：家长送孩子上课外辅导班。那么“课外辅导班”用英文究竟应该怎么说？

一些人可能会将它翻译为cram school，但cram school跟我们理解的“辅导班”有点不一样。Cram school指的是专门应对考试的“补习学校”，它们提供的一般是短期速成课程，比如国内常见的托福雅思速成班就属于这种模式。而我们说的“辅导班”通常全年上课，教授语数英等必修课程。

外媒在报道中国的“课外辅导班”时常用的一个说法是after-school tutoring classes，比如US News（美国新闻与世界报道）在报道去年的双减政策时有这样的句子：

After-school tutoring (AST) classes are seen as crucial to academic success in China's notoriously difficult college entrance exam.

More than 75% of K-12 students - roughly aged from six to 18 - in China attended after-school tutoring classes in 2016, according to the most recent figures from the Chinese Society of Education, and anecdotal evidence suggests that percentage has risen.

文章将“课外辅导班”处理为after-school tutoring classes，并使用notoriously difficult来形容高考的难度。

一些外媒也将“课外辅导班”简单处理为after-school classes，比如《纽约时报》有这样的句子：

Banning after-school classes will allow only families that can afford private tutors to give their children an edge, Mr. Yang said. Instead of alleviating any burden, the ban will add to it.

《纽约时报》还将“家教”翻译为private tutors，这一说法也可以记住。

除了“课外辅导班”之外，我们还经常碰到一个有中国特色的说法：兴趣班。辅导班里面教的一般是学科类内容，而兴趣班教的可能是钢琴、美术、舞蹈和书法等非学科类内容。“兴趣班”不能翻译为interest classes，可以参考《环球时报》的一个译法：off-campus hobby programs，如果要表达具体的“钢琴班”或者“书法班”，那么可以直接说 piano classes / calligraphy classes

“课外辅导班”和“兴趣班”也可以统称为extracurricular classes，在上下文语境明确的情况下，一些外媒也直接用extracurricular classes来指代“辅导班”或者“兴趣班”。

要表达“家长让孩子参加辅导班”，英文应该用什么动词呢？常见的说法是enroll somebody in XX classes/programs/courses, 或者sign somebody up for XX classes/programs/courses，比如我们可以说：

Many parents feel compelled to enroll their children in after-school tutoring classes so that the next generation stand a chance in the highly competitive college entrance exam system.

如果是某人自己参加辅导班，也可以说somebody attends XX classes, somebody signs up for XX classes，或者somebody enrolls in XX classes，比如可以说：

Most students are unwilling to attend after-school classes because they feel so stressed out.

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