文化在英语学习中的重要性Word文档格式.docx

1、SupervisedA/Prof. Liu Xia June 2, 2013SignatureThe thesis “The Significance of Learning Culture in Foreign Language Learning” by Zhu Chang was reviewed and approved by A/Prof. Liu Xia on June 2013,.Supervisor_（Signature）Abstract: We learn language to communicate with other people. However, it is not

2、 easy for non-native speakers to get a successful communication without necessary cultural background. In other words, language has a close connection with culture.Key words: communication; language; culture内容摘要：我们学习语言是为了和别人交流。但是非本地居民在缺少文化背景的情况下，是不容易与他人成功交流的。换句话说，语言和文化密切相关.。关键词: 交流；语言；文化 Acknowledge

3、mentsThe paper was completed in June 2013, and many people have helped with it. Here I would particularly like to acknowledge my respectable supervisor, A/Prof. Liu Xia, for the valuable advice that he has given to me in the writing of this paper, in addition to what he has taught in his class on ho

4、w to prepare and write the paper. I also want to acknowledge the teachers in School of Foreign Language of Xiangfan University who provided me with rich information and gave me great encouragement. Besides, my friends should also be acknowledged for their kind and generous help. ContentsStrategies a

5、nd Skills for Promoting Listening CompetenceMajor: English EducationStudent No.:2009105259 Name: Zhu ChangSupervisor: Liu Xia We learn language to communicate with other people. However, it is not easy for non-native speakers to get a successful communication without necessary cultural background. I

6、n other words, language has a close connection with culture. Communication;换句话说，语言和文化密切相关 .。交流；1. IntroductionWith further acceleration of the pace of Chinas opening, Chinese people put more and more emphasis on English language learning. Than ever before the enthusiasm of the Chinese people learnin

7、g English is much higher and a variety of English education resources are more abundant. However, many people view English only as a tool and only train language skill, so they lack English cultural education, and they ignore the deep-seated cultural enrichment of the nurture. Language as the keysto

8、ne of culture, is closely connected with it（Stern,1989:102-103）. Learning a language cannot be separated from learning its culture. When learning a foreign language, we should not only learn the pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar, but also learn to see and think about the world as native speakers

9、 do. In other words, learning culture is very important in foreign language learning2. The definition and relationship of language and cultureLanguage is an indispensable carrier of culture. Culture finds a better representation through language use （Halliday, 1970:405-406）. A joint study of these t

10、wo subjects will definitely broaden the horizon of human knowledge in general and enrich the research of these sciences in particular. This correlation highlights the pursuit of the relationship between the two and makes this practice something both fascinating and challenging. .2.1The definition of

11、 cultureConcerning culture, one of the best early definition was given by E.B Taylor（1960:579）, who definition culture as “the complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, mornal, laws, customers and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.” Science then, hun

12、dreds of definitions have emerged with the booming of culture studies.In general, the word “culture” seems to have been used in the following three categories of reference.In the first category, culture is technically used by ethnologists and historians to cover a socially inherited element in the l

13、ife of human beings, which can be material and spiritual. In this case, culture possesses the same elements as “civilization” of human beings, for example, “human culture”.The second application of the term “culture” is more personal. It refers to “a rather ideal of individual refinement, built up o

14、n a certain degree of assimilated knowledge and experience but made up chiefly of a set of typical reaction that have the permit of a class and of a tradition of standing. In such a sense, we have “cultural manner” and “cultural man”.Cultural in the third sense put emphasis on the spiritual possessi

15、ons of a group rather than individuals, for example, “Chinese culture”. 2.2. The definition of languageLanguage in this paper refers to, firstly the linguistic points, which appear in the text materials, exercise books which are the main access to language input. Secondly, the pragmatic knowledge, a

16、s explain by Speech Act Theory that was originated by British philosopher John Austin. He thought that a speaker might be performing three acts stimultaneously when speaking : locutionary act, illocutionary act and perlouctilonary act, which indicate that there must be some other intentions beyond t

17、he utterance of the speakers in their communication.To give the barest of definition, language is a means of verbal communication. It is instrumental in that communication by speaking or writing is a purposeful act. It is social and conventional in that language is a social semiotic and communicatio

18、n can only take place effectively if all the users share a broad understanding of human interaction including such factors as nonverbal cues, motivation, and social-cultural roles. Language learning and using are determined by intervention of biological, cognitive, psycho-social, and environmental f

19、actors. In short, language distinguishes us from animals because it is far more sophisticated than any animal communication syatem.2.3. The relationship of language and cultureAs the carrier of culture, language reflects and originates from it.Generally, the structure of a language should have some

20、cultural features and obey some rules of language usage. Nida, a famous translator, said that the role of language within a culture and influence of the culture on the meanings of words and idioms are so pervasive that scarcely any text can be adequately understood without carefully consideration of

21、 its cultural background. Prof. 陈光雷（1992:119） also said when teaching and learning a language, we should take culture into consideration. As we know, some words are called culturally loaded words, which carry deep cultural message. Such as “castle”, a typical culturally loaded word carries the cultu

22、ral and historical message. Castle is a particular kind of architecture in ancient Europe, especially in Britain, which was invaded by others frequently at that time. Therefore, the meaning of castle has beyond itself, it loaded the history of invasion and can reflect the character of Englishmen as

23、well, for there is a saying that “an Englishmans house is his castle”. Actually, the military base in the past, or the house now, no matter what the castle refers to, they have something in common that it is principally the private residence of its owners and no one can enter without permission. Lan

24、guage is a particular component of culture（孙勉志，1997:334）. Firstly, language penetrates into every level of culture and the linguistic system interpenetrates all other system within culture. Secondly, language is the most important means by which culture is transmitted, such as music, drawing, yet on

25、 other system are so comprehensive and powerful as language. Furthermore, language is also the most important medium through which culture can actively transmitted. Last but not least, “language is a great force of socialization. It is largely through language socialization that an individual will a

26、cquire the culture of the people he or she lives with.Culture is the base of languageThe American humanist Spair convey his opinions in On Culture that language owns its base. That is to say, group of people coming from one or several ethnic groups speak the same language. Thus this language can pas

27、s down from generation to generation. And meanwhile, it is also the reflection of the totally culture of their life and customs（戴炜栋2002:97）. With the view that language is a particular part of culture, culture is the base of language, we can see language can never be free from its cultural backgroun

28、d, and there is no natural language that can be used as a pure international language. Therefore, learning a language naturally involves learning its culture. 3. The influence of culture on language learningIn the past days of English teaching and learning, we have realized influence of native langu

29、age on the English language learning and teaching, but we have not realized the influence of culture factors on English language learning. For a long time we only laid stress on grammar and developed pure language skills, but did not pay attention to cultural consciousness. Therefore, we can not understand the reading and listening materials properly because of culture difference, even we cannot speak and write in a proper way. Generally, foreigners can put up with our grammar mistakes and pronunciation mistakes, but they always take our mistakes about culture to heart,