英语论文onthenecessityofleadingculturalknowledgeinenglishteaching.docx

1、英语论文onthenecessityofleadingculturalknowledgeinenglishteaching英语论文on_the_necessity_of_leading_cultural_knowledge_in_english_teaching 英语论文on_the_necessity_of_leading_cultural_knowledge_in_english_teaching 语言学课程论文 西北师大知行学院外语系 英语专业07级（6）班 秦文玉 On the Necessity of Leading Cultural Knowledge in English Tea

2、ching Qin Wenyu Abstract:This paper is to discuss about the necessity of leading cultural knowledge in English teaching.This article elaborates emphatically the importance of cultural teaching in English teaching and gives a set of classroom-teaching methods for the purpose of enhancing the cross-cu

3、ltural consciousness of students. And it introduces some methods to improve the cross-cultural consciousness and the sensitivity of students in English teaching, and the methods to improve the cross-cultural communicative ability from different channels. At the same time, this article discusses some

4、 existing problems and the counter solutions in the process of English cultural teaching. Key words: culture background knowledge, English teaching, cross-culture communication 1. INTRODUCTION Language is a part of culture and affects culture. Some sociologists think that language is the foundation

5、of culture. Seeing from another aspect, language is affected by culture. In a word, language and culture affect each other; if someone would like to comprehend a language, he must know of culture of that language first, at the same time, if he wants to comprehend culture, learning the language is th

6、e first step. For learning a foreign language, persons should not only master pronunciation, grammars, vocabulary and idioms, but also know how to use the language to express their thoughts, habits, and action. With English as an international language, in China, more and more people learn English,

7、but the main purpose of many people learning English seems to be communicated in order to overcome language barriers. However, compared to language barriers, cultural barriers are more difficult in cross cultural exchange, which in turn is often neglected by language learners. In fact, there are thr

8、ee major elements of English, basic knowledge of language, language skills application and cultural background knowledge , which are complementary and closely related to the teaching of English,and it is not only a professor, but also should include the dissemination of cultural knowledge.To get stu

9、dents to learn English, three are indispensable. Therefore, how to enhance the sensitivity of students between Chinese and foreign language and how to enhance their cross-cultural communicative ability are worth of thinking over by the English educators. 2. PROBLEMS AROUSED BY NEGLECT OF CULTURE BAC

10、KGROUND KNOWLEDGE 2.1 Thanks and Gratitude Generally speaking, Chinese people rarely use among family members, “Thank you.“ If used, sound will be strange, or the mutual relations with distance. In the English-speaking countries “Thank you.“ is used for all occasions, even though parents and childre

11、n, brothers and sisters are no exception. Send a bottle of drink, prepare a table meal, the other will say “Thank you.“ In the public places, no matter who helps you, you have to say “Thank you.“, which is the most basic courtesy. When somebody asks you would you like something to eat / drink? ,we u

12、sually accustomed to polite about it, replied: “No“, “Do not bother“ and so on. According to the English countries habits, if you want, you do not decline, say “Yes, please.“ If you want, just say “No, thanks.“ This fully demonstrates the Chinese people magnanimous subtle and straightforward English

13、-speaking countries of different styles. 2.2 Privacy Chinese people ask about age, marital status, income at the first meet to express care you, but English people are more disgusted with this, they think these are related to personal privacy. In the foreign countries people wants to appear full of

14、energy, eternal youth in the each others eyes, their actual ages are often secrets to the other people, especially women. Another example is the Chinese people care about the “Where are you going?“ and “What are you doing?“, which are spied on the others privacy and monitored other people s words wi

15、thout hearing popular in the English country. 2.3 Greeting Chinese people often ask: “Have you had your dinner?” in the daily life. If you ask English people like this, they often think you would like to invite them to dinner. In the foreign countries usually greeting weather, health, transport, spo

16、rts and hobbies for the topic. 3. THE NECESSITY OF LEADING CULTURE KNOWLEDGE 3.1 Culture Differences Are Barriers to Cross-cultural Communication The process of modernization has accelerated the flow of moral and material products ,and the various nationalities into a common “Global Village“, the cr

17、oss-cultural communication as each nation an integral part of life. However, cultural differences are barriers to the cross-culture communication, overcome communication barriers caused by cultural differences has become a common problem facing the world. 3.2 The Use of Language Education Is to Achi

18、eve the Key Language of Communication Is Inseparable from Social and Cultural Knowledge Appropriateness Cultural linguistic research shows that the language is stored in all the social experience, to reflect all the characteristics of the national culture. Therefore, the application of language and

19、language from the culture can not exist. Foreign language teaching should not only introduce the language knowledge, but should extend this study into the culture of teaching and training carried out in the background, the development of communicative competence is the ultimate goal of English teach

20、ing. 4. THE CONTENTS OF ENGLISH CULTURE TEACHING When teachers lead cultural background knowledge in class, to choose which kinds of culture can not be neglected. 4.1 Custom and Social Politeness of English Culture Cultural customs contain the life ways, the thinking habits, and the value thoughts o

21、f English-speaking countries. Social politeness includes greeting, regards, expressing thanks, making apologies, saying goodbyes, giving telephone calls, requests, invitations and so on. English learners should learn some standard usage of words and learn some forbidden sentences in the daily life.

22、Then they can comprehend some language phenomenon happening in some special occasion. For example, when they meet westerners, they will not ask”have you eaten?” 4.2 The Cultural Connotation of Vocabulary The cultural connotation of vocabulary refers to the area of words, the emotion color of words a

23、nd the usage of idioms, the proverbs and the usual phases(Jeremy Harmer, 1999：52). The culture in language reflects on the vocabulary which contains many words having national characteristic. For example, “have a new year” “beginning of spring” and so on are included in Chinese only, but “God” “hotd

24、og” “cowboy” are contained in English which do not exist in Chinese. 4.3 The Situation of the Society It contains politics, economy, history, literature, religious philosophy and modern social situation of English speaking countries. For example, knowing the cultural background knowledge of country

25、and society of America, English learners can comprehend the true meaning of“donkey” and “elephant” in election. 4.4 Non-Verbal Expression Non-verbal expression ways includes hand gestures, figure, clothing and different ideas of time or space and so on. Body language and hand signal language are ver

26、y common in English-speaking countries; English learners should pay much attention to these. For example, in English and American culture, “V” stands for victory, putting up thumb shows admiration, but in other countries such as in Italy, this kind of action shows disdain. Because of different cultu

27、res, they stand for different meanings. 5. TRY TO INCORPORATE CULTURE BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE INTO THE CLASSROOM BY MEANS OF COSIDERING SOME METHODS As weve seen the necessity and importance of the role cultural knowledge plays in the teaching of middle school English, teachers should by all means help

28、 students be equipped with cultural awareness.Teachers should make students aware that there are no superior or inferior cultures and that there are differences among people within culture of English-speaking countries, as well. Teachers are not in the classroom to confirm the prejudices of their st

29、udents nor to attack their deeply held convictions(林铮，1998：230). Their task is to stimulate students interest in the English culture, and help establish English classroom not so much as a place the language is taught, but as one opportunities for learning are provided through the interactions that t

30、ake place between the participants (Ellis, 1992: 171). The teaching of background knowledge must be commensurate with the dynamic aspects of culture. As Lessard-Clouston (1997:26) notes:Students will indeed to develop knowledge of and about the L2 or FL culture, but this receptive aspect of culture

31、competence is not sufficient. Learners will also need to master some skills in culturally appropriate communication and behavior for the target cultureCultural awareness is necessary if students are to develop an understanding of the dynamic nature of the target culture, as well as their own culture

32、. Students in the middle school should be given the opportunity to enjoy certain information and activities that are part of Chinese tradition, such as national spots, social festivities, or songs, before teachers help them explore those of the English culture. Here, I will focus on the latter. Id p

33、ropose the following methods. 5.1 Teaching Material A proportion of English material should be used. From the first day, teachers are expected to bring in the class posters, pictures, maps, and other realia in order to help students develop a mental image of the western culture. 5.2 Comparison Through exposure to the western civilization, students inescapably draw some comparisons