CULTURAL BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE AND ENGLISH TEACHING.doc

cultural background knowledge and english teaching outline: i.problemsarousedbydifferentculturalbackgrounds a.somedifficultiesincommunicationcausedbydifferentculturalbackgrounds b.briefillustrationofrelationshipbetweenlanguageandculture c.problemsinenglishteachingandteachingmaterialcausedbyneglectofculturalbackgroundknowledge ii.importanceofculturalbackgroundknowledgeinlanguageteaching a.necessityofculturalbackgroundknowledgeinauralcomprehension b.necessityofculturalbackgroundknowledgeinoralenglish c.necessityofculturalbackgroundknowledgeinreading 1.fromtherespectofallusionsasillustration a)oldallusionsfromhistory,religionandliterature b)newallusions 2.fromtherespectofidiomsasillustration d.necessityofculturalbackgroundknowledgeinwritingandtranslation 1.intranslation 2.inwriting a)differencesinchineseandenglishwritingstyles b)necessityofknowingthesedifferences iii.howtocarryouttheteachingofculturalbackgroundknowledge a.selectingproperteachingmaterial b.encouragingwidereading c.payingattentiontoproperwordingintheclassroom d.usingnativeenglishvideotapesandfilms e.encouragingcommunicationwithnativespeakersofenglish f.holdinglecturesaboutculture iv.conclusion:itisnecessaryforteacherstopassonculturalbackgroundknowledgetostudents. onceanamericanwasvisitingthehomeofachinese.asthevisitorsawthehostswife,hesaid,“yourwifeisverybeautiful.”thehostsmiledandsaid:“where?where?”whichcausedtheamericanssurprise,butstillheanswered:“eyes,hair,nose”ananswerthatthehostfoundabitpuzzling.thesurprisingwascausedbydifferentcultures.“where?where?”meaning“哪里！哪里！”inchineseisakindofhumblesaying.buttheamericanunderstooditas“whichpartsofthebodyarebeautiful?”so,thereasonforbothsidesmisunderstandingswasdifferencesincustomsandhabits.eachwasexpressingandunderstandingwhattheothersaidaccordingtohisorherculture. eventslikethesearefairlycommonwhenpeopleofdifferentlanguagesandculturescommunicate.becauseofculturaldifferences,misunderstandingsmayarise,althoughthelanguageusedincommunicationmaybefaultless.thesamewordsorexpressionsmaynotmeanthesamethingtodifferentpeoples.becauseofculturaldifferences,aseriousquestionmaycauseamusementorlaughter；aharmlessstatementmaycausedispleasureoranger.becauseofculturaldifferences,jokesbyaforeignspeakermaybereceivedwithblankfacesandstonysilence.yetthesamestoriesinthespeakersowncountrywouldleaveaudiencesholdingtheirsideswithlaughter. languageisapartofcultureandplaysaveryimportantroleinit.ontheonehand,withoutlanguage,culturewouldnotbepossible.ontheotherhand,languageisinfluencedandshapedbyculture;itreflectsculture.inthebroadestsense,languageisthesymbolicrepresentationofapeople,anditcomprisestheirhistoricalandculturalbackgroundsaswellastheirapproachtolifeandtheirwaysoflivingandthinking.languageandcultureinteractandunderstandingofonerequiresunderstandingoftheother. culturesdifferfromoneanother.eachcultureisunique.learningaforeignlanguagewellmeansmorethanmerelymasteringthepronunciation,grammar,wordsandidioms.itmeanslearningalsotoseetheworldasnativespeakersofthatlanguageseeit,learningthewaysinwhichtheirlanguagereflectstheideas,customs,andbehavioroftheirsociety,learningtounderstandtheir“languageofthemind”.learningalanguage,infact,isinseparablefromlearningitsculture. however,ithasbeengivennotenoughcaretoinourteachingforalongtime.althoughmanystudentshaveacquiredfourskillslistening,speaking,readingandwritingaccordingtothedemandofourtraditionalsyllabus,theyoftenmakemistakesinapplicationoflanguagetoreallife,becauseourteachingandteachingmaterialsattachimportancetolanguageformsbutignorethesocialmeaningsoflanguageformsandlanguageapplicationinreality.wecanseethefollowingdialoguesinmanytextbooks: 1.a:whatsyourname? b:mynameislihong. a:howoldareyou? b:imtwenty. a:wheredoyoucomefrom? b:icomefromnanjing. 2.a:whereareyougoing? b:imgoingtothelibrary. 3.a:areyouwritingalettertoyourparents? b:yes,iam. a:howoftendoyouwritetoyourparents? b:aboutonceaweek. alltheabovedialoguesareroughlythecombinationofchinesethinkingandenglishform.althoughsuchformsarecorrect,theyarenotappropriate.exceptforhospitals,immigrationofficesandsuchplaces,itsunimaginableforsomeonetoaskastringofquestionslike:“whatsyourname?”“howoldareyou?”“wheredoyoucomefrom?”thenaturalreactionofenglish-speakingpeopletothegreetingslike:“whereareyougoing?”wouldmostlylikelybe“whydoyouask?”or“itsnoneofyourbusiness.”questionslike“areyouwritingtoyourparents?”wouldbethoughtointrudeononesprivacy.ourteachingmaterialseldompaysattentiontodifferencesbetweencultures,soourstudentsareusuallyignorantofthefactorofcultureandtheycanonlymechanicallycopywhattheyhavelearned. soinlanguageteaching,weshouldnotonlypassonknowledgeoflanguageandtrainlearnerscompetenceofutilizinglanguage,butalsoenhanceteachingofrelativeculturalbackgroundknowledge. inteachingofauralcomprehension,wefindmanystudentscomplainthatmuchtimehasbeenusedinlistening,butlittleachievementhasbeenacquired.inordertoimprovecompetenceoflisteningcomprehension,somestudentsspeciallybuytaperecordersforlisteningandspendquiteafewhourseverydayonit,butoncetheymeetnewmaterials,still,theyfailtounderstand.whatisthereason?ontheonehand,maybesomestudentsenglishisverypoorandtheyhaventgraspedenoughvocabularies,cleargrammarorcorrectpronunciation,ormaybethematerialisratherdifficult,etc.ontheotherhand,animportantreasonisthattheyareunfamiliarwithculturalbackgroundoftheusaandengland.auralcomprehension,whichiscloselyrelatedtotheknowledgeofamericanandbritishculture,politicsandeconomy,infact,isanexaminationofonescomprehensivecompetencewhichincludesonesenglishlevel,rangeofknowledge,competenceofanalysisandimaginativepower. maybewehavethisexperience:whenwearelisteningtosomethingfamiliartous,nomatterwhatisconcerned,usuallyweareeasytounders