语言文化论文-Cultural Background Knowledge and English Teaching.doc

语言文化论文-CulturalBackgroundKnowledgeandEnglishTeachingOutline:I.ProblemsarousedbydifferentculturalbackgroundsA.SomedifficultiesincommunicationcausedbydifferentculturalbackgroundsB.BriefillustrationofrelationshipbetweenlanguageandcultureC.ProblemsinEnglishteachingandteachingmaterialcausedbyneglectofculturalbackgroundknowledgeII.ImportanceofculturalbackgroundknowledgeinlanguageteachingA.NecessityofculturalbackgroundknowledgeinauralcomprehensionB.NecessityofculturalbackgroundknowledgeinoralEnglishC.Necessityofculturalbackgroundknowledgeinreading1.Fromtherespectofallusionsasillustrationa)Oldallusionsfromhistory,religionandliteratureb)Newallusions2.FromtherespectofidiomsasillustrationD.Necessityofculturalbackgroundknowledgeinwritingandtranslation1.Intranslation2.Inwritinga)DifferencesinChineseandEnglishwritingstylesb)NecessityofknowingthesedifferencesIII.HowtocarryouttheteachingofculturalbackgroundknowledgeA.SelectingproperteachingmaterialB.EncouragingwidereadingC.PayingattentiontoproperwordingintheclassroomD.UsingnativeEnglishvideotapesandfilmsE.EncouragingcommunicationwithnativespeakersofEnglishF.HoldinglecturesaboutcultureIV.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,usuallyweareeasytounderstand.Eveniftherearesomenewwordsinthematerial,weareabletoguesstheirmeaningsaccordingtoitscontext.However,whenweencountersomeunfamiliarmaterialorsomethingcloselyrelatedtoculturalbackground,wemayfeelratherdifficult.Evenifthematerialiseasy,weonlyknowtheliteralmeaning,butcantunderstandtheconnotation,becausewelackknowledgeofculturalbackground.Hereisasentencefromareport:“ThepathtoNovemberisuphillalltheway.”“November”literallymeans“theeleventhmonthofyear”.Buthererefersto“thePresidentialelectiontobeheldinNovember”.Anotherexampleis“redletterdays”whichisasimplephraseandiseasytohear,meaningholidayssuchasChristmasandotherspecialdays.Butstudentsareoftenunabletounderstandthemwithoutteachersexplanation.BelowaretwojokesoftentalkedaboutbyAmericans:1.A:Whereareyoufrom?B:Illaskher.(Alaska)A:Whydoyouaskher?2.A:Whereareyoufrom?B:Howareyou.(Hawaii)AmaythinkBhasgivenanirrelevantanswer.ButifAknewsomethingaboutgeographicalknowledgeoftheUSA,andthenamesoftwostatesoftheUSAAlaskaandHawaii,hewouldnotregard“Alaska”as“Illaskher”,or“Hawaii”as“Howareyou”.Inviewofthis,theintroductionofculturalbackgroundisnecessaryintheteachingofEnglishlistening.Likewise,speakingisnotmerelyconcernedwithpronunciationandintonation.StudentscanonlyimprovetheiroralEnglishandreachtheaimofcommunicationbymeansofenormousreading,masteringrichlanguagematerialandacquaintanceofwesternculture.Therefore,inoraltraining,teachersshouldlaystressonfactualityoflanguageandadoptsomematerialapproachingtodailylife,suchasdailydialogueswithtape,magazines,newspapersandreportetc.,becausethematerialisfromreallife,andithelpsstudentstobewellacquaintedwithstandardpronunciationandintonation,tospeakEnglishappropriatetotheoccasion,tounderstandwesternwayoflifeandcustomsetc.Otherwise,misunderstandinganddispleasureareinevitablyaroused.Letslookatsomeexamples.ManyfixedEnglishwaysofexpressioncannotbechangedrandomly.Forexample,theanswerto“Howdoyoudo?”is“Howdoyoudo?”Whenaskingprice,peopleusuallysay,“Howmuch,please?”insteadof:“Howmuchdoyouchargeme?Or“HowmuchdoIoweyou”；Whenpayingbill,“Waiter,billplease.”Insteadof“Excuseme,sir.Werefinishedeating.Howmuchisit,please?”Whenaskingtheotheronesnameonthetelephone,“Whosspeaking,please?”or“Whoisit,please?”insteado