文化背景知识与英语教学.doc

Cultural Background Knowledge and English TeachingOutline: 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,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?”insteadof“Whoareyou?”“Whereareyou?”“Whatsyoursurname?”or“Whatisyourunit?” InEnglish,therearesomanyeuphemismsthatsometimesitshardtoknowtheotheronesactualmood.Soweshouldpayattentiontoouranswer.Forexample,whenoneask:“Howdoyoulikethefilm?”andtheotheranswer:“Ithinkitsveryinteresting”,itshowshedoesntlikeitverymuchinsteadoftheliteralmeaning“veryinteresting”.Whenoneasks:“Whatdoyouthinkofmynewcoat?”andtheotheranswers:“Ithinkthepocketisverynice”,italsoshowshisdislike.InAmericaandEngland,usuallypeopledontsayunpleasantwordstoonesface,theyalwayssaypleasantwordstothefullorevadedirectanswering,saying“Idontknow.”Forexample,whenoneasks,“Doyoulikeourteacher”,youmayanswer:“Well,Idontknowhimverywell.”Sometimesoutofhispoliteness,whenmeetingunfamiliarpeople,hemayconcealhistruefeelings.Forexample,AaskedB:“Howareyou?”AlthoughBhadgotabadcold,hisanswerwas“Fine,thankyou”,butnot“Notverywell,Imafraid”,orothersimilaranswers. Duringoralcommunication,speakersneedstandardpronunciationandintonation,aswellasthesuitableuseoflanguagefortheoccasion.Therearenumerousexamplesthatwecouldciteofexpressionsthatarecorrectaccordingtogrammaticalrules,butunsuitablefortheoccasion. Once,afterastudentgavealecture,heaskedaforeignvisitorforhisadvice.Hesaidlikethis,“Iamdesirousofexploringyourfeelingonthelecture”whichcausedtheforeignvisitorssurprise.Hesaid:“YouEnglishistoobeautifultobetrue.”Butthestudentrefusedtoacceptthecomment.Hesaidthesentencewasextractedfromthebook.Thevisitorexplainedthatphraseslike“desirousofexploringyourfeelings”werenotfitforspokenlanguage,whichshouldbereplacedby“Idliketohearyourviewsonthelecture”or“MayIhaveyourviewsonthelecture?” Apersoncomfortedabereavedyoungwife,“Imterriblysorrytohearthatyourhusbandhasjustdied,butdontletitupsetyoutoomuch.Youreanattractiveyoungwoman.Imsureyoullfindsomeoneelsesoon.”Althoughthewordsaccordwithgrammaticalrules,theycannotbeappliedincommunication,andatthesametime,theybetraythesocialcustoms. Aspeoplesarediverse,customsarediverse.Itisonlynaturalthenthatwithdifferencesincustoms,differencesoftenariseinusingoflanguage.Forexample,whensomeonepraiseyourEnglishisverygood,AmericanandChineserepliestocomplimentsaredifferent.AccordingtoChinesecustoms,theygenerallymurmursomereplyaboutnotbeingworthyofthepraise,whileaccordingtoAmericancustoms,theytendtoacceptthecomplimentwiththepleasure.Thereplylike“No,IdontspeakgoodEnglish”Americansthinkwhichseemstocriticizetheotherside,isimpolite. ReadingEnglisharticlesrequiresacertainlanguagebasis,butthecompetenceofreadingcomprehensionisnotentirelyrelatedtooneslanguagelevel.Knowledgeofculturalbackgroundisalsoimportant.Readingisaprocessaffectedbyintegrationofoneslanguageknowledge,culturalbackgroundknowledgeandotherprofessionalknowledge,andaprocessofcontinuousguessesandcorrectionsaccordingtoavailablelanguagematerial,culturalbackgroundandlogicalreasoning.Generallyspeaking,ChinesepeoplestudyChinesewithoutthedifficultiesarousedbyculturalbackground.Chineseproverbslike“只许州官放火，不许百姓点灯”,“平时不烧香,临时抱佛脚”,“差之毫厘,失之千里”willnotinfluenceourunderstandingofarticle.Theconnotationofsuchnewwordsas“改革开放”“大腕”“追星族”areeasilyunderstood,too.However,whenwereadEnglisharticles,differencesbetweenChineseandwesternculturesoftenbringusmanydifficulties. Following,effectofculturalbackgroundonreadingwillbediscussed,withsomecommontermsorexpressionsinreadingmaterial,whichisoftennotunderstoodbyChineselearnersunfamiliarwithwesternculture,asillustration. Manyallusionsdrawnfromhistory,religion,literatureetc.,oftenappearinEnglishworksandhavebecomecommonhouseholdterms.Butwithouttheknowledgeofwesterncultureandhistory,suchallusionsarenotalwayseasytounderstand,andwithoutunderstandingtherecanbelittleappreciation.Forexample: aHerculeantasktaskrequiringgreatpowerofbodyormind.HerculeswasapowerfullybuiltheroofancientGreekmythology.Aspunishmentforaseriousmisdeed,hewasorderedtodotwelvevirtuallyimpossibletasks.Herculessucceededindoingallandwasrewardedwithimmortality.Example:ItwasaHerculeantask,buthemanagedtodoit. DavidandGoliath(fromBible)Davidwasashepherdboy;hekilledthePhilistinegiantGoliathwithashotfromhisslingandlaterbecamekingoftheHebrews;inmetaphoricaluse,DavidandGoliathstandforacontestbetweentwopersons,enterprises,countries,etc.,inwhichoneismuchsmallerand/orweaker,butinwhichthesmaller/weakeronewinsout. aHoratioAlgerstoryany“successstory”,oftenconsideredamyth,ofapoorboywhoworkshardandfinallyrisestothetop,becomingrich,successful,famous;HoratioAlgerwasawriterwhosestoriesgenerallyhadthesamesuchplot.Hisbest-knownbooksaretheRaggedDickseriesandtheTatteredTomseries. Someoftheseallusionsmaybelookedupinthedictionary,butwiththecontinuousdevelopmentofsocietyandlanguage,newallusionshaveappeared.Unlessoneiswellacquaintedwithdevelopmentsofacertaincountry,onewouldbeatalossaboutthemeaningandconnotationsoftermsorexpressionssuchasthosebelow: aRamboRamboisthecharactermadefamousbyAmericanmoviesaroundthemid-1980s.HeisatoughsoldieroftheVietnamWar,resourceful,taciturn,lonely,somewhat“odd”.Rambogetsinvolvedinnumerousriskyadventuresorinoneviolentsituationafteranother.Hemakesmiraculousescapesfromimpossiblesituationsbyshooting,knifing,bombingorburninghiswayout.Unbelievableashisfeatsmayseem,andrepugnantassomeofhisviolentactionsmayappear,heisthecurrentheroofmanyAmericanboysandyoungmen. aPepsodentsmileAsmileshowingbeautifulwhiteteeth;fromadvertisementsforPepsodenttoothpaste,oneofthebetter-knownbrandsintheUSA. Idiomisanimportantpartofthelanguageandcultureofasociety.Theyareoftenhardtounderstandandhardtousecorrectly.Theyarealmostimpossibletounderstandfromthemeaningsoftheindividualwords.AndwithEnglishidioms,eventhesamewordsmayhavedifferentmeaningsasintheexamplesblow: So,firstofall,astudentshouldlearnnottolookdownonsuchidiomsjustbecausetheyremadeupofsuchsimpleandeasywords.Heshouldlookoutforidenticalphraseswithdifferentmeaningsandlookthemupinadictionaryifhesnotsure.Hesboundtorunintoalotoftroublewhenhefirstusesthem,butheshouldntgivein,muchlessgiveup.Ifhekeepstryingandkeepsatitlongenoughhellmakeoutandthingswillturnoutwellintheend. Thoughthepassageisshort,itincludestenidioms:lookdown,madeupof,lookoutfor,lookup,runinto,givein,giveup,keepatit,makeoutandturnout(well). Itisthusclearthatdifficultiesinreadingcannotbecompletelysolvedbyoneslanguageknowledge,becauseworksofapeoplecannotbeseparatedfromthepeoplesculturaltradition.So,inteachingreading,ateachershouldexplaingrammaticaldifficultiesaswellasexpoundculturalbackground. Similarly,writingandtranslatingcannotbeseparatedfromculturalbackgroundknowledge. Intranslation,eventheverysimpleexpressionscannotbedealtwithwithoutanyconsiderationofspecificcontextandcustoms. Weshalltaketheword“dog”asanexample. ToEnglish-speakingpeople,thedogdoesnotcarrythesameassociationsasitdoestoChinese.Thedogisconsideredtobederogatory,forexample,“癩皮狗”“丧家之犬”“走狗”“狗急跳墙”“狗头军师”etc.areoftenusedtodescribedisgustingpeople.ButdoginEnglish,especiallyinproverbs,isacommendatoryterm.IfwetranslatedogintoChinese“狗”withoutexception,wemaymakejokes.Forexample: 1.Everydoghashisday. 2.Youare,indeed,aluckydog., 3.Lastnig