文化在英语学习中的重要性.doc

The Significance of learning Culture in Foreign Language LearningThe Thesis for Obtaining BA from SchoolOf Foreign Language and Literature, XFUByZhu ChangSupervisedByA/Prof. Liu Xia June 2, 2013IVSignatureThe 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 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AcknowledgementsThe 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 how 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. ContentsContentsV1. Introduction22. The definition and relationship of language and culture22.1The definition of culture22.2. The definition of language32.3. The relationship of language and culture33. The influence of culture on language learning43.1. Culture in semantics43.2.Culture in pragmatics53.3. Culture in language structure63.4. Culture in peoples titles73.5.Culture in taboo and privacy83.6. Culture in body language84. How to teach culture in language learning94.1. Eliminating interferernce from mother tongue94.2. Cultural contextualized teaching method104.3.Extracurricular activities application114.4.Using suitable material114.5. Making cultural comparisons124.6.Creating more chances for students to communciate with English native speakers125. Conclusion121 Strategies and Skills for Promoting Listening CompetenceMajor: English EducationStudent No.:2009105259 Name: Zhu ChangSupervisor: Liu XiaAbstract: 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. 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 learning 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 keystone 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 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 two 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 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, hundreds 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 life 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 on 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 possessions 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, as 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 the 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 communication 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 factors. 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 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 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 cultural 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 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. Language 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 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 acquire 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 pass 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 background, 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 language 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, because they think the mistakes we make cannot be in keeping with their customs and traditions, and they cannot accept those mistakes.The following parts are the influence of culture on language learning.3.1. Culture in semanticsThe culture in semantics refer to the cultural connotation, which is reflected by language loaded in the semantic system.Words as the primary element of a kind of language are the pillar of the linguistic system. And we can find in them the greatest and biggest cultural differences from our mother tongue（廖道胜, 2001, p.74）.Words in both the Chinese and English have their most distinctive cultural meaning. But there are also many dissimilar phenomenon of word meaning in Chinese and English. Each kind of language has its own unique linguistic system and linguistic constriction. Each nation has its own ways of living, thinking, behavior, and the different orientation of values. The expert in British literature and the professor of Oxford University Wang Zuoliang (王佐良, 1979, pp.15-20) said like this “A single word has not only direct and literal meaning in dictionary, but also has the affective meaning, connotative meaning and other many associative meanings.” So people with different cultural backgrounds always have the different understanding to a single word. The different cultural connotation causes a phenomenon of lexical gap. That means it can not be found any single word can be found in the target language to express the same meaning in its source language. For example, there is “八荣八耻, 精神文明，三个代表，饺子，粽子等” in Chinese, but it hard to find single word to express the same meaning in English. So, it is also an embodiment of cultural difference between mother tongue and the second language.In addition, a word, in different kinds of language, shares the same literal meaning, but it will be different cultural connotation. For example, wheel, in Chinese only means lunzi, but “he is a big wheel,” it means that he is an important figure in one group or some field. As ,potato, in Chinese is a common vegetable tudou, but in the sentence, “I am a potato”. It means I not famous, or I not play a significant role. These two examples show the special connotation adding to the cultural background. In contrast, we Chinese dont have the same expressions.In Chinese feudal era, people of the dragons and phoenix as a symbol; of imperial authority. Dragon stands for king and phoenix stands for princess. However, the westerners thought that the dragon is a symbol of evil. Phoenix in the western myth represent regeneration and resurrection. According to Greek myth, phoenix can live for many years. Thus, when one of the main buildings destroyed, people wish it was like the legendary phoenix, as a new look rises from the rubble. “All roads lead to Rome”, here Roma refers not only to luoma, but also refers to the destination people want to achieve. As the Yellow River, not only refers to the yellow river, but also a symbol of Chinese nation. 3.2.Culture in pragmaticsWe should be aware of the usage with different cultural loads between Chinese and English.In every days communication, the Anglo-American people often demonstrate respect for others, not show off their values. British and American people to express humility in a way that is different from we Chinese. When appraised by others, British and American people would say “Thank you”, Chinese people are accustomed to the word “where there is still a long way.”（Apte,1994:2000） If you really say that to British and American people, they would not understanding and feel unhappy. When the Britlish and American people ask you questions, and you dont know the answer, if you say directly “I dont know.” This would seem impolite. Americans would say “I am sorry, I dont know.” Asking for direction in foreign countries, if you just say “where is the station?” It is very abrupt and impolite. Youd better say “excuse me” before asking. For example, a group of Chinese girls who just arrived at United State for their education decided to visited New York together. One day they got up early and after two hours drive they got to the downtown of the city. They stayed there for a couple of hours, shopping and sightseeing happily. Everything was ok until it was time for them to go backthey suddenly realized they lost their way back to the station. What made the situation worse was that it was getting darker. In despair, they stopped at a corner on the street and decided to ask for help. At this moment they saw a young couple passing by so they said “hello!” to this couple. To their surprise, the couple looked at them coldly and hustled on. Having no way out, they approached to the next group of passers-by and tried a louder “hello” this time. Again they got nothing but a cold shoulder from these city people. Careful readers may have already realized that what went wrong with the linguistic form used by these Chinese women. In a public setting like this, English speakers would use “excuse me” rather than “hello” to attract others attention so that further help would be possible. Unaware of this distinction and in this specific context, they inappropriate use of “hello” made pass-by think that they were possibly street girls who were trying to attract customers.Whats more, they are some difference in greeting because of culture. For instance, when two British people meet, they may greet each other by saying something about weather. A “Its a nice weather, isnt it?” B “Yes, Its such a warm day!” How about Chinese people? They may greet each other in this way “where are you going?” or “have you eaten?” For most westerners, these lines sound far too personal or private, if not nosy. If this happens in a cross-cultural context and is not taken culturally, it may bring about unhappiness and misunderstanding. 3.3. Culture in language structureThe culture in language structure refers to the culture traits in linguistic points, which are from words, phrase, syntax and discourse. In other words, different culture background results in different ways of expressions (Stam,1994:4983). To some extent, we can say that the difference of language structure reflects the difference in mind among various races. We can also find evidence in Spair-whorf Hypothesis, which indicates the interdependence of language and mind. The language people are used to applying influences their ways of thinking.Take the English-speaking people as an example, they would like to tell the address from small areas to larger ones, and also, to express time, they tend to from hour, day, mouth till year. While in China, we have a completely opposite way. Therefore teachers should help students to know some special expressions, which are different from Chinese.A “Wont you come?”B “yes, I will.” “no, I wont.?”The inconsistence confused lots of English learners. In fact, it is just the reflection of different ways of thinking. Obviously, English speaking people tend to apply the content-centered way, which means they wou