CultivatingStudentsCulturalAwarenesswithJuniorEnglish.doc

1、Cultivating Students Cultural Awareness with Junior English师范学院英语教育专业学号 : 2002122180姓名 :郑馥佳A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for thedegree of Bachelor of Artsin theForeign Languages Department, Normal collegeShenzhen UniversityMay 2006ContentsAcknowledgementsAbstract991In

2、troduction .10 2Culture in English Teaching and Learning .101The relationship between language and culture.102The importance of knowing the culture in English-speaking countries whenlearning English.113Junior English as a Good Textbook on Cultivating Cultural Awareness.111 The requirements of cultur

3、al awareness in the newNCSE.132Brief introductions to Junior English.154Cultivating Students Cultural Awareness withJunior English.15- 1 -1The cultural elements inJunior English according to the newNCSE162Advice on adapting Junior English to the requirements of cultivating culturalawareness.19(1)Tea

4、ching Culture Club.19(2)Cultivating cultural awareness when teaching vocabulary.20(3)Cultivating cultural awareness when teaching dialogues.22(4)Cultivating cultural awareness when reading the texts.225Conclusion.23Bibliography24Cultivating Students Cultural Awareness with Junior English（师范学院英语系郑馥佳）

5、（学号：2002122180 ）ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSFirst and foremost, my heartfelt gratitude goes to my supervisor, Ms Qu Lingling, whose guidance and patience provided me an important support throughout the process of writing and revising this thesis. My thanks to her could never be enough.Secondly, my sincere thank

6、s should go to the English faculty of the Normal College in Shenzhen University, especially to Professor Xu Wenbo, Ms Xu Zhongxiang, Ms Qian Bing and Mr Qi Fang, for giving me endless help and guidance during my four years of undergraduate study.Last but not least, I am grateful too for the passiona

7、te help from my friends Zhang Shanshan and Cai Zehui, who tried all the means to supply a large portion of the reference material used in preparing this paper. And I also wish to thank my close friends Chen Xiangna, Zhang Jiexuan, Lin Xiaomin and Hong Ruisha, for their encouragement and help when I

8、was upset and their generosity lending me their computer when I needed to print my paper out.【Abstract 】 It has been a hot topic for the teachers in China that English teaching is not merely a- 2 -process of teaching the language; but a process of broadening visions, enriching life experiences andpr

9、omoting the pragmatic competences of students.The New National Curriculum Standard ofEnglish (the new NCSE) issued in 2001 proved that Quality education has taken the place of exam-oriented education. It s obvious that for the young teenagers acquiring cultural awareness posts a new challenge to Eng

10、lish teachers, and a textbook which can provide them with as many aspossible cultural elements is in demand.Junior Englishis a suitable textbook, which is withespecially obvious features of intercultural communication, and surely is helpful for English teachers to conquer the challenge. This thesis

11、introduces the textbook in this point of view, explores the elements of culture in it according to the requirements of cultural awareness for the junior highschool students that has been made in the newNCSE , and provides some possible teachingsuggestions on using the textbook as a resource of teach

12、ing the cultures in English-speaking countries.摘要： 在中国， 越来越多的教师认识到教授英语不仅仅是一个教授语言的过程，而且是一个扩展学生知识面、丰富学生生活经验、提高学生语用能力的过程。我们可以从2001 年出台的全国英语新课程标准中找到依据，素质教育已经取代了应试教育。培养学生的文化意识成为了英语新课标的重要组成部分，这给英语教师们提出了新的挑战，对含有尽可能多文化元素的教材的需求显得尤为迫切。而初中英语 正是这样一套教材，它具有非常明显的跨文化交际特点，能帮助英语教师们迎接这一挑战。本文从跨文化交际的角度介绍了初中英语，根据英语新课标中针对

13、初中学生提出的文化意识的要求，发掘其中的文化元素，并提出了一些可行的教学建议，使这套教材成为教授英语国家文化的资源。【 Key words 】 culture, English teaching, cultural awareness, Junior English, the new NCSE教师点评： 本论文作者以全国英语新课程标准中提出的培养学生文化意识的要求为依据，利用初中英语 这套英语教材， 努力发掘出其中所蕴含的多元文化因素，从跨文化交际的角度提出了一些可行性教学建议。 这是一个有挑战性的选题。 本文作者采用事例型论据与理论相结合的方法展开，以大量教材中的实例进行论述，层次分明。各章

14、节之间联系自然，结构严谨，行文流畅。文章中的建议对如何在初中英语教学中培养学生的文化意识有一定的实用参考价值。（点评教师： 屈玲玲）指导教师：屈玲玲1 IntroductionIt is broadly accepted now that language is closely related to culture. Early in the 1920s, Edward Sapir has “ concluded that a language and the culture of its speakers cannot be analyzed in isolation (Sapir: 192

15、1 second quote from Eli Hinkel 2001:2). And the study of intercultural communicationtheory, which was popular since about two decades ago, finally carried its influence into secondlanguage and foreign language teaching and become a hot topic among teachers and researchers ofEnglish teaching. As a re

16、sult, the objective on cultural awareness, in 2001, for the first time is specifiedin The New National Curriculum Standard of English(the new NCSE ), which forms an important partin the comprehensive language pragmatic competence of the students. This shows us that the teachingstaff is now paying mo

17、re and more attention to the relationship between language and culture, thereno doubt that English teaching will attach greater and greater importance to cultivating the culturalawareness and developing the intercultural communication competence.Cao Wen pointed out in 1998 that the research of cultu

18、re teaching in language teaching wasmainly about three aspects, whether it s necessary to teach culture, what to teach and how. Itthat culture should be made as an important part of language teaching, and thus the focus now is what can be taught to the students and how students can be cultivated or

19、acquire cultural awareness. The new- 3 -edition of textbook for the junior high school students in ShenzhenJunior English ,compiled by boththe English Textbook Compiling Group of Shenzhen Basic Education and Longman Hong Kong Education is compiled in the spirit of the new NCSE , and the compilers ma

20、ke a lot of effort oncultivating the students cultural awareness. Therefore, this thesis will first explain the importance ofculture in English teaching and learning. Next, it will introduceJunior English as a good textbook oncultivating cultural awareness. After that, it tries to display how this e

21、dition of textbook helpscultivating the students cultural awareness, and what the teachers can do in order to make a good useof the edition. And finally it draws a conclusion on the whole thesis.2 Culture in English Teaching and Learning“ Applied linguists and language teachers have become increasin

22、gly aware that a second or foreign language can rarely be learned or taught without addressing the culture of the communityin which it is used ” (Eli Hinkel 2001:2). Then what is the relationship between language and culture?1 The relationship between language and cultureIt may be well known that la

23、nguage is a mirror of culture. Actually the relationship between language and culture is more complex.Firstly , language is influenced and shaped by culture, reflecting many features of culture. ( 孙利民 2005：7) Here are some examples,Different peoples live in different areas own different cultures, th

24、is is reflected by thelanguages used there. Eskimos, living in the world of snow, have hundreds of words related tosnow, which distinguish among different types of snow, and describe the forming process of snowand different weather conditions when snowing. It is impossible for the people living in A

25、rab havesuch a distinction of snow. Nevertheless, there are over a thousand words in Arabic which are usedto talk about all kinds of camels and different periods of their growth.Animals with the certain distinctive features are not always with the same implication indifferent cultures. Dog ( 狗 ) is

26、known as a common four-legged animal in both western andChinese cultures, however, it s quite different in English and Chinese languages when associatingwith“ dog狗( ) ” . In English, because of the close relationship between human-beings and dogs, theword“ dog” is commendatory, you can find the evid

27、ences in the phrases such as“ an old dog ” ,top dog ” , “ a lucky dog.”王,蔷etc2003:294)While.(in Chinese, the secondary association of theword“狗 ” is usually derogatory, e.g. 狗仗人势 , 落水狗 , 丧家狗 , and so on. When referring tomagpie ( 喜鹊 ), westerners and Chinese have the same ideas about what it looks a

28、nd sounds like,but have totally different ideas of its secondary association. In Chinese it is a symbolic of happynews and good luck, whereas in English it is said to be an uncanny bird.Secondly , language is but a special part of culture, because it can represent all the othercomponents of culture.

29、 ( 孙利民2005：7) Or we may say that language is the carrier and containerof culture. Human knowledge and experience is usually described, discussed, and stored in language. Therefore, human knowledge and experience are able to pass from generation to generation. Thus, language helps to reinforce certai

30、n ideas and beliefs within a culture. For instance,Different peoples celebrate different traditional festivals during a year. We celebrate Spring- 4 -Festival, Festival of Lanterns, Dragon Boat Festival, Double Ninth Festival, and winter solstice in China, whereas westerners celebrate Christmas, Eas

31、ter, and Halloween in their countries.therefore, they believe in different gods. Greek people believe in Zeus, Jupiter, while Chinesebelieve in“ Yudi玉帝” ),(“ Yuelao月”老().In short, language and culture interact and interplay. On one hand, language is influenced by culture, so the vocabularies of diff

32、erent languages in different cultures are different. On the other hand, culture is shaped by language. Culture is shaped in different ways because of different storages of myths, legends and experiences.2 The importance of knowing the culture in English-speaking countries whenlearning English“ It is

33、 generally agreed that the goal of English teaching is to equip students with communicative competence ”沈雅(雯 2004: 313). As mentioned before that language and culture each influenced and shaped by the other. No one can learn a foreign language well or express his ideas appropriately in the target la

34、nguage without knowing the culture, in which the target language is used, let alone fully understand or master the language.Why don t we laugh for English jokes even we know exactly each word s meaning? Why dothe westerners feel offended when they first meet Chinese people? Here, the cultural differ

35、encesmust be taken into consideration. In another word, it s the interference of native culture whichcauses the intercultural communication breakdown or culture shock. The phenomena of culture shock mainly include the following.AddressingWhen the writer went to a junior high school for teaching prac

36、tice last year, the writer foundthat before the English class began, the students stood up and said,“ Good morning/afternoon,teacher.” As we know, the word“ teacher ” in English is just a name of an occupation, not a title tobe used in vocatives. The reason that the students used it as a form of add

37、ress is probably theinterference of Chinese culture. In China, the word老师 ” is not“ only implying the name of theoccupation, but also the respect of the occupation( 俎媛媛 2005). According to Chinese tradition, it s better to use titles of positions or honorific titles when addressing others(王媛 2003:73

38、). Thus, we can usually hear addressing like Manager A, Dean B, Director C, Uncle D, and so on. In thecontrast, westerners prefer to be called with their given names, except for several certain titles of position, e.g. Judge A ， Doctor B, Governor C, Mayor D, Professor E, etc.GreetingWhen people mee

39、t, they will greet each other first, no matter in which country. However, it quite different when greeting people from different countries.It s common for Chinese people to greet each other like“ Have you eaten?” “ Where are yougoing? ” “ What are you going to do?” According to Chinese culture,“ The

40、 masses regard food astheir heaven.” But if we greet westerners“ Have you eaten?” They may misunderstand that we areinviting them for meals. And if“ Where are you going?” or“ What are you going to do?” it will beworse. They might feel offended because it seems to them that we are peeping at their pr

41、ivacy. Inthe west, to greet others with“ Hi ” ,“ Hello ” , or“ Good morning/afternoon/evening” is modera- 5 -and appropriate.It s quite different between the Chinese way and the western way of greeting a patient as well.Chinese tend to show their sympathy for the patient, whereas westerners stress o

42、n theindependence of individuals. Therefore, when a westerner is ill, it would be better to show yourconcern in this way,“ I m sorry to hear that, and I hope you ll俎be媛all媛 right2005)soon.” (PrivacyBecause of the different value system, which is resulted by different culture background, ithard for C

43、hinese students to grasp the concept of“ privacy沈雅雯 ”2004:( 315), which isinterpreted as“ freedom from undesirable intrusions孙利民 2005”.：( 15) The“ privacy” reflectsindividualism in western culture, so that we can not find any appropriate equivalents in Chineseculture. For example, it s common for Ch

44、inese talking about their salary when they are havingsome small talks. But it may be embarrassed for westerners to talk about it.The taboos of privacy for westerners are summarized as“ I, WARM, where, meal” . That is, Istands for income, W stands for weight, A stands for age, R stands for religion a

45、nd M for marriage.Accordingly, when you communicate with a westerner, anything about income, weight, age,religion, marriage, where to go, and whether have eaten is inappropriate to ask ( 俎媛媛 2005).Without knowing the rule of privacy, Chinese often annoy or offend westerners. The writerhas heard that

46、 some westerners said that they felt like being in a police station when they went tothe English corner, because they were always asked the questions like“ What s your name? Whereare you from? Are you married?”Compliments & modestyChinese people tend to be mild and roundabout, while western people t

47、end to be honest and direct. The using and answering of compliments provides evidences of it. For instance, being complimented, both of Chinese and westerners are pleased. However, Chinese would saysomething to deny modestly, and westerners will answer“ Thank you ” , and accepts thecompliments direc

48、tly.Receiving a present, Chinese will not accept it at once, and they will say something like“ This is inappropriate.” “ I can t accept it.” After they accept the present, they won t opeimmediately. Yet, the westerners will open it right away, and compliment it like“ How wonderfulit is!” “ Thank you

49、 for the beautiful present.”When inviting guests for dinner at home, before dinner, the Chinese host will say,“ Therenothing good, just some home-made food.” This is quite proper to a Chinese guest, but not awestern guest. It may be interpreted as“ The guest is not welcomed or respected.” by western

50、( 王媛 20 ? 3:73)Words & idiomsThere are lots of words and idioms with different even opposite meanings in English andChinese languages. Such as “ dragon ” , “ dog” , “ fox ” , and so on. Since the writer has mentioned this before, here it will not be discussed further.Since the culture shock would ca

51、use so many troubles in intercultural communication between Chinese and English-speaking people, in order to meet the end of English teaching communication competence, it is very important to know the culture in English-speaking countries when learning English.- 6 -3 Junior English as a Good Textboo

52、k on Cultivating Cultural Awareness1 The requirements of cultural awareness in the newNCSEHere, the new NCSE refers to the curriculum of secondary education issued in 2001.The curriculum is composed of four sections. The first one is preface whichdiscusses the nature of the curriculum, is fundamenta

53、l concepts and the design of the framework. The second section presents the objectives of the curriculum. The third section deals with the standards/requirements including the specifications of linguistic skills, language knowledge, affect and attitudes of students, learning strategies and cultural

54、awareness. The last section makes some recommendations for implementation( 张庆宗 2004:277).The Structure of the Objectives of the Curriculum1is showed in the following diagram:Diagram 1Cao Wen in 1998 put forward that the teaching of culture includes two levels, culture knowledge and culture understan

55、ding. The requirements of cultural awareness in the new curriculum include three parts: culture knowledge, culture understanding and intercultural communication awareness and competence.The curriculum sets different levels of requirements on five dimensions: cultural awareness, linguistic knowledge, language skills, learning strategies, and affective factors and attitudes. Language skills are divided into nine progressive ban