【英语论文】大学英语教学中的文化导入研究Culture Teaching in College English Program

1、大学英语教学中的文化导入研究Culture Teaching in College English Program 研 究 生 姓 名 学 号 导 师 姓 名 系 所 外国语学院英语系 专 业 英语语言文学 研 究 方 向 入 学 时 间 毕 业 时 间 摘 要语言是文化的载体和表现形式。语言离不开文化，文化又存在于语言之中。英语教学应当包括英语文化教学。如果在英语教学中只重视语言知识的教育而忽视文化教育，其结果使培养出来的学生不可能真正掌握英语知识，跨文化交际能力也无从谈起。文化教育是实现运用语言进行交际的关键，语言的得体性离不开社会文化知识。因此要加强英语教师对文化教育重要性的认识，从而培

2、养学生具备较强的跨文化交际能力。本论文内容是关于在外语教学课堂中文化教学的作用以及如何导入的问题。本论文将对于为什么以及如何进行文化教学做一些思考。文中将指出外语教学并非等同于教授语法结构或学习新词汇与短语，也需要导入一些文化因素，这些文化因素与语言本身是连在一起的。此外，本文也将阐述一些现在使用的将文化导入外语课堂的技巧与方法。文章之主旨在于说明有效的交流不只是需要语言流利，除了增强语言与交流能力外，掌握文化的能力也可以使不同文化体的人得到相互尊重与情感共振。本论文共包括五个部分。第一部分为论文简介。第二部分是对文化的概念以及其与语言及交流的关系的深入探讨。文中将指出语言教学应该基于文化学习

3、。语言是文化的一个重要组成部分。它是文化传输的主要媒介。没有语言，文化也难以存在。儿童在学习他们母语时也就在学习他们的文化。学习外语也涉及到不同程度地学习外来文化。另一方面，语言也受到文化的影响。语言反应文化。文化差异是跨文化交流中导致误解，产生不悦甚至产生矛盾的重要原因。文化教育的观念对于外语老师来说并不是新概念。许多人认为，文化教学只是上几节有关英语国家假日，服饰，民歌，饮食等的课。这些课程当然有用，但是因为这些课程往往没有一个更广阔的语境来支撑，所以他们对学生感悟英语语言与社会等方面作用并不大，特别是学生学习语言后需要在英语国家生活工作的。举例而言，问好，再见，称呼形式，感谢，要求，给出

4、或接受称赞之类的日常会话并不难，但是实际学习中并不只是要求能够说出正确语法的句子，而是需要知道在什么情形下对谁说什么样的话是适当的，也需要理解语言中不同形式与用法所表现出来的信仰与价值观。第三部分将展示历史上学者们对文化教育的看法及做法。直到20世纪80年代学者才开始探究文化的意义以及其在成功外语教学中的重要作用。例如，Littlewood曾提倡过学习文化的作用，但是他还是把语言熟练度作为外语交流能力的主要标准。基于交流不只是信息的交换也负载着思想与价值观的观念，Melde(1987)提出外语教学应着重培养对目标语言社会生活的“批判性意识”。此观念与Fairclough在1989与1995年提

5、出的批判理论一致（Byram, Morgan等人在1994年也提出过）。更具体地说，只有当学生能够理解外语语言中的视角，并有机会通过抛弃自身思维方式与对方相互理解来反映其自身视角时，才会吸收外语文化中道德层次，评价方式等，这些都不是能够简单地通过语言形式的学习而获得的（Byram, Morgan等人1994年提出）。也就是说，学生需要溶入到外国人的角色中，这样他才能获得对外语文化中价值与意义观念的理解。Baumgratz-Gangl(1990)指出整合外来文化与自身文化的中的价值与意义观念可以使学生改变视角或“认识到其认知缺陷”，有助于不同文化交流中的相互理解与支持。Kramsch(1993)

6、将外语课堂比成“第三文化区”，也就是学生们创造并使用的文化中立区，学生可以在此中立区中探究并表达中国与外国的文化与语言。第四部分集中阐述有关大学英语教学中的文化教学的具体细节。首先我们会介绍文化教学的目标。文中将列出七个目标：帮助学生理解所有的人的行为都是在一定的文化环境中的；帮助学生理解年龄，性别，社会角色与出生地都会影响人说话与行为的方式；帮助学生建立其对外语文化中正常情形下的习惯行为的意识；帮助学生增强其对外语中词与短语的潜在文化含义的意识；帮助学生增强外语文化的评价与提炼能力；帮助学生发展对外语文化中信息进行定位与组织的必要技巧；激发学生对外语文化知识的兴趣并鼓励其去了解外国人。文化教

7、学的根本日的在于提高学生的文化意识并激发其对英语文化及自身文化的兴趣，帮助学生对不同文化进行对比。然后我们将讲述文化教学的内容与原则。最后，我们将讨论一些具体的文化导入的方法，例如使用地道的学习材料，英语谚语，游戏，制作英语文化橱窗等。文化的导入不应带有过强的个人偏见，可以将英语文化与中国自身文化溶合。这样才能够较好地掌握外语与外语文化。最后一部分为结论。关键词：文化，文化教学，文化意识，文化与语言 AbstractLanguage is the vehicle and expression of culture. It is never separated from culture. And

8、 culture is embedded within language. Therefore, English teaching should include English culture teaching. If the English teaching is comprised only of language knowledge and has no culture education, the student thereof will not be able to truly master the English language, therefore not able to do

9、 effective cross-border communication. Culture education is the key to the effective foreign language communication. To express a foreign language decently will require the knowledge of social culture of the target. Therefore it is essential for English teachers to enhance the knowledge of the impor

10、tance of culture education, therefore training the students to obtain good cross-border communication abilities.The thesis is concerned with the contribution and incorporation of the teaching of culture into the foreign language classroom. More specifically, some consideration will be given to the w

11、hy and how of teaching culture. It will be demonstrated that teaching a foreign language is not tantamount to giving a homily on syntactic structures or learning new vocabulary and expressions, but mainly incorporates, or should incorporate, some cultural elements, which are intertwined with languag

12、e itself. Furthermore, an attempt will be made to incorporate culture into the classroom by means of considering some techniques and methods currently used. The main premise of the paper is that effective communication is more than a matter of language proficiency and that, apart from enhancing and

13、enriching communicative competence, cultural competence can also lead to empathy and respect toward different cultures as well as promote objectivity and cultural perspicacity. The thesis consists of five parts.The first part is an introduction. The second part is a deep study of the concept of cult

14、ure itself and its relationship with language and communication. It indicates to us that language teaching should be based on culture study. Language is a key component of culture. It is the primary medium for transmitting much of culture. Without language, culture would not be possible. Children le

15、arning their native language are learning their own culture; learning a second language also involves learning a second culture to varying degrees. On the other hand, language is influenced and shaped by culture. It reflects culture. Cultural differences are the most serious areas causing misunderst

16、anding, unpleasantness and even conflict in cross-cultural communication.The idea of teaching culture is nothing new to second language teachers. In many cases, teaching culture has meant focusing a few lessons on holidays, customary clothing, folk songs, and food. While these topics may be useful,

17、without a broader context or frame they offer little in the way of enriching linguistic or social insightespecially if a goal of language instruction is to enable students to function effectively in another language and society. Understanding the cultural context of day-to-day conversational convent

18、ions such as greetings, farewells, forms of address, thanking, making requests, and giving or receiving compliments means more than just being able to produce grammatical sentences. It means knowing what is appropriate to say to whom, and in what situations, and it means understanding the beliefs an

19、d values represented by the various forms and usages of the language.The third part will be a display of the history of culture teaching. It is only in the 1980s that scholars begin to delve into the dynamics of culture and its vital contribution to successful language learning (Byram, Morgan et al.

20、, 1994: 5). For example, Littlewood (cited in Byram, Morgan et al., 1994: 6) advocates the value of cultural learning, although he still keeps linguistic proficiency as the overall aim of communicative competence (ibid.). On the assumption that communication is not only an exchange of information bu

21、t also a highly cognitive as well as affective and value-laden activity, Melde (1987) holds that foreign language teaching should foster critical awareness of social lifea view commensurate with Faircloughs (1989 and 1995) critical theory (see also Byram, Morgan et al., 1994). More specifically, whe

22、n the learner understands the perspectives of others and is offered the opportunity to reflect on his own perspectives, through a process of reciprocity, there arises a moral dimension, a judgmental tendency, which is not defined purely on formal, logical grounds (Byram, Morgan et al., 1994). To thi

23、s end, the learner needs to take the role of the foreigner, so that he may gain insights into the values and meanings that the latter has internalized and unconsciously negotiates with the members of the society to which he belongs (ibid.). Beside Melde, Baumgratz-Gangl (1990) asserts that the integ

24、ration of values and meanings of the foreign culture with those of ones “native culture” can bring about a shift of perspective or the recognition of cognitive dissonance (Byram, Morgan et al.), both conducive to reciprocity and empathy.The forth part concentrates on the detailed ideas for culture t

25、eaching in college English programs. First we introduce about the objective of culture teaching. Seven goals of culture teaching is listed: To help students to develop an understanding of the fact that all people exhibit culturally-conditioned behaviors; To help students to develop an understanding

26、that social variables such as age, sex, social class, and place of residence influence the ways in which people speak and behave; To help students to become more aware of conventional behavior in common situations in the target culture; To help students to increase their awareness of the cultural co

27、nnotations of words and phrases in the target language; To help students to develop the ability to evaluate and refine generalizations about the target culture, in terms of supporting evidence; To help students to develop the necessary skills to locate and organize information about the target cultu

28、re; To stimulate students intellectual curiosity about the target culture, and to encourage empathy towards its people. At any rate, the aim of teaching culture is to increase students awareness and to develop their curiosity towards the target culture and their own, helping them to make comparisons

29、 among cultures. At the end of the part, we will discuss some specific techniques of culture incorporation, such as using authentic materials, proverbs, role play, culture capsules, students as cultural resources, ethnographic studies, literature Film. Cultural information should be presented in a n

30、onjudgmental fashion, in a way that does not place value or judgment on distinctions between the students native culture and the culture explored in the classroom. Kramsch (1993) describes the “third culture” of the language classrooma neutral space that learners can create and use to explore and re

31、flect on their own and the target culture and language.The last part is the conclusion.Key words: culture, culture teaching, culture awareness, culture and languageTable of ContentsAbstractI. Introduction II. Overall Study: Culture & Culture Teaching2.1. Definition & Variation of Culture2.2. Languag

32、e & Culture. The role of language in communication . Interrelationship between culture and language 2.3. Culture & Communication2.4. Cultural Awareness 2.5. Data Study of Language & Culture Teaching III. The History OF Culture TeachingIV. Cultural Teaching in College English Program4.1. Objective of

33、 Culture Teaching4.2. Content of Culture Teaching. Values and Norms . Social Roles 4.3. Culture Incorporation- Principles and Specific Techniques In Culture Teaching4.3.1 Principles In Culture Teaching. Specific Techniques In Culture Teaching V. ConclusionChapter IIntroductionForeign language learni

34、ng is comprised of many components, including grammatical competence, communicative competence, language proficiency, as well as the change in attitudes towards ones own or another culture. For scholars and laymen alike, cultural competence, i.e., the knowledge of the conventions, beliefs, and syste

35、ms of meaning of another country, is indisputably an integral part of foreign language learning, and many teachers have seen it as their important goal to incorporate the teaching of culture into the foreign language curriculum. It could be maintained that the notion of communicative competence, whi

36、ch, in the past decade or more, has blazed a trail, so to speak, in foreign language teaching, emphasizing the role of context and circumstances under which languages can be used accurately and appropriately, falls short of the mark when it comes to actually equipping students with the cognitive abi

37、lities they need in a second-culture environment (Straub, 1999: 2). In another way, since the wider context of language, that is, societies and culture, has been reduced to a variable elusive of any definitionas many teachers and students often talk about it without knowing what its exact meaning is

38、it stands to reason that the term communicative competence should become nothing more than an empty and meretricious word, resorted to if for no other reason than to make an “educational point.” In reality, what most teachers and students seem to lose sight of is the fact that knowledge of the gramm

39、atical system of a language grammatical competence has to be complemented by understanding (sic) of culture-specific meanings communicative or rather cultural competence (Byram, Morgan 1994: 4).Of course, we are long past an era when first language acquisition and second or foreign language learning

40、 were cast in a “behavior mould,” being the products of imitation and language “drills,” and language was thought of as a compendium of rules and strings of words and sentences used to form propositions about a state of affairs. In the last two decades, there has been a resurgence of interest in the

41、 study of language in relation to society, which has led to a shift of focus from behaviorism and positivism to constructivism to critical theory (see Benson & Voller, 1997: 19-25). Yet, there are still some deeply ingrained beliefs as to the nature of language learning and teachingbeliefs that dete

42、rmine methodology as well as the content of the foreign language curriculumwhich have, gradually and insidiously, contrived to undermine the teaching of culture.One of the misconceptions that have permeated foreign language teaching is the conviction that language is merely a code and, once mastered

43、mainly by dint of steeping oneself into grammatical rules and some aspects of the social context in which it is embeddedone language is essentially (albeit not easily) translatable into another (Kramsch, 1993: 1). To a certain extent, this belief has been instrumental in promoting various approaches

44、 to foreign language teachingpragmatic, social-linguistic, and communicativewhich have certainly endowed the study of language with a social “hue”; nevertheless, paying lip service to the social dynamics that underline language without trying to identify and gain insights into the very fabric of soc

45、iety and culture that have come to charge language in many and varied ways can only cause misunderstanding and lead to cross-cultural miscommunication.At any rate, foreign language learning is foreign culture learning, and, in one form or another, culture has, even implicitly, been taught in the for

46、eign language classroomif for different reasons. What is debatable, though, is what is meant by the term “culture” and how the latter is integrated into language learning and teaching. Kramschs keen observation should not go unnoticed:Culture in language learning is not an expendable fifth skill, ta

47、cked on, so to speak, to the teaching of speaking, listening, reading, and writing. It is always in the background, right from day one, ready to unsettle the good language learners when they expect it least, making evident the limitations of their hard-won communicative competence, challenging their

48、 ability to make sense of the world around them. (Kramsch, 1993: 1)The teaching of culture is not akin to the transmission of information regarding the people of the target community or countryeven though knowledge about (let alone experience of) the “target group” is an important ingredient (see No

49、strand, 1967: 118). It would be nothing short of ludicrous to assert that culture is merely a repository of facts and experiences to which one can have recourse, if need be. Furthermore, what Kramsch herself seems to insinuate is that to learn a foreign language is not merely to learn how to communi

50、cate but also to discover how much leeway the target language allows learners to manipulate grammatical forms, sounds, and meanings, and to reflect upon, or even flout, socially accepted norms at work both in their own or the target culture.There is definitely more than meets the eye, and the presen

51、t paper has the aim of unraveling the “mystery,” shedding some light on the role of teaching culture in fostering cross-cultural understanding which transcends the boundaries of linguistic formswhile enriching and giving far deeper meaning to what is dubbed “communicative competence”and runs counter

52、 to a solipsistic world view. I would like to show that the teaching of culture has enjoyed far less “adulation” than it merits, and consider ways of incorporating it not only into the foreign language curriculum but also into learners repertoire and outlook on life. The main premise of this paper i

53、s that we cannot go about teaching a foreign language without at least offering some insights into its speakers culture. By the same token, we cannot go about fostering “communicative competence” without taking into account the different views and perspectives of people in different cultures which m

54、ay enhance or even inhibit communication. After all, communication requires understanding, and understanding requires stepping into the shoes of the foreigner and sifting her cultural baggage, while always putting the target culture in relation with ones own (Kramsch, 1993: 205). Moreover, we should

55、 be cognizant of the fact that if we teach language without teaching at the same time the culture in which it operates, we are teaching meaningless symbols or symbols to which the student attaches the wrong meaning (Politzer, 1959: 100-101).Chapter IIOverall Study: Culture & Culture Teaching2.1. Def

56、inition & Variation of CultureDefinitionWhat exactly is culture? As Nemni (1992) and Street (1993) suggest, this is not an easy question to answer, particularly in an increasingly international world. On a general level, culture has been referred to as the ways of a people (Lado, 1957). This view in

57、corporates both material manifestations of culture that are easily seen and non-material ones that are more difficult to observe, as Saville-Troike (1975: 83) notes. Anthropologists define culture as the whole way of life of a people or group. In this context, culture (sic) includes all the social p

58、ractices that bond a group of people together and distinguish them from others (Montgomery and Reid-Thomas, 1994: 5). According to Peck (1998), Culture is all the accepted and patterned ways of behavior of a given people. It is that facet of human life learned by people as a result of belonging to s

59、ome particular group; it is that part of learned behavior shared with others. Not only does this concept include a groups way of thinking, feeling, and acting, but also the internalized patterns for doing certain things in certain ways, not just the doing of them. This concept of culture also includ

60、es the physical manifestations of a group as exhibited in their achievements and contributions to civilization. Culture is our social legacy as contrasted with our organic heredity. It regulates our lives at every turn.It could be argued that culture never remains static, but is constantly changing.