Culture Factors in English Teaching英语教学中的文化因素.docx
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Culture Factors in English Teaching英语教学中的文化因素.docx
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CultureFactorsinEnglishTeaching英语教学中的文化因素
学位论文
英语教学中的文化因素
内容提要由于社会文化知识的缺乏即使语言准确无误也会产生误会——这是中国学生进行跨文化交际时常见的问题本文试图说明为什么在英语教学中必须重视文化因素以及如何把文化教学融入语言教学之中本文以阐释文化与语言的密不可分的关系以及外语教学的目的为理论依据提出了在英语教学过程中如何传授文化知识和培养学生文化能力的具体目标内容和方法
ABSTRACTOwingtothelackofsocioculturalknowledgemisunderstandingmayarisealthoughthelanguageusedincommunicationmaybefaultless.ItiscommonamongChineseEnglish-learnerswhentheycommunicatewithpeoplefromEnglish-speakingcultures.ThispaperisanendeavorthatintendstoshowwhyweshouldemphasizetheimportanceofcultureinteachingEnglishandhowweshouldblendtheteachingofcultureintothatoflanguage.WiththeexpositionoftheintegralrelationshipbetweenlanguageandcultureandobjectivesinEnglishteachingasthetheoreticalbasesthewriterattemptstoproposethegoalscontentandmethodsofteachingculturalknowledgeanddevelopingstudents’culturalcompetence.
INTRODUCTIONOnceafifty-year-oldforeignteacherwastellingherstudentswhatshehadseenonherjourneytoChina.Asshementionedthatshefeltalittletiredafterthejourneyoneofthestudentssaidtoherwithgreatconcern:
“Youshouldhaveagoodresttoday.Youshouldnotgettootiredatsuchanoldage.”Theforeignteacherwasveryunhappywhenshehearditandsaid:
“Idon’tthinkI’mthatold.Pleasedon’tworryaboutit.”WhywastheteachersounhappyThereasonliesinthedifferentperceptionsoftheconceptofoldageindifferentcultures.IntheWestpeopleassociatetheconceptofoldagewithuselessness.WhileintheEasternculturepeopleusuallyshowtheirrespecttotheaged.ItisnowonderthatthesolicitudeexpressedintheChinesewayasshownintheexampleabovehurtthewesternteacher’sfeeling.EventslikethisarefairlycommonwhenChinesestudentscommunicatewiththeEnglish-speakingpeople.Becauseofculturaldifferencesmisunderstandingmayarisealthoughthelanguagethestudentsuseincommunicationmaybefaultless.ThereforeitisobviousthatthemasteryofaforeignlanguageormorespecificallyhereEnglishisnotjustthatofitsphonologygrammarandlexis.Apartfromlisteningspeakingreadingandwritingcultureinlanguagelearningisanindispensableskill.Itisalwaysinthebackgroundreadytounsettlethegoodlanguagelearnerswhentheyexpectitleastmakingevidentthelimitationsoftheircommunicativecompetence.1Howeverwehaveneglectedtheimportanceofcultureteachingforlong.InEnglishteachingtoomuchemphasishasbeenlaidonlearninggrammaticallycorrectEnglishratherthanlearninghowtouseEnglishappropriatelyinaparticularcontext.Thatiswhystudentscommitsucherrorsincommunicationasthatintheexampleabove.Nowadaysmoreandmoreforeignlanguageteachershaverealizedthatlanguageandculturearecloselyintertwinedthatitisimpossibletoteachlanguagewithoutcultureandthatcultureisthenecessarycontextforlanguage.Cultureteachingderivesfromsocialandculturalanthropology.InBritainitiscalled“backgroundstudies”.InFranceitisoftenreferredtoas“civilization”.InGermanywheretheconceptoriginateditismoreusualnowadaystodescribecultureteachingas“landskunde”areastudy.Thehistoryofthisaspectoflanguageteachingdatesbackatleasttotheearly1950sandevenfurthertothebeginningofthecentury.Asearlyas1918aseminalBritishreportModernStudiesemphasizedtheneedforabetterknowledgeofacountryanditspeopleaspartofsecondlanguageeducation.BeforeWorldWarandintheinterwaryearsitwasbeginningtoberecognizedthatthestudyofthehistorygeographyandinstitutionsofthecountrywasregardedasausefulbackgroundandcomplementtolanguageandliterarystudies.AfterWorldWarthegrowthofsocialscienceinparticularanthropologyandsociologyledtoadifferentemphasiswhichislaidonwhatisoftenreferredtoasthe“wayoflife”or“lifestyle”ofacommunityincultureteaching.NelsonBrookstheleadinglanguageteaching2theoristofthe1960swasoneofthemainadvocatesofastrongculturalcomponentinsecondlanguagecurriculum.Sincethenmoreandmorelanguageteachershavecometorecognizetheimportanceoftheculturalaspectinlanguageteaching.ApartfromtheIntroductionandtheConclusionthethesisconsistsoffourchapters.Thefirstchapterisanaccountofsomebasicconceptsofculture.Itinvolvesthedefinitionoftheterm“culture”andadiscussionofthethreeelementsofcultureanddifferentwaysofcultureclassification.Thesecondchaptergivesadescriptionoftherelationshipbetweenlanguageandculturewhichshowsthenecessityofteachingcultureinlanguagelearning.Alsointhesecondchapterisincludedthedescriptionofthemajorobjectivesinlanguageteaching:
communicativecompetenceandculturalcompetence.Thefocuswillbeputonthedescriptionofculturalcompetence.Inthethirdchapteradetaileddescriptionwillbepresentedofthegoalsandthecontentofcultureteachingtoseewhatshouldbecarriedoutforcultureteachinginclassroompractice.Alistofmethodswillbesuggestedforcultureteachinginthefourthchapter.3ChapterOneTheConceptofCulture1.1ThedefinitionsofcultureTheconceptofculturewhichhastobeunderstoodbeforewecanattempttodeterminethecontentandgoalsofcultureteachingisnotoriouslydifficulttodefine.ThetraditionalconceptofcultureasgreatachievementsrefinementsandartisticendeavororinBrook’sterm‘formalculture’iswidelyreferredtoas‘culturewithacapitalC’.Thiscontrastswithway-of-lifecultureorinBrook’sterm‘deepculture’whichisreferredtoas‘culturewithasmallc’andincludespeople’scustomswayoflifebehavioralnormssocialinstitutionspersonalrelationshipsandsoon.Thecombinationofthesetwoverywideanddiverseapproacheshasledsomewriterstoabandontheattempttodefineculture.ForexampleSeelyerefusingtoofferaprecisedefinitionsimplydescribesitas“abroadconceptthatembracesallaspectsofthelifeofman”.Seelye1984:
26Theconceptishardtodefinebutmanysociologistsandanthropologistsstilltriedtomakedefinitionsaboutit.ForexampleamongthesedefinitionsGoodenough’sdefinitionwhichiswidelyacceptedandcitedrunsasfollows:
“Asociety’scultureconsistsofwhateveritisonehastoknoworbelieveinordertooperateinamanneracceptabletoitsmembers.Cultureisnotanaturalphenomenonitdoesnotconsistofthingspeople’sbehaviouroremotions.Itisratheranorganizationofthesethings.Itistheformofthingsthatpeoplehaveinmindtheirmodelsofperceiving4relatingandotherwiseinterpretingthem”.Goodenough1964:
36.Accordingtothisdefinitioncultureisknowledgeorsociallyacquiredknowledgeincludingboth“know-how”and“know-that”butitisknowledgewhichissharedandnegotiatedbetweenpeoplebelongingtoallofthemandnotbeingidiosyncratictoanysingleone.Geertz’sdefinitionstressesthesystematicandinheritednatureoftheknowledgeorculture.Hesaidcultureis“anhistoricallytransmittedpatternofmeaningsembodiedinsymbolsasystemofinheritedconceptionsexpressedinasymbolicformbymeansofwhichmencommunicateperpetuateanddeveloptheirknowledgeaboutattitudestowardslife”.Geertz1975:
89.Muchofthatknowledgeissymbolicallyexpressedinartefactsandbehavioursandisformulatedasrulesnormsexpectationsasmoralandlegalcodesasproverbsasparentalinstructionstochildren.Therearethreegeneralcategoriesinthedefinitionofculture.“Thereisfirstthe“ideal”inwhichcultureisastateorprocessofhumanperfectionintermsofcertainuniversalvalues...Thensecondthereisthe“documentary”inwhichcultureisthebodyofintellectualandimaginativeworkinwhichinadetailedwayhumanthoughtandexperiencearevariouslyrecorded.Finallythirdthereisa“social”definitionofculture”Williams1965:
57inwhichcultureisadescriptionofaparticularwayoflifewhichexpressescertainmeaningsandvaluesnotonlyinartandlearningbutalsoininstitutionsandordinarybehaviour.Itisthethirdofthesethatwewilltakeforthedefinitionoftheterm“culture”inthispaper.5Heretheterm“culture”followingthedefinitionsofsociologistsandanthropologistsreferstotypicalbehaviourindailysituationsincludingpersonalrelationshipsfamilylifevaluesystemsphilosophiesinfactthewholeofthesharedsocialfabricthatmakesupasociety.Inmoreformaltermsculturecanbedefinedas“membershipinaspeechcommunitythatsharesacommonsocialspaceandhistoryandcommonimaginings.Evenwhentheyhaveleftthatcommunityitsmembersmayretainwherevertheyareacommonsystemofstandardsforperceivingbelievingevaluatingandacting.Thesestandardsarewhatisgenerallycalledtheir‘culture’”.ClaireKramsch1998:
10Thenineteenth-centuryBritishanthropologistSirEdwardTylorfirstdefinedcultureaseverythinghumanbeingsmadeandtaughttofuturegenerations.“Culture”hesaid“isthatcomplexwholewhichincludesknowledgebeliefartmorallawcustomandanyothercapabilitiesandhabitsacquiredbymanasamemberofsociety.”Tylorsdefinitionwasthefirsttoclarifythedistinctionbetweentwobasicsociologicalconcepts:
societyandculture.Followinghisleadmodernsociologistsusedthetermquotculturequottorefertoalltheaspectsofbehaviorthatarelearnedfromothersratherthanfromindividualexperience.Everybabyforexamplelearnstograspobjectsthroughtrialanderrorbutthequotproperquotwaytoholdchopsticksorafriendshandisculturallydefined.Societyontheotherhandreferstoanyorganizedcollectionofpeoplewithadistinctidentityaterritori
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