Cultural Education in Junior English Teaching

Jiang+Ye

Introduction

With Chinas open-up policy and entry in WTO， how to lay a solid foundation for cultivating learners intercultural communicative competence in middle schools becomes an important objective in teaching English as a foreign language. For the first time “culture awareness” is prescribed in the New English Curriculum Standard. Culture instruction may be new to most middleschool English teachers in an examination-oriented environment in Chinas EFL context. But the research and practice of intercultural communication still have a long way to go before they reach satisfactory results. So more attention should be paid to cultural education in Chinese English teaching. Most of English teachers know if students are short of English cultural knowledge， they will not grasp English well. So now there are important tasks in English teaching， which are to increase students cultural knowledge， train their cultural consciousness and improve their communicative ability.

I. The relationship between language and culture

Language as a part of culture reflects a way of life and plays a very important role in it. Some social scientists consider it the foundation stone of culture. Without language， culture would not be possible. On the other hand， language is influenced and shaped by culture， just like：

The linguists divide culture into two kinds， one is culture with a big C. It refers to economy， society， politics， history， literature， art， philosophy， religion and science of one country. Teachers can teach students cultural knowledge about English texts or materials in order that students can know more about culture with a big C. The other is culture with a small c. It refers to social customs， life of a population， mode of thinking and so on. Culture with a small c is always called communicative culture which includes ways of address and greetings， compliments and praise， taboos and euphemism and so on. In one way， if students are not familiar with culture with a big c， they still can communicate. But if they are short of communicative culture， they will make many mistakes in the course of communication. So in English teaching， the communicative culture is the more important point， especially in the first stage of English learning. And teachers should value the communicative culture. Then students can know what to say and how to say in different occasions. Of course， students communicative ability will be improved.

Social scientists tell that cultures differ from one another that each culture is unique. Language is a tool that the society employs， and the ways in which language is used reflects the culture of that society. No language is fully comprehensible if it divorces from its cultural background. So it can not exist independently without culture， cultural development can promote the development of language. It follows that all learners should have opportunities to learn about context as well as about language. Language is also a mirror reflecting one national culture， any nations historical tradition， social system， sense of value， life style and mode of thinking are all reflected through language. Because different nation has different mode of thinking， there are so many opposite expressions between Chinese and English， such as the ways of expressing time and place. In Chinese， people say 2008 NIAN I YUE I RI， but in English， people say January 1， 2008， the words order is different. Moreover， there are many English words reflecting national culture， such as “thanksgiving， sandwich， red-letter day” and so on.

But for a long time， people separate language from culture. Though students grasp a little grammar， they are still short of using suitable sentences to different occasions. So now the aim of English teaching is to use English to communicate with native speakers. Learning English well means more than merely mastering the pronunciation， grammar， words and idioms. It means learning also to see the world as English people see it， learning the ways in which their language reflects the ideas， customs and behavior of their society， learning to understand their “l(fā)anguage of the mind”. Learning a language， in fact， is inseparable from learning its culture. （Deng Yanchang， 1989：4） Thus teachers must combine language teaching with cultural teaching to make students master cultural knowledge gradually. Only when students grasp English cultural knowledge， they can understand English words real meaning.

The importance of cultural knowledge is very obvious just as following： firstly， when students grasp enough cultural knowledge， they can understand the connotation and denotation of English vocabulary sufficiently. Secondly， when they grasp enough cultural knowledge， they can understand the English sentences or texts correctly. Thirdly， when they grasp enough cultural knowledge， they can express themselves in English freely. As long as students realize the importance of cultural knowledge in learning English， they will be able to find more effective ways to lead them to English world. The more they know about English culture， the better they understand English speakers.

II. Cultural differences between Chinese and English

There are many cultural differences between Chinese and English. Because of cultural differences， misunderstanding will arise， although the language used in communication is faultless. The same words or expressions do not mean the same thing to different peoples. Because of cultural differences， a serious question will cause amusement or laughter； a harmless statement will cause displeasure or anger. Because of cultural differences， jokes by a foreign speaker will be received with blank faces and stony silence. Yet the same stories in the speakers own country would leave audiences holding their sides with laughter. The cultural differences between Chinese and English influence the use of English. It is reflected on vocabulary， communicative customs. Teachers should teach the cultural knowledge in these aspects.

1. The cultural difference in vocabulary

Vocabulary has rich cultural connotation. It reflects different cultural tradition， ideology and aesthetic sense of different nations. The words of different languages have different meanings. Although sometimes they have the same literal meanings， their emotional meanings， the meanings of denotation and metaphorical meanings are different. For example， “Red” in English and HONG in Chinese refer to the same colour， but their metaphorical meanings are different. In China， HONG symbolizes progress， revolution and auspiciousness. While in Western， people always associate “Red” with radicalism， anger， blood and danger. Another example is the word “Dog” . In the United Kingdom， people regard dogs as their friends. From their language we can also see it. In English， there are some sentences or phrases about it， such as “Love me， love my dog.”， “a lucky dog” and “as faithful as a dog”. But in Chinese， people always use GOU in abusive language， such as GOU JI TIAO QIANG. All of these phenomena are because of different cultural background. So when teachers teach a new word， you had better not only tell students its pronunciation and meaning， but also tell them when and where they can use it. Only in this way， students can grasp the cultural knowledge. Moreover， every kind of language includes a great deal of idioms， proverbs and allusions. In English， they originate from historic events， Bible， Greek and Roman fairy tales and literary works. It requires that teachers should pay attention to these points in English teaching.

2. The cultural difference in the communicative customs

With the development of civilization， people pay more and more attention to situation， relationship， strategy， intension and influence of communication. Because of the cultural differences between Chinese and English， there are some differences of communication in some situations. For example， “Greetings”， “Thanks”， “Compliments”. It can be explained as follows：

（1） Greetings

It is quite natural for people to greet each other when they meet. Greetings， which are very important to human society， do not convey much prepositional meanings. But if one fails to greet another person when they meet， the consequence can be serious. Though greetings are important， they are not conduced in the same way in different cultures. In English， speakers often use some fixed expressions to greet others， like “How do you do？” “How is everything？” “How are you？” “Good morning.”“Good afternoon.” “Hello.” and “Hi.”

（2）Thanks

In both English and Chinese there are expressions of gratitude. Differences lie in what to thank for and whom to thank. English speakers think that everyone is treated as individuals. So the kindness shown in whatever way should be appreciated explicitly. They say “Thank you” to anyone who helps them， even to good friends or family members. In contrast Chinese people tend to thank the one who has done them a major favor several times.

（3） Compliments

It is generally accepted that showing modesty is to be polite. When being complimented， English speakers would be likely to accept it by saying “Thank you.” or “Im pleased to hear that.” to show their pleasure and appreciation； while the Chinese would probably try not to accept the compliment to show their modesty and politeness. Both are trying to be polite and modest and probably think they are behaving suitably. And it is hard to say who is right and who is wrong because of cultural differences. The point is that in order to learn a second language well， one has to acquire its culture as well.

So when Chinese communicate with foreigners， it is important for them to know the foreigners cultural background， or the communication will break down.

III. Current Situation of English Teaching in China

China boasts the worlds biggest population of English learners. The English language course has been one of the most important compulsory subjects in Chinas middle schools for many years. In western countries， language theorists and language teachers have tried a lot to integrate culture teaching into language teaching for almost a century. Great achievements have been made in research during the past twenty years. However， it is true that weaknesses still remain in our English teaching system.

In English teaching， it is quite different between China and Western：

1. Teachers

A language teacher plays a leading role in language education. The teacher is the mediator of a foreign culture， and the catalyst of educational change. So teachers cultural competence is of great importance in culture teaching in foreign language education. They must get acquainted with the target culture as well as constantly update the knowledge about language teaching.

Nowadays， the traditional Grammar-Translation Method still enjoys popularity among teachers. This method aims at teaching students to read and translate the written language with a good command of traditional grammar. Its obvious that the method emphasizes grammatical accuracy， neglecting the importance of the spoken language， not to mention students cultural competence.

Today most teachers have been informed over and over again of the importance of culture teaching. However， their belief， in face of difficulties putting theory into practice， may be weakened. It will really be a problem if teachers themselves have not enough knowledge about the target language culture. And it is one of the major factors that hinder culture teaching in China.

2. Students

English testing should provide an objective and scientific means for the evaluation of the course and the students language proficiency. On one hand， it should help to find out the advantages and disadvantages of the course itself in achieving the desired teaching and learning objectives. On the other hand， it must help to reveal the areas and extent of the students strengths and weaknesses， which in turn may help identify problems existing in the relevant middle-school English curriculum. But as a matter of fact， the present English testing system fails to provide a good feedback of the actual ability of students concerning cultural competence and appropriate language use. English tests conducted in middle schools now usually cover the area of vocabulary， language structure， listening， reading and writing. The test is still on measuring the students linguistic competence， but ignores the socio-cultural ability of them.

IV. Methods of helping students to know more about English culture

Students communicative ability includes the ability to listen， speak， read and write in light of cultural differences.One purpose of English teaching is to develop learners awareness of cultural differences reflected in languages. Teachers must help students to realize that thoughts and views of different nationalities and different types of societies about nature and human society are quite different. So it is evidently wrong to interpret things in foreign language in the same way as in mother tongue. To the same extent， the achievement of English teaching goal relies on students cultural awareness. Therefore， it is of great importance to take for cultural background knowledge as one of the contents in the whole process of English teaching so as to help students to have a good command of necessary cultural knowledge and to develop basic culture-learning ability.

1. Making comparison and contrast

By making comparison and contrast， students can have an awareness of the differences between the two cultures. Teachers can compare the different meanings in vocabulary and idioms between Chinese and English. It is note worthy that comparison and contrast helps learners better understand different cultural judgments. Comparison and contrast also helps learners explain different cultural behaviors， and it can avoid just explaining anothers behaviors according to the learners own standards. Only by comparison and contrast can one distinguish acceptable culture and unacceptable culture， thus prevent learners from accepting the target culture uncritically.

2. Group discussion

Teachers adopt this method because it has many advantages. The first advantage of it is of course the increased participation. If there are five or six groups in a class， there will be five or six times the amount of talking. Group discussions are relatively efficient. Moreover， this heightened participation is not limited to those who are usually articulate anyway； students who are shy of saying something in front of the whole class， or to the teachers， often find it much easier to express themselves in front of a small group of their peers.

The motivation of participants also improves when they work in small groups. This is partly a function of the release from inhibition described above， but other factors also play a part. The physical focus of the discussion is close and directed towards the individual student； that is to say， whoever is speaking is only a small distance away， clearly audible， facing the others and addressing them personally. Any visual or other materials are likewise close by： the whole activity is immediate and ‘involving. More important， group discussion is a game-like activity， almost any task-centered exercise can be transformed into a game by adding an element of tension. Where this is not supplied by the task itself， the simple institution of an arbitrary time-limit or inter-group competition can easily do so.

Another advantage of group discussion is that it frees the teacher from her usual role of instructor-corrector-controller， and allows her to wander freely round the class， giving help where needed， assessing the performance of individual students， noting lan guage mistakes for future remedial work， devoting a little more time to slower learners. She also has an important role to play in leading and encouraging discussions.

Finally， there is scope here for peer-teaching. In the course of group discussions， students will learn from each other， whether consciously or unconsciously. They may correct each others mistakes， help out with a needed word； and of course they will teach each other some cultural materials as well， through the content of the discussion.

3. Role-play

For role-play， the class is usually divided into small groups， often pairs， which are given situations and roles to act out and explore. This acting is done for the sake of the language and imaginative activity， not for exhibition； though students may occasionally enjoy seeing or showing off some particularly successful scene. The various groups， therefore， are activated simultaneously. They can stand or sit， static or move. They can role-play the same situation using a culturally appropriate form of address. If an English teacher wants to present the students with the general practice of eating out in a restaurant， the best way is probably to provide the students with English instructions about how to find the table reserved， how to order and how to pay and so on， which can then be followed by the students role-play. This will not only show how well the students understand them， but also help give them a vivid impression. This technique is useful in which it can help combine with the cultural content and communication-oriented activities.

Moreover， role-play exercises are usually based on real-life and provide useful practice for students， so they can use similar sentences in similar situations outside the classroom.

4. Using authentic materials

Obviously， the best way to learn foreign cultural background knowledge is to go to that country to stay there for a period of time. But we know that it is almost impossible to have such an opportunity， especially for our students. Therefore， it is practically necessary for the teachers to use authentic materials to teach culture. But now many books which the students have are not authentic， including their textbooks. Because there are not much cultural knowledge in these books， and sometimes there will be some mistakes about cultural knowledge. Using authentic sources from the native speech community helps to engage students in authentic cultural experiences. So we need some culture-based language teaching materials. Sources can include films， news broadcasts， and television shows； web sites； and photographs， magazines， newspapers， restaurant menus， travel brochures， and other materials. Teachers can adapt their usage of authentic materials to suit the age and language proficiency level of the students. For example， even at the beginning students can watch and listen to video clips taken from a television show in the target language and focus on such cultural conventions as greetings. The teacher might supply students with a detailed translation or give them a chart diagram of outline to complete while they listen to a dialogue or watch a video.

5. Foreign teachers

In recent days， many schools have their own foreign teachers. In their classes， they will certainly talk about their hometowns or countries. Students are interested in their classes， because foreign teachers will use their own methods to show students a cultural world which is new to them.

Except these methods， we can also use some others， such as celebrating English festivals and putting some materials about English culture on the wall of your classroom and so on.

Conclusion

In English learning the most difficult things are caused by cultural differences， that is to say， the difficulty in understanding. Different society has different culture. Because of cultural differences， misunderstandings arise， although the language used in communication is faultless. The same words or expressions will not mean the same thing to different people. So in English teaching， it is very important for teachers to increase students cultural knowledge， in order to make students see the world as English people see it. Therefore， students can understand the Westerners “l(fā)anguage of the mind”. Consequently， the students English will be better than before.

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（作者單位：Shijiazhuang No. 42 Middle School）