The Influence of Cultural Properties of English on English Curriculum Design

閆曉敏

【Abstract】Learning a language is the process of learning a culture. This essay explains the cultural properties of English and introduces the influence of cultural properties of English on the three aspects of English curriculum design， such as goal seeting，syllabus design and testing and evaluation.By cultivating learners' cultural awareness， learners ultimately get the full understanding of culture.

【Key words】curriculum design； culture； English education

I. Introduction

With the deepening of China's opening to the outside world and the increase of foreign exchange， cross-cultural awareness and cross-cultural ability have become one of the necessary qualities to meet the new challenges of the 21st century. As a language course， English course has a close relationship with culture. Therefore， the design of English curriculum should also give full consideration to the cultivation of cultural quality of students and the transfer of international cultural knowledge. On the basis of language， students could understand science and technology， western social and cultural knowledge as far as possible.

II. The Connotation of Cultural Properties of English and English Curriculum Design

（1） What is Cultural Properties of English

Language is a means to describe and show human experience and the humans understanding of the world.Language has a certain nationality，and language is not only instrumental， but also humanistic and communicative.To make a comprehensive survey of the relationship between language and culture， we can conclude that the relationship between them is the three main points：

1） language is an important part of culture； 2） language reflects a nation's culture， revealing the content of the national culture；

3） Language and culture interact and constrain each other.

Firstly， the language is the sum of material and spiritual wealth created by human. Language is an important medium for human communication，which is our knowledge about the most extensive language function.

Secondly，a particular language is always used by people of a particular ethnic group and is an important means and instrument for indicating the “identity” of the person who speaks the language.

Thirdly，on the one hand， language is not only a carrier of culture， but also a mirror reflecting human's way of life.On the other hand， language is not only a negative reflection of the social and cultural systems， but to actively help human to build their social and cultural systems， which has a direct impact on human.

（2） What is English Curriculum Design

Curriculum is the selection and reconstruction of human culture and a special educational culture. In general， curriculum design is a set of planned activities designed to implement a particular educational aim. Following the past scholars analysis of the curriculum designing procedures， we may divide curriculum designing procedures into several aspects， such as needs analysis ，goal setting， syllabus design， methodology and testing and evaluation. Therefore， in the essay， the influence of cultural properties of English on English curriculum design is the equivalence of the influence on the five aspects of the English cultural designing procedure. On the basis of practice， we will mainly talk about the influence on goal setting，syllabus design and testing and evaluation.

III. On curriculums goal setting

The curriculum goal setting is the key and primary problem of curriculum design. It restricts the work of curriculum arrangement；stipulates the selection and organization of syllabus design， and is the basis of curriculum implementation and the criterion of curriculum evaluation. The cultural properties of curriculum goal setting is the inevitable reflection of the requirements for talents in the field of education. The requirements of the times for the basic ability of people has changed.Thus the education should consider the requirements of the development.And it will be reflected in the curriculum goal setting necessarily. Cultural objectives reflect the cultural values of a course and the final orientation .

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China， the curriculum standards of various stages of our country have been revised and updated with the development of the times. The humanistic value or humanity of English course has been highlighted and paid more attention. For example， the cultural awareness goal has become an important aspect of the Senior High School English Curriculum Standard （experiment）

（published in 2003）（In the following part，we call it Standard for short）.

（1） Paid attention to the humanistic value of English course

With reference to the basic structure of the Standard， we find that culture has become one of the basic goals of English curriculum， which fully reflects the humanistic value of English education. Standard adopt the internationally accepted classification for the overall goal setting.Different requirements were put forward for different levels respectively.All specific requirements in each level， highlights the basic requirements of humanistic literacy cultivating for high school students. The humanistic value of Standard is embodied in the following aspects： grasping the connotation and background of communicative language；developing intercultural communication consciousness and ability； establishing scientific attitude of cultural difference and cultural identity and so on.

（2） Paid attention to the cultivating of cultural awareness

There is an independent module on cultural teaching in the Standard， which points out that the rich cultural connotation of language.This indicates that the goal of cultural awareness has become the goal of education that separates from language goals. To understand the meaning of the information given in the article correctly， you must have a certain cultural background knowledge. Language is full of cultural connotation. Understanding English culture is beneficial to deepen the understanding of English itself and conducive to promote the formation of students' world consciousness， which is in line with the development trend of the times.

IV. On syllabus design

A syllabus is more localized and based on the accounts and records of what actually happens at the classroom level as teachers and students apply a curriculum to their situation.Howevevr，teaching materials are the specific representation of syllabus and the important guarantee to achieve the teaching objectives determined by syllabus.Therefore，we talk about the influence on materials students used in senior high school in China actually.

Based on the Standard and the cognitive development rule and psychological characteristics of Chinese senior high school students，the teaching materials introduced the United States， Europe， Canada， Australia and other major English-speaking countries and their associated English culture and traditions.Its content includes over 50 topics，such as friendship，contemporary hero drama，archeology， religion and so on.However，due to the heterogeneity of foreign works，the materials inevitably mixed with the content about foreign bourgeois ideology and values.Thus in the teaching process our English teachers should use the melt part of Chinese and foreign cultures to cultivate the quality of students and delete the repulsive part.Then teachers lead the students to adsorb ideological education of socialism.And on the basis of carry forward the outstanding national and traditional cultures of our country，teachers bring the essence of western culture into the students' knowledge structure，to achieve the function of culture education.

V. On testing and evaluation

Education evaluation is the activity to judge whether education meet the needs of society and individuals， and to judge the actual or potential value of education in order to achieve the value-added process of education. In our country， college entrance examination is a large-scale evaluation method recognized by Ministry of Education and society. Therefore， the author of this essay discuss the influence of cultural properties of English on the college entrance examination of English and take writing of the college entrance examination in English as research objects.

English language proficiency of the students includes listening， speaking， reading and writing. Listening ability and reading ability belong to the input ability of language while oral expression and writing ability are related to the output ability of students which is an important embodiment of language applicated ability and communicative ability.

In recent years，English written expression in college entrance examination still use the form of application，such as mail or letters， which is the outline composition.Standards clearly states that students' compositions are mainly evaluated in five aspects： content points， language use effects， structure and coherence， format and register， and communication with the target audience. On the one hand， the context of the topic effectively constructs the context of intercultural communication， and the topic is basically able to achieve the purpose of communication between the respondent and the target reader. On the other hand，a few keywords： Li Hua， Bob， pen pals and other words often appear， indicating the lack of flexibility in English writing test.The knowledge involved and cultural content are still too narrow， which is not conducive to the evaluation of students' cross-cultural ability to some degree. Moreover， the writing framework of the college entrance examination English writing is modeled， which is also not conducive to the students' open thinking ability in use and development.

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