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篇1
毫无疑问,从长期的教学实践来看,提高学生的英语交际能力主要障碍除了语言本身,还要从文化背景入手,因为许多语言现象的解释是由文化因素决定的。文化背景知识,一方面可以帮助教师采取灵活多样的教学方法,合理选择教学材料,另一方面,可以激发学生的学习兴趣,活跃了课堂气氛,学生学习由被动的学习语言知识转变为主动的应用语言知识。因此,在相应的大学英语运用灵活的方法和手段,可以更好的培养学生的文化意识,以及语言交际能力。
二、跨文化性大学英语教学的方法和策略
英语教学应包括以下内容:在有限的时间内,利用各种现代化教学手段,激发学生学习英语的兴趣,提高他们运用语言的能力,通过运用学生的综合能力和跨文化交际能力。在这一原则指导下,我们在从事英语教学活动中,无论是“以学生为中心”,“教师为中心”或“学习为中心”,不仅是语言学习,掌握教学规律,而是提高学生的英语应用能力及语言交际能力。
1、词汇解释的含义为基础,与词的文化内涵相结合
词汇是用来解释语言的基本单位,国家文化的概念是一种参考,它是最脆弱的文化渗透。由于中西方文化的差异,往往各个国家有不同的文化内涵。为了让学生灵活地运用英语,在英语教学和文化方面的指导方面,应通过文化差异的比较,使学生了解和掌握西方文化的差异,逐步培养文化意识。例如,在一些常识的语言文字是一种恭维,但在另一种语言可能是贬义。对于许多中国人来说,集体主义,相互依存,因此具有积极的意义,但在西方,是负面,消极的意义。相反资产阶级,野心,在中国人有一定的负面内涵,但它对于西方人是一种恭维。关于“宣传”,英语词典定义为“政治团体影响的信息公开传播,往往夸大甚至虚假信息。”然而,这两个不同的字有不同的文化环境和贬义的赞美,反映了不同的文化特色。所以,当我们说,促销产品,使用产品的推广,而非产品的宣传。
2、课文讲解,以语篇分析为主,语言点讲解为辅
日常教学中有一个普遍的现象:教师讲解课文时,如果不知道语法,不讲语言点(通常是复杂的,难以理解的句子),翻译不是造句,学生经常难以理解。心理语言学家通过调查发现,成年人学习第二语言,与儿童学习母语是不同的。成人环境,认知等因素在学习第二语言学习过程中可以破坏,成人总是下意识地学会了更多的语言和母语。成年学生,他们的认知模式和思维模式早已定型。关键不在于是否适应中国学生的习惯,而是在于要帮助和引导学生了解和掌握新的认知方式(学习第二语言)。因此,教学中要解释的文字以及话语分析,应根据文本体裁(叙事,描述,说明,议论等),作者是如何开始的文章(通过什么手段,在附着力的章节和收敛),文章的中心思想(即主要思想),为目的所使用的文字和语气等等。这些对学生理解文章内容,作者写作方法,和思维习惯,以及讲英语是很有帮助的。至于语言点讲解,它只是一种辅助手段,向教师提供一些帮助。我相信,如果不以课文讲解,以语篇分析为主,即使老师可以说明一个简单的句子或到相应的翻译几个句子,也达不到让学生理解的要求。
篇2
1.学术理性主义教学理念的渗入。跨文化交际课程,作为英语语言类课程的延伸。尽管其涉及传播学、文化学、社会学等诸多学科内容,但从根本上看,仍服务于语言教学,其最终目的是培养学生的跨文化交际意识与能力,从而更加自如地应用英语同英语世界的人进行得体有效的沟通。其课程是大学英语培养体系中的重要一环,也就是说,在英语语言习得的语境下强化文化学习。从这个角度上看,其语言教学的载体意义不能忽视。跨文化交际课程的教学者,始终要明确我们是在进行更为深入的语言教学。那么学术理性主义教学理念就仍然具有重要意义。学术理性主义十分强调学科内容,强调其对于学生智力、价值观和思维等方面的影响,主张语言教学中应该大量加入文化与文学的比重。基于该教学理念,跨文化交际课程的建构不仅需要考虑跨文化交际理论方面的内容,即文化理论与现象等方面的设计;还需要考虑学生的英语语言能力培养方面的内容,即词汇、语法、段落、篇章等方面的设计。
2.关注社会和经济效益教学理念的渗入。跨文化交际课程具有较强的现实意义与应用价值。当今社会,我们普遍认同不可能彼此孤立地生活,需要学会与他人沟通,而交际水平直接影响到现代人在地球村中的生存质量。可见,跨文化交际能力既是学术能力,也是生存能力,与社会及自身经济效益相连。而关注社会和经济效益的教学理念强调课程能够给学习者带来的经济价值,并且认为经济价值源于知识的获取,而英语则被视为获得知识的重要工具。由此说,追求经济价值是学习英语的理由。这也符合哲学意义上的功利主义思想,即“衡量教育的标准是实现价值与创造价值,教育是为职业做准备,社会的需要就是教育的需要,也是人的需要”。基于该教学理念,跨文化交际课程的建构需要考虑教学的实务性与功能性,不仅不能单一介绍理论,还要加大交际实务,让学生理解、体验、反思进而了解跨文化交际语境下如何成功且得体地完成交际事件,在授课中要重视课堂活动设计。
3.以学习者为中心教学理念的渗入。跨文化交际课程不是一门单纯理论介绍类课程,也非一般语言文化类课程,它要求学生对文化现象的体验和对文化理论的理解,同时还要求学生将这种体验与理解内化为自身对于文化内容的领悟,以此来进行跨文化交际。而以学习者为中心的教学理念“重视学生在知识上、情感上、智力上的需求”,强调学生生活经历对其学习的影响,注重自我意识和批判性思维以及学习策略等方面的培养。这也符合人本主义心理学的“自我实现论”理论,即强调学习中人的因素,认为必须尊重学习者,把学习者视为学习活动的主体,主张必须重视学习者的意愿、情感、需要和价值观,相信正常的学习者都能自己指导自己“自我实现”潜能。基于该教学理念,跨文化交际课程的建构需要关注学生创造性的自我表现以及其与社会需求紧密相关并具有实际意义的活动,即重视学生对于文化问题的体悟与感受,尊重每一个学习个体的需求。课程还需要根据不同个体的需求采用不同的活动方式,并且在内容上做必要调整。
4.社会重建主义教学理念的渗入。跨文化交际课程涉及不同文化的风俗习惯、价值观念、以及社交禁忌等问题,其中最为核心的是世界观与文化价值观问题。学生在学习他国世界观与文化价值观的同时,也会审视自身世界观、文化价值观,从一定意义上看,可以加深学生对于人生的体验与领悟。而社会重建主义的教学理念主张为未来社会培养符合要求的公民,强调学校帮助学生重新看待某些社会问题进而去改变原有的生活。重建主义,也称改造主义,实际上是“对社会危机的一种态度和教育对策并且把教育视为社会变革的工具”。基于该理念,跨文化交际课程的建构必须重视学生的批判式思维能力,注重培养学生独立思考,反思现实,敢于质疑。而且其课程的建构还需谨记“赋权”,即在授课时,给予学生一定权利,使其真正走出象牙塔参与社会人事等问题的查问,并且探寻解决途径。这能帮助学生明辨是非,成为社会中的理性公民。
5.文化多元主义教学理念的渗入。跨文化交际课程在多元文化共存的背景下形成并得以发展,最终解决的问题也是多元文化背景下人际沟通的问题。因此,课程主旨应该让学生尽可能多地接触不同文化,面对文化差异,学会欣赏不同文化的价值。而文化多元主义教学理念主张学校让学生接触不同文化,面对文化差异,提升少数民族自尊心,学会欣赏不同文化的和价值观。文化多元不仅指不同文化共存,还要求在承认不同文化差异的同时平等地对待差异。其理念实质就是促进多元文化社会中人们对不同文化的理解。基于该教学理念,跨文化交际课程的建构必须明确态度问题,即零评价的态度与尊重的态度。前者指对待不同文化,尤其是出现较大文化差异时,尽量不要贸然评价;后者指对待所有文化都要尊重,即使出现不能欣赏、接受和理解的文化现象,也要做到真心尊重。在讲授跨文化交际课程时,要有意识地设计一些环节去帮助学生减少偏见与歧视,教会他们尊重和理解并且主动保护不同文化的特性。
三、跨文化交际课程的教学理念建构的整体建议
篇3
2.适度性原则
课堂中所导入的文化知识必须要适时适度,本着紧密为传授语言知识服务的原则,不可喧宾夺主。因此在外语教学中需要导入的文化必须要与外语知识学习或交际能力培养相关联。如果理解成文学、艺术、音乐、历史、地理、哲学等,那就大错而特错了。这样大量的导入,不但超出了大纲的范围,而且也与教学目的和目标背道而驰。文化的导入目的应该是外语学习的补充,更好地促进学生对语言知识和交际能力的掌握。另外,教师还要根据学生的理解和吸收能力随时对内容进行调整,太难或太易的内容都是不适合的。还应合理地把握时间的分配,注意既不能影响教学的进度,又能达到文化导入的目的。
3.主流性原则
文化的种类丰富多彩,多种多样,既包括高尚的,也包括低俗的部分。应该导入的内容也五花八门。既包括政治、经济等,也包括与生活密切相关的风俗、习惯、礼仪等等。通常会有很多人认为“讲什么都行”,对于教师来说最重要的是在“什么都行”中选择出“什么(即所教授内容)”[4]95。因此要求教师在备课时要精心挑选,尽可能的选取那些能为课堂知识服务的主流文化。
二、语言教学中跨文化交际能力的培养手段
在外语教学中对学生跨文化交际能力培养的手段和方法多种多样。在教室中主要有以下三种类型。
1.充分利用文字资料
包括课本、杂志、参考书等书籍的阅读。阅读书籍是学生系统学习目的语国家文化的有效手段。特别是文学作品的阅读非常利于人们对该国文化的理解和把握。因为某一个国家或民族的文学作品是该国家或民族文化的精华、是传统文化的积蓄。教师不但要指导学生通过阅读一些文学作品提高自身的修养、欣赏作者的创作技巧,还应该对文学作品所包含的社会背景、历史时代及文化风俗进行详细地剖析,这样才利于学生对该作品所包含文化的理解和吸收。从而培养其对跨文化的理解意识和运用能力。因此推荐优秀的文学作品也是外语教师的一项重要责任。另外,杂志往往会及时地登载一些最新的信息,通过阅读杂志可以了解目的语国家最新的文化发展动态,以此来推察该国文化的变迁,以便系统完整地理解该国文化。
2.合理利用视听资料
现阶段人们使用的视听资料主要有幻灯、收音机、录音机、录像、电影、网络等。视听教育是把声音或影像资料作为素材进行教学的。在外语教学中,充分发挥视听资料的长处,有机地使声音和影像结合在一起,就会使外语学习中的“听、说、读、写”四种技能中的“听”与“看(另一种形式的读)”有效地结合到一起,提高效率。而且视听教材能够把抽象的文化通过客观的声音、图像等以影视剧等形式,再现活生生的生活画面,激发学生的兴趣,提高学习积极性[5]。
3.充分发挥实际指导者的作用
这里所说的指导者是指来自于目的语国家的外语教师、留学生、研究人员以及对跨文化感兴趣的人士。从语言学习的角度来看,邀请外籍教师来担任会话、听解、社会事情、作文等课程是非常有效的一种手段。学生通过与目的语国家的人们进行接触和交流,可以很自然的习得通常情况下在教室和课本中学不到的知识和文化。例如:我们中国人从小就知道,与人见面时为了表示诚意,要主动把自己的手伸给对方,通过握手来传达友好。而我们在书本上也学到了日本人见面时,要把自己的头低下,通过鞠躬来传达一种敬意。看似非常简单的问题,可是实际上,对于互不了解对方文化的双方来说,当时的姿势、视线、表情、时间的长短、使用的语言等都是难题。而且这些东西不经过反复实践是很难掌握的。所以,在生活中通过与目的语国家人们的实际接触会很自然地掌握。为了更好地发挥人的媒介作用,除了聘请外教外,很多学校还邀请外国留学生走进外语课堂,互相做学习伙伴,以便在实践中学会跨文化交流。
4.利用各种渠道拓展第二课堂
语言课是一门实践性很强的课程,外语教学在传授语言知识的同时,还必须对学生加强语言应用能力的培养。因此教师和学校利用各种渠道开展教学实践满足学生对语言实践机会的需求,积极拓展第二课堂,有效促进学生语言应用能力的提高就显得尤为重要了。第二课堂的形势主要有外语角、原版影视作品欣赏、外语专题讲座、外事活动见习和去外企社会实践等形式。通过以上途径可以有效地提高学生的语言应用能力和掌控能力,并能切身体会感悟和检验课堂中所学相关文化在语言应用中的作用。在这个环节中,教师一定要适时地对学生进行文化教育指导,让学生领悟文化在交流中的重要性,会起到事半功倍的作用。
三、语言教学中跨文化交际能力的培养规律分析
教师通过不断探索,发现人们对跨文化的认识,通常有以下五个阶段。在课堂中学生对跨文化的接触吸收也同样要经历这样五个阶段。以日语学习为例。第一阶段:接触跨文化(Contact)。大部分日语专业的学生都是进入大学才刚刚接触日语的。由于要接触一门崭新的语言和文化,所以他们往往表现得非常兴奋和期待,习惯于用自己固有的文化观去审视新接触的文化,觉得这也新鲜、那也新奇,而忽视了对文化深层内涵的挖掘。经常听到的话语有「日本人は優しい「和室がすき等。第二阶段:否定自我(Disintegration)。随着对日本文化理解的加深,第一阶段的新鲜感逐渐消失,两种文化间的本质差异渐趋明显,特别是开始与日本人接触时,本来自认为理所当然的事情对方却不能理解,对于如何与日本人接触显得束手无策,于是慢慢的对自己失去信心,甚至对自己当初的选择产生怀疑。情绪陷入低谷。代表话语有「私はだめだ「言語的な才能を持っていない等。第三阶段:自我调整(Reintegration)。在这一阶段严重者甚至会全盘否定目的语国家文化,以恶语攻击目的语国家的人或者事儿。从而排斥该文化,美化本国文化。在旁观者看来简直就是一种退步。这就需要学生重新调整自己的心情,以冷静的公正的态度来重新审视该文化。第四阶段:自律(Autonomy)。这一阶段在明确两种文化异同点的同时接受该文化。逐渐从以本国文化观看待事物的态度转变到适应接受该文化,即要具有「人に頼らなくても自分でやっていけるようになった。自律性を獲得した!的自我满足感。这样就能深入地理解目的语国家文化,恰当地应对各种问题。第五阶段:独立(Independence)。经过以上各阶段的磨炼,在此阶段基本上能够把握自己的行为在多大程度上受到目的语国家文化的影响,而且也能够根据具体情况自如地选择采用哪种文化观并付诸行动。在评价目的语国家的人时也不再笼统地归类,而是尊重每个人的个性特点。对学生跨文化交际能力的培养是在了解以上五个阶段的特点后,有目的有针对性地进行。主要有两种方式。其一:以传统讲义的方式把相关知识有效地传授给学生。包括让学生自己阅读有关文化、历史、政治以及经济等方面的书籍。但是这种方法的缺点是学生很难获得使自己发生根本改变的信息,也不能持续地从文化交流的实际掌握改变自己的交流技巧。因此,我们不太赞成学生通过此种方法学习跨文化交流。其二是经验学习法。这里的经验学习法并不是简单地重复见闻过的事情。而是强调通过“交流”这一重要因素进行实践。其目的就是给学生一次客观地重新思考和审视以往经验的机会和过程。具体的做法就是教师设置题目,有意识地让学生经历某些事情,然后询问学生的心理感受,让其进行客观性的分析。
篇4
随着国际交往的日益频繁.英语的重要性越来越得到人们的认可。近年来,强化学生的跨文化交际意识正逐渐为人们所重视.提高学生对目的语文化的敏感度已成为外语教学的一个目标.跨文化交际理论是与大学英语教学不可分的。甚至可以说,大学英语教学是跨文化交际理论的具体实践过程.外语教学的根本目的就是为了培养语言应用能力.实现跨文化交际.与不同文化背景的人进行交流
2跨文化交际及跨文化交际教学的必然性
2.1什么是跨文化交际
跨文化交际的英语名称是‘ntereuhuralcommunication”或“cross-culturalcommunicati0n”.它指本族语者与非本族语者之间的交际.也指任何在语言和文化背景方面有差异的人们之间的交际。一句完全合乎语法的话.用于不恰当的场合,或说得不符合说话人的身份.甚至违反当时当地的社会风俗习惯,就达不到交际的目的.有时甚至造成意想不到的后果。语言的使用规则就是这种语言所属文化的各种因素,语言是文化的一部分.并对文化起着重要作用。没有语言,就没有文化.语言与文化互相影响.互相作用。学习一门外语不仅要掌握语音、语法、词汇和习语,而且要知道说这种语言的人如何看待事物.如何观察世界;要了解他们如何用他们的语言反映他们的思想、习惯、行为;要了解他们社会的文化.这样才能够顺利地进行跨文化交流
2.2跨文化交际能力的培养在大学英语教育中具有重要意义
在英语教学中加强文化导入.培养学生的跨文化交际意识是非常重要的。大学英语教学的对象是大学生.他们更渴望在英语学习中了解英美文化在大学英语教学的各个方面和阶段注重跨文化教学既可使学生更多地了解英美文化,激发他们的学习兴趣、扩展知识面,也有利于他们对英语语言知识的掌握.
首先,从语言和文化的关系来看:语言不能脱离文化而存在,人生活在社会文化环境中
人的一切行为不可避免要受到社会文化模式的制约,语言交际行为也不例外。早在20世纪20年代。美国语言学家Sapir在Language一书中就指出:“语言有一个环境。它不能脱离文化而存在.不能脱离社会继承下来的传统和信念。”翻胡文仲也曾经指出:“语言是文化的一种表现形式。不了解英美文化,要学好英语是不可能的反过来讲,越深刻、越细致地了解所学国家的历史、文化、传统风俗习惯、生活方式以及生活细节.就越能正确理解和准确使用这个语言”。
其次,跨文化交际能力的培养是大学英语课程建设的重要内容.
2004年教育部正式颁布的《大学英语课程教学要求(试行)》中明确指出:“大学英语教学是以英语语言知识与应用技能、学习策略和跨文化交际为主要内容.以外语教学理论为指导,并集多种教学模式和教学手段为一体的教学体系。”因此,培养跨文化交际能力不可避免地成了当前外语教学界的中心话题
3大学英语教学中培养跨文化交际的原则
大学英语教师在英语教学中应当使用各种原则和措施,不断加强文化输入的力度和深度.使学生充分意识到本族语与英语及其所属文化的差异.尽量避免或消除因跨文化而引起的误解与困惑。英语教学过程中的文化导入必须遵循以下几个原则:
3.1实用性原则
实用性原则要求输入的文化内容与学生所学的语言内容密切相关,文化教学紧密结合语言交际实践。这样.不但能使学生对语言与文化关系的认识更具体、更实际.更能激发学生学习语言和文化的兴趣.产生较好的良性循环。
3_2系统性原则
在外语教学中,文化输入往往缺乏系统性。教师在讲授语言的过程中.往往是遇到一种文化现象就顺便解释一下,对于文化教学的内容和方法无统一、具体的要求。因此,教师应系统地给学生输入交际文化和知识文化.避免在文化输入过程中出现盲目性和混乱倾向.从而更好地提高学生的外语交际能力
3.3阶段性原则
阶段性原则要求文化内容的导入应遵循循序渐进的原则。根据学生的语言水平、接受和领悟能力,确定文化教学的内容,由浅入深、由简单到复杂、由现象到本质。同时在贯彻阶段性原则时.必须注意文化内容本身的层次性和一致性。不至于使教学内容显得过于零碎。外语教学在起始阶段应使学生对英语国家文化及中外文化异同有粗略的了解教学中涉及的英语国家文化及中外文化知识应与学生身边的日常生活密切相关.并能激发学生学习英语的兴趣。在英语学习的较高阶段.要通过扩大学生接触异国文化的范围,帮助学生拓宽视野.使他们提高对中外文化异同的敏感性和鉴别能力.进而提高跨文化交际能力
3.4适度性原则
外语教学中不同文化的导入.只是传统外语教学的延伸、补充和发展,而不是以其为中心。所以我们不能本末倒置.过多的文化导入不但不能起到促进语言教学的作用.反而成为学生的学习负担和阻力要根据英语教学的需要,适度地导入文化内容。如属于主流文化的内容及有广泛代表性的内容,就应该详细讲解,反复操练。还应正确处理好文化习俗和传统的来龙去脉,等等。此外,教学方法要适度.讲解的内容要有选择性,应鼓励学生自学。进行大量的课外阅读.增加文化知识的底蕴。
4大学英语教学阶段跨文化意识培养的措施与方法
英语教师在教学中要注重文化教学.即把英语国家的文化背景和文化语言习惯渗透到日常的英语教学中去.培养学生对文化差异的敏感性、宽容性及处理文化差异的灵活性.使得学生在英语的实际使用过程中能够迅速、准确、恰当地传递信息并使交流内容更加丰富。在大学英语教学中.要培养学生的跨文化意识,可以从以下三个方面人手
4.1课堂教学方面
在日常教学工作中.教师要善于优化语言教学模式.改进教学方法.提高课堂效率
4.1.1充分利用和发掘教材中所蕴含的文化背景知识 大学英语教科书中蕴含着大量的文化背景知识.现行的教材中有许多地方都出现了与文化背景知识相关的话题,只要充分挖掘其中的内涵,通过日常课堂教学随时提供和补充相关知识是完全可行的教师在讲课过程中千万不能对这些跨文化的背景知识和文化差异蜻蜓点水般地一带而过.而应结合语言知识有目的、有重点地向学生传授。例如教师可以揭示词汇的文化内涵,文化不仅影响了词汇的字面意义,也影响了词汇的引申意义因此.教师在传授词汇概念意义的同时.也要把词汇所蕴涵的文化知识传授给学生.帮助和引导学生挖掘特定文化背景下词汇的深层涵义.让他们全方位地理解和把握词汇.把词汇文化内涵融入教学中
4.1.2营造使用英语的环境或氛围 语言交际需要场景环境.如果教师脱离场景环境而孤立地进行英语教学.那么学生所学之知识则非生动之语言。因此.课堂中教师应尽可能创设接近现实生活的英语环境.有意识地把语言形式和社会语境结合.使学生更好地明白英语国家的人在什么场合说什么话.了解在交际中使用的各种行为模式以及控制这些行为的规则.使学生在实际演练中能积极地用英语思维组织语言。充分运用所掌握的语言知识、语言技能
4.1.3充分利用电教设备为学生创造语言和文化环境 现代教学手段如网络、多媒体、英美报刊杂志、幻灯机、录像机等的应用已成为必然。将这些手段有机地与课堂结合.选择和语言材料相关的背景文化知识.利用这些手段调动学生去理解文化背景知识是提高课堂教学的关键。教师和学生都应该充分利用大众传媒架起文化间的桥梁。
4.2课外教学方面
要培养学生的跨文化交际能力.仅凭课内学习是不够的.而适当的课外活动是课堂教学的扩展和补充.要创设文化氛围拓展第二课堂。为此。教师在设法改进课堂教学的同时.还应努力拓展第二课堂,积极引导学生自主学习,参与各种课外交际活动。课外引导学生大量阅读是一种学习西方文化的好办法“通过引导学生阅读大量的英语经典文学作品,积累有关的文化背景、社会习俗、社会文化关系等方面的材料。”听英语讲座、报告、广播;观看英语电影、录像;组织英语讨论、编排英语戏剧、组织表演等活动.全方位了解英语的文化知识.体会英汉两种文化的差异。
4.3加强师资培训
篇5
近年来在高校英语专业教学中,跨文化教学得到越来越多的重视.培养跨文化交际意识和能力已是英语教学中不争的共识。跨文化教学的重点应该是“提高意识”而非“认同采纳”。作为英语专业的一门主干课程,《高级英语》除培养学生的语言综合应用能力外,还应培养学生的思维能力和解决问题能力.特别是提高学生对于不同文化的分析鉴别能力。因此,《高级英语》课程需要注重教学中双向文化认知的导入,创设中西文化的课堂交流平台.开展丰富多彩的课外活动。高级英语教学阶段除了对基础阶段语言知识和语言能力进行巩固和提高之外,更重要的就是文化意识、特别是跨文化意识的培养.因为高级英语阶段的学生已经掌握了基本的语言技能和知识.而运用语言知识需要对一定的目标语的社会文化,包含历史文化、生活习俗、风土人情等内容的融会贯通。
二、高级英语教学中实施文化教学的障碍
(一)英语教育考试导向及其要求。
刘润清先生在(21世纪的英语教学》一文中不无忧虑地指出.“目前英语的教与更多的是出于商业目的,并不是为了发展什么‘文化’和‘社会’的目的,这正是有识之士所担心的”。各种英语考试多半是对英语语言知识的掌握和应用的考查,这样.英语教学的过程免不了过分强调语言知识的传授,而对其语言所蕴藏的文化却往往忽略。而高级英语教育更是如此。
由于高级英语的语言知识量非常丰富,能力要求绝大多数也停留在英语语言的听说读写译。学生没有太多涉猎到文化的内容,对他们的考试成绩影响不大。2004年修改的《高校英语专业八级考试大纲》加大了对于文化内容的考核,虽然考察的基本上都是常识性的内容,但由于多年来的传统教学模式的影响,师生文化意识淡薄,课堂文化元素难寻,跨文化教学的路依旧艰辛。因此,认真研究跨文化教学,探索培养学生跨文化交际能力的途径,真正提高高级英语教学质量,培养未来社会所需人才具有十分重要的意义。
(二)英语教师的文化素养。
受我国多年应试教育及高校扩招引起的综合教学水平降低的影响。很多年轻高级英语教师本身就缺乏渊博的中外历史、社会文化知识,再加上学生本身的不重视,在高级英语教学中.很多教师只注意教那些考试要求的内容而忽略一定的文化社会背景。这些状况应该引起英语教师的反思。所以,培养跨文化意识的人才呼唤有较高的语言素质和较强的文化素养的教师。
三、高级英语教学中实施跨文化教学的措施
虽然高级英语教学中实施跨文化教学有诸多障碍和困难,但这不是不进行跨文化教学的理由。不管教初级英语还是高级英语,在语言知识和技能的教学过程中,教师都应该有意识地进行文化教学,而且要持之以恒,因为“语言学习者不可能一下子摆脱自己固有的文化而轻易获得另一种文化” (Byram,1994)。那么如何在高级英语教学中实施跨文化教学呢?笔者认为可以从以下几个方面人手。
(一)挖掘教材,顺势拓展。
现行的张汉熙编AdvancedEnglish及杨立民编Con.tempo.r~-’yCollegeEnglish等教材有一个特点是“文化渗入”。教师可以充分利用这些材料。深挖其文化元素并进行适当的拓展,增加学生对文化知识的理解。例如,教师在讲授肯尼迪的就职演说时就可以围绕美国总统选举、任期等内容展开,并可以对比中美两国元首等内容,让学生将相关知识铭记于心。又如“VirginiaWoolf’的“Professionsdorwomen”中有关于英国人不愿吃鸡腿的习惯——吃鸡腿等于“sacriifce”,中国学生对此不理解。这种不解源于中英饮食文化的差异。
(二)词汇教学,彰显文化。
语言中受文化影响最大的是词汇。PeterTrudgill在《社会语言学》一书中指出:“一个社会所用语言中的词汇体现出该文化与其他文化的主要差别。”英语中有许多词汇来自神话、寓言、传说或典故。了解这些词背后的文化,有助于学生对词汇的理解和应用。有助于提高学生的学习英语的兴趣。又如在学动物名称时可以介绍宠物习俗。任何民族都有自己喜爱的动物,因此宠物文化有鲜明的地域性、民族性。例如中英两国的人对狗有不同的传统看法。中国人一般厌恶鄙视这种动物。常常用狗来形容和比喻坏人坏事,诸如“狗仗人势、狗腿子、狗眼看人低”等。但是英国人对狗有好感,认为狗是忠实可靠的朋友。因此,英语中有许多关于狗的习语。例如luckydog。喻指“幸运的人”;bigdog,喻指“大亨、要人、保镖”等。词汇富含文化,只要教师勤于探究和积累,通过词汇教学.可以让学生学到许多课本上没有的各种文化知识,另一方面.学生会更加佩服老师知识的渊博。总之,这是教学相长的好事。
(三)灵活教学,渗透文化。
篇6
一、跨文化交际能力的含义
跨文化交际(cross culture communication)指本族语言者与非本族语言者之间的交际,也指任何在语言和文化背景方面有差异的人们之间的交际。跨文化交际涉及到不同的文化背景、宗教信仰、社会环境以及由此所形成的不同的语言习惯、社会文化、风土人情。
二、文化差异对跨文化交际的影响
不同文化背景的人在交际过程中遵守着不同的交际原则,这些交际原则是人们在日常生活中逐渐形成的,它们蕴含着文化意义。在跨文化交际中,人们遵循什么样的交际原则上,常常会受到他们所依附的文化背景的干扰。
1.价值观念的差异:每个社会都有其自身的价值体系,它影响着生活在该社会的人们的思维模式及交际原则。比如说中国人提倡集体主义,相反,西方人更强调个人主义。例如英语某些单词既有褒义色彩,又有贬义色彩,由于中西两种价值观的不同就有了不同的看法。如ambitious一词,我们常取其贬意,表示野心勃勃,而美国人多取其褒义,表示有雄心壮志。
2. 礼仪习俗的差异:社会习俗是人们在长期的历史发展过程中沿袭下来的一种生活方式,习俗文化一般包括称呼、问候、道谢、打电话、告别等。例如,中国人常用“吃饭了吗?”作为吃饭前后打招呼的常用语,如按字面译成“Have you eaten?”外国人听起来就觉得很奇怪,有时会误以为你要请他吃饭。
中国学生学英语没有学习母语的那种环境,这就要求教师在教语言的同时一定要培养他们的跨文化意识、提高他们的交际能力。
三、培养跨文化交际能力的必要性
由于世界上每一种文化都具有其他文化所没有的特质,任何一种文化都不能替代另一种文化本身的功能。全球化带来的跨文化交际遇到文化障碍是必然的。胡文仲教授认为:只注意语言的形式, 而不注意语言的内涵是学不好外语的。因此,要获得跨文化交际的最佳效果,我们不仅要掌握语言本身的规律,而且还需要了解语言所承载的文化内涵。
四、在教学中培养跨文化交际能力
1.教师应不断提高自身的跨文化交际意识和文化素养。英语教师的素质直接影响到学生跨文化交际能力培养的效果。许多英语教师对传授语言知识,讲解语法结构驾轻就熟。但涉及到跨文化交际能力时,就会感到自身的文化知识不够丰富,语用能力不强,因而对英语语言文化教学有畏难情绪。因此,在可能的情况下,英语教师应到国外进修学习,亲临所学语言的民族文化氛围,耳濡目染,亲身感受英美国家的语言与文化差异。
2.作好文化背景知识的介绍。在英语课堂上,教师应适当穿插有关英语国家的文化背景知识,诸如这些国家的历史、地理、宗教信仰、风俗习惯、生活方式及风土人情等等。要让学生明白, 在交际中,不能死死抱住本民族的思维方式和文化习惯。因为, 即使使用的语法词汇都正确, 也会导致交际的失败。
3.充分利用现代多媒体技术网络,发挥第二课堂的作用。课堂时间是有限的,仅靠课堂教学远远不能满足学生学习和掌握外语的需要。适当、合理、有序的课外活动是课堂教学的补充和延伸,是帮助学生提高英语交际能力的辅助手段。在教学中,教师应充分利用多媒体设备,给学生创造一个真实的语言环境。如播放一些专门介绍社会情况的记录片等,让学生直接感受英语国家的文化、习俗。
培养当代大学生的跨文化交际能力对于提高外语人才的素质以及综合能力具有重要意义,而提高跨文化交际能力是一项艰巨而又复杂的任务,需要我们广大外语工作者认真探索,努力尝试。
参考文献
篇7
文化指一个国家和民族在社会历史发展过程中所创造的物质和精神文明的总和,涉及历史、地理、文学艺术、风俗习惯、风土人情、生活方式、行为习惯和价值观念等。而语言是文化的媒介,文化影响和制约着语言交际,语言和文化密不可分。因此,教师一定要注重文化导入,应处理好语言与文化的关系,努力使学生在学习英语过程中了解外国文化,特别是英语国家文化,帮助他们提高理解和恰当用英语的能力,不断拓展文化视野,加深对本民族文化的理解,发展跨文化交际的意识和能力。
二、口语教学中培养跨文化交际能力的途径
1、文化背景知识的介绍
不同民族有着不同的生活和行为方式,价值观、思维方式和等也不尽相同.所有这些都通过其语言表现出来.英语教学不可脱离隐藏在语言深处的文化背景.要想在跨文化交际中获得成功,交际双方就必须对对方的政治、经济、文化等背景知识有一定的了解。同时中学英语教学的目的是通过听、说、读、写的训练,使学生获得英语基础知识和为交际初步运用英语的能力师可用一定的课时介绍有关的历史背景和事件,以使学生更深刻地理解文章内容。
2、交际能力的培养
跨文化交际研究涉及交际的整个领域。交际方面的主要差异包括:中西方交际行为方式的主要差异,中西方在处理主要社会关系上的差异,汉英姓名和称谓的异同比较,中西方非言语交际的主要差异,汉英中常见的成语、谚语、俚语、委婉语及禁忌语的对比。英语教师要让学生清楚地认识到:不同民族由于地理、自然环境等种种因素的影响,其生活方式也不尽相同,因而文化带有民族性;文化是多元的而不是一元的;文化是变化的而不是静止的,为此,在英语教学中不能只单纯注意语言教学,而要努力营造交流的语言环境,培养学生强烈的文化意识,重视语言文化差异及对语言的影响,最终实现英语教学中跨文化交际能力的培养。
3、激活学生学习口语的态度
许多来华从事英语口语教学的外籍教师都有一个共同感受,那就是很多中国学生的害羞心理是需要师生共同突破的第一道障碍。应当说绝大多数学生还是希望能够流利地说好英语的,无论是为了应试还是为了应用,学习英语口语的动机是毋庸置疑的。那么怎样激活学生潜在的积极态度呢?我们不妨在备课阶段设计适合学生水平的教学任务,打消其害怕出错的畏惧心理;同时采取情境性教学设计方案,首先采用多媒体辅助教学手段呈现一定的音像会话资料,必要时点出关键的可供学生模仿套用的句型、短语、词汇,之后按类似模式选题,如以谈论个人爱好的“Myfavorite…”等为题,由学生按照自己的爱好作答,参考教师事先提供的有关材料,用目标语表达自己的想法和感情,进而体会到成功的喜悦,使其逐渐放开胆子开口讲英语。
4、转变教学理念,提高文化素养
篇8
(1)从文化角度来谈跨文化交际能力。从文化角度来看,文化交际这一领域是以文化为基础的。文化在历史发展过程中,就好比海洋中的一滴水,而这一滴水往往蕴含的是思想价值中的潜意识。[1]从这一角度来说,我们可以这样认为,文化的内涵要远比我们所观察到的和所感觉到的更加宽广。如果从人类学角度来看文化交际,我们不难发现,所谓文化,主要是人民和群体的一种生活方式,它的范围非常广泛,甚至涵盖整个群体的社会实践。因此我们可以得出这样的结论,所谓跨文化交际能力,主要是指在本族语者与非本族语者之间进行的交流与沟通能力,它能够实现不同民族以及不同语者之间的沟通和交流。因此,从文化角度来说,外语教学中的跨文化交际能力就是实现本族语者与非本族语者之间的交流与沟通的能力 [2] 。
(2)从目标语言文化来看跨文化交际能力。在语言的发展历程中我们应当充分意识到语言的产生为人们的思维交流和沟通提供了工具。语言来自不同的文化,其不可以脱离文化而存在,但可以反作用于文化。如果我们在外语教学过程中脱离了文化教学,则不利于语言教学目标的达成。语言与文化之间的联系不仅仅是思想的一个外在表现,也是思想的内在框架,如果抛弃语言,单纯地谈论思想,谈论文化,则其就会变成为一纸空文。随着社会的发展,方言以及特定群体用语逐步发展起来,极大地丰富了社会文化。不同的语言,一定程度上显示了个体、群体观点的差异。正因如此,在进行外语教学过程中,教师应当积极鼓励外语学习者深入理解隐藏在目标语言背后的文化背景,并逐步建立起相应的跨文化意识,只有这样,我们才能够充分运用语言这一工具将自己的观点、态度以及情感表达出来,实现自身文化交际能力的进一步提高。
2.外语教学中跨文化交际能力的提高
(1)进一步明确教学目标。笔者认为,外语教师在教学过程中既要提升自身的跨文化语言交际能力,还要不断明确教学目标。教学目标的明确,应当从以下几方面入手:首先,在分析文化的过程中,不断提升外语学习者观察语言文化的能力。其次,外语教学者应当积极鼓励外语学习者通过对比等方式,树立语言学习中的跨文化意识。最后,在潜移默化的教学过程中使外语学习者意识到,在社会不断发展的大环境下,文化并不是停滞不前的,它是不断变化的。为了进一步提高外语学习者跨文化交际能力,我们有必要也有责任进一步明确教学目标,带领外语学习者学习外来文化,增进国与国之间的交流与沟通,为维护世界和平、稳定与发展贡献自身的力量。
(2)选取典型文化为内容的教材。教材在外语教学过程中占据着重要的地位。良好的教材有利于提高外语学习者的外语学习兴趣,帮助外语教师组织教学。因此,想要进一步提高外语学习者跨文化交际能力,我们必须选取相应的文化素材。例如,教师可以以国外一些国家的饮食习惯、交流方式作为教材资料,并在教学过程中,将这些教材资料与学习内容有机结合在一起,在课堂上依照循序渐进的原则开展外语教学,从而帮助学生将理论知识应用到具体实践过程当中去。值得注意的是,在选取典型文化素材作为教学内容的时候应当遵循适量的原则,过多的典型文化素材选择不仅不利于调动学生学习的积极性,还有可能给学生学习带来一定的负面影响。
(3)应用灵活的授课模式。外语教师在教学过程中,应当根据教学内容的不同,采取灵活多样的授课模式,这种做法有利于进一步增强外语学习者的外语学习兴趣。笔者认为,教师可以运用图片、纪念品等方式帮助外语学习者明确目标语言文化,并积极鼓励他们进行深层次的文化探究,实现语言文化意识的构建。
篇9
(一)文化定型的涵义
“定型”(stereotype)又译作定势。苏联吉鲁格亚心理学家“定势心理学”创始人乌兹纳杰(1886-1950)著《定势心理学实验原理》,将定势定义为主体在知觉对象之前的预先准备性,是主体意识不到的一种内部整体状态,它决定着人的活动倾向,是外界作用与人的心理活动之间的中介环节。
(二)文化定型在跨文化交际教学中的积极作用
“定型几乎存在于各种跨文化交际情境中,为满足人们认知过程中的心理需求提供了一种快捷、方便的手段。”(Samovar, 2000: 246) “定型既是人对世界的认知过程,也是人对世界的认知结果。”(赵爱国,2005:9) 文化定型在跨文化交际教学过程中应用广泛、效果显著。教师通过对于个别“定型”的介绍、对比分析、罗列举例,减轻学生面临未知文化时的茫然无措和认知负担,大大简化学生的认知过程。
(三)文化定型在跨文化交际教学中的消极影响
跨文化交际教学过程中,以获取间接经验为主导的学习方式存在诸多问题:其一,学生被间接经验束缚住视野,重点关注异种文化与所属文化的差异,较少注意文化的共通性;其二,人云亦云,以偏概全,学生较少有机会发挥主观能动性对间接经验加以评判、实践。此种跨文化交际的教学方式难以让学生对于世界的“多极”抱有兼容并蓄的胸怀,恰恰相反,学生可能就此陷入“极化”认识的误区。其三,跨文化交际不同于母语交际,语言差异进一步扩大文化差异的程度和交际者对于差异的主观感受。语言障碍使得学生过多依赖教师,较难对学到的框架式、高集成的“定势”知识进行充实、贯通。语言与文化如水融密不可分,语言弱势易造成学生心理弱势,“定势”知识、“定势”思维容易造成学生将异族文化抽象化、神圣化,且很多时候这种抽象化、神圣化存在于潜意识层面,对未来交际产生深远影响。
二、在跨文化交际教学中的利用与超越文化定型
(一)在跨文化交际教学中应用文化定型的策略
1.应用“他定型”文化定型
在对自身文化深入、理性的了解的基础上,跨文化交际教学的重头戏是向学生传递其他文化的方方面面。文化定型既具有相对稳定性又具有可变性。文化定型具有跨时间和地区的稳定性,一旦形成便不易改变。
教师可选用多国学者所著的教材,加以比较、鉴别。所选著作体现的中心观点不应太偏激,或太偏离其民族的核心意识观念,以免误导学生形成消极的文化定型观念。教师应当时常提醒自己和学生保持清醒头脑,慎重对待书本中在概括文化定型时使用的褒、贬义形容词,识别作者所处的文化背景和由此产生的情感态度。重大历史事件常常是文化发展的转折点、助推器,用强劲、集中的方式将隐形于水面之下的深层文化价值核心展现出来。教师可选取著名历史事件,通过影像、录音等客观性、直观性较强的资料,让学生直面事实。
文化定型教学应顾及文化的动态多变性。文化不是静止的、一成不变的。表层文化不断演变,深层文化也在发生着微调。科技发展改善物质环境,经济进步加快生活节奏,深扎于文化之中的人们的生活方式、交往模式乃至思维模式都在发生变化。这种变化可能是渐进式的,也可能是断点式的,教师可选取反映出某种生活方式、交往模式乃至思维模式发生改变的完整过程,并从中提炼文化定型对于已发生改变的表/深层文化的解释的欠缺性,让学生体会出文化的动态性特征。
(二)在跨文化交际教学中的超越文化定型的策略
高一虹(2002)将跨文化交际能力的培养从心理学理论的角度划分成三分模式,在此模式基础上,跨文化交际能力包括认知、情感、行为三个层面。在跨文化教学中,我们以这三个层面为目标,探讨如何实现对文化定型的超越。
1.认知层面
跨文化交际教学重点多放在对于国别文化、典型文化的介绍上,扩大学生的知识面。然而,此类教学内容较难从根本上提升学生对自身价值观念的意识。价值观念是文化的核心。价值观念与文化的其他部分的关系犹如纲与目的关系。与介绍个别文化同样重要、甚至更为重要的是,向学生推介文化价值的比较工具、理论框架,使得学生对于文化差异的认识从感性上升到理性。教师不拘泥于单个文化的特点,而是提供比较常量,帮助学生有的放矢地在语料、资料中形成自己对各个文化特点的判断,并最终提升对自身价值观念的意识,在跨文化交际中知己知彼,做出理性判断和得体行为。
这里举两个例子,希望起到抛砖引玉的作用。教师可以引荐上世纪80年代初荷兰社会心理学家吉尔特・霍夫斯塔德(Geert Hofstede)的研究成果。霍氏总结了反映民族文化差异和价值观念的四个独立维度,并且计算出了五十多个国家和地区在这四个维度上的量值, 基本上描绘了一个民族的文化特征,揭示了不同文化之间量的差异性。这四个维度分别是:个人主义vs. 集体主义、权力距离、不确定性回避和阳性文化vs. 阴性文化。学生深入学习这四个维度之后,能够在这四个维度的框架内接触、研究一个陌生的异种文化,并与自身文化进行比较,得出客观、全面的认识。
另一个可以引荐给学生的文化价值比较工具是美国人类学家弗罗伦斯・克拉克洪(Florence Kluckhohn)的研究。克氏在对数百种文化进行研究后得出结论:每种文化都必须对人和自然关系取向、时间取向、行为取向、人性取向和社会关系取向五个方面的问题作出回答,它们是价值观中最基本的五个问题。
跨文化交际教学重点多放在对异种文化上,较少反观自身,仿佛把学生对自身文化的了解当成一种必然。实则不然。学生对于自身文化是一种经验型认识,难以透过现象认识本质。加之多年外语学习,接受异族文化对自身价值观、文化观的冲击,就更难对自身文化得出客观、全面、系统性的认识。有些同学甚至认为,只要对异族文化了解得深入,将自己也变成异族文化中的一员,就能顺利进行跨文化交际。“改头换面”论纯属天真的童话,况且跨文化交际的题中之意本是文化交流、兼收并蓄、共同发展,而不是一味的趋同。
2.情感层面
首先,教师应重点培养学生作为跨文化交际者的两种情感能力,即移情能力和自我心理调适能力。
(1)移情能力。作为文化群体的一员,交际个体都有民族中心主义(ethnocentrism)的倾向,即自高自大,认为人家什么东西都不如自己,以本民族文化为标准评价其他文化,对其他文化存在文化思维定势、偏见和反感情绪。
(2)自我心理调适能力。交际者可能因文化差异产生心理焦虑或感到心理压力,集中表现为文化休克。应重视培养学生自我减轻心理压力的能力、对目的语文化中不确定因素的接受能力和保持自信和宽容的能力。
首先要引导学生警惕“妄自菲薄”心理(self-abasement)和惧外心理(xenophobia)。今日中国经济社会保持较快发展速度,与世界联系紧密,但在综合国力、人民素质、当代文化事业发展等方面仍与前沿发达国家存在不小的差距,加之中华民族百余年受欺侮的历史,给一代代国民留下了国弱民贫的心理烙印,尽管这个烙印伴随国力渐强有所淡化,但心理痼疾长存。
其次,教师应重视培养学生的跨文化交际意识,帮助学生形成对文化的科学信念与态度。不将学习的终点放在顺利完成某一次特定的外宾会见、涉外导游、文化交流活动,而是引导学生形成符合全球化与本土化并进的时代潮流的世界观、交流习惯和价值体系。
教师要适当向学生灌输“普世价值”的意识,介绍不同文化之间在价值取向上的共通之处,保持兼容并蓄的心态,在遇到文化差异时不至于方寸大乱,或过高地自估或盲目地抬高对方。
在介绍主流文化的同时,还应辅以“亚文化”的介绍。从认知层面讲,“亚文化”信息有利于填补知识空缺,更有利于全面系统地看到主流文化的形成过程。从情感层面讲,意识到在一个主流文化系统内部遍布着形态各异、甚至彼此矛盾的亚文化系统,将修正原本机械、教条的观念,更从容镇定地应对在交际中可能出现的诸多由文化差异引起的突发状况。
3.行为层面
跨文化交际的行为能力是跨文化交际能力的最终体现。应着重培养学生的三种跨文化行为能力:言语行为能力、非言语行为能力和跨文化关系能力。
教师可借鉴美国文化人类学家爱德华・T・霍尔(Edward T・Hall) 在1976出版的《超越文化》一书中提出的语境文化理论。在教学中,教师向学生提供高低语境文化的分类、定义及对于交际活动的影响。在高语境文化中,说话者的言语或行为意义来源于或内在化于说话者当时当地的语境,表达的东西往往比他所说的东西要多,人们可以通过手势、空间的使用甚至沉默来提供信息。高语境文化对周围的事物和环境更加敏感,不通过语言也能传达他们的感情。而在低语境文化中,人们强调的是双方交流的内容,而不是当时所处的语境,语言传达了大多数信息,语境和参与者方面只包含极少的信息。学生结合自身经验和知识,认识到亚洲人的交流方式常常比较隐晦、间接和含蓄,属于高语境文化;而西方人的交流方式常常比较直接和坦率,也就是说,所有事情都需要说明白,而且是越明白越好,属于低语境文化。
三、结语
跨文化交际教学研究可以在各个方面展开,比如对外外语教学、比较文学、商务英语教学等。本文侧重英语专业跨文化交际教学研究,选取文化定型这一运用广泛、研究成熟的理论,对其在跨文化交际教学中的正负面影响进行了分析,讨论了如何发挥文化定型的积极作用,帮助学生掌握跨文化交际的基本常识,竖立正确观念,并有意识地超越文化定型固有的对跨文化交际可能产生的消极作用,充分合理地实现跨文化交际课程的教学目标。
参考文献
[1] Samovar,L・A.,R・E.Porter&munication Between Cultures[M].Wadsworth,2000.
[2] 高一虹.跨文化交际能力的培养跨越与超越[J].外语与外语教学,2002,(10):27-31.
篇10
在以往的教学教法中,人们对英语学习的认识就是熟悉掌握词汇和语法,并没有考虑怎样的运用,所以培养大学英语跨文化交际能力,就应该联系他国文化,学习他国语言特色以及思维方式,加以训练,这样的学习方式有助于以后同他国人民进行交流时的实际应用,避免因为思维方式的不同,造成沟通内容上的误解,正确的思维能力是培养跨文化交际能力的前提,是良好沟通的必要保障。
三、行为能力的培养
跨文化交际能力的最终体现者就是行为能力,所以提升跨文化交际能力就不容忽视对行为能力的培养。外国人对行为能力的定义就是行为规范的理解和对行为冲突的对策的能力,培养行为能力,首先就应该了解他国的行为规范,例如:基本礼仪和文化禁忌等等,从而避免因为不了解他国文化而在交流的过程中触犯了他国的禁忌,引发不必要的矛盾和冲突;行为冲突能力就是在已经因为某些因素在交流的过程中与他人发生了争执,这个时候应该灵活的分析导致问题发生的关键因素,采用巧妙的解决方式化解尴尬的冲突局面。行为能力的培养是跨文化交流的体现者,因此,在大学英语跨文化交际能力的培养体系中应该在行为能力培养这一方面加强力度,以提升跨文化交际能力。
篇11
语言学习的目的就是为了更好的交流和沟通,因此我们在大学英语的教学实践中,除了英语的基本技能,如听力、口语、阅读、写作之外,必须重视将英语国家文化背景知识融入课堂,培养学生对英语国家社会文化的积极理解与欣赏,比较我们的文化和英语国家文化的差异所在,加强学生跨文化交际的技能,减少学生在跨文化交际时遇到的文化障碍和受到的文化冲击,从而进行有效得体的互动交流。
2 培养跨文化交际意识的意义
2.1 有效消除交流障碍,防止交际摩擦
如上文所述,不同国家地区,其文化、历史、习俗都有很大不同,甚至在世界观、人生观、价值观取向上也存在差异。我们运用语言进行跨文化交际时,如果不了解对方的文化背景,不了解对方的风俗习惯,不了解对方的俗语谚语等,有可能会无法正确解读对方语言所包含的信息,也无法向对方准确表达自己想要表达的内容造成误解,形成交流障碍,严重者甚至会升级为交际摩擦,以致出现冲突。培养学生跨文化交际意识,能有效的防止这种情况的发生。
2.2 开拓学生视野,增加语言知识储备
培养学生的跨文化交际意识,要求学生自发自觉的去了解英语国家社会制度、历史文化背景、语言运用习惯等方面的内容,了解我们的文化和英语国家文化的区别所在,接受人生观、世界观、价值观的种种差异,学着用native speaker的思维方式去进行思维,学习对方文化的精华,摒弃其糟粕,有助于学生知识面的拓宽和英语相关知识的储备。
3 存在的问题及对策分析
3.1 存在的问题
我国的大学英语教学模式,一直没有摆脱教师处于权威主体地位,学生被动接收的情况,大部分学生学习英语,主要目的仍是为了应付大学英语四、六级考试或是研究生入学英语测试。这就导致我们的学生学习英语,其重点重心放在词汇和语法的学习上,自动忽略了对文化背景知识的了解与吸收。我们的大学英语教学工作者,也没有对大学英语教学中文化知识的传授有足够的重视。这种情况的出现,有其客观原因。首先,大多数学校因客观条件限制,大学英语的教学通常采用大班授课的方式,大的授课班级人数甚至达到八九十人,这使得任课教师与学生在课堂上一对一,或是学生们之间用英语进行会话训练的机会大大减少。其次,大学英语课程设置不甚合理,课时少,教学任务重。在有限的课时内,教师要完成繁重的教学任务,不得不有所取舍。再次,我们的大学英语教学,缺乏良好的语言环境。受几十年来英语教学传统的影响,学生们只注重英语基本能力的培养,学习活动发生的主要区域局限于教室,学习活动的对象局限于大学英语课本,离开了英语课堂,立刻回归母语世界,所以学生们的思维方式无法转变,仍然是汉语式的思维。
3.2 如何在教学中培养学生的跨文化交际意识
首先,教师应当转变传统的英语教学理念,认识到跨文化交际意识对我们的重要意义,通过接受系统、专业的训练,通过自身的不断努力与积累,扩充自身的英语知识层面,以适应跨文化交际教学对于教学者的要求。在课堂教学中,教师不能仅仅局限于英语基础知识如词汇、语法等的教学,还应结合教材,恰当、适时引入相关背景知识,引导学生克服母语带来的思维障碍,培养学生主动进行文化对比的意识,引导学生了解文化差异,使学生既能接受对方不同的文化,也能在语言中包含我们自己的文化,减少文化冲击给学生带来的理解障碍。
篇12
关键词: 跨文化交际;文化教学;中学英语口语教学
ABSTRACT
Since last century, because of reforming and opening policy, many people, especially young people go abroad to get a better job or get further education and so on. Besides, many foreigners are curious about our country. Consequently, people come to realize that if we know little about cross-cultural communication, there will be many conflicts. Some experts suggest that today’s English teaching should emphasize intercultural communication. Learners ought to know not only grammar or words, but should learn cultural knowledge. If not, they will meet many difficulties while they communicate with foreigners. Therefore, it is important to introduce this kind of knowledge while teaching. We can’t neglect the importance of culture teaching in middle school foreign language teaching, English teachers should integrate culture into ELF teaching gradually and appropriately. Thus the students may have a better understanding of the target language, and they may communicate freely and effectively in cross-culture communication.
Keywords:Cross-cultural communication; Cultural teaching; middle school ELF oral teaching
Contents
1. Introduction 2
2. the concept of intercultural communication 3
2.1 Literature review 3
2.2 Definition of intercultural communication 4
3.A survey based on classroom observations 7
3.1 The analysis of interviews 7
3.2 The analysis of a questionnaire 7
3.2.1 Data analysis on the questionnaire (1) 9
3.2.2 Data analysis on the questionnaire (2) 10
3.2.3 Data analysis on culture curriculum 12
4. Ways of improving cross-cultural communication competence in middle school oral teaching 15
4.1 The necessity of develop cross-cultural communication competence 17
4.2 Some strategies for improving cross-cultural communication competence in the ELF oral learning in chinese middle school 17
4.2.1 Some strategies to learners 17
4.2.2 Some strategies to teachers 19
5. Conclusion 25
Acknowledgements 26
References 27
AppendixⅠ 28
1. Introduction
Language is just like a mirror that reflects its national culture. Sociologists and anthropologists believe that culture comprises all products of human activity, including fields of literature, art, music, architecture, and scientific as well as aspects of customs, life-style, code of conduct, worldly wisdom and social organization, etc. Languages are generally accepted words and rules drawn from speech. Language is the carrier of culture and culture is the content of language20.
Worldwide interest in intercultural communication grows out of two assumptions. First, we live in an age when changes in technology, travel, economy, and political systems, immigration patterns, especially the emergence of Internet, have created a world in which we increasingly interact with people from different cultures. And whether we like it or not, these interactions will continue to grow in both frequently and intensely. Second, people now know that the influence of culture affects communication in a subtle way. Our culture perceptions and experiences help determine how the world looks and how we interact in the world.
However, as we look back to see the situation in China’s high schools. We see that, for several decades, language teachers have not been able to pay attention to the role of culture knowledge in language oral teaching. Nowadays, in the ELF oral teaching, especially in middle school, teachers pay much attention to vocabulary.
As Chinese culture is not the same as that of English-speaking countries, the rules for using Chinese are, in some respects, different from those using English. There is especially good evidence that Chinese students may transfer their mother tongue references of language used to their English performance and fail to communicate effectively[1]24. Misunderstanding caused by cross-cultural communication should break down and much attention should be paid to them in English language t eaching.
So in middle school ELF oral teaching, teachers must not only improve students’ language level, but also pay attention to cultivating students’ abilities of intercultural communication.
2. The concept of intercultural communication
2.1 Literature review
More and more common practice of intercultural communication promotes the emergence of the concept of intercultural communicative competence. It is a challenging issue for language study and language teaching.
In 1965, Chomsky put forward the concept of linguistic competence and linguistic performance. Later, it was challenged by Campbell and Wales (1970) and Hymes (1972). Hymes (1972) argues that the appropriateness of language is the core of communicative competence, and he sees communicative competence as part of cultural competence. Canale and Swain (1980) put forward a more complex framework, and Canale (1983) summarized communicative competence in the way that it includes four component parts --- grammatical, sociolinguistic, discourse, and strategic. Canale’s conclusion in fact suggests that all aspects of language using are determined by culture. The continuous theoretical research of communicative competence has paved the way for the development of language teaching in which cultural factors are considered more and more important.
In 1975, the first textbook on intercultural communication “An Introduction to Intercultural Communication” (Conden & Yousef ) was published, and many other books followed it. The research on intercultural communication has developed quickly, and has exerted incredible influence on language and cultural teaching.
Traditional language teaching divides language techniques into listening, speaking, reading and writing. Deman (1987) applied the theories of intercultural communication to language and cultural teaching, and viewed cultural teaching as the fifth dimension of language teaching. Seelye published a book named “Teaching Culture: Strategies for Foreign Language Education” in 1984. Gumperz (1982) conducted investigations on the “discourse strategy” of the communicators who had a non-English cultural background and who spoke English as the second language. He revealed that those communicators’ assumptions of the world that had been formed in their native cultural context would exert great influence on intercultural communication. This, in turn, has stimulated a trend in language teaching that sees culture as discourse (Widdowson, 1984; Mclarthy, 1991; Kramsch, 1993; Candlin,1994; Hanks,1996). So since 1990, process-centered and task-oriented teaching mode has been widely adopted in the west.
Besides, American applied linguist G. Robinson (1985) put forward an important concept that through language and cultural teaching learners would gain “Cultural Versatility”. That is to say, through learning culture, learners would change internally. This viewpoint is quite significant.
Prof. Michael Bryam’s research is also strikingly notable. He holds that foreign language education includes four parts: language learning, language understanding, cultural understanding, and cultural experience.
2.2 Definition of intercultural communication
“Intercultural Communication” can hence be defined as the interpersonal interaction between members of different groups, which differ form each other in respect of the knowledge shared by their members and in respect of their linguistic forms of symbolic behavior. In this Concepts of intercultural and Combines the Concepts of intercultural and communication, It also describes the problems and pitfalls of misunderstanding and the skills and competence required for successfully understanding member of other culture.
Thanks to Edward T. Hall who is regarded as the founder of intercultural communication, a new brink knowledge, intercultural communication, has been becoming more and more widespread in the whole world ever since the publication of his great work The Silence Language. Intercultural communication is a symbolic, interpretive, transactional, contextual processing tool with which people from different cultures create shared meaning[2]115. Intercultural communication occurs whenever a message produced in one culture must be processed in another culture. It can best be understood as cultural variance in the perception of social objects and events. The barriers to communication caused by this perceptual variance can best be lowered by a knowledge and understanding of cultural factors that are subject to variance, coupled with an honest and sincere desire to communicate successfully across cultural boundaries.
Intercultural communication refers to communication between persons who have d ifferent cultural beliefs, values, or ways of behaving.
2.2.1 Cultural and cross-cultural communication
Cultural awareness in language learning is the ability to be aware of cultural relativity following reading, writing, listening and speaking. As Claire kramsch points out…[12]
If…language is seen as social practice, culture becomes the very core of language teaching, cultural awareness must then be viewed as enabling language proficiency…
Language itself is defined by culture. Language competent cannot be achieved without a good understanding of culture that shapes it, especially in foreign language learning. It is not only therefore essential to have cultural awareness, but also have cross-cultural communication awareness, such as the understanding of the relationship between target culture and native culture.
2.2.2 Culture teaching and ELF oral teaching in middle school
The interrelationship between culture teaching and language teaching has been explored in depth by Michael Byram. The basis of Byram’s position is that it views language as a cultural phenomenon, embodying the values and meanings particular to a specific society, referring to the traditions and artifacts of that society and signaling its people’s sense of themselves—their cultural identity: “to teach foreign culture is to introduce learners to new competences and to allow them to reflect upon their own culture and cultural competence[2].” It is assumed by others that language could somehow stand alone and be taught as a value-free symbolic system. But the social nature of language works oppositely when separating it from its original culture, especially when appearing in overseas contexts, where the learners’ contact with the culture is largely confined to the foreign language classroom.
Traditional foreign language teaching does not pay much attention to cultural factor. It focuses mainly on the vocabulary and structure of the language. But plenty of facts prove that language is not only a symbol, a system, which put forward by pure linguistic theory scholar, but also a social practice. Therefore successful foreign language teaching must help the student master the knowledge of culture rules, in addition to use them in particular situation. Every nation has its unique culture pattern and language is the carrier of culture. For instance, Asians emphasize the importance of orderly society whereas Americans emphasize the importance of personal freedom and individual rights. For effective and appropriate communication, learners in middle school must be familiar with the differences in the foreign culture which they are learning and take according language behaviors.
3. A survey based on classroom observations
Survey date: 25/02/2009
Survey instrument: interview and questionnaire.
Subjects: students of Ning Bo Chai Qiao middle school. 30 students are interviewed, 98 students (30 interviewed students and another 68 students) participate in questionnaire. All the 98 copies of questionnaire are valid.
The objective of this survey is to investigate:
1) Students’ attitudes towards cross-cultural communication in the ELF oral learning
2) Current situation of students’ information input.
3.1 The analysis of interviews
Thirty English learners are interviewed and are invited to answer only one question: what is a competent language learner like in your eyes? The responses tend to fall into three categories:
(1) Twenty five interviewees think that he or she is good at English listening, speaking, reading and writing abilities, especially at speaking and listening;
(2) Ten of them think he or she is familiar with foreign culture and is a successful cross-cultural communicator.
(3) Five of them think a good command of native language is necessary.
In order to describe more directly, the results of interviews are put into a table (Table.1).
Table1. Results of the Interview
Positive attitudes Percentage
Language proficiency learning(reading, writing, speaking and listening) 83.33% (25/30)
Accumulation of culture 33.33% (10/30)
Mother tongue proficiency 16.67% ( 5/30)
These students’ responses reveal the following information:
Firstly, these students still see the four basic skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing) as their main study objective. Secondly, cross-cultural communication competence has already been realized by language learners, but this group is small compared to the whole. Thirdly, the importance of mother tongue competence has only been seen by a few interviewees.
According to this interview, most interviewees have realized the importance of language proficiency in language learning, but the point is why only one third of the interviewees have realized the importance and necessity of cross-cultural communicative competence since which are discussed so warmly in present language teachin g world? Do they hold a negative view on it or do they just have not yet obtained the awareness consciously?
3.2 The analysis of a questionnaire
The English learning questionnaire consists of nine closed-ended questions (see Appendix), For instance, “you have the interest and passion in English and language learning”, and the answers falls into four types:
1. Strongly Agree (SA) 2. Agree (A) 3. Disagree (D) 4. Strongly Disagree (SD)
According to the research content, the analysis of questionnaire is divided into two parts. The first five are put in Table 2 and the rest four questions are put in Table 4.
3.2.1 Data analysis on the questionnaire (1)
This part of analysis involves data analysis on questions 1-5 in the questionnaire and a comparison between the responds of the interviews and the questionnaire.
3.2.1.1 Data analysis on the questionnaire (1)
Table2. Results of Questions 1-5 in Questionnaire
SA A D SD
1) The cultivation of English skills(reading, writing, speaking and listening) is the foundation of the language learning 60.29% 31.65% 2.04% 6.02%
2) Reading English novels everyday is necessary 17.35% 69.39% 13.26% 0.00%
3) It is important to acquire a good knowledge of native language in the ELF oral learning 44.90% 53.06% 2.04% 0.00%
4) The accumulation of language and cross-cultural communication competence are of equal importance 50.00% 48.98% 1.02% 0.00%
5) It is necessary to read materials regularly about politics, economy, culture, and so on 39.80% 60.20% 0.00% 0.00%
Questions 1-5 (see appendix) indicate a clear picture of students’ attitudes towards language proficiency learning, native language learning, and accumulation on cross-cultural communication competence, literature, and politics and so on. On the importance of the cultivation of reading, speaking, listening and writing in language learning, 91.94% (60.29% SA+31.65% A) of English majors agree and of which 64.29% strongly agree. On daily English novels reading, a total of 86.74% (17.35% SA+69.39% A) consider it necessary. On the necessity a good command of native language, 97.96% (44.90% SA+53.06% A) of English learners agree. On the relation of native language learning and foreign language learning, 98.98% (50.0% SA+48.98% A) believe that these two are of equal importance. Finally, on a regularly reading of politics, economy, and culture, all (39.80% SA+60.20% A) the students hold a supportive attitude.
3.2.1.2 Comparison between the interviews and the questionnaire
With regards to the similarities of the contents examined, it seems necessary to
have a comparison between the responds of the interviews and the questionnaire.
Table3. Comparison between the Interviews and the Questionnaire
Positive attitudes (SA+A) Interview
(open-ended) Questionnaire
(close-ended)
Foreign Language proficiency learning(reading, writing, speaking and listening) 83.88% 91.94%
Accumulation of intercultural communication competence 33.33% 98.98%
Mother tongue proficiency 16.67% 97.96%
From the table above, the comparison is very clear that, towards the same research content, interviewees’ responds vary when they are faced with different types of questions. The gap is especially seen on the accumulation of cross-cultural communication competence and native language proficiency. Compared with open-ended question in the interview, interviewees tend to hold a more supportive view on closed-ended questions in the questionnaire. In other word, most English learners subjectively admit the importance of the accumulation of cross-cultural communication competence and native language proficiency, but the point is, not all of them have already obtained the awareness. However, two questions have been proposed from the comparison: (1) Why English learners have not obtained the cross-cultural awareness which should be tied up with the ELF oral learning? (2) Is that because they subjectively lack learning motivation or objectively, they lack timely and efficiently teachers’ cultural guidance?
3.2.2 Data analysis on the questionnaire (2)
This part of questionnaire (table4 in next page) mainly focuses on students’ attitudes towards learning motivation as well as classroom learning. Before the analysis is taken, a brief introduction on motivation can help to have a better understanding on the analysis.
1) Integrative motivation
Motivation has been identified as the learners’ orientation with regards to the goal of learning foreign language69. This form of motivation is known as integrative motivation.
.2) Instrumental Motivation
In contrast to integrative motivation is the form of motivation which is known as in strumental motivation. This is generally characterized by the desire to obtain something practical from the study of foreign language[9]125. With instrumental motivation, the purpose of study is more practical, such as meeting the requirements for college graduation, applying for a job and achieving higher social status.
Table4. Results of Questions 6-9 in Questionnaire
SA A D SD
6) Your have the interest and passion in the ELF oral learning 14.29% 61.22% 21.43% 3.06%
7) You would prefer to get an English-related job after the graduation 21.43% 66.33% 11.22% 1.02%
8) The present classroom teaching can cultivate your learning abilities and improve your cross-cultural skills 2.04% 7.14% 71.43% 19.39%
9) You hope to have English class in various forms such as discussion, presentation, debate, performance and so on. 25.51% 63.27% 9.18% 2.04%
As is shown in the table (results of questions 6 and 7), 75.51% (14.29%SA+61.22%A) of English learners have the interest and passion in language learning, and 87.76% (21.43%SA+66.33%A) of them would like to get an English related job in the future. According to the introduction of motivation, the answers to those two questions (questions 6 and 7) can be taken as the representation of integrative and instrumental motivation respectively. Therefore, a conclusion can be made that, most students subjectively want to make a living by using their language competence.
In order to check the condition of students’ cultural information input, questions 8 and 9 are designed and analyzed. 89.82% (71.43%D+19.39SD) of English learners do not think that the present classroom teaching can cultivate their learning abilities and improve their cross-cultural communication competence, whereas a total of 88.78% (25.51%SA+63.27%A) hope to have English class in various forms such as discussion, presentation, debate, performance and so on. It can be found that most English majors are not satisfied with the current classroom teaching. They hope to enjoy a more interactive and communicative teaching style. The traditional text-based grammatical and linguistic teaching could not meet the needs of the cultivation of communicative competence to some extent. What’s more important is that students are supposed to have a consciously as well as unconsciously cultural awareness promote by language teachers.
3.2.3 Data analysis on culture curriculum
It is shown from the result of question 8 in the table above (table 4) that present foreign language teaching has not provided a satisfactory fruit on cultural awareness cultivation. A question should be taken into consideration, that is, how can cross-culture awareness be expressed in the foreign language curriculum, with the purpose to cultivate language learners’ cultural awareness and communication insight into the target civilization? For a long time, this has been attempted by introducing the geographical environment and historical or political development of the foreign culture, its institutions and customs, its literary achievements, and even everyday life of its people. Take English learners in Ning Bo Chai Qiao middle school as an example, their cultural input has largely come from courses such as Extensive Reading, Communication between Cultures, American Literature, and An Outline Introduction to Britain and America, and so on. Following is a basic analysis on the four courses.
Table5. Courses Information
Course Duration Teacherˊs background
Extensive Reading first 4 terms Chinese
Communication between cultures the 7th term New Zealander
American literature the 7th term Chinese
An Outline Introduction to Britain and America the 7th term Canadian
Extensive Reading was taught by a Chinese teacher during the first four terms, and the teaching contents mainly focus on western culture, economy, politic, education and so on. After two years study, it helps students build up a general view on western civilization. Communication between Cultures is taught by a English-speaking teacher from New Zealand, the teaching content seems “boring and meaningless” said the majority of students, the teacher read the chapters from the book to the class instead of giving practical cross-cultural communication analysis. So for most students, they did not learn as much as they expected from this course. American literature was taught by a Chinese teacher, and the teaching contents include background information introduction and literacy reading. An Outline Introduction to Britain and America was taught by a Canadian teacher who has a good experience on both British and American cultures. In this course, students are introduced to a comparison of the British and American culture.
From what have been introduced above, it can be seen that although there are four courses and an 28-month course duration, most of what students have taken is an education of “cultural background knowledge” on Chinese or English rather t han practical cross-cultural communication stimulation such as comparisons or contradictions between the target and native culture. To some extent, it revels why most English students have not got a conscious awareness in cultural or cross-cultural communication competence.
Through comparisons between the interview and the questionnaire, it can be seen that students hold positive attitudes on develop the competence of intercultural communication, but for some reasons, not so many have already obtained conscious cross-cultural awareness. Through further analysis of curriculum on cultural teaching, it reveals that present cultural teaching in ELF oral teaching shows the weakness in practical, sufficient and conscious cultural input to help build up language learner’s cross-cultural awareness. Moreover, the current teaching is also expected to be more communicative and interactive. Thus, following on are the possible ways to promote the competence of intercultural communication,
4.1 The necessity of develop cross-cultural communication competence
Firstly, it is vital for language teachers to help language learners develop their cross-cultural communication competence. If the final purpose of intercultural communication competence cultivation is to help students to acquire cross-cultural communication competence, then what cross-cultural communication competence is? According to Kramsch’s opinion, cross-cultural awareness is not really a skill, but a collection of skills and attitudes known as a competence[12].
Secondly, it is necessary to make clear what cross-cultural awareness skills students are supposed to acquire. It has been suggested that cross-cultural awareness consists of having four different perspectives on communication with a different culture. Cross-cultural competent students should be able to:
----look at their own culture from the point of view of their own culture (for example, having a good understanding and awareness of their own culture)
----Be aware of how their culture is seen from outside, by other countries or cultures
----understand or see the target culture from its own perspective (for example, understanding and being aware of what other people think of their own culture)
----Be aware of how they see the target culture
4.1.1 The request of the development of Internationalization
Lin Dajin in the “cross-cultural communication study, ” pointed out that culture can be defined as “ the integrated feature that a nation is distinct from another nation. ” Cultural differences are the barriers of cross-cultural communication. The modernization process accelerated the circulation of spiritual and material products, and brought all nationalities into a common “global village”, cross-cultural communication became an integral part of national life. If people do not understand the cultural convention in the USA or Britain, and use the way of China to treat foreigners, then it will create a lot of jokes, and even hurt each other's feelings, self-esteem and cause misunderstanding. Thus, to overcome the cultural differences caused by communication barriers has become a common problem faced by the entire world.
4.1.2 It is imperative to understand the cultural background knowledge
Understanding cultural knowledge is the key to language learning. “One can not really learn the language, and teach language well unless one knows the patterns and norms of culture and cultural background[14]224. ” Without a specific cultural background, language is non-existent. If we don’t know the culture of target language, we would find it is difficult to understand the meaning of certain words. For example, “Thanksgiving”, “Sandwich” has been brought about in a specific social and historical circumstance, it is not enough merely to know the meaning of the surface of these words. Another example is: “You are, indeed, a lucky dog”, the literal translation is “you are a lucky dog. ” This is a satiric sentence in China, because, in Chinese views, “dog” is an expression when people used to refer generally to dislike someone. While in English, it can mean, “You are a lucky man. ” In Western society, “dog” is a family member, and they are harmonious coexisting with people “Dog” here refers to people instead of satirizing others, but a very intimate expression.
4.1.3 Cultural knowledge teaching is the objective of language teaching
The main objective of language teaching is to train and develop students’ interpersonal skills. And cultural knowledge teaching can increase the ability of cross-cultural communication, which is the important content to achieve goals of language teaching. For example, in American society, praise and compliments language that flatter mainly a personal appearance, new things, personal property, and individuals in a ce rtain area are commonly used as the introduction to a conversation. This is different from Chinese. Thus, different nations have different cultural environments, different living habits and different languages behavior expressions. And as a language learner, if not ideologically “physically entering their social linguistic environment” will be difficult to achieve the goal of language learning,not to say that language teaching objectives will be accomplished.
4.2 Some strategies for improving cross-cultural communication competence in the ELF oral learning in Chinese middle school
After the survey research and data analysis, now we have a clear idea of the common reasons that triggered the weakness of the cross-cultural communication in middle school ELF oral teaching. However, we do not have a clarity solution about this situations. Therefore, some strategies were listed here to help learners with their language learning.
4.2.1 Some strategies to learners
4.2.1.1Raising culture awareness
Culture awareness is the term we have used to describe sensitivity to the impact of culturally---induced behavior on language use and communication. It including two qualities: one is awareness of one’s own culture, the other is awareness of the culture[7]15.
Unfortunately, in China, cross-cultural communication errors can be found from time to time. In the ELF oral learning, culture factor needs to be taken seriously. To cultivate students’ intercultural communication we need first to arouse their cultural awareness. Because of different cultural background, life experience, profession, sex, education, even age, character, people may have different modes of interaction. People learn to think, feel, behave and strive for what their culture considers proper. These means there might not be the same as what is intended by the speaker. If we are aware of this, we can avoid ethnocentricity, and can have better communication with people all over the world.
Speakers of a foreign language often have the experience of making careless mistakes which may cause get angry, may be embarrassing and may arouse hostility from native speaker. Often such mistakes occur even though the application of the linguistic rules of grammar, vocabulary or pronunciation is correct. These mistakes are culture errors but occur because of not knowing or choosing the appropriate style, and manner to use for effective communication.
4.2.1.2 The development of sensitiveness to culture differences
There are four stages in the development of the sensitiveness to culture differences. The first, one can make out the obvious, superficial culture characteristics. In other word, he will find them interesting and exotic. The second, one can judge the delicate meaningful cultural characteristics that are quite different from his own. Usually he will feel them incredible or hard to accept .The third, one can accept the cultural characteristics after rational analysis. The fourth, one can be in the other peoples’ shoes and appreciate the cultural characteristics. In other words, the first three stage can be understood, and the fourth empathy.
4.2.1.3 The development of empathy
In order to communication effectively, you need a deep degree of empathy, that is to be able to understand the other person’s affective and cognitive states. Empathy differs from sympathy in that it does not include pity or approval. And focuses on the feelings of others, not our own[12]114. Empathy involves relativism and flexibility, which knowledge alone cannot consist. Teachers can create good classroom environment where students tolerate and appreciate different norms by bringing up students’ empathy. In China, we always emphasize collectivism instead of individualism. But in English class, we advocate differences, to encourage students to understand each other.
To facilitate empathy, we can take these measures:
(1) Subjects like history, anthropology, and sociology should be introduced into
the curriculum. Through these subjects, the students can not only acquaint themselves with the examples of foreign culture, but also master some concepts and principles concerning with culture.
(2) The students should be encouraged to read broadly in Chinese middle
school, both fiction non-fiction, literal or philosophical. Including proverbs, broad reading can be a student better understand and communicate with other cultures. Only through broad reading can he know the taboos, values, beliefs and religion of another culture, only through broad reading can be truly come to realize why privacy is so important and that individualism is so cherished.
(3) The students should he sent abroad for further study if possible. Thus they
can live with the natives for some time, no chance is better than the close contact. They can enjoy the new culture. By enhancing ICC, the intercultural communication of the learners can be carried out tactfully, acco rding to different context.
4.2.2 Some strategies to teachers
Language teachers are supposed to exert instructional strategies to help language learners promote their cross-cultural communication competence, that is, provide language learners with some useful ideals for presenting culture from its own perspective, for example, understanding and being aware of what people in target culture think of their own culture.Chinese teachers should take advantage of foreign teachers. Foreign teachers are rich in knowledge, idiomatic English, strong teaching culture context, full of wit and humor, longing to understand much more about Chinese culture. This attitude can have a great influence on students, and increased their desire of learning English well and knowing about the culture of English-speaking countries. Teachers can make full use of such rare chances and consult foreign teachers that they are according to the calendar, then all of the teachers and students can try their best to create all kinds of conditions to speak them imitatively —Action speak louder than words. Just as what we mentioned above, we have been aware of the importance of learning some cultural knowledge about the target language. It seems impossible and unnecessary for us to have a systematic study of target culture, which covers almost everything, in one’s whole lifetime. The difficulty shows that culture is ubiquitous, multidimensional and complex. A good solution to this problem might be to learn selectively those cultural factors that have great influence on intercultural communication, and that are closely related to the language. So on culture teaching we should follow these principles :( 1) interrelated. that is culture teaching must be interrelated with the content of the text. (2) Appropriate, that is culture teaching must be subjected to language teaching. (3) Practical, that is culture teaching must try to be “useful” for students in their communication. (4) Scientific, that is culture knowledge must be taught correctly, completely and objectively. (5) Flexible, that is culture teaching must be flexible according to the change of the world.
We must obey these five principles if we want to cultivate students’ abilities of cross-cultural communication. What we should teach in ELF classes is simply a foreign way of life related to the target language and teachers should avoid bringing their own cultural prejudice into class. The world is changing, so are the traditions and customs. The constant changes require us to improve our skills of intercultural communication by doing two things: understanding the cultural differences, especially the differences in the deep structure of different cultures, and becoming flexible in intercultural communication. There is a great tendency that one culture adopts the elements from another that are compatible with its own values and beliefs or that can be changed without causing major disruption.
4.2.2.1 Make full use of developing the interest of the competence of intercultural communication in the ELF oral learning in Chinese middle school
Intercultural communication is a big issue, which is not easy for both teachers and students to understand and realize. For successful cultural teaching, we suggest doing the following:
(1) Teach culture differences. Teachers should directly address the similarities and peculiarities between the source culture and the target culture. This can be done through the comparison of the two cultures.
(2) Provide opportunities for students to use the language in situational conversations. While introducing the students play a real-life role and practice their everyday language use according to the varied situation.
(3) Induce students to read literal works, which are vivid and abundant material to understand the character, the psychological state, culture characteristics, convention, and social relationships. Reading newspaper is also the direct path.
(4) Be aware of your students development level, when selecting themes or concepts to present. At first, learning activities should be clear and specific in lower levels, gradually, becoming more complex than the level of the student increases. There are a variety of children’s fiction which presents concepts like similarities, differences and prejudice which can be used at lower levels. At upper levels fiction and biographies can be used to present the more complicated ideas. Try to connect the unfamiliar with the familiar, the known with the unknown.
(5) Use plenty of ways in both general learning tasks and in language learning tasks.
(6) Use varied methods to check the understanding level of the students.
(7) Be enthusiastic. As a teacher you need to be aware of the value of learning a second language in terms of its contribution to developing cultural aware and a range of other cognitive and vocational benefits. Your attitude will influence the attitudes of the child ren in the class and their parents.
Beside, Chinese teachers should take advantage of foreign teachers. Foreign teachers are rich in knowledge, idiomatic English, strong teaching culture context, full of wit and humor, longing to understand much more about Chinese culture. This attitude can have a great influence on students, and increased their desire of learning English well and knowing about the culture of English-speaking countries. Teachers can make full use of such rare chances and consult foreign teachers that they are according to the calendar, then all of the teachers and students can try their best to create all kinds of conditions to speak them imitatively —Action speak louder than words.
For example, we once tried to spend Christmas and Hallowmas with all foreign teachers together in our school .The students were very interested and active in the activities, and such experiences can have impressed them strongly and forever.
Teachers should encourage students to communicate with foreign teachers and some other foreigners in and out of school. Students and foreign teachers can have classes, play games and take part in many kinds of activities together. Communicating with foreigners can provide students with the real cultural context in which English is used actually and stimulate students to learn English well including knowing about foreign culture.
As the success of many activities depends on good organization and on the students knowing exactly what they are to do. A teacher is thus mainly an organizer, whose work is different from administrator of a school system. But the teacher, like any other organizer, works primarily with people, and his task and responsibility are to create situations in which people can do their best and achieve their best.
Since teachers are key roles during culture teaching, they must play a positive role in helping the students to develop intercultural communicative competence and increase the students’ chances to succeeding in both language learning. It is not an expendable skill tacked on to the teaching of speaking, listening, writing and reading. It is always in some background. Lack of intercultural competence will limit the students’ ability to make sense of the world around them, and lead to failure in using English for communication across-culture.
4.2.2.2 Make full use of pictures, films, TV, computers and other audio-visual aids to make the teaching lively and interesting. Explore to the full the opportunities for students with the target culture information.
(1) Plays in and out of class
It is proved that plays in and out of class are probably the most efficient ways of language teaching.
The role of plays and dramas manifests itself when learners perform by themselves. Mini-dramas acted by students expose them to a “process of self-confrontation” with the target cultural communicates. The learners can act out mini-dramas written by them, which show misinterpretation of something that happens in the target cultural context. The cause of the problem is usually clarified in the final scene. Cultural similarities and differences will be analyzed by way of follow-up discussion.
In the listening book of Senior English book3 unit24, the material involves “finding a job”, English teachers can extract one or two advertisements from the magazine for students. Teachers can ask the students to divide into two groups, one group act as recruiters, and the other group act as applicants. By looking at the advertisements, appointing to interview, using some simple props, students can exchange views on working conditions, wages and other issues. Thus, students can understand the practical knowledge of Foreign Service work; the actors also can improve their abilities of practical language.
A short play can be broken down into sections. As learners learn (not memorize) one section, they move on to the next. By combining the sections, they have learned the play. The use of this technique enables different groups of learners to work on several short plays at the same time and leads to the creation of several shirt plays simultaneously.
Drama is a useful tool in cultural learning. A full semester’s work can be built around a drama project, or it can fill five or ten minutes at the beginning or end of a lesson. It encourages the learners to view the linguistic and cultural knowledge as a tool for communication rather than as an academic subject. It can bring life and vitality to the classroom.
(2) Classroom presentation
At the beginning of each lesson, teachers can hold a “cultural corner” sessions, with 5-10 minutes. Teachers or students can introduce one aspect of Western culture, such as famous events of foreign country in history, a prominent figure in the world, or some literary works. To accumulate the cultural knowledge for a long time, students’ cultural knowledge will naturally become broad and rich.
(3) Photo display
Use maps, photographs, and illustrations of the text to introduce relative cultural elements vividly. For instance, when we teach the States of Liberty which appears in the lesson 10 of junior English book3, at first we can display a wall chart of the Statue of Liberty in the United States in front of the classroom, then ask the students to identify it and then observe the Statue of Liberty carefully in the facial expressions, posture language, the hold-high arm and torch. And then teachers can introduce the following cultural background briefly: Batuoerdi, a French sculptor, builds U.S. Statue of Liberty. He takes his mother's face and his wife's body as models to manufacture it. The Goddess of Liberty not only has swallowed vicissitudes face, but also perseverance. The torch in her hand is a symbol of freedom shining all over the world. Then teachers can guide the students to make analysis of the understanding of American national spirit through the Statue of Liberty. Teachers also can allow the students to list their deepest impression in other countries or ethnic representation construction.
(4) Song appreciation
The important function of the songs is to express one’s wishes. Many lyrics and melody of songs are also full of rich cultural content. Students generally are interested in songs. If time is enough in the class, teachers can choose one or two representative English songs for students to appreciate or learn to sing. It is an effective method in the teaching of English cultural knowledge to analyze the content of the lyrics and music rhythm feelings. And then the students can accept the cultural baptism. For example, a song has a lyric like “Love is blue.”(Blue love). Then what representation is “blue” in English? It often expressed "frustration and anxiety". Teachers cited examples to analyze, and then asked students to appreciate this song, try to see if there are any new experiences.
(5) Foreign festivals on the campus
This activity is of great interest to young students. The celebration could take place in a class, a grade or the whole school with the help of the branch of the Youth League. All kinds of activities can be held in festivals, such as performance of foreign songs, dancing and dramas, holding costume parties, watching foreign films, attending lectures given by foreign experts and enjoying foreign food. By celebrating foreign festivals, learners will immerse in the target cultural context. Teachers are to give introduction on the origin and the conventional activities of the festival. A comparison of the similarities and differences between the foreign festivals and Chinese festivals can develop the learners’ cultural awareness.
(6) 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.
Mass media, such as, film, novels and especially newspapers and magazines, is also considered as an insightful means for teaching culture, for they reflect people’s way of life in terms of variety contemporaneity and authenticity. Students in an ELF setting will spontaneously ask questions about puzzling aspects of society and life as reflected in the film or magazine. This material is by no means easy to interpret because there is so much central inference and it requires deep familiarity with and comprehensive exegeses of the culture in question. Therefore “all such material should be selected with an eye to the subculture diversity of the target community”.
5. Conclusion
Today, international cultural exchange is going on directly and indirectly, with its new scope, content, form and method unheard of before. To confine oneself to one’s own culture is to go against the times. Now, in our country, the open policy towards the rest of the world has become a fundamental policy. This policy has brought about much broader prospects for international cultural exchange. Therefore, overcoming cultural barriers has become more and more important. Only by surmounting the barriers can we get a high degree of cultural exchange, make use of good things from other cultures and build up our cultural and material wealth. This exchange will contribute to understanding and friendship among nations as well as development in science and culture.
In the practical teaching, the culture teaching should be presented as many detailed as possible in the teaching syllabus. The teaching materials should not be located only in the source culture and should be a constructive attempt to be explicit about intercultural behavior and communication, especially, in view of the limited language available at this level. Besides, in the classroom ELF oral teaching, teachers are expected to use a variety of teaching methods that are suitable to students’ level. In intercultural communication settings, Chinese learners in culture instruction should keep an open mind: we should try to avoid the prejudiced culture stereotypes over the other cultures and our own. Especially, we should put higher focus on the learning of our own Chinese culture. Another key point is becoming awareness of our own culture bottom lines. We must learn what our own culture line is ― the values where we are can negotiate, but we cannot compromise. We can allow others to be different, and respect their differences as they respect ours.
Though the culture teaching is a very complicated and difficult part to deal with, the educators and teachers involved in language education should make great efforts to carry out this part thoroughly. This determines much whether the effective cross-cultural communication can be preceded smoothly between China and the world.
Acknowledgements
My initial thanks go to my supervisor Meng Dong, who patiently supervised my dissertation and was at times very willing to offer me illuminating advice or suggestions. Without her help, I could not have finished this dissertation.
I am also indebted to other teachers and my classmates who have not only offered me their warm encouragements but also shared with me their ideas and books. They are Han Xiaoya, Shen Yin and many others.
And I also appreciate Li Neng, who offer me great help during the time I was in the practice in Ning Bo Chai Qiao middle school. Without her help, I could not finish my survey in this paper.
The remaining weakness and possible errors of the dissertation are entirely my own.
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AppendixⅠ
*Questionnaire:
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
1) The cultivation of English skills(reading, writing, speaking and listening) is the foundation of the language learning
2) Reading English novels everyday is necessary
3) It is important to acquire a good knowledge of native language in foreign language learning
4) The accumulation of language and cross-cultural competence are of equal importance
5) It is necessary to read materials regularly about politics, economy, culture, and so on
6) You have the interest and passion in the ELF oral learning
7) You would prefer to get an English-related job after graduation
8) The present classroom teaching can cultivate your learning ability and improve your cross-cultural skills
9) You hope to have English class in various forms such as discussion, presentation, debate, performance and so on.
诚 信 承 诺
我谨在此承诺:本人所写的毕业论文《论中学英语口语教学中跨文化交际能力的培养》均系本人独立完成,没有抄袭行为,凡涉及其他作者的观点和材料,均作了注释,若有不实,后果由本人承担。
篇13
任何一个国家或民族都有自己的文化及独特的文化传统,其中包括人生价值观、风俗习惯、社会礼仪等,这一切就构成了各民族之间的文化差异。英语教学的目的,不仅要使学生掌握英语知识和语言技能,而且还要使他们了解英语所依附和产生的英语文化。目前,中国对各类具有跨文化交际能力人才的迫切需求,使得跨文化交际能力的培养不可避免地成了当前外语界的主要任务。
一、跨文化交际能力的含义
跨文化交际(crossculture communication)指本族语言者与非本族语言者之间的交际,也指任何在语言和文化背景方面有差异的人们之间的交际。跨文化交际涉及不同的文化背景、、社会环境,以及由此所形成的不同的语言习惯、社会文化、风土人情。
二、文化差异对跨文化交际的影响
不同文化背景的人在交际过程中遵守着不同的交际原则,这些交际原则是人们在日常生活中逐渐形成的,它们蕴含着文化意义。在跨文化交际中,人们遵循什么样的交际原则,常常会受到他们所依附的文化背景的干扰。
1.价值观念的差异。
每个社会都有其自身的价值体系,它影响着生活在该社会的人们的思维模式及交际原则。比如说中国人提倡集体主义,相反,西方人更强调个人主义。例如英语某些单词既有褒义色彩,又有贬义色彩,由于中西两种价值观的不同也就有了不同的看法。如ambitious一词,我们常取其贬意,表示野心勃勃;而美国人多取其褒义,表示有雄心壮志。
2.礼仪习俗的差异。
社会习俗是人们在长期的历史发展过程中沿袭下来的一种生活方式,习俗文化一般包括称呼、问候、道谢、打电话、告别等。例如,中国人常用“吃饭了吗?”作为吃饭前后打招呼的常用语,如按字面译成“Have you eaten?”这在外国人听起来就觉得很奇怪,有时甚至会误以为你要请他吃饭。
中国学生学英语没有学习母语的那种环境,这就要求教师在教语言的同时一定要培养他们的跨文化意识、提高他们的交际能力。中学英语教学大纲指出,英语教学应培养学生跨文化交际意识,提高学生初步运用英语进行交际的能力。但总的来说,关于跨文化交际与外语教学的研究还处于开创阶段,部分中学教师对这一问题的敏感度还不高;如何培养中学生的跨文化交际能力,人们的意见也不完全一致。基于此,笔者曾对中学英语教师和学生的跨文化交际能力作了详细的问卷调查。该调查结果显示,中学英语教学中普遍漠视学生跨文化交际能力的培养。根据对调查所得数据的具体分析,可以发现高考、教材的编写和教师的教法对中学英语教学有着巨大的影响力。虽然大纲强调了跨文化交际能力的培养,可高考并没有真正体现大纲的精神,而是过于强调对学生语法知识的检测,忽视了对学生跨文化交际能力的考查,从而导致了中学生跨文化交际能力的缺乏。
三、培养跨文化交际能力的必要性
由于世界上每一种文化都具有其他文化所没有的特质,任何一种文化都不能替代另一种文化本身的功能,在全球化带来的跨文化交际中遇到文化障碍是必然的。胡文仲教授认为,只注意语言的形式,而不注意语言的内涵是学不好外语的。因此,要获得跨文化交际的最佳效果,我们不仅要掌握语言本身的规律,而且需要了解语言所承载的文化内涵。
四、在教学中培养跨文化交际能力
1.教师应不断提高自身的跨文化交际意识和文化素养。
英语教师的素质直接影响到学生跨文化交际能力培养的效果。许多英语教师对传授语言知识、讲解语法结构驾轻就熟,但涉及跨文化交际能力时,就会感到自身的文化知识不够丰富、语用能力不强,因而对英语语言文化教学有畏难情绪。所以,在可能的情况下,英语教师应到国外进修学习,亲临所学语言的民族文化氛围,耳濡目染,亲身感受英美国家的语言与文化。
2.作好文化背景知识的介绍。
在英语课堂上,教师应适当穿插有关英语国家的文化背景知识,诸如这些国家的历史、地理、、风俗习惯、生活方式及风土人情等。要让学生明白,在交际中,不能死死抱住本民族的思维方式和文化习惯。因为,在涉外交际中,即使使用的语法词汇都正确,但由于文化背景上的理解不到位或误读,也会导致交际的失败。
3.充分利用现代多媒体技术网络,发挥第二课堂的作用。
课堂时间是有限的,仅靠课堂教学远远不能满足学生学习和掌握英语的需要,而适当、合理、有序的课外活动是课堂教学的补充和延伸,是帮助学生提高英语交际能力的辅助手段。在教学中,教师应充分利用多媒体设备,给学生创造一个真实的语言环境,如播放一些专门介绍社会情况的纪录片等,让学生直接感受英语国家的文化、习俗。
总之培养当代大学生的跨文化交际能力对于提高外语人才的素质及综合能力具有重要意义,而提高跨文化交际能力是一项艰巨而又复杂的任务,需要广大外语工作者认真探索,并努力尝试。
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