OnheimporanceofculuralfacorsinSeniorHighSchoolEnglishTeaching_开题报告

Why do we have to carry out cultural teaching in foreign language teaching?

Answer the question.

Chastain (1976) believes that the reasons for cultural teaching:

1 The ability to communicate with foreigners depends not only on foreign language skills, but also on the cultural conventions and expectations of each other;

2) Cross cultural understanding is one of the basic purposes of education in a modern international society;

3) Foreign language learners are of great interest in the language they are learning. (Zhenya Wang, 2005:1)

Sociolinguists Pride and Holmes (1972)，thought that any social cultural group members in addition to understand native language system, but also to understand their social values and the social behavior, including linguistic behavior constraints. This is also true for foreign language learners, although the degree may vary.

Wolfson (1986) said that "when talking with native speakers, they are often more tolerant of their errors in pronunciation and grammar, and in comparison, the violation of the rules of speech is considered impolite. It is impossible for the people to realize the relativity of sociolinguistics." The people are generally tolerant of errors in pronunciation or syntax of foreigners, but to brood on cultural mistakes, because these cultural errors do not meet their communicative rules, couldn’t be accepted in its culture and customs, and even conflict in value system.

Sapir a famous American linguist (1921), said: "there is something behind the language, and the language couldn’t exist without culture."

British social anthropologist Malinowsky(,1923) also pointed out that, without the use of language and its culture, it is impossible to understand the language. The study of the language of any nation with a completely different culture and different cultures must be carried out through its culture and environment.

Brembeck(1977) said humorously:  in learning a foreign language, without learning foreign culture is an excellent way to make a good fool.

The United States applied linguists Robinson (1985) put forward an important concept of "cultural diversity" Cultural Versatility).She believes that teaching language and culture will eventually train the students to have a kind of "cultural diversity", that is through language and culture learning, the learners will change. In her own words: "any real cultural learning results can’t be separated from the analysis of the comprehensive analysis of the integration that leads to change, in this regard, that is, cultural change, called cultural multi-faceted".

Robinson (ibid.) explains the internal changes of the learners after learning a new culture through the schema theory, which is the structure of knowledge we have obtained in the past. Learners in the learning process, constantly with the known the national culture, to explain the unknown foreign culture, and found different conflict, "schema" must be adjusted, the corresponding learners have a "cultural diversity", in order to overcome the original cultural narrow understanding, to adapt to the new cultural environment. This view of the value of language and culture teaching from the perspective of the changes of the learners is of great enlightenment to us. It points out that language is a gradual process. It is a process that learners unconsciously, when knowledge is constantly updated, and constantly pioneering vision. The thinking will be more agile, the new cultural insight ability is greatly enhanced.

With the former president of the American Association of Applied Linguistics Kramsch ( 1998)，in foreign language education, believed that the integrity of the "multi one" vision to look at the language and culture of this "a coin has two sides," more conducive to grasp the teaching of language and culture, which organically and effectively integrated. As we live in a multicultural society, it is extremely normal to hold different views on the same thing, so it is not desirable to pursue the "consensus" and avoid the conflict. As a matter of fact, the diversity and difference of the cultural background of the communicator determine that the conflict is always lurking. In order to "conflict" as a starting point, he encourages interaction in teaching, rather than avoiding conflict. The result of interaction is to resolve conflicts and achieve understanding. In her view, culture is not only a kind of external knowledge and skills, but also a new world view. The process of learning a foreign language is not simply to imitate and accommodate another culture, but to transcend the national culture and the new culture, and to understand the power and control of the language.

Zhenya Wang(2005) also suggested that the students' cross-cultural communication ability of culture teaching, the language and behavior in intercultural communication in nonverbal behavior, extra linguistic behavior, make the communication smoothly.

With the continuous development of social economy, more and more people pay attention to foreign language teaching, especially English teaching in senior high school. Theory has also been gradually reached a consensus, that is between language and culture have a mix, inseparable relationship.

This study will conduct with the relationship between language and culture in senior high school English teaching. We will try to find out what’s the best way to improve the senior high school students' English level. Maybe, there is someone who is very good at English exam, that one could be a mechanical memorizing person. But learning a language also entails learning about its culture, in addition to teaching the language itself. Teachers might need to inform their students when, where, and how the discourse should be used in English-speaking contexts. This study will illustrate the relationship between language study and cultural sense, what a kind of relationship, and the influence in senior high school English teaching.

The Paper Outline

1. The Importance of Cultural Factors in Senior High School English Teaching

2. The Phenomenon of Lacking of Cultural Factors in the Traditional English Teaching in Senior High School

2.1. The Neglect of Cultural Factors in Discourse Teaching

2.2. The Neglect of Cultural Factors in Sentence Pattern 

2.3. The Neglect of Cultural Factors in Vocabulary Teaching

3. Strengthen the Cultural Factors Strategies in Senior High School English teaching 

4. Conclusion

Bibliography

Acknowledge

1. The Importance of Cultural Factors in Senior High School English Teaching

The relationship between language and culture has always been anthropologists and sociologists, linguists concern. Culture is a part of human life, is the Shared patterns of behavior or habit, and is a social a unique system of political economy, religious beliefs, customs, peoples combined. It becomes an important factor of people living in the same community, to the people to the method to solve the problem, promote the communication between people. And language is that people have learned the behavior of the automatic mode, so it is part of the culture. The close relationship between language and culture are inseparable.

In a sense, the language of a nation must carry the entire nation's culture and social life experience, reflects the important characteristics of national culture. And in the use of language to create a culture at the same time, become a very important channel for the cultural heritage and the main performance way. Witherspoon once said: "Language is not the mirror of reality, but the reality is the mirror of the language." Culture is a fluid, is constantly changing. Cultural teach people how to use the language, and language form only in the specific cultural background, to produce the relevant language communication.

Thus, emphasis on cultural factors in the teaching, it is adapt to the relationship between culture and language, so that language learning is not from the cultural foundations. To undertake to the student in the teaching of cross-cultural teaching, guide students to gain knowledge of cross-cultural, and forms the effective cross-cultural communication, understanding and reference, the spread of ability. Accurate perception of cultural similarities and differences, the different cultural behavior can make a precise description and understanding, causes the student to have knowledge of the language of social rules and be able to use them. At the same time of learning a language to understand students' communication rather than to conform to the language specification, but also conform to the cultural norms.

2. The Phenomenon of Lacking of Cultural Factors in the Traditional English Teaching in Senior High School

However, traditional English teaching in senior high school usually focus on the basic teaching of language points, such as grammar, vocabulary, and to basic skills such as listening, speaking, reading and writing of the training. Teachers generally believe that as long as students have mastered enough language knowledge, has the certain application ability, can see can say to listen to can write test can get good grades, it is to learn English well. This guiding ideology inevitably causes the lack of education or culture is weak, the students lack the necessary cultural background knowledge, deep, flexible, and can't use English appropriately and effectively express ideas, can't learn language use it well. Specific performance in the following aspects:

2.1 The Neglect of Cultural Factors in Discourse Teaching

Discourse usually refers to a series of consecutive words in the composition of the sentence or paragraph, with a thesis structure or logic structure, there is a certain logic relationship between sentences of language as a whole, it is the actual use of language units. Compared with the vocabulary and sentence patterns, more emphasis on students' discourse understanding of discourse meanings is necessary.

This requires teachers to combine more the language of the article, to teach the social culture of the target language related knowledge and other knowledge, namely teach language knowledge at the same time, the knowledge will be pragmatic, style, and the target language cultural background knowledge to students. Only with the comprehensive cultural knowledge, did understand the real meaning of discourse. Following the ideas in an English joke, for example: a: according to Cinderella couldn’t ' be a soccer player? B: she lost its shoe; she rail away from the ball, and its ehrs coach was a pumpkin. Don't understand western culture English learners will not understand the meaning of the two dialogues. Cinderella how about shoe, and how her coach is pumpkin, another ball here the word and the word pun intended effect. Only know Cinderella is the famous Cinderella as well as the legend of her learners to understand the clever answer. Thus, cultural factors directly in discourse teaching have a decisive influence on learners' understanding.

2.2 The Neglect of Cultural Factors in Sentence Pattern

To express a complete sentence mean language units. But it is not a simple accumulation of words or phrases. For a long time, the content of many sentence patterns in our English teaching emphasis on language form and ignore the social significance of language, ignore the use of language in actual situations and its customs and habits, and students mechanical imitation, lead to communication failure.

We almost all English learners from the sentence pattern: what's your name? How old are you? Where are you from?" These patterns started his career of English learning. 

But in fact, in English-speaking countries, these words are generally appearing in hospital, immigration, and police stations of this kind of place. If meet foreign friends at one fell swoop put forward these problems, where they will think they broke the law, has received the inquiry. Meet my friends for a "how you" is enough, other problems should use a more tactful way at the right time. 

Look at another communication scene: a: you look tired. B: I don’t feel well. A: you should ultimately respond more water. B: I have a sore throat. A: you must take some medicine. Chinese people like the disease showed real friends love, words as earnestly as possible. However, modal verbs in English culture must/should normally is elder to junior, the teacher to the student, the doctor told the patient, should use less as far as possible in our usual contacts such words, or misleading for speakers gruff and impolite. 

Although these patterns and dialogue is very correct in form, but ignored is in line with the western custom and culture is an important aspect. That is to say, in the process of English teaching, the structure of the sentence should not be taught in isolation, and the structure of sentences and sentences should be linked to the communicative functions of teaching and training. Students learn the sentence pattern in the context of that will be in the actual language communication correctly and appropriately use the sentence pattern.

2.3. The Neglect of Cultural Factors in Vocabulary Teaching

Vocabulary teaching is an important part of traditional English teaching. The size of the vocabulary in the very great degree shows a level of English learners. However able to read and spell, is to know the meaning of basic Chinese words do not represent the mastery of the usage of the vocabulary. Because vocabulary is also rooted in culture, if ignore the cultural connotation of vocabulary, it will inevitably lead to the failure of the communication. 

In English culture, for example, red (red) is a dangerous signal, whereas red in Chinese culture represents the festival; In Anglo-American countries, the "dragon" is the ancient gigantic, brutal monsters, specially do harm to people's bad, which is obviously contrary to Chinese culture, the dragon is the totem of the Chinese nation, is a symbol of strength and good luck; Nowadays there is a brand on the domestic market of instant noodles, called "white elephant", but the brand exports will not get the favor of the British and American countries people, the reason is very simple, "white elephant" in English culture is discarded useless items; The teacher is a more common English vocabulary, however, it represents a kind of professional in English, however, cannot like Chinese say "teacher zhang, wang" directly in front of the name.

From the above example it is not hard to see, if only in vocabulary teaching Chinese meaning of the English vocabulary for translation, interpretation, and tend to go wrong, lead to communication failure. Because vocabulary is based on culture, only in the context of cultural learning vocabulary, this seemingly isolated vocabulary will be thriving vitality.

3. Strengthen the Cultural Factors Strategies in Senior High School English teaching 

Above all, middle school English learning is not only a vocabulary, syntax and grammar learning and the cultivation of listening, speaking, reading and writing skills, but also through language learning process of a kind of cultural awareness and understanding. Cultural factors played an important role in English teaching. Teachers in teaching should pay attention to cultural differences, the meaning of words and communicative functions of teaching, consciously combine language forms and social context, should have the consciousness to cultivating students' observation and understanding of the social context of language, pay attention to what occasions what kind of style, make the language teaching and culture teaching organically. In culture import must give full consideration to the students' language level, cognitive ability and physical, psychological status, pay attention to the gradual, let students understand the essence of the culture content gradually, so as to achieve flexible learning and the ultimate goal of language use.

4. Conclusion

Leave the English culture, it is impossible to grasp and use English accurately. Therefore, in senior high school, English teachers should guide students to deepen the understanding and awareness of English culture and on the basis of learning to use a foreign language gradually cultivate the students' cross-cultural thinking and ultimately to cultivate students' communication ability.

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