浅论初中英语教学中跨文化意识的培养_英语论文

A Brief Study on the Cultivation of Students’ Cross-cultural Awareness in Junior High School English Teaching

摘要

随着全球化的进程不断加快，各国各地区间的经济往来和文化交流也越来越频繁，在文化语言差异存在的环境中，如何更好地促进经济合作与文化交流，减少文化冲突的产生，英语作为一门全世界使用最广泛的语言，它的重要性不言而喻。如何在文化差异存在的同时更好地掌握英语并有效地进行交际呢？除了掌握基本的英语语言知识，我们还需要进一步深入了解英语背后的文化内涵。

语言是文化的载体，文化是语言的土壤。随着人们逐渐意识到语言与文化之间密不可分的关系，二十世纪六十年代跨文化交际学便作为一门独立新兴的科学在美国逐渐兴起，与此同时在英语教学中跨文化意识的培养也逐渐获得越来越多的关注，文化差异与文化适应也随之被提出。随着跨文化交际理论与方法论的不断建立，跨文化意识的培养也逐渐成为英语教学过程中的重要内容。相比之下，我国跨文化交际学发展开始较晚，但发展的速度比较快，在英语课程改革的过程中，跨文化交际与跨文化意识培养也得到越来越多的重视。

本文旨在通过简要介绍跨文化意识培养的相关背景知识和对相关概念的阐述与界定，进一步认识语言与文化的关系以及跨文化意识培养在中学阶段英语教学中的重要意义。通过阐述在初中进行的有关跨文化意识培养的问卷调查与访谈，浅析初中英语教学中跨文化意识培养现状和可能存在的问题，并提出相关建议。在最后一章中分别阐述了七种较为有效的跨文化意识培养的策略与方法，以便为初中英语老师在以后的教学过程中提供相应的参考。

关键词: 文化，跨文化意识，跨文化交际，跨文化意识培养，策略

Abstract

With the process of globalization speeding up, economic exchange and culture communication among different countries and districts become more and more frequently. How to better accelerate economic cooperation and culture communication and reduce the risk of cultural conflicts under certain circumstances with language and culture differences make English, as a global language, play an important and indispensable role in globalization. How to grasp English comprehensively and use it to communicate more effectively under cultural differences? Actually, we need to learn more about cultural content behind English except grasping language knowledge. 

Culture is the soil of language and language is the carrier of culture. With increasing awareness of the inseparable relationship between language and culture among people, intercultural communication was gradually set up as a new and independent science in America in 1960s. At the same time, the cultivation of learners’ cross-cultural awareness in English teaching catches more and more attention gradually, and many conceptions, such as cultural differences and cultural adaptation, are proposed as well. With the theories and methodologies of intercultural communication gradually being established, cross-cultural awareness cultivation gradually becomes an important part in English teaching. Compared with America, intercultural communication research in our country starts a bit later, but it develops fast. During the reforming process of English teaching and English standard curriculum, it can be clearly seen that intercultural communication and cross-cultural awareness cultivation receives more and more concerns than before. 

This essay briefly introduces related background information about cultivating students’ cross-cultural awareness and definitions of closely related conceptions for a closer view of the relationship between language and culture and explains the importance to cultivate students’ cross-cultural awareness in junior high school English teaching. It mainly illustrates a survey about cross-cultural awareness cultivation conducted in junior high school through questionnaires and interviews and briefly analyzes the present situation of cultivating students’ cross-cultural awareness in junior high schools of our country and some possible problems, according to which some suggestions are given. In the last chapter seven effective strategies for cultivating students’ cross-cultural awareness are introduced, which aims to provide junior high school English teachers with some related, convenient and possible references for their further teaching.

Key Words:Culture, Cross-cultural Awareness, Intercultural Communication, Cultivation of Cross-cultural Awareness, Strategy  

Contents

Introduction 6

1. Background Information and Core Conceptions 7

1.1 Culture 7

1.2 Language and culture 8

1.3 Intercultural communication and cross-cultural awareness 10

1.4Origination and review of intercultural communication and cross-cultural awareness 12

1.5 Cultivation of students’ cross-cultural awareness in English standard curriculum 14

1.6 Importance to cultivate students’ cross-cultural awareness in junior high school 16

2. A Survey Conducted in junior high school about the Cultivation of Students’ Cross-cultural Awareness 17

2.1Reasons for conducting this survey 17

2.2Methods 19

2.3Procedures 20

2.4Results and discussions 20

2.5Suggestions 24

2.5.1Cultivate students’ motivation 24

2.5.2Increase cultural knowledge input 25

2.5.3Optimize evaluation system 25

2.5.4Develop sharable resources for cultivating students’ cross-cultural awareness 26

2.5.5Balance examinations and language development 26

3. Strategies for Cultivating Students’ Cross-cultural Awareness 27

3.1Increase teachers’ cross-cultural awareness 27

3.2Use body language 28

3.3Cultivate through task-based teaching methods 29

3.4Make full use of activities 30

3.5Apply comparison and discussion 31

3.6Create real language environment 31

3.7Use multi-media devices 32

Conclusion 33

Appendix I: 34

Appendix II: 38

Bibliography 39

Acknowledgements 40