【英語論文】論英語教學(xué)中的文化因素（英文）

1、山 東 經(jīng) 濟(jì) 學(xué) 院本科畢業(yè)設(shè)計(jì)(論文)論英語教學(xué)中的文化因素設(shè)計(jì)(論文)題目: cultural factors in english learning and teaching 指導(dǎo)教師： 學(xué) 號： 2003110155 姓 名： 外國語學(xué)院（部）英語 專業(yè) 2007 屆山東經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)院教務(wù)處制2007年5月14日山東經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)院學(xué)士學(xué)位論文原創(chuàng)性聲明本人鄭重聲明：所呈交的學(xué)位論文，是本人在導(dǎo)師的指導(dǎo)下進(jìn)行研究工作所取得的成果。除文中已經(jīng)注明引用的內(nèi)容外，本論文不含任何其他個人或集體已經(jīng)發(fā)表或撰寫過的研究成果。對本文的研究做出重要貢獻(xiàn)的個人和集體，均已在論文中作了明確的說明并表示了謝意。本聲明的

2、法律結(jié)果由本人承擔(dān)。學(xué)位論文作者簽名： 年 月 日山東經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)院關(guān)于論文使用授權(quán)的說明本人完全了解山東經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)院有關(guān)保留、使用學(xué)士學(xué)位論文的規(guī)定，即：學(xué)校有權(quán)保留、送交論文的復(fù)印件，允許論文被查閱，學(xué)?？梢怨颊撐牡娜炕虿糠謨?nèi)容，可以采用影印或其他復(fù)制手段保存論文。指導(dǎo)教師簽名： 論文作者簽名： 年 月 日 年 月 日cultural factors in english learning and teachingabstractenglish plays an essential and significant role in our life. how to teach and study

3、english well has become a public concern. as culture has closely associated with language, many an educator finds that cultural knowledge has become an important part in our english learning and teaching.this thesis includes four parts. the first part is about the relationship between language and c

4、ulture. as cultural difference is an obstacle to english listening, speaking, reading and writing, and our mastery of english knowledge has an important influence on our communicative competence, the author explores why we teach culture in efl in the second part. what we should learn about the cultu

5、re covers many aspects. in the third part, the author talks about cultural contents of english teaching. the last part is the most important part of the whole thesis. it is about suggesting teaching methods in cultural learning and teaching. keywords: culture; english; learning and teaching論英語教學(xué)中的文化

6、因素摘要英語在我們的生活中起著舉足輕重的作用。如何學(xué)習(xí)英語已經(jīng)成為一個備受公眾關(guān)注的問題。由于文化與語言緊密相連，許多研究者發(fā)現(xiàn)英語文化已經(jīng)成為英語教育和學(xué)習(xí)中的重要部分。本篇論文共包括四部分。第一部分主要是關(guān)于語言和文化的關(guān)系。由于文化的不同是我們英語聽，說，讀，寫中最大的障礙，并且我們掌握的文化知識將影響到我們的交際能力，在第二部分中作者闡述了我們學(xué)習(xí)英語文化的原因。我們要學(xué)習(xí)的文化知識涉及到諸多方面。在第三部分中，作者論述了在英語教學(xué)中的應(yīng)涉及到的文化內(nèi)容。最后一部分是全文中最重要的一部分。在該部分中,作者就文化教學(xué)中教學(xué)方法方面提出了自己的建議。關(guān)鍵詞：文化；英語；教學(xué)contents

7、introduction1chapter one relationship between language and culture2i.what is language?2ii.what is culture?2iii.the relationship between language and culture3i.historical relationship3ii.geographical relationship3iii.educational relationship3chapter two why teaching culture in efl5i.culture differenc

8、es-the obstacle of understanding english5i.listening obstacles in english5ii.speaking obstacles in english5iii.reading obstacles in english6iv.writing obstacles in english6ii.culture knowledge-the part of communicative ability7chapter three cultural contents of english teaching8i.ordinary cultural b

9、ackground8i.greetings8ii.thanks, compliments and praise8iii.privacy and taboos8iv.festivals8v.religion and belief9ii.cultural implications in words9iii.non-verbal language10i.what is non-verbal language?10ii.the importance and effects of non-verbal language10chapter four suggested teaching methods i

10、n cultural teaching and learning12i.classroom communication and lectures12i.creating an english cultural atmosphere in class12ii.holding some classroom activities about english culture12iii.holding lectures on english culture12ii.reading literary works13iii.watching tv and films13conclusion14works c

11、ited15acknowledgements.16 introductionthere is no denying that english has played and will continue to play a rather essential and vital role in our life. many an english educator exerts all their attempts and efforts to reform the english language teaching and learning methods. as we all know, lang

12、uage has emerged and developed together with culture. language is the keystone of the culture. on the one hand, language is shaped by the culture. on the other hand, as different languages have different culture，language influences culture.nowadays, there is a wide spread that educators associate cu

13、ltural components with pure language teaching. they pay more attention to develop students cross-culture awareness. if students are lack of the important cultural knowledge about the culture they learn, they cannot use it properly and freely, then their communication obstacles will arise. what is mo

14、re, a language learners understanding of the language is fundamentally influenced by his or her culturally-defined world views, beliefs and presuppositions.chapter onerelationship between language and culturei. what is language?someone may have already known this legend, god was afraid that, we comm

15、on people could climb to the heaven by the tower called bible that people built. so he decided to put an end to the common language shared by we common people. since without a common language, we cannot communicate and cooperate with each other. then our great dreams and plans will not come true for

16、ever. from this legend, we can see that, language plays a quite significant and essential role in our life.language is so important that it renders us to wonder what language is. based on oxford advanced learners english-chinese dictionary, “l(fā)anguage is a system of vocal sounds and combination of su

17、ch sounds to which meaning is attribute, used for the expression or communication of thoughts and feelings” (wallance 833). language, to put it simply, is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication. in other words, these vocal symbols are combined together according to some spe

18、cial rules. for these symbols, there is no correction between the word and the item in the world that it refers to.communication is considered to be the primary function of the language. however, functions of language are varied. according to hu zhuanglin, there are seven functions:1.informative, pr

19、oviding useful information for our life. 2.interpersonal function, by which people establish and maintain their states in a society. 3.performative, changing the social states of persons. 4.emotove function, changing the emotive states of an audience for or against something or someone. 5.phatic com

20、munication, social interaction of language. 6.recreational function. 7.metalingual function, talking about language itself. (11-16)ii. what is culture?as we all know, different languages have different cultures. “culture is the collective programming of the mind which distinguish the members of one

21、category of people from another” (hofstede 154). culture, in a broad sense, is an integrated pattern of human behavior that includes communication, practices, beliefs, values, customs, thoughts, rituals as well as manners of interacting and roles. as culture is inclusive and rich, it almost permeate

22、s every aspect of peoples life and affects peoples behavior.in this part, i just want to explore two basic ways to define the term “culture.” the first definition comes from humanities. it emphasizes on the way a social group represents itself and others by its material productions, for example, the

23、ir works of art, literature, social institutions, artifacts of everyday life, and the mechanisms for their production. the second definition comes from the social science. it refers to the attitudes and beliefs, ways of thinking, behaving and remembering shared by members of the community. iii. the

24、relationship between language and culturethere is no doubt that language is a significant and vital part of a given culture and the effect of the culture upon a given language is evident and indispensable. different languages may reflect different cultures. different cultures entail different langua

25、ge expressions. language and culture closely associated with each other and depend on each other. in other words, they emerged together, developed bit by bit together; at last they were mature together.i. historical relationshipthe origin of language is closely associated with the origin of human be

26、ings. around three millions years ago, the natural condition was very harsh and serious. humankind had to face the threats of low temperature, fierce animals and other danger which made their living difficult. as a result, they were in great need of uniting and cooperating together. then, language,

27、as an inevitable vocal tool for their communication, emerged in their life. as any tribe or group has their own way of living, their own customs, habits, their language evolved with the influence of their culture. in a word, language and culture intrinsically depend on each other. they have evolved

28、though the history.ii. geographical relationshipthere are numerous tribes and communities in different parts of the world. for instance, china is in asia, france is in europe. different countries and societies have different cultures and languages. to say china again, the people in china speak chine

29、se and they also have their own way of thinking and behaving as well as some customs and festivals. for example, the most important festival in china is spring festival while the french regard christmas day as their most important day. what is more, how to celebrate their festivals is different from

30、 one country to another according to their traditions.however, with the global village, the boundary of geography is gradually obscure. protecting the traditional culture has become a public concern. some countries have already taken some urgent and effective steps to protect their particular cultur

31、e, even their language.iii. educational relationshipthe importance of teaching culture has been widely recognized for teachers. educators fear that the mere mastery of language systems by no means guarantees the international communication and cooperation. although students gain a large number of vo

32、cabularies, grammar points, they could not use english in a proper and free way. nowadays, in china, more and more english teachers try their best to find a way in which students can speak unadulterated english. as a matter of fact, students cannot truly master the language until they have also mast

33、ered the cultural context in which the language occurs.“applied linguists and language teachers have increasingly aware that a second language or foreign language can rarely be learned or taught without addressing the culture of community in which it is used” (hinkel 2). thomas observes that “nonnat

34、ive speakers are often perceived to display inappropriate language behaviors and often are not even aware that they do” (thomas 92). he further points out that “teachers must draw on research on to develop ways of heightening and refining students metagramatic awareness, so that they are able to exp

35、ress themselves as they choose”(94). chapter twowhy teaching culture in efli. culture differences: the obstacle of understanding englishas different countries have different cultures, some difficulties and obstacles will arise when we listen, speak, read, write english. in the following paragraphs,

36、i will explore some misunderstandings of english because of cultural differences.i. listening obstacles in englishwith wide spread of english, we get more and more chances to listen to english. however, some teachers and students continue to complain the difficulties in understanding english. they h

37、ave an acceptable mastery of vocabularies, grammar points as well as pronunciation knowledge. some students buy tape records for listening and spend quite a few hours everyday on them. then, what is the real reason for their so little achievement?one critical reason is that they are lack of cultural

38、 background of these western countries. aural comprehension, which is closely related to the knowledge of american and british culture, politics and economy, in fact, is an examination of ones comprehensive competence which includes ones english language level, range of knowledge, competence of anal

39、ysis and imaginative power.there are two jokes in the following:1) a: where are you from?b: i will ask her. (alaska)2) a: why do you ask her? b: how are you? (hawaii)when you listen to them for the first time, you would be very confused since bs answer is irrelevant to as question. however, if we kn

40、ow something about geography knowledge of the u.s.a and the names of the two states in u.s.aalaska and hawaii, we will understand what he say. in view of this, the introduction of cultural background is necessary for the teaching of english listening.ii. speaking obstacles in englishmany foreign tea

41、chers who teach ielts in china regard speaking part is the most difficult part for chinese students to get high mark. we chinese students communication competence is not satisfactory because we ignore the social meanings of language forms and language applications in reality. moreover, more often th

42、an not, the materials we use today are outdated or seldom pay attentions to differences between different cultures. so our students are usually ignorant of factors of culture and they can only mechanically copy what they have learned. the following dialogues can often be found in our textbooks.1) a:

43、 how old are you?b: im thirty.2) a: where are you going?b: im going to the library.3) a: how often do you write to your parents?b: about once a week.these dialogues are roughly the combination of chinese thinking and english forms. although such forms are right in the means of english grammar, they

44、are not appropriate. for those native speakers, its unimaginable for someone to ask alike questions. the natural reply of english-speaking people to the greetings like “where are you going?” would most likely be “why do you ask?” or “its none of your business.” questions like “how often do you write

45、 to your parents?” would be thought to intrude on ones privacy. therefore, in oral teaching, teachers should lay stress on factuality of language and adopt some materials approaching to daily life, such as daily dialogues with tape, magazines, newspapers and reports etc, because the materials are fr

46、om real life, and they help students to be well acquainted with standard pronunciations and intonation, to speak english appropriate on the occasion, to understand western way of life and customs, etc.iii. reading obstacles in english“the major difficulty encountered by language learners when they d

47、eal with written texts stems from the passage from orate to a more literate mode of speech” (claire 130).claire advocates that, “they thought they understood what it meant to talk like members of french or german speech communities: are you needed was to abide by their grammatical and lexical rules.

48、 now it appears that the rules in the use of written language are of a different order” (claire130). to a large extent, it would affect the readers reading speed and ability. what is more, since writers proper use of idioms, proverbs and sayings is often a mark of a persons command of the language,

49、they are fond of picking up some idioms and proverbs in their passage. however, it would be a great obstacle to the english learners because it is rather difficult to understand the cultural connotation and meaning. for example, one chinese proverb goes “silence is good.” it means that silence is mo

50、re helpful and useful than speaking. however, english proverbs goes “squeaking wheel get oil” which means do not keep quiet, otherwise you would receive nothing. if you know nothing about cultural background of foreign countries, you would be very frustrated and confused when you encounter them in t

51、he written materials. iv. writing obstacles in englishin writing, cultural knowledge is of great importance too. when we tend to write in english, what you should have is not only a mastery of vocabularies and grammar knowledge. without some cultural information, such as economical, political, socia

52、l information, you would definitely not finish an excellent essay. according to halliday, “l(fā)anguage is not a set of isolated sentences; rather, it is an interrelated set of texts in which meaning potential is actualized; people express meanings to realize some social goal” (16).all of us want to wri

53、te like a native. if you have mastered the language well, then you should pay more attention to the cultural differences since they play a significant role in your english writing.ii. culture knowledge-the part of communicative abilityonce an american was visiting the home of a chinese, when he saw

54、the hosts wife, he said, “your wife is very beautiful.” the host replied, “where, where?” then the american was very surprised and confused, but he continued to answer “face, nose, eyes” then it was the hosts turn to show his confusion. in china, people say “哪里，哪里”(“where, where”) when others show t

55、heir compliment and admire since it is a way of humble saying. the reason for both sides misunderstanding was differences in customs and habits. to a large extent, chinese students have the communicative difficulties in english. there are two reasons for this problem. to begin with, most of chinese

56、students are used to opening their mouth when they study english. they prefer to read or write english, but they spend little time speaking or talking. the second reason may be more important, students are lack of cultural knowledge which plays an essential and positive role in their communication.

57、as long as you gain enough cultural knowledge, you will find that your communicative competence will be improved.according to hinkel, “intercultural communication takes place across a broad range of situations, form high-level governmental negotiations to hailing taxis while on vocation in other country” (182). nowadays, many people have realized the importance of communicative ability and have exerted all their efforts to improve it by reading books in this field, attending particular classes to study communicative skills, etc. in my opinion, the most effe