谈高中英语教学中的文化意识培养

1、谈高中英语教学中的文化意识培养摘要：语言是文化的载体，学习语言的过程也应该是学习语言文化的过程。只有真正了解语言中所包含的文化涵义，才能够真正掌握一门语言。所以，从语言学角度讲，学一门语言是学一种文化，教一门语言也是教一种文化。高中英语的教学目的是培养学生运用英语进行交际的能力。交际的能力不仅包括语言能力，而且包括对与语言使用密切相关的社会文化因素充分了解和掌握的文化能力。这就要求英语老师要加强对学生文化意识的培养。然而在我国的高中英语教学中，文化知识的输入问题还没有得到广大师生的足够重视，师生文化意识薄弱。针对高中英语教学中的现状，本文作者力图探索培养学生的文化意识的方法。只有在语言能力与文

2、化意识培养相结合的情况下，学生才能做到有效交际。关键词：语言；文化；文化差异；文化意识1.IntroductionEverycountryhasitsownpeculiarculture.Becauseofculturaldifferences,misunderstandingsmayarise.Aharmlessstatementmaycausedispleasureoranger;aseriousquestionmaycauseamusement.Therefore,forlanguagelearnersandteachers,itisofgreatimportancetobeawareo

3、fdifferencesbetweenhomecultureandtargetculture.Culturalawarenessishelpfultoachieveeffectivenessinlanguageteachingandlearning.Infact,“learningalanguageisinseparablefromlearningitsculture.”1Thereiscloserelationshipbetweenlanguageandculture.“Languageisthecarrierofcultureandcultureisthecontentoflanguage

4、.Thereisnolanguagewithoutculturecontent.”2“Asamirrorofculture,languageisstronglyinfluencedandshapedbyculture”3Theyevolvedtogetherandhavebeenmutuallydependentthroughtheirhistory.Understandingonerequiresunderstandingtheother.Inthebroadestsense,languageisthesymbolicrepresentationofapeople,anditcomprise

5、stheirhistoricalandculturalbackgroundsaswellastheirapproachtolifeandtheirwaysoflivingandthinking.Followingthedefinitionsofsociologistsandanthropologists,thetermculture“referstothetotalpatternofbeliefs,customs,institutions,objects,andtechniquesthatcharacterizethelifeofahumancommunity.”4Languageisthem

6、ostimportantofcultureanditreflectsculture.Andatthesametime,itisinfluencedandshapedbyculture.Culturesdifferfromoneanother,solanguagesdiverse.Withdifferencesinculturesandinlanguages,itisnaturalthatcross-culturalcommunicationisnotalwayseasy.Therefore,teachingEnglishwellmeansmorethanmerelyteachingstuden

7、tsthevocabulary,structures,andgrammars.ItalsomeansteachingthemhowtoslipintotheEnglishculture.LearnersshouldbeinformedofhownativespeakersofEnglishseetheworldandhowtheEnglishlanguagereflectstheideas,customs,andbehavioroftheirsociety.Inotherwords,tohaveagoodcommandofgrammaticalrulesofalanguagecontribut

8、estocorrectnessofsentencestructureswhilefamiliaritywithasmuchculturalknowledgeofthatlanguageaspossibleguaranteesappropriatenessofdiscourse.2.PresentconditionofculturaleducationinseniorEnglishteachingFromtheperspectiveofNEEC(NationalEntranceExaminationforColleges),Englishisconsideredtobeimportanttoal

9、lseniorschoolstudents.Formoststudents,themotivationoflearningEnglishisjustameanstopasstheexamsandgethighscoresinEnglishproficiencytests.AndtheteachersofEnglisharejustthefacilitatorsofrealizingthisgoal.Teachersgreatestconcernisgiventothemasteryoflinguisticknowledgeandskills.Studentsspendmostofthetime

10、onlearningvocabulary,structuresandgrammarthroughlotsofdrills,practiceandconsolidationsoastomemorizethoselinguisticelementsandreproducethem.Culturalknowledgeisignored.Inthiscase,cultureisoftenseparatedfromitscarrier-language.Bothteachersandstudentsculturalawarenessarepoor.Thelackofculturalknowledgele

11、adstothefailureincommunication.ThusculturaleducationinseniorEnglishbecomesabsolutelynecessary.3.ThecontentsofculturalintroductioninseniorEnglishteachingAlanguageisinseparablefromitsculture.Hence,theprocessoflearningalanguageisaprocessoflearningitsculture.TraditionalforeignlanguageteachinginChinaatta

12、chesgreatimportancetolanguageteachingbutignoresculturalteaching,which,asaresult,hascausedsomebarriersininterculturalcommunication.Therefore,Englishteachersshouldtrytoimprovestudentsculturalawareness.ThefollowingaresomesuggestionsforseniorEnglishstudents:3.1GreetingsandaddressesOneofthemistakesChines

13、estudentsoftenmakeistogreetnativespeakersofEnglishbysaying“Howoldareyou?Whereareyougoing?Whatsyourincome?”InChina,suchquestionsindicatefriendlinessandconcernofonepersonforanother.SoChinesestudentsthinkthattheforeignerswillhavethesamereactionstothesequestions.Butinfact,inAmerica,questionsliketheseint

14、erfereintopeoplesprivatelife.Traditionally,Chinesefamilyisabigfamily.Children,parents,grandparentslivetogether.Familymemberscouldhardlykeepanythingsecret.Itisconsideredquitenormalthatneighborsinterruptaquarrellingcouple.YetforAmericanstheywouldprefertocallthepoliceinsteadofbreakingintothedooroftheir

15、neighbors,becausetheywouldntruntheriskofbeingaccusedofinterferingintoothersprivacy.Hereisanotherexample.Afterwintervocation,somestudentsgotovisittheirforeignteacher.AtthefirstsightoftheEnglishteacher,astudentgreetshim,“Congratulations!Youlookwhiterandfatterafterthisvocation!”Hearingthis,theteachersf

16、aceturnspalewithfright,“Oh,no!”InChinesetraditionalculture,theadultsprefertodescribehealthykidsas“whiteandfat”.ButinBritainandAmerica,especiallyforthewhiteman,“whiteandfat”meansunhealthybecauseoflackofsunshineandexercises.Sowesternpeopleareveryfondofsunbathandvarioussportstokeephealthy.ThisChinesest

17、udentneglectstheculturaldifferencesandcausestheEnglishteachersmisunderstanding.Culturaldifferencescanalsobefoundinthewaypeopleaddresstheirrelatives.TherearenoEnglishequivalentstothedifferentformsofChineseaddresslike“堂弟”,“表姐”,“伯父”,“舅舅”.Butonly“cousin”and“uncle”inEnglishareusedtoaddress.Thedifferenceo

18、frelativeaddressreflectsthedifferentcustomsinthetwocultures.ForChinesepeople,thepaternalrelativesarecloserthanthematernalones,thusitisgreatlyimportanttodistinguishwhoiswho.However,inAmericanculture,itdoesnotmattermuchwhetherapersonisarelativefromthefathersfamilyorfromthemothersfamily.“Uncle”standsfo

19、rallthemalesofthesamegenerationoffatherand“aunt”forallthefemalesofthesamegenerationofmother.SomestudentsmayasktheirEnglishteacheraquestion,“WhyshouldthepronounIalwaysbecapitalizedinEnglish?”BecauseinChina,whenapersonmentionshimselfinformalsituations,particularlyinthewritingsofoldstyle,hewoulduse“鄙人”

20、,“在下”andwordslikethattodegradehimself.StudentsshouldbetoldthatChinesecultureisfamily-centered.Usually,severalgenerationsofafamilylivetogether.Inalargefamily,theyoungshouldobeywhattheoldcommanded.Undersuchcircumstances,itsquitecommonandnaturalforapersontodegradehimself.Incontrast,Americanputgreatemph

21、asisonindividualism.AccordingtoChinesetraditionandcustoms,peoplebelieveincollectivism.Differentcountrieshavedifferentsystemofvalues.Thealwayscapitalizedpronoun“I”andthefactthatChinesestudentsfeelpuzzledaboutitshowstheconflictingvaluesofthetwonations.InChina,elderlypeopleliketobecalled“老李”,“老王”,fromw

22、hichtheyfeeltheyaremuchrespectedandthereforegreatlysatisfied.Chinaisacountryinwhicholdpeoplearerespected.Theolderapersonis,themorerespectedheis.Studentsaretoldtoavoidsuchwordsas“old”and“elderly”whencommunicatingwithEnglishnativespeakers.Inthissituation,theyarealsopuzzled.BecauseChinesestudentsmaynot

23、quiteknowthatAmericanshatetobecalled“theold”.InAmerica,theysay“seniorcitizen”insteadof“oldpeople”,“adultshome”insteadof“oldpeopleshome”.3.2GratitudesandcomplimentsItisnotedthatastrikingdifferenceresultedfromthetwoculturesisthedifferentresponsestogratitudeandcompliments.“Peopleinthewesttendtoverbaliz

24、etheirgratitudeandcomplimentsmorethanChinesespeakersandthatthewesternerstendtoacceptgratitudeandcomplimentsmoredirectlyandfranklythanweChinesedo.”5WhenanativespeakerofEnglishexpresseshisgratitude,weChinesepeoplefeelembarrassedandsometimessay“No,itsnothing.”toturndownhisthanks.However,Englishspeakers

25、inasimilarsituationwouldsay“Iamgladthat,Icanhelpyou”or“itsmypleasure”toacceptthanks.Similarly,manyChinesepeoplewillfeelembarrassedwhentheyhearcomplimentslike“Youlookniceonthisdress!”or“YouspeakfluentEnglish!”Toshowthattheyaremodestanddonotdeservesuchacompliment,theywouldsay“No,notatall”.ButforEnglis

26、hspeakingpeople,theythinkitalmostdishonesttodenyanexpressionofsentimenttheyagreewith.SounliketheChinesepeople,theEnglishnativeswillacceptcomplimentsbygivingapositiveanswerlike“Thankyou”.3.3ColorwordsCulturaldifferencesarealsoevidentindifferentimplicationsassociatedwiththesamecolor.Thecolor“red”inChi

27、neseindicateshappyevents,joyousoccasionsanddelightfulthings.Forexample,inatraditionalChineseweddingceremonythebridewearsreddressfromheadtotoe,herheadparticularlycoveredwithapieceofredclothtoexpressgoodwishesofhernewlife.Besidesthat,inSpringFestivaloneofthedecorationsChinesepeoplemaketowelcomethenewy

28、earistoputredcoupletoutoneachsideoftheirdoor.Whatsmore,“red”isfrequentlyassociatedwithsuccessandvictoriesandwordslike“开门红”,“满堂红”aregoodexamplesinthiscase.Butthecolor“red”inEnglishimpliesthingsofterror,fightandblood,andisfrequentlyconnectedwithangerandcrimes,hencethephrases“aredbattle”(afierce,cruels

29、truggle),“redrag”(somethingthatexcitesgreatanger),and“redlight”(signalofdangerorwarning).Take“white”foranotherexample,“white”inChineseisconnectedwithsorrow,misfortuneanddeath.Folkstakingpartinafuneraldressinwhite,withwhitefloweronthebreasttomournforthedead.WhatisdifferentinEnglishisthatwhiteindicate

30、snobility,justiceandpurity.InanAmericanweddingbridepurposelydressesinwhite,symbolizingpurityandperpetualloyaltyandlovebetweenhusbandandwife.InEnglish,therearephraseslike“whiteman”,“whitelie”,“whitewar”whichrespectivelymeanajustman,aliewithoutevilintentionandawarduringwhichnomanbleeds.InEnglishstudy,

31、Chinesestudentsmaybeextremelyconfusedaboutsomesentenceslike“Imfeelingratherblue”(Imfeelingdepressed.)and“Hewasborntothepurple(Hewasborninanobleandwealthyfamily.)”6Studentsknowthemeaningofeachword,buttheyhavemuchdifficultyinputtingthewholesentenceintoChinese,forthefamiliarwords“blue”and“purple”herein

32、dicatemorethantheirliteralmeaning.Atthemoment,teachersareexpectedtoexplainculturalfactorshiddenbehindthewords,otherwise,studentswillmakemistakeswhentheycommunicatewithforeigners.3.4AnimalsandtheirdifferentconnotationsAnimalsandtheirdifferentassociationsareanotheraspectofculturaldifferences.Forexampl

33、e,“DragonisatoteminChineseculture.Infeudalsociety,dragonstandsfortheemperor.”7Dragon“beingalwaysconsideredadeitywithinconceivablepowerinChina,bringingpeoplegoodluck.PeoplebornintheyearofDragonfeelveryproud.Butinwesternculture,dragonisacrocodile-likemonsterwhichcangushsmokeandfirefromitsmouth.”8There

34、fore,ifaChinesestudentwhodoesnothavethisculturalknowledgeinmindtranslatestheChineseidiom“望子成龙”into“tohopethatonessonwillbecomeadragon”,theEnglishmanwillbewonderingwhatkindofpersonparentsexpecttheirchildtobe.Chinesestudentswillbesomewhatannoyediftheyhear“Yourereallyaluckydog”.TheyclearlyknowthatinChi

35、na,“theimpliedmeaningofadogisusuallypejorative,asin“狗仗人势“(beabullyundertheprotectionofapowerfulperson),“狗头军师”(apersonwhooffersbadadvice)”9Butwhattheydontknowisthatinwesternculturesmallanimalslikecatsanddogsareconsideredasmanspets,companionsandloyalfriends.InEnglish,ithascommendatorysense.“luckydog”m

36、eans“luckyperson”,“ajollydog”means“ahappyman”.Theaboveculturalknowledgereflectedinlanguagesshouldbeintroducedtoseniorschoolstudents,formanymisunderstandingsbetweenpeopleofdifferentculturesarecausedbytheshortageofculturalknowledge.ThusEnglishteachersshouldmakegreateffortstocultivatestudentsculturalaw

37、areness.4.ThenecessityandsignificanceofimprovingculturalawarenessinseniorEnglishteaching4.1CulturalknowledgeisoneofthedifficultiesinEnglishteachingIncurrentsituationofSEFCteaching,teacherspaymuchattentiontotrainingstudentsbasicskills.Theteacheronlyfocusesonteachinglanguageknowledgeandimprovingstuden

38、tsexam-orientedskills.Tolearnalanguage,wemustlearnitsculture,too.OneofthemajorpurposesofEnglishteachingistocultivatestudentscommunicativecompetence,whichincludesculturalcompetence,too.Inviewofthissituation,itsnecessarytocultivateculturalawarenessinEnglishteaching.“Culturalbackgroundteachingisoneofth

39、emostdifficulttasksinEnglishlearning.Culturalbackgroundpresentationisawaytoremoveteachersculture-orienteddeficiency.Culturalbackgroundisrelatedtopolitics,economy,history,geography,custom,thoughts,belief,religion,andhumanbehavior,etc.”10Studentsculturalknowledgefromeverydaylearningcantmeettheneedoffu

40、rtherEnglishlearning.Theydependontheteacherspresentationandexplanation.Theteachersareexpectedtohelpthemovercomethedifficulty.Thus,culturalknowledgeshouldnotbeignoredinEnglishteachinganymore,orstudentswillfailtocommunicatesuccessfullywithnativespeakers.4.2Studentsbasicskillsarerelatedtotheculturalkno

41、wledgeForexample,whenstudentsaredoinglisteningexercises,theymayhearsomedialogues,whichusuallyareeasy.Butifstudentsdonotknowsomeculturalinformationaboutwesterncountries,hemaymakesomemistakes.Forinstance,thesentence“IamnotsureIdliketodothat”isseeminglylikeconsideringamatter,butinfact,itisapoliteexpres

42、sionofrefusal.Thepurposeoflisteningistounderstandthespeakersrealmeaninginwordsandexchangeinformationsuccessfully.Sometimesthelearneronlycatchesthedenotationofthewords,butfailtoconsiderthemostimportantpart,whichisthecontextualmeaningofwordsandsentences.ReadingandwritingEnglishmaterialsinevitablyconve

43、ywesternculture.Thestudentslackofculturalbackgroundknowledgeoftenhinderstheircomprehensioninreading.Forexample,wemeanpornographicbytheword“黄”inChinese,butinEnglish,“blue”isusedinsteadof“yellow”.Iflearnersdontknow,theywillnotunderstandwhat“bluefilm”or“bluevideotapes”meanthoughthewordsareeasy.Thisillu

44、stratesthatwordsconnotationsistheresultofculturalimpactonlanguage.Somoreattentionshouldbepaidtoculturalbackgroundinlearningidiomsandliteraryworks,otherwise,wecannotunderstandtheimplicationofwordsandthepassagescorrectly.Inwriting,thedifferencesbetweentheChineseandwesternmodesofthinkingplaysanimportan

45、tpart.WeChineseareaccustomedtothinkinginaspiralway,whiletheEnglishpeopleandAmericansinalinearway.Thisdifferenceinthinkingoftenleadstomisunderstanding.Sometimesastudentscompositionisperfectintermsofgrammarandlogic,butwhenaforeignerreadsitheorshemaymisunderstandtheoriginalmeaningofthesentences.Unlesst

46、hestudentsunderstandtheculturalbackground,theycantfinishtheirexercisesaccurately.Itsevidentlywrongtointerpretthingsinforeignlanguagesinthesamewayasinourmothertongue.Tosomeextent,theachievementofEnglishteachinggoalreliesonstudentsculturalawareness.Therefore,itisofgreatimportancetotakeforculturalbackg

47、roundknowledgeasoneofthecontentsinthewholeprocessofEnglishteachingsoastohelpstudentstohaveagoodcommandofnecessaryculturalknowledge.4.3PresentationofculturalknowledgecanimprovethequalityofEnglishteachingPresentationofculturalknowledgecanbenefitEnglishteachinginatleastthreeways:(1)Itcandevelopstudents

48、awarenessofculturaldifferenceandhelpthemformagoodstudyhabit.Usuallystudentsarepronetofocusonlanguageitself,butneglectthecultureeffectonlanguageinEnglishlearning.Theyfailtonoticethatculturegiveslanguagespecialconnotationanddeterminestheuseofit.Throughculturalknowledgeacquisition,studentscandevelopthe

49、irsensitivitytoculturaldifferenceandgraduallylearntocatchculturalinformationthemselves.Theywillalsobroadentheirrangeofculturalknowledge,enhancetheirculturalabsorptionabilityandtherebyimprovetheirabilitytousetheEnglishlanguage.(2)Itcancultivatestudentsthinking.Presentationofculturalknowledgecanhelpst

50、udentsgettoknowpolitics,economy,thoughts,andideasofEnglish-speakingcountriesandnationalities.Withgeneralculturalknowledge,theymaygettounderstandthepsychologyandcodeofthinkingofEnglish-speakingpeople.ThisisgoodforcultivatingstudentsthinkingandalsoagreathelpforthemtothinkinEnglish.(3)Itcanpromotethestudyofourownculture.BymeansoflearningthecultureofEnglish-speakingcountries,studentswilldeepentheirrealizationaboutourowncultureinturn.TheCh