On The Introduction of Cultural Awareness In College English Teaching

刘 星

1 Introduction

The importance of understanding target culture and developing intercultural communicative competence (ICC) is an increasingly acknowledged aspect in foreign language teaching (FLT). And the world seems to be getting smaller and smaller with the convenience brought about by modern transportation and communication. English learning has become ever increasingly popular among all Chinese. How to make teaching of English meet the needs of social and economic development has become an urgent task to English teachers. Developing learners intercultural communicative competence is drawing more attention in English teaching.

2 Suggestions on The Introduction of Cultural Awareness

Teaching languages is also teaching culture. This is not simply a pedagogical problem since the answer to it depends on our understanding of the relations between language and culture; the relations between home culture and target culture; the role and goal of foreign language teaching in a given cultural and political context; and the level, ability and purpose of students' learning. Inadequate knowledge and low level of cultural awareness present obstacles in the cultivation of learners' ICC.

Cultural awareness is more important than cultural knowledge because the former is the essential of ICC. That is to say, focus should be put on the cultivation of cultural awareness rather than specific information, strategies and skills. In fact, transmission of knowledge will encounter some difficulties. Then continuous and constant attention should be given to the awakening of cultural awareness, the cultivation of an open attitude and the general development of a healthy personality and relational orientation.

Now in most universities in the Chinese context, English teachers for non-English majors mainly take the course of "intensive reading", This course used to focus on the basic linguistic knowledge and skills, the textbooks of which are constructed by many articles (one article for each unit) and structural exercises, and teachers are required to finish instructing one book within each of the four semesters. So how to input culture actively into the traditional language teaching is really a difficult task confronting all the EFL teachers. To be more specific, the following suggestions are derived layers of advocated solutions to the cultivation of cultural awareness as well as empathy.

2.1.The Employment of Culture-Loaded Text Teaching inside Class

2.1.1 Interpretation

Background knowledge plays an important role in the comprehension of texts. Coady (1979) says that, “ background knowledge becomes an important variable when we notice, as many have, that students with a Western background of some kind learn English faster, on the average, than those without such a knowledge. Therefore, besides the interpretation of the vocabulary, we should interpret the cultural background information in our teaching.

Interpretation should be widely used in culture teaching in CET. Such cultural tips should be demonstrated in the cultural context in full landscape: the culturally tied vocabulary, the culturally loaded background knowledge for the students so as to reduce the culture barriers in their learning. The target culture can be studied through the meaning of vocabulary or perception used to communicate across cultures. By analyzing the subjective meaning of vocabulary and perception representing those concepts that are most important to the people, we can focus on the natural priorities of the target culture and actually equip our English learners with data of fundamental relevance and broad applicability.

2.1.2 Comparison

Teaching language does not simply mean the teaching of the system of the target language. It must also involve the teaching of these non-linguistic rules. When one learns a foreign culture, the native culture habits are often transferred. Therefore, by comparing the two culture systems, the teacher and the learners can predict where the trouble spots will be and thus facilitate language teaching and learning. Based on this approach of comparative analysis of cultural differences, learners can be instructed to achieve a better understanding of both their own culturally influenced styles of communication and those of the target language community. The method of comparison can be done in lexis, rhetoric, idioms, etc. Of course, there is various ways to teach culture that can adjust to different age levels and to different educational backgrounds.

2.2The Organization of Discussion, Seminar, Presentation, etc.

It is evident that language can only be learned and not be taught. In interactive activities, communicative competence is considered as the ability to organize thought, to interpret facts and act on them. Learners, who are active participants instead of passive receivers, are believed to be able to decode new information and reorganize their knowledge. They will learn more effectively and enthusiastically. Before venturing into unknown territories of culture experiences, learners may first become conversant with what is meant to be a part of the target culture or even their own culture. By exploring their own culture, by discussing the very values, expectations, traditions and customs they unconsciously take part in, they are ready to be more tolerant to the target culture with better cultural sensitivity.

By means of discussion, the teachers and the students may exchange different ideas on certain subjects. It can help them to understand the different culture better, also stimulate the students' motivation in learning English, and improve the students' intercultural communicative competence. Besides the discussion, there may be lectures, speeches, debates and writings about cultural differences or similarities between target culture and native culture. Seminars on the analyses of critical culture incidents can reveal how world-views, value systems collide and leave people perplexed and offended.

2.3The Adoption of Multimedia Facilities to Increase Cultural Sensitivity

Compared with novels or literary works, newspapers, magazines and journals provide up-to-date information of the current target cultural context. For example, in New York Times, readers can find different topics from geography, history, religion, politics, philosophy, literature, arts, tourism, entertainment and fashion, Frequent reading of these publications can help students to gain insights into the core of the given culture-its values, beliefs and attitudes. Usually, some publications give instructions on how to tackle problems in cross-cultural communication.

On the other hand, the high-technology of IT industry has made it possible for language learners to watch the latest movies, videos and plays in original version of the target culture at home. Besides enjoying the performance of the actors and actresses, the students can observe details of everyday situations, in case of greeting, farewell, compliments, apology, asking directions, shopping and debating, quarreling.

3 Conclusion

Cultural globalization has become a symbol of intercultural communication. It goes without saying that foreign language teachers should be foreign culture teachers, having the ability of experiencing and analyzing both the home and target culture. People have a stronger desire of breaking down not only the barriers of languages but also those of cultures in order to operate cross-cultural communication effectively and successfully. More and more teachers and researchers have realized that it is necessary to make intercultural communicative competence the goal of foreign language learning.

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