AStudyof Junior Students’Cross—Culture Obstaclesin English Reading Comprehension

朱雅琴

【Abstract】This paper will research Junior students cross-cultural obstacles in English reading from the perspective of culture background，Eliminating Junior studentscross-cultural barriers can improve intercultural communication competent.

【Key Words】reading； language； culture background； cross-cultural obstacles

Introduction

Under the circumstance of globalization，communication between countries tends to be more frequently.And English as a worldwide language has become more important communication instrument，without hesitation，learning English serve us well.As reading is regarded as one of the most significant parts of foreign language learning，thus reading plays significant role in English learning.In English reading，culture barriers and language are inseparable.So in the reading，“understanding the cultural content of what one reads is a crucial factor in reading comprehension.Because language is the carrier of culture”.[1]Thus it can be seen that culture permeated between the lines of the reading.

2.Main Cultural Obstacles in Reading of Junior Middle School Students

Reading is actually the combination of reading and comprehension.The reading purpose is to comprehend，but the approach of comprehension is reading.However，although many students have no problems in grammar and words，they still confused about the text they read.Its obviously that there are another factors influencing reading，that is，cross- culture obstacles..

2.1 Social Obstacles.Sociolinguistics argued that language cant be separated from the context，culture and society，the language development is accompanied by the social development and its the reflection of social material and spiritual culture.So，certain history period bring with a special vocabulary.For example，the words “loneliness industry”，junior students will be confused.Actually，loneliness industry belong to parts of American welfare service，which is served for those lonely seniors who live far away from their children，and their life is hard without caring from their children，causing a social problem.So American government organized the project to solve it and named it “loneliness industry”.Chinese junior students perhaps have trouble in understanding these words if they dont have enough cross-culture background knowledge.

2.2 History Obstacles.Historical culture refers to the culture and social heritage constructed by the developing process of a certain history.In reading，junior students may have problems in comprehension caused by different history.For instance：“It was a Herculean task but he managed to do it”，within the sentence，they may cant understand whats the meaning of “Herculean task”，which origin from the Greek mythology，Herculean was famous for his strong strength，he was ever punished to finish twelve extremely tasks.Therefore，“Herculean task” refers to arduous task.

2.3 Religion Obstacles.Religion is an important component in the lives of many human beings.It refers to the culture formed by religious belief of nation and can be embodied in the cultural differences of taboo of different nations.Christianity is the powerful religion in English speaking countries.For instance，“the Garden of Eden” and “God help those who help themselves”.If junior students are dont familiar with culture background，it will be difficulty for them to gain the real meaning of them.We all know that Confucianism，Taoism and Buddhism are the three main religions of China，which deeply affect Chinese people.In contrast，most western people have belief in Christianity.They believe that a single God constructed the world.Because of differences in religious culture，junior students can misunderstand English reading at times.

2.4 Region Obstacles.Sociolinguistics thought that language cant be separated from the social，culture and context.The difference of natural and geography circumstance between different nations enable every nation has his special character，which is reflected in language.For instance，Chinese people live in the land with the continental climate，while Britain surrounded by ocean and they live in a condition of oceanic climate.So in England and other European countries，west wind is very warm，its connected with hopeful，bright and so on.But in China，west wind is a very chilly wind，it often associates with something bad.Knowing this，we can easily understand the meaning of the “west wind” in the poem of Shelleys Ode to the West Wind.

3.Strategies of Cross-culture Obstacles in English Reading Comprehension

From the discussed above，cultural background knowledge caused the culture obstacles in junior students reading，without accumulation of culture background knowledge，they cant comprehend the reading completely.Obviously，its necessary to enforce junior students cross-culture background knowledge.

First，junior students should read kinds of English reading materials associated to its culture.Such as English masterpieces or literatures，magazines and so on，in which there are abundant spiritual culture.Its acknowledged that literature is the reflection of the social，political，cultural development of the society，so it is a direct way for students to know western culture.Junior students also can enrich their cross-culture knowledge via attending lectures about English speaking countries.In addition，strengthen cultural sense.English teachers should provide some English version materials to them and introduce some professional dictionaries to them and concentrate on the cultural elements，digging out the implied intercultural meanings in the reading material.At the same time，teachers should enforce their own cultural knowledge.Only when teachers themselves understand the culture knowledge well，can they introduce the knowledge to students and cultivate their competence efficiently.In reading class，teachers also can introduce the cross-cultural knowledge，enabling students to have a general realization about English speaking countries.Of course，it should be appropriate intercultural knowledge so that students can understand easily.

Conclusion

Globalization made the connection between countries more closely but it doesnt mean that the discrepancies between cross-culture become smaller.In contrast，there is an increasing in misunderstandings and communicative obstacles.Junior students should not only learn the knowledge of language，but also try their best to contact the social and cultural aspects of English countries.Because in the reading，we are actually communicating with the author.Hence，junior students should make use of every methods to broad their horizon.Only in this way，can they get better understanding of the distinctions between Chinese and English culture so as to eliminate the comprehension barriers of cross-culture communication and improve their competent in reading comprehension.

Notes：

[1]姚向禮.英语阅读跨文化障碍研究.教法研究[D].宁夏宁夏师范学院，2011（3）：67.

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