Developing cultural awareness in English Teaching

周晶

Abstract：Language is the carrier of culture and in turn is deeply anchored in culture. However， in English teaching ， we discover that a large number students suffer the linguistic and cultural barriers. Students tend to ignore the cultural connotation in the language. As language is a bridge between different cultures for students，teachers should study the culture-loaded teaching strategy， develop a more effective teaching method and change the traditional teaching mode.

Key words：English teaching； Cross-cultural awareness；Developing strategy

中图分类号：G633.41 文献标识码：B文章编号：1672-1578（2016）06-0155-02

1.Introduction

The essence of language education is the spread of culture.However， influenced by long term examination oriented education system， the teachers attach importance to technical ability but ignore developing cultural awareness.At present， faced with the trend of globalization， teachers start to reform the traditional teaching methods and emphasize on the introduction of culture. This paper focuses on the cultivation of cultural awareness in middle school English teaching，unifying the language teaching and the cultural spread.

2.The background of cultural awareness cultivation

As students become more diverse， they are likely to benefit from different teaching strategies. But educators will not refer to these differences and address them appropriately， unless they use the students' culture to build a bridge to success in school. Culturally competent teachers contextualize or connect to students' everyday experiences， and integrate classroom learning with out-of-school experiences and knowledge. What's moreover，cultural consciousness is an essential part of the comprehensive ability of language use.Therefore， we can't simply use English as isolated sign system but ought to fully integrate the language behind the humanities， geography， history， religion， and many other cultures.

3.The significance of developing cultural awareness

3.1 Cultural awareness is the guarantee of proper use of language.People from different cultures might not only communicate in different ways but also experience a situation differently. By contrasting cultural values， we can examine how to successfully negotiate these differences and consider how people from different cultural backgrounds might respond in certain situations.As a matter of fact， students just practice the dump English which is useless for their communicative competence.For instance，we often ask about the job or the salary in a conversation，which are very offensive and violate the privacy of others.So we should make students learn about different topics such as local customs and practices of social etiquette， diet habits， religious beliefs and so on. When students focus on the cultural differences， they will be able to convey the correct language information and emotion with proper words.

3.2 To cultivate cultural awareness and enhance the awareness of the world.With the development of globalization， cultural diversity and integration are more obvious.Due to the different geographical environment and development process， the difference between Chinese and Western culture is very large which is reflected in language and communication. Teachers can give specific examples from English-speaking cultures and contrast them with elements from the students' own culture.

3.3 Cultivating cultural awareness helps to improve students' comprehensive learning quality.Fully integrated cultural knowledge may affect global changes in human service delivery. For example， educational institutions and accreditation bodies might develop cultural competence standards to ensure teacher and administrator preparation.Such knowledge may allow learners to understand both the deeply embedded nature of the culture and the complexity of a series of forces that produce cultural differences in the international business activities. So far， the senses and actions upon getting rid of the distinct stereotypes and barriers in intercultural communication always become the focal points for the students.In the learning of language， listening， speaking， reading and writing are the basic skills.In the learning process，if just receiving the mechanical and intensive reading training， most students have trouble understanding the contents.As a result， teachers should properly introduce the differences between Chinese and western education and collect the relevant cultural background to help students to understand the class size，subject setting，contents，timetable and so on.

4.The strategy of cultural awareness cultivation

4.1 Cultivating students' cultural awareness by materials and classroom teaching.It will be much easier to learn a certain language in the certain cultural background， just as the children brought up in the foreign land will naturally pick up the foreign language and behave as foreigners in many aspects， which is in fact the result of cultural background.English textbooks are the core of English curriculum resources.In some case， learning about the target culture is taken as a threat to the native values， and the importance of linguistically relevant information is neglected. Teachers should fully excavate the contents of the teaching materials and promote the enthusiasm of students by a variety of forms of classroom teaching ways. Therefore，teachers should set up different teaching activities according to the text contents and break the traditional teaching mode.

The other issue that should be focused is that before learning about culture， students must be receptive to the concept of learning about cultures other than their owns. To achieve culture goals， often teacher has to play a role in breaking down cultural barriers prior to initiating teaching-learning activities. That is to say， while teaching a culture specific topic first language equivalent can also be given in order to enhance learning.The use of culture-based activities abundantly in the classroom help learners be familiar with the target culture. The activities in the materials should involve the cultural values of the target language designed for every level.

4.2 Use the network and multimedia resources to enrich students' cultural awareness.With the development of information technology，the wide application of network and multimedia in teaching has enriched the teaching forms and expand the horizons of students.Teachers are supposed to combine network and multimedia resources with teaching materials to give students a direct visual cultural experience and an impressive learning experience.One way to foster curiosity and openness to English-speaking cultures is to establish a "collection" of cultural information in a variety of formats. These could include popular movies， music， literature， online sites from English-speaking countries-or from a specific country， depending on students' needs and course goals.（1）Teachers can can slides according to the language points of the text to fully present the cultural connotation.The combination of language learning and cultural absorption is not only the innovation of traditional teaching mode， but also an important means to enrich students' cultural awareness.（2）Use network resources to play songs， radio and television programs， and other video data.As the facilitator， teachers will need to conduct research on the sites available for the topics you choose.（3）.Teacher layout a topics related to the teaching content to guide students to use the network to learn by themselves.Aside from the cultural awareness value， the assignments provide plenty of opportunities for students to develop English skills.

4.3 Extend students' cultural awareness through extra curricular reading.At present， extra curricular reading has become an important part of English learning.（1）.According to the characteristics of students' and their vocabulary ， the teachers can recommend certain useful extracurricular reading materials to the students，such as "the story of Bront"， "little woman" and other literary works or China Daily and Reader's Digest.Students can learn the politics， economy and culture of the English speaking countries from the reading materials， but also can obtain the daily communication habits and life style through the language of materials（2）.Teachers should guide students to carry out extracurricular reading according to different English topics. There's a piece of material on the Scotland dress.The students' understanding of the Scotland skirt is just stuck on the grid skirt， but few students know the hidden culture behind the Scotland dress.Therefore， the teacher can take the Scotland dress as the theme， guide students to seek the origin， dress occasion and symbolic significance of the Scotland dress through extra-curricular reading.This will not only expand the students' cultural awareness， but also help the teacher to achieve the teaching objectives of culture communication.

4.4 To carry out a variety of extra-curricular activities to enhance students' cultural awareness.As the cultivation of cultural awareness is a comprehensive project， it is always limited by the combining reaching materials in the classroom. Teachers should set up a variety of extracurricular activities to create an atmosphere.（1）.School English broadcasting.Teachers can organize students to gather information about the culture of English speaking countries in their spare time.Then students introduce the outcome through the campus radio.In addition， we can play popular English songs or some English original sound film clips in order to create a strong English atmosphere.（2）.English learning garden.The contents must be launched around this week's English teaching materials.Moreover， students can play some games， such as telling English jokes and sentence Solitaire， both of which can help students increase the vocabulary， and can bring them a wonderful leisure life.（3）.Role playing.students can carry out the role playing in the form of group and select the script according to their favorite literary works， film and television drama and so on.This way not only enhances the understanding， application of language through the simulation of communication，but also improves the ability of students.

4.5 Change the educational idea to promote the teacher's own cultural accomplishment.Transformation of educational concept is the prerequisite for cultivating students' cultural awareness.Teachers should have a new understanding of teaching objectives.For one thing， teachers should have a systematic understanding of the relevant cultural knowledge of the teaching content and pay attention to accumulating cultural materials in English speaking countries in all aspects covering political and ideological history， religion， and scenic spots.Then teachers can make full use of these materials and apply them into teaching flexibly.The students will feel the charm of the western countries ，recognize the differences between Chinese and Western culture and enhance interest in a harmonious atmosphere in the classroom with the aid of creative teaching methods.For another thing，as the current teaching material covers professional knowledge in many fields such as natural science， information technology，teachers are required to hang on studying further to gradually expand their knowledge.

5.Conclusion

Today， educators are required not only to increase all students' performance， but also to reduce achievement gaps among racial/ethnic groups of students.Therefore， the cultivation of students' cultural awareness is one of the important tasks to improve students' cultural literacy in English Teaching of middle schools.Teachers are supposed to improve the students' overall understanding of the differences between Western and Chinese culture and strengthen their love of national culture as well as the consciousness of the world.Only in this way can we successfully achieve English education goals of the middle school and shape students' profound cultural literacy and good values at the same time.

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