CulturalDifferenceonCollegeOralEnglishTeachingFromthePerspectiveofEFL

Abstract: New technology and information systems have created windows through which we may view other societies and cultures in the globe．It is in this．sense that people at times say,“The world seems to be shrinking?’．The communication between people of different cultures，the greatest barrier lies not only in the differences of languages，but also in those of cultures，which permeate all aspects of human life．Cultural mistakes are even more serious and irritating than linguistic ones．Therefore，the importance of the target culture teaching has been drawing attention ever since．

Keywords: college oral English teaching，target culture，communicative competence

1. Introduction

College Oral English Teaching should incorporate with culture teaching, because communicative competence involves far more than knowledge of grammaticality. Culture teaching can help the learners to explore more knowledge about foreign culture．This thesis first analyzes the communicative competence and the necessity of culture teaching in Oral English Course．Based on the analysis，the author lists the content of culture teaching which is most closely related to everyday life and basic language. Finally, the thesis provides some strategies for foreign language learners，aiming at promoting their cultural-awareness and understanding in cross-cultural communication and facilitating the process of foreign language learning.

For the mastery of language in College Oral English, the strategy works like this read the new words，present a structure，drill it and practice it in context. In this way, what students have learned is only classroom English, they can not use English to communicate with foreigners and nor can they make themselves understood by others. Another reason is the lack of culture knowledge．English teachers must improve learners’ oral English，and help them become competent communicators when they interact with people from other cultures．

2. Language, culture and EFL

Language is the vehicle of culture as well as a means of communication．It can be defined in many ways depending on the characteristics one wishes to stress.

culture is a very general concept，composed of a complex system of interacting elements．Culture is universal，multifaceted，and intricate．It permeates all aspects of human society；it penetrates into every area of life and influences the way people think, talk，and behave．

Cultural understanding involves a synthesis between the learner’s home culture，the target cultural input and learner input and leaner as an individual. Therefore，the view of taking culture learning as knowledge learning teaching will give way to intercultural communicative competence in EFL and much importance ought to be attached to cultivating language learners’ cultural awareness. there is a‘social’ definition of culture，in which culture is description of a particular way of life，which expresses certain meanings and values not only in art and learning but also in institutions and ordinary behavior．