On the Importance of Cultural Input in English Teaching

Abstract： English as a foreign language has been a subject in middle school of China for years. Teachers and educators generation by generation have been trying to find an optimal method of teaching foreign language to help students master it better. After unceasing exploring， traditional teaching pattern has been improved and new teaching approaches appear such as Task-based language teaching and communicative language teaching. However， whatever teaching methods English teachers use in the class， they should not ignore the cultural input in English teaching. The successful and efficient English teaching should transform the single language teaching into the combination of language teaching and cultural teaching. The thesis is concerned with the significance of culture in English teaching. More specifically， some consideration will be given to the reasons and ways of teaching culture.

Key words： English teaching； cultural input； teaching pattern； communicative language teaching

Ⅰ. Introduction

With the fast economic development and China’s entry into WTO， cross-cultural communication is expected more widely to meet actual needs of social development. For example， during cross-cultural negotiation， the culture difference is the crucial obstruction. Different negotiation ways are produced by different cultures. Negotiators should adjust their strategies according to the other party. So nowadays to cultivate talents with cross-cultural communicative ability has been a task of education.

In the traditional teaching atmosphere， a student who stores hundreds of thousands of words and even speak English fluently will fail in cross-cultural communication because of lack of related culture of the target country. People can speak English but cannot use it to a right person in an appropriate situation and in a proper time， which is the consequence of neglecting the importance of culture in English teaching. Obviously， confined to the study of the language itself， that is， vocabulary， sentence and grammar， the traditional teaching pattern in which culture， an indispensable part of Language， is not taken into account in English teaching can not keep up with the pace of the times.

In these years， the educational reform in English teaching is being carried out in full swing at home. It aims to change the situation in which too much emphasis is laid on the study of vocabulary and grammar and cultivation of ability of using English in real life is not paid sufficient attention to. Therefore， new English Curriculum Standards for Nine-year Compulsory Education （Revised version） states clearly that overall objective of English teaching is to develop students’ comprehensive ability in using the language which includes language knowledge， language skills， emotional attitude， study strategy and cultural awareness. So to enhance students’ cultural awareness has been an important goal of English teaching.

Ⅱ. Importance of cultural input in English teaching

Students， teachers， authorities and officials alike have come to the consensus that more emphasis should be laid on the cultural input in English teaching in order to cultivate students’ communicative competence. However， many teachers still focus on the study of language knowledge （pronunciation， vocabulary， grammar） and the training of basic skills （listening， speaking， reading， and writing）. They thought students will improve their English level as long as they master these. But in fact students often encounter many obstructions and difficulties in the process of English study and communication. It is obvious that learning English is far more than just memorizing new words and perfecting grammatical knowledge， reading comprehension and listening comprehension， all of which are and can be tested in the examination. It also involves cultural information， learning strategies and many other dimensions. Kramsch（1993：1） thinks culture is an important element in language learning. In his view， it is as important， if not more important， as the other four skills. Therefore， it is necessary to highlight the significance of culture in English teaching. Importance of cultural input in English teaching implies in the following aspects

1. The relationship between culture and language

The development of any language is inseparable from social and cultural contexts. When people are communicating， there will inevitably be negative transfer from their mother tongue. People from different cultures have different cultural backgrounds， value systems and social norms and these differences will be reflected in their language.

There is a natural relationship between culture and language. Language is a part of culture and plays a very important role in it. On the one hand， without language， culture would not be possible. On the other hand， language is influenced and shaped by culture and it reflects culture.

Specifically， the specific culture of each nation is reflected in a variety of ways， however， there is no other thing that shows as much content of a nation’s specific life style as its language. From the perspective of language and social culture， language may be regarded as a special phenomenon of social culture. The development of language also keeps a close pace with the cultural and social advancement of a nation. For example， the social changes and progress of thinking are constantly enriching the lexicon of the language.

The close relationship between language and culture implies a close relationship between Language teaching and culture.

2. Identifying cultural differences

From a pragmatic perspective， language is a form of social action because linguistic communication occurs in the context of structured interpersonal exchange， and meaning is thus socially regulated. Thus， if one want to know how the language is appropriately used in a social context， he or she must pay attention to the cultural difference between his or her own country and the target country， otherwise， ignorance of cultural difference will result in communication breakdown.

2.1 Results of neglecting cultural differences

Because of cultural differences， a serious question may cause amusement or laughter； a harmless statement may cause displeasure or anger. Because of cultural differences， jokes by a foreign speaker maybe receive blank faces and stony silence. Yet the same stories in the speaker’s own country would leave audience shaking their sides with laugher. Culture embraces too much content. The violation of cultural traditions often results in misunderstandings in the daily life， which is shown by a great deal of examples. For instance， in Chinese culture， paying a compliment to someone obligates that person to give a negative answer such as “No， It is not so good，” to show “modesty”， whereas in western culture such a response might be both inappropriate and embarrassing. Other examples are：

A： You are putting on weight.

B： It’s none of your business.

A： Are you going to the cinema， Mr. Smith？

B： Yes， But why do you ask if you know I’m going？

（Both As are the foreign language learners while both Bs are the native speakers of English）

They communicate with the foreigners in their specific way that has been nurtured in the Chinese environment. This is the very reason why they cannot command the English communication effectively in many circumstances. Another very interesting example is concerned with daily greetings. Many Chinese are accustomed with such greetings as "Have you had your meal？" We Chinese people all know this sentence does not contain much serious meaning because it is only a way of greeting somebody. However， when a foreign visitor is opposed to this greeting， they do not consider this as a greeting； instead， they take it as a serious invitation. What’s more， many foreigners think that the Chinese people are impolite in answering phone calls. They think that Chinese people are too abrupt when ending the phone conversation by addressing "Okay， so much for that" rather than saying "Good-bye" or "See you". In this way， they often feel the impatience at the other end of the line. All these examples directly or indirectly result from the cultural conflict between the English countries and China.

It is clear that neglecting cultural difference may bring about misunderstandings and embarrassment and even communicative breakdown at last. From this perspective， it is necessary to put culture into English classes so as to communicate smoothly.

2.2 Increasing the appropriateness of use of English

In defining communicative ability， Dell Hymes（1971） proposes the concept of appropriateness- the ability to use appropriate sentences in a specific socio-cultural context. Littlewood （1981：6） also emphasizes that the learner must become aware of the social meaning of language forms. Students have to develop the ability to use generally acceptable forms and to avoid potentially offensive ones.

Cultural appropriateness depends on the appropriate selection of topics. What is regarded， as part of the private self in on culture， may be part of the public self in another. Here we are concerned with what， for example， one can request in on language compared with another. Which requests can safely be declined？ Which can be denied or disagreed with and how safely can one transfer such choices across language？ What topics can one ask about on a first encounter with a stranger of equal status or of high status or low status or of the same sex or of a different sex？ Thus common questions from China on first encounter are “Are you married？”， “How old are you？”， “What is your salary？”， “How much did your necklace cost？”. Such topics violate cultural customs in English.

Therefore， in order to avoid inappropriate expressions or behavior in real communication with native speakers out of class， students must be familiar with the culture of the target language and aware of the differences with regard to their own culture.

To sum up， it is important that cultural differences should be identified in English classes. So to learn a language well always means to grasp the essence of the culture， otherwise， one will not be able to learn a language effectively.

3. Arousing students’ interest in English study

Motivation is probably the most often used term for explaining the success or failure of virtually any complex task. Language teachers readily acknowledge the importance of learners’ motivation， to explain their own failure with reference to their learners’ lack of motivation. Obviously， motivation is a key factor in learning foreign language. And prerequisite for motivation is the interest in learning the target language.

However， in traditional teaching environment， students generally lack interest in English because in English classes， mere vocabulary and grammar which can not stimulate students’ interest in English， are taught They have to learn these knowledge by rote due to be unfamiliar with the cultural background of these western countries. So teachers can arouse their interests through the people and culture represented by the other language group. More cultural background are exposed such as lifestyle， clothing style， customs， art and architecture and so on， which can give expression to charm of the target countries.

4. Cultivating students’ ability in cross-cultural communication

Great differences between China and western countries exist in the customs and ways of thinking because of the differences in their geographical condition and traditional culture the people there have been absorbing from the beginning.

It is well known that grammatical mistakes can be seen easily from the perspective of superficial structure. These kinds of mistakes made generally for lack of sufficient linguistic knowledge are understandable. However， pragmatic errors made by a person who speak English fluently are impolite， intentional and offensive.

In the process of economic globalization and enterprise internationalization， about more than 80% activities about international business negotiations and 70% about multinational mergers and acquisitions broke down due to lack of knowledge of cultural differences. So at present cognition and fusion of business cultures of different countries in the world have become a great stumbling block in the way of success of international business. Under this circumstance， education should shoulder the task to cultivate those who have cross-cultural communicative ability.

Differences between Chinese and English portray cultural differences vividly. When students are getting in touch with something familiar to them， no matter what is related with， usually they are easy to understand. However， when they encounter something concerned with cultural background， they may feel rather difficult. Therefore in English classes， teachers should convey cultural knowledge with subtlety and do their best to create the real context and atmosphere in which the native speakers live in order to cultivate students’ cross-cultural communicative ability.

Ⅲ. Ways of bringing culture into English class

Indeed， great importance should be attached to cultural background knowledge in learning English and cultural input is an indispensable part in English teaching； nevertheless， cultural input does not mean combining culture and language mechanically， which should be noticed by the teachers. Skillful strategies are needed to bring culture into English class to achieve the ultimate goal at last that students possess cultural awareness and take the initiative to investigate cultural differences. Here are some specific ways to bring culture into English class.

1. Creation of a genuine environment

To create a genuine second language environment is also very important in learning the target language culture effectively and directly.

The classroom is also a real social environment with its own characteristics and social relationship. It is where students interact with teachers as well as their peers using either the target language or the native language or both. It is where the stage for them to rehearse what they will be performing in real life. So teachers should make full use of the classroom and class time.

On the one hand， the classroom， the objective environment of learning English， is decorated to embody multicultural trait. For instance， the national flag and inspiring motto above the front blackboard reflect national culture. In addition， “English corner” mainly introducing western culture on the back blackboard give expression to cultural diversity. The arrangement of the classroom is to produce an atmosphere where students come to realize multiculture.

On the other hand， in English class， teachers can also help by designing activities in a certain situation that incorporate cultural background such as pair work， group discussion， role-play and so on. Among these activities， role-playing is now an important technique for creating a wider variety of social situations and relationships than would otherwise occur. For example， to practice how to express complaints and apologies in English， students might have to role-play a situation in which a customer in a shop returns a faulty article to a salesperson. During role-playing， the teacher certainly provides appropriate cultural information which makes the role-plays more realistic and vivid. As a result， students appreciate the performance and at the same time， absorb cultural information subconsciously. Therefore， more genuine environment in English class should be created

2. Comparison between Chinese culture and western culture

Awareness of cultural differences plays an essential role in real communication with native speakers. Teachers should intend to clarify the difference. In English teaching， comparisons between Chinese culture and western culture are made to examine people or things to see how they are similar and how they are different such as in address， greetings， farewell， modesty， praise， showing concern， etc. For example：

A： Hello， you look tired today

B： Yes， I went to bed too late last night.

A： You’d better go to bed earlier

The advice out of concern that you ‘d better go to bed earlier is common in China， but according to the customs in another country， A has to say “I do hope you’ll be feeling better soon” or “Take care of yourself”， though these sentences seems superficial； otherwise he will hurt the other’s esteem.

Advantages of comparison may be seen in another example. When it comes to formation of English names， students often feel confused whether first name should be placed in front of last name or family name even though kinds of practice are done because they are quite opposite to that of Chinese names. Only when the teachers point out the difference between English names and Chinese names on purpose， will students understand and bear them in mind. So when cultural differences are concerned， teachers may make an evident comparison between them in priority. And gradually， let students make the comparison by themselves.

3. Extension of students’ knowledge

Teachers should assist students to extend students’ knowledge in order to have a better understanding of English culture. Students may collect and accumulate cultural knowledge in a variety of ways.

At first， encourage students to read extensively， including novels， magazines， and newspapers and so on. Mastery of knowledge of western culture generally depend on reading material for most Chinese learners， while literal work is the most rich material through which they can know something about people’s psychology， cultural characters， customs and habits， social relations etc. Meanwhile teachers should help students to accumulate relative cultural background knowledge when reading materials.

Then， watch English movies and television programs which contains much nutrition of a nation’s culture. When watching， students and teachers should pay much attention to the scene of daily life， such as conversation between shopkeepers and clients， dialogues on the telephone， chat in the street， etc. After that， teachers and students may exchange views or teachers give some questions about culture to strengthen their memory.

At last， stimulate students to communicate with native English speakers. In contact with native speakers， students can be deeply impressed by the differences between two cultures. What’s more， in such relaxed conversation， students can learn munch knowledge， which cannot be learned in the classroom.

To sum up， try to make every use of people and things in the daily life to widen knowledge of culture.

Ⅳ. Conclusion

In brief， from the analysis above， it is an indisputable fact that language teaching not only consists of language knowledge teaching but also consists of cultural teaching due to the close relationship between language and culture. And the emphasis on cultural input in English teaching aims at nurturing talents with cross-cultural communicative ability which is also the ultimate goal of English teaching. Encouragingly， teachers and students have come to realize the importance of cultural input in English teaching and cultural teaching has been put on the agenda； nevertheless， accumulation of knowledge of culture is not the work of a single day. So class time should be made full use of by students to accumulate the related culture and it is the English teachers who undertake the task that they should help students understand English culture deeply in order to reach the goal finally.

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（责编 张亚欣）