跨文化外语教学

摘 要：语言与文化密切相连，是外语教学中的一个不可忽视的情感因素。语言是文化的一部分，并对文化起着重要作用。没有语言，就没有文化;语言受文化的影响，反映文化。文章探讨跨文化因素、文化差异对外语教学的影响。

关键词：文化因素 文化差异 外语教学 影响

Abstract: The close relationship between language and culture is one of the emotional factors that can’t be neglected in foreign language learning and teaching. Language is a part of culture and plays a very important role in it. Without language, culture would not be possible. Language is influenced and shaped by culture; It reflects culture. This paper explores how the cross-cultural factors and cultural distinctions affect foreign language teaching in China.

Key words: Cultural factorsCultural Distinctions

Foreign Language Learning and Teaching impact

0． Introduction.

In terms of Teaching by principles written by H•Douglas Brown, “the language-culture Connection” is one of the emotional factors in English as a foreign language (EFL) teaching, which affects teachers and students in classroom teaching. So a successful teacher or student must learn something of the culture of the speakers and that language. It goes without saying that “language and culture are intricately intertwined” (Brown, H.D, 2001). “Language is a part of culture and plays a very important role in it” (Deng Yangchang&Liu Renqing, 1989,p3). As far as culture and EFL teaching are concerned, some specialists (Wang Lifei, 2000, Hu Wenzhong, 1993, Su Dingfang, 1988, etc) have done much research, which laid a solid foundation in this field. The main purpose of writing this paper is to explore how the cultural factors or cultural distinctions influence EFL teaching in order to instruct our classroom teaching.

1. Cultural Differences.

Our term here “Culture refers to the total pattern of beliefs, customs, institutions, objects, and techniques that characterize the life of a human community”(Deng,p3). Cultures differ from one another and each culture is unique. Culture differences may include many things. Here are some examples.

1.1 Different Social Customs.

We often hear a foreigner teacher in a language class remark to a girl student: “Your English is very good, really quite fluent.” To this she would say: “ No, no, my English is quite poor” ---- an answer that he had not expected and found a bit puzzling. Because to English speaking people, praise is to be accepted, generally with a remark like “Thank you”. To Chinese, however, acceptance of a compliment would imply conceit or lack of manners. So, in the case above, the reason for such different reactions reflects differences in customs.

1.2 Different Ideas of Values.

At this point, the Chinese encourage clear classification while the westerners encourage that beings are created equal. The Chinese emphasize collectivism while the westerners emphasize individualism. The Chinese encourage to care for others while the westerners encourage to respect privacy. etc. So during the traditional classroom language teaching, teachers are central and authoritative in China. The students accepted knowledge from the teachers passively. On the contrary, students are central in the western classroom language teaching. Students with different opinions could argue with the teachers, which motivates the students’ enthusiasm for language learning.

1.3 . Different Ways of Thinking, Feeling and Acting.

Different cultural backgrounds determine the ways of thinking, feeling and acting. For instance, we used to invite some foreign friends to a bar for drinking beer at weekends last year. When we had enough, my Chinese friends were struggling to pay the bill. For the first several times, the foreign friends didn’t say anything, but at last they rejected to be paid for them. Obviously, they were offended. To their ways of thinking, men are created equal. They had enough money to pay the bills for themselves!

2. The Influence of Cross-cultural Factors on EFL Teaching.

As mentioned above, there are many aspects of cultural differences. Similarly, there are many aspects of influence of cross-cultural factors on EFL teaching.

2.1 The Influence of Educational Systems.

In the western countries, such as the United States, the Great Britain, Canada, France, as I know, classroom teaching is a process or discovery oriented; a teacher is usually seen as a facilitator; interaction, group work and student centeredness are the order of the day in classes whose normal size is under 20 students. But it is different in China, where English teaching is didactic, product oriented and teacher centered. A teacher is seen as a “fount of knowledge” and English classroom is usually crowded with more than 50 students with little or no audio-visual or other teaching equipment. So, It’s obvious that the teaching results are different because of different social-economic conditions and educational systems.

2.2. The Influence on Ways of Thinking, Feeling and Acting.

The status of a teacher in the community influences the ways of his thinking, feeling and acting. For example, a teacher in China is seen as a “fount of knowledge”, the one to be respected or authority in academia. So he/she takes it for granted that he/she is the one who should speak more in language teaching, ignoring the participance of the students. In other words, he or she always acts as controller or resource not director or facilitator, which leads to failure in achieving the desired teaching result. In this case, it also reflects a phenomenon of institution or culture.

2.3. The Influence on Teaching Methodology.

In traditional EFL/ESL teaching, spoon-feeding dominates. It reflects one of the characteristics of teaching methods in China and ideas of value. In China, Confucian values still prevail today. Teachers are usually regarded as an authoritative figure whose superior knowledge and control over classroom learning activities are not supposed to be questioned. In EFL classroom teaching, the wise teacher imparts knowledge to students. Few students will interrupt their teacher and challenge their teacher’s opinions over class. In the western countries, the teacher is not seen as an authority but as an equal to students and students may argue with their teacher whenever necessary. In class, teacher acts as a facilitator instead of an instructor.

3. How to Reduce the Influence of Cultural-factors in EFL Teaching.

In the book Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy, H•Douglas Brown puts forward some effective suggestions on how to teach a second culture. He offered us some reference on how to reduce the influence of cultural factors in EFL teaching.

3.1. Discuss Cross- Cultural Differences with your Students.

It is well known that learning a foreign language well means more than merely mastering the pronunciation, grammar, words and idioms. It also means learning its culture, “learning the ways in which their language reflects the ideas, customs, and behavior of their society, learning to understand their language of the mind”(Deng Yangchang, 1989). Discussing cross-cultural differences with the students is to let them know the culture of target language in order to teach them well.

3.2. Emphasizing Cross-cultural Factors in EFL Teaching.

“Since language is an integral component of culture, teachers of English should include cultural components in their language teaching curriculum.”(Wang Lifei, 2000). So, teachers of English should know what and how to teach in a language class. The close relationship between culture and language tells us that teachers should try to make learners understand the language in its cultural context. Foreign language learners can never be expected to learn the language well without learning and understanding the culture of the people who speak the language. Therefore, teachers should attach great importance to cross-cultural factors in the language learning process and integrate cultural background knowledge and information into their teaching curricula.

3.3. Teach Students the Cultural Connotations especially of Sociolinguistic Aspects of Language.

“Cultures are diverse, so languages are diverse.”(Deng, 1989) Different languages reflect different cultures. The term connotation means “the implication of a word, apart from its primary meaning” (Longman Modern English Dictionary). For students of a foreign language, it is essential that they know not only the denotation of words, but also the connotations. Otherwise, mistakes may be made or misunderstanding may arise. Sometimes, it causes confusion. For example, in Chinese-English intercultural communication, kinship terms often present problems because satisfactory equivalents are not always available. The statement Linda’s brother married Michael’s sister is not easy to render into Chinese without further information about whether the brother is older or younger than Linda and whether the sister is Michael’s elder or younger sister. The reason is that in Chinese there are many more terms to designate specific relationships. This example reflects a culture. The Chinese people emphasize clear classification while the people in the western countries emphasize equality. There are too numerous words with cultural connotation to be listed here.

3.4. Help the Students get rid of Their Depression or Discouragement Stemmed from Cultural Sources.

In EFL Teaching, students may be affected by cultural sources. They may be, in a sense, depressed or discouraged. To be a language teacher, you should help them get rid of their depression or discouragement stemmed from cultural sources. How to help them? Here are the H•Douglas Brown’s suggestions:

A. Help students to be aware of acculturation and its stages.

B. Stress the importance of the second language as a powerful tool for adjustment in the new culture.

C. Be especially sensitive to any students who appear to be depressed and do what you can to assist them.

4. Conclusion or Suggestions.

There are many aspects of influence of cultural factors in EFL Teaching. Whenever you teach a language, you teach the pronunciation, words and grammar of the target language, you also teach a complex system of its cultural customs, values and ways of thinking, feeling and acting. Because of different cultural milieu (backgrounds), misunderstandings or mistakes may arise in foreign Language learning and teaching. Classroom teachers may have to adjust their methods or techniques of classroom teaching in order to reduce the influence of cross-cultural factors or cultural distinctions. In doing so, you can increase the teaching quality effectively.

Bibliography

Brown,H.D,2001,Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press

Deng Yanchang &Liu Renqing,1989,Language and Culture. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.

Wang Lifei,2000,A Survey of Modern Second Language Learning and Teaching. Shanghai: Shanghai Education Press

Xiang Maoying,2001, “Cultural Barriers on the Application of Communicative Approach to Language Teaching in Chinese Classroom”. Teaching English in China.VOL.24 NO.2:29-31.

Yan Jinglan,2001, “Culture: What to Teach and How to Teach it in an ELF Class.” Teaching English in China VOL.24 NO.4:21-23.

Zhao Houxian,2002, “Principles of Culture Teaching in Foreign Language Classes”. Teaching English in China VOL.25 NO.2:51-53.