中学英语教学与跨文化交际能力培养(2)

4.2.3 Reading
English reading ability is a comprehensive ability. If one wants to read an article, find out the main idea, use the information provided by the articles for inference, judgment, reasoning, he or she must master not only English language knowledge, but also a certain degree of expertise or background knowledge. When students were reading an article, although they didn’t encounter a new word, had no grammatical obstacles and understand the literal meaning of each sentence, they cannot understand the overall effect of the article content and the main idea. Because when students were reading, they always considered English equal as their mother tongue, or affected by the traditional culture of the mother tongue, intentionally or unintentionally to treat the context and meaning of these two cultures equally, so some errors of judgments will happen. Therefore, when we are training students’ reading abilities, we must base on training them to understand the whole passage or paragraph so that they can understand and become familiar with the material and cultural significance related to certain social background; understand the author's tone; be familiar with the article style and writing tendencies, correctly understand the true meaning of the text, and choose the correct answer. [12]
The learner’s lack of cultural background knowledge often hinders their comprehension in reading. For example, we mean pornographic by the word “huang” in Chinese, but in English, “blue” is taken instead of “yellow”. If learners don’t know, they will not understand what “blue film” or “blue video tapes” mean though the words are easy. This illustrates that words’ connotation is the result impact by language. So more attention should be paid to cultural background in learning idioms and literary works, otherwise, we have no means of understanding the implication of words and passage correctly.
4.2.4 Writing
In writing, the differences between the Chinese and western modes of thinking play an important part. Chinese are accustomed to thinking in a spiral way, while English and Americans in a linear way. This difference in thinking often leads to misunderstanding. Sometimes a learner’s composition is perfect in terms of grammar and logic, but when a foreigner reads it, he or she may misunderstand the original meaning of the sentences. [13]

In written expression, the Sino-British cultural differences are primarily in terms of cultural connotation. In different cultural backgrounds, some words have different meanings. In the writing process, students must pay much attention to them. For example, the Chinese used dragon as an analogy to courage and auspice, while to Europe and the U.S. people, ferocious dragon is a symbol of the disaster; Chinese has the saying that "When a rat runs across the street, everybody cries, ‘kill it!’” from this one may draw a conclusion that the Chinese people hate rats, but Disney introduced Mickey into his paradise to make it become a household love animals; [14] Chinese use “red eyes” to express “envy” while English use “green with envy”. [15]
When teachers train students written expression skills, they must contrast these cultural differences between China and Britain; otherwise, the students’ misunderstanding the culture, in a sense, is more serious than making errors in language.

5. The approaches to develop intercultural competence
Cultural teaching methods are perse. The primary task of teachers is using various methods to teach culture and to improve students’ sensitivity to culture and cultivate cultural awareness, so that they can initiatively and willingly absorb it and involve in the new cultural environment.
5.1 Exploring existing materials’ enlightening points about the cultural knowledge.
We should as much as possible keep an eye on the implicit cultural phenomenon of materials, consider these enlightening points of cultural knowledge as the premise to expand appropriately, and try our best to express what their cultural values should be. [16] In other words, we should introduce students to the relevant cultural background knowledge, but also actively guide them to analyze, identify, develop what is useful or healthy and discard what is not for all kinds of social ideology and cultural ideas and cultural concepts. Accumulating these enlightening points about the cultural knowledge will make students benefit. It has stressed the “attention” because in many educational materials, a lot of cultural knowledge is potential, and it is not easy to grasp. It is requiring teachers to have a certain level of cultural understanding and cultural sensitivity. And to achieve this, teachers should do much more work in lesson preparation. In order to continuously improve their own ideological and theoretical level and integrated cultural accomplishments, teachers should make "exploring cultural knowledge enlightening points” as a necessary teaching basic skill.

For example, in the students’ book of Junior English 7A, unit3 which is published by oxford press, the word “dragon” (Long) appears in the teaching material. The material teaches students to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival. Teachers can seize this cultural knowledge to point out different cultural connotations of "dragon". Dragon in the eyes of Chinese people is an auspicious animal. There is a saying: everyone hopes his or her children to be a dragon. That means, “to with one's children have a bright future”. Dragon is a symbol of China's feudal dynasty era of imperial authority, a representative of imperial; Dragon is the Chinese nation's totem, which contains profound cultural traditions and spirit of the nation. [17] While Westerners think that the dragon is a symbol of evil, cruel raging monster, and should be eliminated. In some depicting saint and heroic legends, about the deeds of struggling with monsters such as dragons, it always ended with the monsters being killed. Understanding the different meanings of "dragon" in Chinese and foreign cultures will help students to understand the content of the materials and avoid ambiguity and misunderstanding.
5.2 Designing the introductive point of cultural education.
Teachers must be good at teaching cultural knowledge points which are discovered during lesson preparation, and combining teaching process timely by selecting appropriate methods and organic framework bridge to expand these enlightening points, so that the students can expand their cultural knowledge. As a teacher, we should strive to make English classes as a battlefield for teaching cultural knowledge. In this regard, special attention should be given to integrating theory with practice, and different teaching methods to treat different students and teaching content, and use a variety of teaching methods to create a good cultural atmosphere in classroom. In practical teaching, the following methods are available to select.
5.2.1 Discussion and contrast

Because different languages reflects different cultures, so discussion and contrast can become one of the most commonly teaching methods when teachers want to introduce cultural knowledge. Teachers can grasp the phenomenon of Western culture in the textbooks so that students can make discussions related to the cultural phenomena in our country, and do some comparative analyses. Such discussions will make it possible to bring the initiative of students into full play and at the same time, improve students’ study become more effectively, and make the classroom atmosphere become actively.
In the students’ book of Junior English Book6A, unit 8, the lessons is about Christmas, we can ask the students to compare the Western Christmas and Chinese Spring Festival, guide students analysis the difference of customs of the most important festivals in China and foreign countries, and find out that how these differences reflects different national traditions and cultural values. Most of students understand some Christmas customs, such as Christmas shopping, Santa Claus, Christmas cards, Christmas trees, Christmas songs. And students are familiar with Chinese Spring Festival customs: New Year's Eve celebrating New Year, or firecrackers, worship bumper year, money given to children as a Spring Festival gift and so on. Group discussions can deepen students’ understanding to the Western Christmas, the major festival, and also can further guide students to explore the hot discussion that the Chinese people celebrate foreign festivals. [18]
For another example, in Lesson29 of SEFC Book 1A, we can teach the different eating habits between Chinese and westerners by the way of co-operative learning like the following:
First of all, teachers design a question: Get students to fill in TABLE 1:
TABLE 1

Chinese Westerners
staple food (主食)rice, steamed bread noodles, etc bread, etc
non-staple food(副食)pork, chicken, beef, mutton, fish, bean products, etc.beef, fish, chicken, mutton, boiled, vegetables, etc.

drinks tea, soft drinks, liquor, etc. coffee, soft drinks, wine, etc.
table-ware(餐具)Chopsticks, spoonsknives, forks, spoons
serving orderall dishes served together, soup served at last. No dessert.appetizer, soup, main dish, dessert.
others ①Order/prepare a lot of dishes to show the host’s generosity and hospitality. ②All guests share the different dishes.③The host will keep persuading the guests to eat more even though they may be full.①Each has his or her own share, which is enough for themselves, usually there is nothing left afterthe meal.②The host may suggest some more to the guests, but never keep persuading.
Secondly, the students are pided into groups and discuss the question.
Thirdly, each group is required to collect the answers and report the answers in public.
Finally, teachers can summarize the answers from each group.
After finishing the question, every participant must be clear about the cultural difference of eating habits between the Chinese and westerners.
5.2.2 Plays in and out of class
It is proved that plays in and out of class are probably the most efficient ways of language teaching.
The role of plays and dramas manifests itself when learners perform by themselves. Mini-dramas acted by students expose them to a “process of self-confrontation” with the target cultural communicates. The learners can act out mini-dramas written by them, which show misinterpretation of something that happens in the target cultural context. The cause of the problem is usually clarified in the final scene. Cultural similarities and differences will be analyzed by way of follow-up discussion.
In the listening book of Senior English book3 unit24, the material involves "finding a job", English teachers can extract one or two advertisements from the magazine for students. Teachers can ask the students to pide into two groups, one group act as recruiters, and the other group act as applicants. By looking at the advertisements, appointing to interview, using some simple props, students can exchange views on working conditions, wages and other issues. Thus, students can understand the practical knowledge of Foreign Service work; the actors also can improve their abilities of practical language.

A short play can be broken down into sections. As learners learn (not memorize) one section, they move on to the next. By combining the sections, they have learned the play. The use of this technique enables different groups of learners to work on several short plays at the same time and leads to the creation of several shirt plays simultaneously.
Drama is a useful tool in cultural learning. A full semester’s work can be built around a drama project, or it can fill five or ten minutes at the beginning or end of a lesson. It encourages the learners to view the linguistic and cultural knowledge as a tool for communication rather than as an academic subject. It can bring life and vitality to the classroom.
5.2.3 Classroom presentation
At the beginning of each lesson, teachers can hold a "cultural corner" sessions, with 5-10 minutes. Teachers or students can introduce one aspect of Western culture, such as famous events of foreign country in history, a prominent figure in the world, or some literary works. To accumulate the cultural knowledge for a long time, students’ cultural knowledge will naturally become broad and rich.
5.2.4 Photo display
Use maps, photographs, and illustrations of the text to introduce relative cultural elements vividly. For instance, when we teach the States of Liberty which appears in the lesson 10 of junior English book3, at first we can display a wall chart of the Statue of Liberty in the United States in front of the classroom, then ask the students to identify it and then observe the Statue of Liberty carefully in the facial expressions, posture language, the hold-high arm and torch. And then teachers can introduce the following cultural background briefly: Batuoerdi, a French sculptor, builds U.S. Statue of Liberty. He takes his mother's face and his wife's body as models to manufacture it. The Goddess of Liberty not only has swallowed vicissitudes face, but also perseverance. The torch in her hand is a symbol of freedom shining all over the world. Then teachers can guide the students to make analysis of the understanding of American national spirit through the Statue of Liberty. Teachers also can allow the students to list their deepest impression in other countries or ethnic representation construction.

5.2.5 Song appreciation
The important function of the songs is to express one’s wishes. Many lyrics and melody of songs are also full of rich cultural content. Students generally are interested in songs. If time is enough in the class, teachers can choose one or two representative English songs for students to appreciate or learn to sing. It is an effective method in the teaching of English cultural knowledge to analyze the content of the lyrics and music rhythm feelings. And then the students can accept the cultural baptism. For example, a song has a lyric like "Love is blue."(Blue love). Then what representation is “blue” in English? It often expressed "frustration and anxiety". Teachers cited examples to analyze, and then asked students to appreciate this song, try to see if there are any new experiences. [19]
5.2.6 Foreign festivals on the campus
This activity is of great interest to young students. The celebration could take place in a class, a grade or the whole school with the help of the branch of the Youth League. All kinds of activities can be held in festivals, such as performance of foreign songs, dancing and dramas, holding costume parties, watching foreign films, attending lectures given by foreign experts and enjoying foreign food. By celebrating foreign festivals, learners will immerse in the target cultural context. Teachers are to give introduction on the origin and the conventional activities of the festival. A comparison of the similarities and differences between the foreign festivals and Chinese festivals can develop the learners’ cultural awareness. [20]
5.2.7 Using authentic materials
Obviously, the best way to learn foreign cultural background knowledge is to go to that country to stay there for a period of time. But we know that it is almost impossible to have such an opportunity, especially for our students. Therefore, it is practically necessary for the teachers to use authentic materials to teach culture.
Mass media, such as, film, novels and especially newspapers and magazines, is also considered as an insightful means for teaching culture, for they reflect people’s way of life in terms of variety contemporaneity and authenticity. Students in an EFL setting will spontaneously ask questions about puzzling aspects of society and life as reflected in the film or magazine. This material is by no means easy to interpret because there is so much central inference and it requires deep familiarity with and comprehensive exegeses of the culture in question. Therefore “all such material should be selected with an eye to the subculture persity of the target community”. [21]

Teachers can pick up some pertaining to some aspects of culture revealed in newspapers or magazines and to the discussions of certain questions that might elucidate western patterns of behavior.
5.2.8 Audio-visual media
Audio-visual media materials and approaches, so different from the traditional chalk and blackboard method, are widely welcome due to their vivid presentation of both language and cultural knowledge based on authentic circumstances. Educationists have reacted with imagination and enthusiasm in exploiting the capabilities of modern technology. Some teachers believe that using media in the teaching of EFL in the classroom is certain to bring about a superior result. It can bring in cultural input in a clear and realistic way as compared with traditional, media-free instruction. [22]
5.3 Inspiring students to maintain adequate cultural interest in learning.
Obviously, it is essential to develop intercultural communication abilities in class, based on the students’ language skills. On the other hand, attention should also be given to help learners gain an awareness of the need that they will have to continue learning the language and foreign culture on their own once they leave the classroom. [23] And we must guide and train the students’ interests to study the social and cultural background, make the students to spend the effort in extra-curricular and self-expanding cultural knowledge levels. After all, the time in the classroom is limited, and the teaching contents is narrow, and therefore it is necessary for students to read English magazines, newspapers, look outstanding English original works or watch some foreign films, take part in some cultural Shorans, seminars by using after-school time. As the saying goes “interest is the best teacher," When the students consider to learn English as a hobby, cultural introduction has undoubtedly been the best in the realm of learning.

6. Conclusion
Today, international cultural exchange is going on directly and indirectly, with its new scope, content, form and method unheard of before. To confine oneself to one’s own culture is to go against the times. Now, in our country, the open policy towards the rest of the world has become a fundamental policy. This policy has brought about much broader prospects for international cultural exchange. Therefore, overcoming cultural barriers has become more and more important. Only by surmounting the barriers can we get a high degree of cultural exchange, make use of good things from other cultures and build up our cultural and material wealth. This exchange will contribute to understanding and friendship among nations as well as development in science and culture.

In the practical teaching, the culture teaching should be presented as many detailed as possible in the teaching syllabus. The teaching materials should not be located only in the source culture and should be a constructive attempt to be explicit about intercultural behavior and communication, especially, in view of the limited language available at this level. Besides, in the classroom teaching, teachers are expected to use a variety of teaching methods that are suitable to students’ level.

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