CulturalBackgroundKnowledgeandEnglishTeaching论文

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1、 . ContentsAbstract 2I. Introduction 2II. main body 21. Problems aroused by different cultural backgrounds22. Importance of cultural background knowledge in language teaching 43. How to carry out the teaching of cultural background knowledge10III. Conclusion 12Cultural Background Knowledge and Engli

2、sh Teaching汤红玲Abstract:I.The relationship between language and culture is very important .The different cultural backgrounds can arouse problems in English teaching:A.Somedifficultiesincommunicationcausedbydifferentculturalbackgrounds B.Briefillustrationofrelationshipbetweenlanguageandculture C.Prob

3、lemsinEnglishteachingandteachingmaterialcausedbyneglectofculturalbackgroundknowledge II.Culturalbackgroundknowledgeinlanguageteaching is very important :ANecessityofculturalbackgroundknowledgeinauralcomprehension B.NecessityofculturalbackgroundknowledgeinoralEnglish C.Necessityofculturalbackgroundkn

4、owledgeinreading 1. Fromtherespectofallusionsasillustration2.Fromtherespectofidiomsasillustration D.Necessityofculturalbackgroundknowledgeinwritingandtranslation III.Howtocarryouttheteachingofculturalbackgroundknowledge :Selectingproperteachingmaterial ;Encouragingwidereading ;Payingattentiontoprope

5、rwordingintheclassroom;UsingnativeEnglishvideotapesandfilms;EncouragingcommunicationwithnativespeakersofEnglish ;HoldinglecturesaboutcultureKey words : relationship ;cultural ; background ; English;teachingI. IntroductionThe relationship between language and culture is very important。In English teac

6、hing ,because of the different cultural backgrounds and the teachers ignore the cultural backgrounds,so many problems can be aroused. so we only teach both language and cultural backgrounds, we can improve the students performance better. II. main body 1. Problems aroused by different cultural backg

7、rounds1.1.OnceanAmericanwasvisitingthehomeofaChinese.Asthevisitorsawthehostswife,hesaid,“Yourwifeisverybeautiful.”Thehostsmiledandsaid:“Where?Where?”whichcausedtheAmericanssurprise,butstillheanswered:“Eyes,hair,nose”ananswerthatthehostfoundabitpuzzling.Thesurprisingwascausedbydifferentcultures.“Wher

8、e?Where?”meaning“哪里！哪里！”in Chinese is a kind of humble saying .But the American understood it as Which parts of the body are beautiful? So, the reason for both sides misunderstandings was differences in customs and habits. Each was expressing and understanding what the other said according to his or

9、 her culture .Events like these are fairly common when people use different languagesandculturescommunicate.Becauseofculturaldifferences,misunderstandingsmayarise,althoughthelanguageusedincommunicationmaybefaultless.Thesamewordsorexpressionsmaynotmeanthesamethingtodifferentpeoples.Becauseofculturald

10、ifferences,aseriousquestionmaycauseamusementorlaughter,aharmlessstatementmaycausedispleasureoranger.Becauseofculturaldifferences,jokesbyaforeignspeakermaybereceivedwithblankfacesandstonysilence.Yetthesamestoriesinthespeakersowncountrywouldleaveaudienceholdingtheirsideswithlaughter.1.2.Languageisapar

11、tofcultureandplaysaveryimportantroleinit.Ontheonehand,withoutlanguage,culturewouldnotbepossible.Ontheotherhand,languageisinfluencedandshapedbyculture;itreflectsculture.Inthebroadestsense,languageisthesymbolicrepresentationofapeople,anditcomprisestheirhistoricalandculturalbackgroundsaswellastheirappr

12、oachtolifeandtheirwaysoflivingandthinking.Languageandcultureinteractandunderstandingofonerequiresunderstandingoftheother.Culturesdifferfromoneanother.Eachcultureisunique.Learningaforeignlanguagewellmeansmorethanmerelymasteringthepronunciation,grammar,wordsandidioms.Itmeanslearningalsotoseetheworldas

13、nativespeakersofthatlanguageseeit,learningthewaysinwhichtheirlanguagereflectstheideas,customs,andbehavioroftheirsociety,learningtounderstandtheir“languageofthemind”.Learningalanguage,infact,isinseparablefromlearningitsculture.However,ithasnot beengivenenoughcaretoinourteachingforalongtime.1.3.Manyst

14、udentshaveacquiredfourskillslistening,speaking,readingandwritingaccordingtothedemandofourtraditionalsyllabus,theyoftenmakemistakesinapplicationoflanguagetoreallife,becauseourteachingandteachingmaterialsattachimportancetolanguageformsbutignorethesocialmeaningsoflanguageformsandlanguageapplicationinre

15、ality.Wecanseethefollowingdialoguesinmanytextbooks:1. A:Whatsyourname? B:MynameisLiHong. A:Howoldareyou? B:Imtwenty. A:Wheredoyoucomefrom? B:IcomefromNanjing. 2. A:Whereareyougoing? B:Imgoingtothelibrary. 3. A:Areyouwritingalettertoyourparents? B:Yes,Iam. A:Howoftendoyouwritetoyourparents? B:Abouton

16、ceaweek.AlltheabovedialoguesareroughlythecombinationofChinesethinkingandEnglishform.Althoughsuchformsarecorrect,theyarenotappropriate.Exceptforhospitals,immigrationofficesandsuchplaces,itsunimaginableforsomeonetoaskastringofquestionslike:“Whatsyourname?”“Howoldareyou?”“Wheredoyoucomefrom?”Thenatural

17、reactionofEnglish-speakingpeopletothegreetingslike:“Whereareyougoing?”wouldmostlylikelybe“Whydoyouask?”or“Itsnoneofyourbusiness.”Questionslike“Areyouwritingtoyourparents?”wouldintrudeononesprivacy.Ourteachingmaterialseldompaysattentiontodifferencesbetweencultures,soourstudentsareusuallyignorantofthe

18、factorofcultureandtheycanonlymechanicallycopywhattheyhavelearned.2. Importance of cultural background knowledge in language teachingSoinlanguageteaching,weshouldnotonlypassonknowledgeoflanguageandtrainlearnerscompetenceofutilizinglanguage,butalsoenhanceteachingofrelativeculturalbackgroundknowledge.

19、21.Inteachingofauralcomprehension,wefindmanystudentscomplainthatmuchtimehasbeenusedinlistening,butlittleachievementhasbeenacquired.Inordertoimprovecompetenceoflisteningcomprehension,somestudentsspeciallybuytaperecordersforlisteningandspendquiteafewhourseverydayonit,butoncetheymeetnewmaterials,still,

20、theyfailtounderstand.Whatisthereason?Ontheonehand,maybesomestudentsEnglishisverypoorandtheyhaventgraspedenoughvocabularies,cleargrammarorcorrectpronunciation,ormaybethematerialisratherdifficult,etc.Ontheotherhand,animportantreasonisthattheyareunfamiliarwithculturalbackgroundoftheUSAandEngland.Auralc

21、omprehension,whichiscloselyrelatedtotheknowledgeofAmericanandBritishculture,politicsandeconomy,infact,isanexaminationofonescomprehensivecompetencewhichincludesonesEnglishlevel,rangeofknowledge,competenceofanalysisandimaginativepower.Maybewehavethisexperience:whenwearelisteningtosomethingfamiliartous

22、,nomatterwhatisconcerned,usuallyweareeasytounderstand.Eveniftherearesomenewwordsinthematerial,weareabletoguesstheirmeaningsaccordingtoitscontext.However,whenweencountersomeunfamiliarmaterialorsomethingcloselyrelatedtoculturalbackground,wemayfeelratherdifficult.Evenifthematerialiseasy,weonlyknowtheli

23、teralmeaning,butcantunderstandtheconnotation,becausewelackknowledgeofculturalbackground. Hereisasentencefromareport:“ThepathtoNovemberisuphillalltheway.”“November”literallymeans“theeleventhmonthofyear”.Buthererefersto“thePresidentialelectiontobeheldinNovember”.Anotherexampleis“redletterdays”whichisa

24、simplephraseandiseasytohear,meaningholidayssuchasChristmasandotherspecialdays.Butstudentsareoftenunabletounderstandthemwithoutteachersexplanation. BelowaretwojokesoftentalkedaboutbyAmericans: 1. A:Whereareyoufrom? B:Illaskher.(Alaska) A:Whydoyouaskher? 2. A:Whereareyoufrom? B:Howareyou.(Hawaii)Amayt

25、hinkBhasgivenanirrelevantanswer.ButifAknewsomethingaboutgeograpcalknowledgeoftheUSA,andthenamesoftwostatesoftheUSAAlaskaandHawaii,hewouldnotregard“Alaska”as“Illaskher”,or“Hawaii”as“Howareyou”.Inviewofthis,theintroductionofculturalbackgroundisnecessaryintheteachingofEnglishlistening. 22.Likewise,spea

26、kingisnotmerelyconcernedwithpronunciationandintonation.StudentscanonlyimprovetheiroralEnglishandreachtheaimofcommunicationbymeansofenormousreading,masteringrichlanguagematerialandacquaintanceofwesternculture.Therefore,inoraltraining,teachersshouldlaystressonfactualityoflanguageandadoptsomematerialap

27、proachingtodailylife,suchasdailydialogueswithtape,magazines,newspapersandreportetc.,becausethematerialisfromreallife,andithelpsstudentstobewellacquaintedwithstandardpronunciationandintonation,tospeakEnglishappropriatetotheoccasion,tounderstandwesternwayoflifeandcustomsetc.Otherwise,misunderstandinga

28、nddispleasureareinevitablyaroused.Letslookatsomeexample :ManyfixedEnglishwaysofexpressioncannotbechangedrandomly.Forexample,theanswerto“Howdoyoudo?”is“Howdoyoudo?”Whenaskingprice,peopleusuallysay,“Howmuch,please?”insteadof:“Howmuchdoyouchargeme?Or“HowmuchdoIoweyou”;Whenpayingbill,“Waiter,billplease.

29、”Insteadof“Excuseme,sir.Wevefinishedeating.Howmuchisit,please?”Whenaskingtheotheronesnameonthetelephone,“Whosspeaking,please?”or“Whoisit,please?”insteadof“Whoareyou?”“Whereareyou?”“Whatsyoursurname?”or“Whatisyourunit?” InEnglish,therearesomanyeuphemismsthatsometimesitshardtoknowtheotheronesactualmoo

30、d.Soweshouldpayattentiontoouranswer.Forexample,whenoneask:“Howdoyoulikethefilm?”andtheotheranswer:“Ithinkitsveryinteresting”,itshowshedoesntlikeitverymuchinsteadoftheliteralmeaning“veryinteresting”.Whenoneasks:“Whatdoyouthinkofmynewcoat?”andtheotheranswers:“Ithinkthepocketisverynice”,italsoshowshisd

31、islike.InAmericaandEngland,usuallypeopledontsayunpleasantwordstoonesface,theyalwayssaypleasantwordstothefullorevadedirectanswering,saying“Idontknow.”Forexample,whenoneasks,“Doyoulikeourteacher”,youmayanswer:“Well,Idontknowhimverywell.”Sometimesoutofhispoliteness,whenmeetingunfamiliarpeople,hemayconc

32、ealhistruefeelings.Forexample,AaskedB:“Howareyou?”AlthoughBhadgotabadcold,hisanswerwas“Fine,thankyou”,butnot“Notverywell,Imafraid”,orothersimilaranswers.Duringoralcommunication,speakersneedstandardpronunciationandintonation,aswellasthesuitableuseoflanguagefortheoccasion.Therearenumerousexamplesthatw

33、ecouldciteofexpressionsthatarecorrectaccordingtogrammaticalrules,butunsuitablefortheoccasion. Once,afterastudentgavealecture,heaskedaforeignvisitorforhisadvice.Hesaidlikethis,“Iamdesirousofexploringyourfeelingonthelecture”whichcausedtheforeignvisitorssurprise.Hesaid:“YouEnglishistoobeautifultobetrue

34、.”Butthestudentrefusedtoacceptthecomment.Hesaidthesentencewasextractedfromthebook.Thevisitorexplainedthatphraseslike“desirousofexploringyourfeelings”werenotfitforspokenlanguage,whichshouldbereplacedby“Idliketohearyourviewsonthelecture”or“MayIhaveyourviewsonthelecture?” Apersoncomfortedabereavedyoung

35、wife,“Imterriblysorrytohearthatyourhusbandhasjustdied,butdontletitupsetyoutoomuch.Youreanattractiveyoungwoman.Imsureyoullfindsomeoneelsesoon.”Althoughthewordsaccordwithgrammaticalrules,theycannotbeappliedincommunication,andatthesametime,theybetraythesocialcustoms. Aspeoplesarediverse,customsarediver

36、se.Itisonlynaturalthenthatwithdifferencesincustoms,differencesoftenariseinusingoflanguage.Forexample,whensomeonepraiseyourEnglishisverygood,AmericanandChineserepliestocomplimentsaredifferent.AccordingtoChinesecustoms,theygenerallymurmursomereplyaboutnotbeingworthyofthepraise,whileaccordingtoAmerican

37、customs,theytendtoacceptthecomplimentwiththepleasure.Thereplylike“No,IdontspeakgoodEnglish”Americansthinkwhichseemstocriticizetheotherside,isimpolite.2.3.ReadingEnglisharticlesrequiresacertainlanguagebasis,butthecompetenceofreadingcomprehensionisnotentirelyrelatedtooneslanguagelevel.Knowledgeofcultu

38、ralbackgroundisalsoimportant.Readingisaprocessaffectedbyintegrationofoneslanguageknowledge,culturalbackgroundknowledgeandotherprofessionalknowledge,andaprocessofcontinuousguessesandcorrectionsaccordingtoavailablelanguagematerial,culturalbackgroundandlogicalreasoning.Generallyspeaking,Chinesepeoplest

39、udyChinesewithoutthedifficultiesarousedby cultural background .Chinese proverbs like“只许州官放火，不许百姓点灯”，“平时不烧香，临时抱佛脚”，“差之毫厘，失之千里”will not influence our understanding of article. The connotation of such new words as “改革开放”，“大腕”，“追星族”are easily understand, too. However,when we read English articles, diffe

40、rences between Chinese and western cultures often bring us many difficulties.Following,effectofculturalbackgroundonreadingwillbediscussed,withsomecommontermsorexpressionsinreadingmaterial,whichisoftennotunderstoodbyChineselearnersunfamiliarwithwesternculture,asillustration. Manyallusionsdrawnfromhis

41、tory,religion,literatureetc.,oftenappearinEnglishworksandhavebecomecommonhouseholdterms.Butwithouttheknowledgeofwesterncultureandhistory,suchallusionsarenotalwayseasytounderstand,andwithoutunderstandingtherecanbelittleappreciation Someallusionsmaybelookedupinthedictionary,butwiththecontinuousdevelop

42、mentofsocietyandlanguage,newallusionshaveappeared.Unlessoneiswellacquaintedwithdevelopmentsofacertaincountry,onewouldbeatalossaboutthemeaningandconnotationsoftermsorexpressionssuchasthosebelow:aRamboRamboisthecharactermadefamousbyAmericanmoviesaroundthemid-1980s.HeisatoughsoldieroftheVietnamWar,reso

43、urceful,taciturn,lonely,somewhat“odd”.Rambogetsinvolvedinnumerousriskyadventuresorinoneviolentsituationafteranother.Hemakesmiraculousescapesfromimpossiblesituationsbyshooting,knifing,bombingorburninghiswayout.Unbelievableashisfeatsmayseem,andrepugnantassomeofhisviolentactionsmayappear,heisthecurrent

44、heroofmanyAmericanboysandyoungmen.aPepsodentsmileAsmileshowingbeautifulwhiteteeth;fromadvertisementsforPepsodenttoothpaste,oneofthebetter-knownbrandsintheUSA.Idiomisanimportantpartofthelanguageandcultureofasociety.Theyareoftenhardtounderstandandhardtousecorrectly.Theyarealmostimpossibletounderstandf

45、romthemeaningsoftheindividualwords.AndwithEnglishidioms,eventhesamewordsmayhavedifferentmeaningsasintheexamplesblow: So,firstofall,astudentshouldlearnnottolookdownonsuchidiomsjustbecausetheyremadeupofsuchsimpleandeasywords.Heshouldlookoutforidenticalphraseswithdifferentmeaningsandlookthemupinadictio

46、naryifhesnotsure.Hesboundtorunintoalotoftroublewhenhefirstusesthem,butheshouldntgivein,muchlessgiveup.Ifhekeepstryingandkeepsatitlongenoughhellmakeoutandthingswillturnoutwellintheend. Thoughthepassageisshort,itincludestenidioms:lookdown,madeupof,lookoutfor,lookup,runinto,givein,giveup,keepatit,makeo

47、utandturnout(well).Itisthusclearthatdifficultiesinreadingcannotbecompletelysolvedbyoneslanguageknowledge,becauseworksofapeoplecannotbeseparatedfromthepeoplesculturaltradition.So,inteachingreading,ateachershouldexplaingrammaticaldifficultiesaswellasexpoundculturalbackground. 2.4.Similarly,writingandt

48、ranslatingcannotbeseparatedfromculturalbackgroundknowledge.Intranslation,eventheverysimpleexpressionscannotbedealtwithwithoutanyconsiderationofspecificcontextandcustoms. Weshalltaketheword“dog”asanexample. To English-speaking people, the dog does not carry the same association as it does to Chinese.

49、 The dog is considered to be derogatory, for example,“癞皮狗”“ 丧家之犬”“走狗”“狗急跳墙”“狗头军师”ect. are often used to describe disgusting people .But dog in English, especially in proverbs, is a commendatory term. If we translate dog into Chinese狗”without exception, we may make jokes. For example:1.Everydoghashis

50、day. 2.Youare,indeed,aluckydog., 3.Lastnightmyfathercamehomedog-tired. Becausesomelearnersarenotwellawareoftheculturaldifferences,theytakeitforgrantedthatthethreesentencesshouldbetranslatedintothefollowing:1.每条狗都有自己的节日。2.你真是一条幸运的狗。 3.昨晚我爸爸回到家中像狗一样得累。 Infact,therighttranslationsareasfollows: 1.人人皆有得意

51、时。 2.你真是个幸运儿。 3.昨晚我父亲回到家中非常累。 Inwriting,culturalbackgroundknowledgeisalsoimportant.WhyisitthattheEnglishwritingofChinesestudentsreadsomuchliketranslationsofChinese?WhyisitthatonecanfairlyeasilytellwhetheranarticlewaswrittenbyaChineseorbyanativespeakerofEnglish?Ontheonehand,itisprobablybecausemostChi

52、nesestudentshavenotyetmasteredthelanguage;Ontheotherhand,itisprobablybecauseofdifferencesinChineseandEnglishwritingstylesthatreflectculturaldifferences. NarrationanddescriptioninChineseseemtobeabitmoreornate,or“flowery”,thaninEnglish.Thefollowingpassagefromastudentscompositionistypicalofthiskindoffa

53、ultywritinginEnglish:“Iwalkedjoyfullyalongthepaththatwaslitupbythegoldenraysofthemorningsun.Beautifulflowersofmanycolorswereblooming.Howfragranttheysmelled!Littlebirdsweresinginginthetrees,asifgreetingmeGoodmorning!Goodmorning!myheartwasburstingwithhappiness”Oneofthecommonfaultsinthismatteristhetend

54、encyofChinesestudentstousetoomanyadjectives.Adjectives,ofcourse,arenecessaryingoodwriting.Butifnotusedwithcare,theycanhavetheoppositeeffectquicklykillinterestandproduceboredom.ChineseandEnglish-speakingpeopleseemtolookdifferentlyontheuseofsetphrasesandexpressions.GoodEnglishwritingdiscourageswhatare

55、called“clichs”or“triteexpressions”.Chinesewriting,ontheotherhand,givesitsapprovaltowell-chosen“four-characterexpressions.”ToanativeEnglish-speaker,thefollowingsentencewouldbefrownedonasanexampleofpoorwriting:Hesleptlikealogandwokeupatthecrackofdawn,freshasadaisy. Triteexpressionsandclichsoriginallycaughtpeoplesattentionpreciselybecausetheywereandaresocolorfulandexpressanideasowell.Butoverusecausedthemtolosetheircharmandfreshness. Inpersuasivewritingsuchassocialorpoliticalessaysandeditorial