The Cultural Differences and Its effects on English Teaching of Junior Middle School文化差異及其對初中英語教學(xué)的影響

1、the cultural differences and its effects on english teaching of junior middle schoolabstract: for a long time, cultural differences have always been the important obstacles in the communication between the chinese and the english speaking people. so, cultural differences become important factors of

2、cultural communication between china and the world. cultural differences, especially the differences between china and western countries, are the important content of english teaching. the purpose of english teaching is communication. the english teaching purpose of junior middle school is to adapt

3、to this requirement. therefore, in english teaching, it is necessary to consolidate and enlarge students knowledge, develop the abilities of english communication, and make the student to obtain a certain ability of self-study. in the english teaching stage of junior middle school, cultural differen

4、ces are mainly embodied in several aspects, such as vocatives, greetings, making telephone calls, introduction, apologies and replies and so on. understand these differences; students can correctly understand the articles, english communication and feel of western social ideology and culture, so as

5、to achieve the purpose of learning a second language.key words: cultural differences；english teaching；english communication；western social ideology and culture文化差異及其對初中英語教學(xué)的影響提要：長期以來，文化差異一直是制約中國人與講英語國家的人進行交流的重要因素。因此,文化差異成為中國與世界進行文化交流的重要方面。文化差異，特別是中西方文化差異，是英語教學(xué)的重要內(nèi)容。英語教學(xué)的目的是進行交流。初中英語教學(xué)目的就是順應(yīng)這一要求。因此，在

6、英語教學(xué)中，鞏固和擴大學(xué)生知識、發(fā)展學(xué)生用英語進行交流的能力以及讓學(xué)生獲得一定自學(xué)能力是非常有必要的。在初中英語教學(xué)階段，文化差異主要涉及一些方面，比如稱呼、打招呼、打電話、介紹、道歉等等。了解這些差異，學(xué)生能夠正確理解文章、進行英語交流以及感悟西方社會意識形態(tài)和文化底蘊，從而達到學(xué)習(xí)第二門語言的目的。關(guān)鍵詞: 文化差異；英語教學(xué)；英語交流；社會意識形態(tài)和文化底蘊iiicontentsabstract:.i提要iiintroduction11 cultural differences11.1 cultural differences11.2 cultural differences and e

7、nglish teaching of junior middle school22 some specific aspects of cultural differences22.1 vocatives22.2 greetings32.3 making telephone calls42.4 introduction52.5 apologies and replies63 suggestions for cultural teaching63.1 dig into cultural information of discourses63.2 create cultural situation

8、of dialogues73.3 organize several of exercises in and out of english classes73.4 make full advantage of multimedia teaching83.5 strengthen the cultural training of english teachers8conclusion9bibliography10the cultural differences of english teaching in junior middle schoolintroductionin recent year

9、s, with the development of science and technology, and with the change of peoples idea, the world is globalizing increasingly. under the pattern of economic globalization, trade contacts or social activities between china and other countries are more than before. the language has set up a bridge to

10、communicate with people. with the deposition of history and the development of society, china and the western countries have formed different cultural practices. relationship between language and culture are inseparable. in english teaching of junior middle school, if students really want to master

11、communicative skills, they should have knowledge of language and culture of english. if students focus only on the use of english forms while ignore the cultural differences, which will lead to the improper use of language, even cause misunderstanding. to resolve this problem, teachers should cultiv

12、ate students comprehensive ability about cultural differences when they use english in english teaching and improve students intercultural consciousness in english learning.1 cultural differences1.1 cultural differencesin english teaching, culture refers to the national history, local conditions, tr

13、aditional custom, life style, behavior standards, and concept of value and so on. language and culture are closely related. it is impossible to teach language without grasping the cultural background. language is a part of culture. due to the geographical position, economic system, the legal sense,

14、thinking mode, and many other factors, led to the formation of chinese and western cultural differences. for a long time, cultural differences have always been the important obstacles in the communication between the chinese and the english speaking people.cultural differences are established in the

15、 development of society and historical precipitation and it is a kind of permanent cultural phenomenon. during the process of the economic globalization and the rapid development of the information technology, the communication is becoming increasingly between different people of different cultural

16、background. so, in english teaching of junior middle school, it is of great significance for students to understand the different cultural differences and enhance cultural adaptability.1.2 cultural differences and english teaching of junior middle schoolfor a long time, the english teaching of junio

17、r middle school in our country mainly emphasis on the interpretation of vocabulary and grammar, and ignored the learning of english cultural background. as a result, the students can use correct grammar to write articles, but these articles are far away from english cultural environment and social e

18、nvironment. after learning english for years, the students even can not understand the most basic western manners, let alone the use of english communication. it is not the purpose of learning a second language. whats more, most english teachers in china are indigenous. cultural teaching is just bei

19、ng an armchair strategist for them. and they have not much practical experience.so, strengthening the english cultural teaching of junior middle school has become an extremely urgent issue.new english curricula criterion mentions that the ultimate objective of the course is cultivating the learners

20、competence of communication in real english. this ability is based on their skills, knowledge, attitude, strategies and the awareness of culture in language learning. it makes the students master the basic knowledge about english and have basic ability of english listening, speaking, writing and rea

21、ding, have certain ability to use english.so, in english teaching of junior middle school, teachers should pay more attention to the cultural differences and let students understand western etiquette and cultural differences. it can broaden students horizons, enhance the students language understand

22、ing and comprehension, and at the same time also can improve students interests in english learning.2 some specific aspects of cultural differences2.1 vocativesvocatives are used to address others to draw their attention. they are an indispensable part of everyday conversations. for a long time, in

23、english teaching of junior middle school, our english teachers stand on the platform and say “class begins”, the monitor say “stand up”, then the whole students stand up and say “good morning, teacher”, at this time the teacher will say “good morning, students and sit down, please”. from the example

24、, we know the english teachers don not realize that the teacher and students are not used as vocatives. so the english teachers should make “good morning, sir” instead of “good morning, teacher” and “good morning, everyone” instead of “good morning, students”.in english “uncle” and “aunt” are often

25、used together with the addressees given name ,e.g. uncle tom and aunt mary. other kinship terms like mother-in-law and father-in-law are not often used as vocatives. english speakers address these family members or relatives by using their names. some english speaking children even use their parents

26、 and grandparents personal names to address them. however, in china, the names of the family members or relatives who are one generation or two above the addresser are taboos to him. he is never allowed to address his grandparents or parents by using their names. and even the names of his elder brot

27、hers and sisters are not used when he addresses them. he may have to address them as brother or sister. it is interesting to note that in english speaking countries some elderly persons may use son as a vocative to address a young lad without meaning to offend, while a chinese must get ready to figh

28、t if he dares to address as “son” somebody who is not, in fact, his son.therefore, in english teaching of junior middle school, english teachers should make students know more about the differences in vocatives and improve the standardization of their english communication. 2.2 greetingsin english t

29、eaching of junior middle school, greetings are frequent in english dialogues. for example, one person meet the other person say “how are you?” the other say “i fine.” it is quite natural for people to greet each other when they meet. greetings, which are very important to human society, do not conve

30、y much propositional meaning. their importance would be readily seen if they should be absent. for example, if one fails to greet another person when they meet, the consequence can be serious. the communication channel between them might be closed since then. important as greetings are, they are not

31、 conducted in the same way in different cultures. english and chinese speakers, for instance, may greet others in different ways.there are some fixed expressions that are used almost exclusively to greet others in english. how do you do is said to each other by the two persons who have just been int

32、roduced to each other. how are you is a very common expression of greeting and the speaker is not really concerned about the hearers state of health. as a result, the normal reply to it is just a fine, thank you no matter whether one really feels good. a true story may reveal the nature of this engl

33、ish form of greeting. an english speaker went to see a doctor who was an old friend of his for his bad cold. upon seeing him, the doctor said, “how are you, george.” george did not know how to respond to it for a moment. apparently, the context complicated the matter. george found that he was in a d

34、ilemma. if he said” fine, thank you” as people usually do, then why he was here to see the doctor; if he started to explain his trouble, he might sound very unusual and absorb. we can see from these story greetings and responses may not always be as simple as they seem to be.for chinese learners of

35、english, it is important to note that many casual greetings in chinese can not be carried over into english and used as greetings when they meet english speakers. even though “hello” as a form of greeting is gaining popularity among the chinese people in the urban areas, such casual greetings as “di

36、d you have breakfast?”, “where are you going?” etc. are still used frequently and extensively as greetings. if they are put into english and used as greetings to english speakers, misunderstanding may occur. when a native speaker of english hears the question “where are you going?” he may feel that

37、he is forced to tell others where he wants to go and what he wants to do. they may form the false concept that the chinese people like to intrude into other peoples affairs, for they do not understand these are only greetings in china. certainly; we do not intend to leave such an impression on engli

38、sh speakers with whom we communicate.2.3 making telephone callspeople in modern societies frequently make telephone calls. but speakers of different languages may say different things over telephone. there are differences in the verbal conventions between english speakers and the chinese people when

39、 they make telephone calls.when english speaker pick up the phone they normally tell the person calling who they are. this is especially true when they are at work in offices. what they tell the person calling first is the name of the office in which they work rather than their own names. and then t

40、hey normally ask if there is anything they can do to help. if the person calling is a stranger and does not tell who he is or which company he is now representing, the person who answers the phone normally asks: who is calling, please? or would you tell me your company name, please?in contrast, when

41、 a chinese answers a phone call, he or she would normally just say, “hello?” with no more information provided. many chinese speakers refuse to tell the person calling who they are, even when asked, if the person calling has not told them who he is or she is. the chinese people are generally more ca

42、utious than english speakers. the hidden meaning of the “hello?” is “will you please tell me who you are?” or “will you please tell me whom you would like to speak to?” it is the person calling who is expected to provide more information because he or she wants help and therefore may be in an unfavo

43、rable situation. to an english speaker who answers the phone it may include his or her personal information whereas to a chinese speaker it may not.usually the person called ends the conversation over the telephone with “thank you for calling” and english speakers never forget to say good-bye to eac

44、h other before they hang up the receiver. the english speakers working in china often complain that they seem to be slapped on the face when the person at the other end of the line hangs up the receiver without saying “good-bye”. it is customary for the person calling or the elderly person to hang u

45、p the receiver first. if one has to make a phone call early in the morning or late at night, one normally apologizes first. for example, im sorry to call you so early or im sorry to call you at this time of the day.we can see from the above examples that courtesy is very important to conversations i

46、n english over the telephone.2.4 introductionin english culture, the general rule is to introduce a young person to an older one, a man to a woman, an inferior to a superior, the guest to the host, and an individual to a group. and be sure to mention first the name of the person we wish to honor. wh

47、en we introduce a man and a woman; we mention the womens name first unless the man is much older than the woman or very famous. when we introduce two males or two females, put the older persons name first.when people are introduced they do not always shake hands. men shake hands more often than wome

48、n. in formal or business situations people normally shake hands. men usually take off their gloves before they shake hands, but women do not have to. when a man and a woman are introduced, it is the woman who first extends her hand if they shake hands at all.though in formal or business situations t

49、he titles and surnames of the introduced may be used, very often introductions are made from the start with first names: mary smith, this is john jones, because now english speakers are easy to be on first name terms. this leaves the option open to the introduced. mary smith, for example, can be cal

50、led either mary or miss smith by her new acquaintance.when introducing people to each other, we may add some descriptive note as in miss green, may i introduce mr. hang? he is a member of my firm. (to mr. hang)miss green has just arrived in this country; her home is in england. if the introduced hav

51、e something in common, it is normally mentioned to bring them closer to each other.when people are introduced to others, they often say to each other, how do you do or nice to meet/know you. when we introduce ourselves to others, we had better mention how we like to be addressed, as in im zhang xiao

52、 ming from china. please call me xiao ming.2.5 apologies and repliesgenerally speaking, the english speaking people apologize more often and on more occasions than the chinese people. they say, excuse me when they need to pass in front of others, to leave a party or the dinner table or when they wan

53、t to excuse themselves from company. while talking with others, they say it when they need to answer the phone or a door bell and even when they sneeze.they say, im sorry when they are a couple of minutes late for an appointment or when they realize they are in somebodys way. they say, im terribly/a

54、wfully sorry when they bump into others or step on others foot. its o.k, its all right, and never mind are perhaps the commonest replies to apologies.however, when something serious happens that may be involved in legal procedures, the persons in question do not apologize to each other, for apologie

55、s may be used against those who have made them. it has been reported that a woman had a car collision with a man. out of politeness the woman said, “im sorry” when she got out of her car. the man reported to the traffic police, “she apologized to me, admitting that she was responsible for the accide

56、nt”thus in similar situations we must be careful. we must not apologize if apology will contribute nothing to the solution of the problem at hand and may cause troubles that can be otherwise avoided.3 suggestions for cultural teaching3.1 dig into cultural information of discoursesin english teaching

57、 of junior middle school, most of discourses refer to typical cultural background of english speaking countries, especially the literary works; it provides students with vivid material for the outside world. in english teaching, teachers should not only let the students grasp the theme of the conten

58、ts, but also lead them to dig into cultural information; it can broaden their cultural vision in the acquisition of language.for instance, the english people used to talking about the weather, what is the reason? because the english people pay special attention to respect the privacy of individuals,

59、 they will not to tell others what to do at home, this is their national habit. through learning the olympic games”, students can understand the hosting of the olympic games and sports settings. through learning a taste of english humor, students can understand english humorous expressions and the way of thinking. through learning cultural relics”, students can un