Outline:
I. Problems aroused by different cultural backgrounds
A. Some difficulties in communication caused by different cultural backgrounds
B. Brief illustration of relationship between language and culture
C. Problems in English teaching and teaching material caused by neglect of cultural background knowledge
II. Importance of cultural background knowledge in language teaching
A. Necessity of cultural background knowledge in aural comprehension
B. Necessity of cultural background knowledge in oral English
C. Necessity of cultural background knowledge in reading
1. From the respect of allusions as illustration
a) Old allusions from history, religion and literature
b) New allusions
2. From the respect of idioms as illustration
D. Necessity of cultural background knowledge in writing and translation
1. In translation
2. In writing
a) Differences in Chinese and English writing styles
b) Necessity of knowing these differences
III. How to carry out the teaching of cultural background knowledge
A. Selecting proper teaching material
B. Encouraging wide reading
C. Paying attention to proper wording in the classroom
D. Using native English video tapes and films
E. Encouraging communication with native speakers of English
F. Holding lectures about culture
IV. Conclusion: It is necessary for teachers to pass on cultural background knowledge to students.
Once an American was visiting the home of a Chinese. As the visitor saw the host’s wife, he said,“ Your wife is very beautiful.” The host smiled and said:“ Where? Where?”—which caused the American’s surprise, but still he answered: “ Eyes, hair, nose…”—an answer that the host found a bit puzzling. The surprising was caused by different cultures. “Where? 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 her culture.
Events like these are fairly common when people of different languages and cultures communicate. Because of cultural differences, misunderstandings may arise, although the language used in communication may be faultless. The same words or expressions may not mean the same thing to different peoples. 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 received with blank faces and stony silence. Yet the same stories in the speaker’s own country would leave audiences holding their sides with laughter.
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; it reflects culture. In the broadest sense, language is the symbolic representation of a people, and it comprises their historical and cultural backgrounds as well as their approach to life and their ways of living and thinking. Language and culture interact and understanding of one requires understanding of the other.
Cultures differ from one another. Each culture is unique. Learning a foreign language well means more than merely mastering the pronunciation, grammar, words and idioms. It means learning also to see the world as native speakers of that language see it, learning the ways in which their language reflects the ideas, customs, and behavior of their society, learning to understand their “language of the mind”. Learning a language, in fact, is inseparable from learning its culture.
However, it has been given not enough care to in our teaching for a long time. Although many students have acquired four skills—listening, speaking, reading and writing according to the demand of our traditional syllabus, they often make mistakes in application of language to real life, because our teaching and teaching materials attach importance to language forms but ignore the social meanings of language forms and language application in reality. We can see the following dialogues in many textbooks:
1. A: What’s your name?
B: My name is Li Hong.
A: How old are you?
B: I’m twenty.
A: Where do you come from?
B: I come from Nanjing.
2. A: Where are you going?
B: I’m going to the library.
3. A: Are you writing a letter to your parents?
B: Yes, I am.
A: How often do you write to your parents?
B: About once a week.
All the above dialogues are roughly the c