英语教学Cultural Background Knowledge and English Teaching

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Outline:

I.Problemsarousedbydifferentculturalbackgrounds

A.Somedifficultiesincommunicationcausedbydifferentculturalbackgrounds

B.Briefillustrationofrelationshipbetweenlanguageandculture

C.ProblemsinEnglishteachingandteachingmaterialcausedbyneglectofculturalbackgroundknowledge

II.Importanceofculturalbackgroundknowledgeinlanguageteaching

A.Necessityofculturalbackgroundknowledgeinauralcomprehension

B.NecessityofculturalbackgroundknowledgeinoralEnglish

C.Necessityofculturalbackgroundknowledgeinreading

1.Fromtherespectofallusionsasillustration

a)Oldallusionsfromhistory,religionandliterature

b)Newallusions

2.Fromtherespectofidiomsasillustration

D.Necessityofculturalbackgroundknowledgeinwritingandtranslation

1.Intranslation

2.Inwriting

a)DifferencesinChineseandEnglishwritingstyles

b)Necessityofknowingthesedifferences

III.Howtocarryouttheteachingofculturalbackgroundknowledge

A.Selectingproperteachingmaterial

B.Encouragingwidereading

C.Payingattentiontoproperwordingintheclassroom

D.UsingnativeEnglishvideotapesandfilms

E.EncouragingcommunicationwithnativespeakersofEnglish

F.Holdinglecturesaboutculture

IV.Conclusion:Itisnecessaryforteacherstopassonculturalbackgroundknowledgetostudents.

OnceanAmericanwasvisitingthehomeofaChinese.Asthevisitorsawthehost’swife,hesaid,“Yourwifeisverybeautiful.”Thehostsmiledandsaid:“Where?Where?”—whichcausedtheAmerican’ssurprise,butstillheanswered:“Eyes,hair,nose…”—ananswerthatthehostfoundabitpuzzling.Thesurprisingwascausedbydifferentcultures.“Where?Where?”meaning“哪里！哪里！”inChineseisakindofhumblesaying.ButtheAmericanunderstooditas“WhichpartsofthebodyEventslikethesearefairlycommonwhenpeopleofdifferentlanguagesandculturescommunicate.Becauseofculturaldifferences,misunderstandingsmayarise,althoughthelanguageusedincommunicationmaybefaultless.Thesamewordsorexpressionsmaynotmeanthesamethingtodifferentpeoples.Becauseofculturaldifferences,aseriousquestionmaycauseamusementorlaughter；aharmlessstatementmaycausedispleasureoranger.Becauseofculturaldifferences,jokesbyaforeignspeakermaybereceivedwithblankfacesandstonysilence.Yetthesamestoriesinthespeaker’sowncountrywouldleaveaudiencesholdingtheirsideswithlaughter.

Languageisapartofcultureandplaysaveryimportantroleinit.Ontheonehand,withoutlanguage,culturewouldnotbepossible.Ontheotherhand,languageisinfluencedandshapedbyculture;itreflectsculture.Inthebroadestsense,languageisthesymbolicrepresentationofapeople,anditcomprisestheirhistoricalandculturalbackgroundsaswellastheirapproachtolifeandtheirwaysoflivingandthinking.Languageandcultureinteractandunderstandingofonerequiresunderstandingoftheother.

Culturesdifferfromoneanother.Eachcultureisunique.Learningaforeignlanguagewellmeansmorethanmerelymasteringthepronunciation,grammar,wordsandidioms.Itmeanslearningalsotoseetheworldasnativespeakersofthatlanguageseeit,learningthewaysinwhichtheirlanguagereflectstheideas,customs,andbehavioroftheirsociety,learningtounderstandtheir“languageofthemind”.Learningalanguage,infact,isinseparablefromlearningitsculture.

However,ithasbeengivennotenoughcaretoinourteachingforalongtime.Althoughmanystudentshaveacquiredfourskills—listening,speaking,readingandwritingaccordingtothedemandofourtraditionalsyllabus,they1.A:What’syourname?

B:MynameisLiHong.

A:Howoldareyou?

B:I’mtwenty.

A:Wheredoyoucomefrom?

B:IcomefromNanjing.

2.A:Whereareyougoing?

B:I’mgoingtothelibrary.

3.A:Areyouwritingalettertoyourparents?

B:Yes,Iam.

A:Howoftendoyouwritetoyourparents?

B:Aboutonceaweek.

AlltheabovedialoguesareroughlythecombinationofChinesethinkingandEnglishform.Althoughsuchformsarecorrect,theyarenotappropriate.Exceptforhospitals,immigrationofficesandsuchplaces,it’sunimaginableforsomeonetoaskastringofquestionslike:“What’syourname?”“Howoldareyou?”“Wheredoyoucomefrom?”ThenaturalreactionofEnglish-speakingpeopletothegreetingslike:“Whereareyougoing?”wouldmostlylikelybe“Whydoyouask?”or“It’snoneofyourbusiness.”Questionslike“Areyouwritingtoyourparents?”wouldbethoughtointrudeonone’sprivacy.Ourteachingmaterialseldompaysattentiontodifferencesbetweencultures,soourstudentsareusuallyignorantofthefactorofcultureandtheycanonlymechanicallycopywhattheyhavelearned.

Soinlanguageteaching,weshouldnotonlypassonknowledgeoflanguageandtrainlearners’competenceofutilizinglanguage,butalsoenhanceteachingofrelativeculturalbackgroundknowledge.

Inteachingofauralcomprehension,wefindmanystudentscomplainthatmuchtimehasbeenusedinlistening,butlittleachievementhasbeenacquired.Inordertoimprovecompetenceoflisteningcomprehension,somestudentsspeciallybuytaperecordersforlisteningandspendquiteafewhourseverydayonit,butoncetheymeetnewmaterials,still,theyfailtounderstand.Whatisthereason?Ontheonehand,maybesomestudents’Englishisverypoorandtheyhaven’tgraspedenoughvocabularies,cleargrammarorcorrectpronunciation,ormaybethematerialisratherdifficult,etc.Ontheotherhand,animportantreasonisthattheyareunfamiliarwithculturalbackgroundoftheUSAandEngland.Auralcomprehension,whichiscloselyrelatedtotheknowledgeofAmericanandBritishculture,politicsandeconomy,infact,isanexaminationofone’scomprehensivecompetencewhichincludesone’sEnglishlevel,rangeofknowledge,competenceofanalysisandimaginativepower.Maybewehavethisexperience:whenwearelisteningtosomethingfamiliartous,nomatterwhatisconcerned,usuallyweareeasytounderstand.Eveniftherearesomenewwordsinthematerial,weareabletoguesstheirmeaningsaccordingtoitscontext.However,whenweencountersomeunfamiliarmaterialorsomethingcloselyrelatedtoculturalbackground,wemayfeelratherdifficult.Evenifthematerialiseasy,weonlyknowtheliteralmeaning,butcan’tunderstandtheconnotation,becausewelackknowledgeofculturalbackground.

Hereisasentencefromareport:“ThepathtoNovemberisuphillalltheway.”“November”literallymeans“theeleventhmonthofyear”.Buthererefersto“thePresidentialelectiontobeheldinNovember”.Anotherexampleis“red–letterdays”—whichisasimplephraseandiseasytohear,meaningholidayssuchasChristmasandotherspecialdays.Butstudentsareoftenunabletounderstandthemwithoutteacher’sexplanation.

BelowaretwojokesoftentalkedaboutbyAmericans:

1.A:Whereareyoufrom?

B:I’llaskher.(Alaska)

A:Whydoyouaskher?

2.A:Whereareyoufrom?

B:Howareyou.(Hawaii)

AmaythinkBhasgivenanirrelevantanswer.ButifAknewsomethingaboutgeographicalknowledgeoftheUSA,andthenamesoftwostatesoftheUSA—AlaskaandHawaii,hewouldnotregard“Alaska”as“I’llaskher”,or“Hawaii”as“Howareyou”.

Inviewofthis,theintroductionofculturalbackgroundisnecessaryintheteachingofEnglishlistening.

Likewise,speakingisnotmerelyconcernedwithpronunciationandintonation.StudentscanonlyimprovetheiroralEnglishandreachtheaimofcommunicationbymeansofenormousreading,masteringrichlanguagematerialandacquaintanceofwesternculture.Therefore,inoraltraining,teachersshouldlaystressonfactualityoflanguageandadoptsomematerialapproachingtodailylife,suchasdailydialogueswithtape,magazines,newspapersandreportetc.,becausethematerialisfromreallife,andithelpsstudentstobewellacquaintedwithstandardpronunciationandintonation,tospeakEnglishappropriatetotheoccasion,tounderstandwesternwayoflifeandcustomsetc.Otherwise,misunderstandinganddispleasureareinevitablyaroused.Let’slookatsomeexamples.ManyfixedEnglishwaysofexpressioncannotbechangedrandomly.Forexample,theanswerto“Howdoyoudo?”is“Howdoyoudo?”Whenaskingprice,peopleusuallysay,“Howmuch,please?”insteadof:“Howmuchdoyouchargeme?Or“HowmuchdoIoweyou”;Whenpayingbill,“Waiter,billplease.”Insteadof“Excuseme,sir.We’refinishedeating.Howmuchisit,please?”Whenaskingtheotherone’snameonthetelephone,“Who’sspeaking,please?”or“Whoisit,please?”insteadof“Whoareyou?”“Whereareyou?”“What’syoursurname?”or“Whatisyourunit?”

InEnglish,therearesomanyeuphemismsthatsometimesit’shardtoknowtheotherone’sactualmood.Soweshouldpayattentiontoouranswer.Forexample,whenoneask:“Howdoyoulikethefilm?”andtheotheranswer:“Ithinkit’sveryinteresting”,itshowshedoesn’tlikeitverymuchinsteadoftheliteralmeaning“veryinteresting”.Whenoneasks:“Whatdoyouthinkofmynewcoat?”andtheotheranswers:“Ithinkthepocketisverynice”,italsoshowshisdislike.InAmericaandEngland,usuallypeopledon’tsayunpleasantwordstoone’sface,theyalwayssaypleasantwordstothefullorevadedirectanswering,saying“Idon’tknow.”Forexample,whenoneasks,“Doyoulikeourteacher”,youmayanswer:“Well,Idon’tknowhimverywell.”Sometimesoutofhispoliteness,whenmeetingunfamiliarpeople,hemayconcealhistruefeelings.Forexample,AaskedB:“Howareyou?”AlthoughBhadgotabadcold,hisanswerwas“Fine,thankyou”,butnot“Notverywell,I’mafraid”,orothersimilaranswers.Duringoralcommunication,speakersneedstandardpronunciationandintonation,aswellasthesuitableuseoflanguagefortheoccasion.Therearenumerousexamplesthatwecouldciteofexpressionsthatarecorrectaccordingtogrammaticalrules,butunsuitablefortheoccasion.

Once,afterastudentgavealecture,heaskedaforeignvisitorforhisadvice.Hesaidlikethis,“Iamdesirousofexploringyourfeelingonthelecture”—whichcausedtheforeignvisitor’ssurprise.Hesaid:“YouEnglishistoobeautifultobetrue.”Butthestudentrefusedtoacceptthecomment.Hesaidthesentencewasextractedfromthebook.Thevisitorexplainedthatphraseslike“desirousofexploringyourfeelings”werenotfitforspokenlanguage,whichshouldbereplacedby“I’dliketohearyourviewsonthelecture”or“MayIhaveyourviewsonthelecture?”

Apersoncomfortedabereavedyoungwife,“I’mterriblysorrytohearthatyourhusbandhasjustdied,butdon’tletitupsetyoutoomuch.You’reanattractiveyoungwoman.I’msureyou’llfindsomeoneelsesoon.”Althoughthewordsaccordwithgrammaticalrules,theycannotbeappliedincommunication,andatthesametime,theybetraythesocialcustoms.

Aspeoplesarediverse,customsarediverse.Itisonlynaturalthenthatwithdifferencesincustoms,differencesoftenariseinusingoflanguage.Forexample,whensomeonepraiseyourEnglishisverygood,AmericanandChineserepliestocomplimentsaredifferent.AccordingtoChinesecustoms,theygenerallymurmursomereplyaboutnotbeingworthyofthepraise,whileaccordingtoAmericancustoms,theytendtoacceptthecomplimentwiththepleasure.Thereplylike“No,Idon’tspeakgoodEnglish”—Americansthinkwhichseemstocriticizetheotherside,isimpolite.ReadingEnglisharticlesrequiresacertainlanguagebasis,butthecompetenceofreadingcomprehensionisnotentirelyrelatedtoone’slanguagelevel.Knowledgeofculturalbackgroundisalsoimportant.Readingisaprocessaffectedbyintegrationofone’slanguageknowledge,culturalbackgroundknowledgeandotherprofessionalknowledge,andaprocessofcontinuousguessesandcorrectionsaccordingtoavailablelanguagematerial,culturalbackgroundandlogicalreasoning.Generallyspeaking,ChinesepeoplestudyChinesewithoutthedifficultiesarousedbyculturalbackground.Chineseproverbslike“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”willnotinfluenceourunderstandingofarticle.Theconnotationofsuchnewwordsas“改革开放”“大腕”“追星族”areeasilyunderstood,too.However,whenwereadEnglisharticles,differencesbetweenChineseandwesternculturesoftenbringusmanydifficulties.

Following,effectofculturalbackgroundonreadingwillbediscussed,withsomecommontermsorexpressionsinreadingmaterial,whichisoftennotunderstoodbyChineselearnersunfamiliarwithwesternculture,asillustration.

Manyallusionsdrawnfromhistory,religion,literatureetc.,oftenappearinEnglishworksandhavebecomecommonhouseholdterms.Butwithouttheknowledgeofwesterncultureandhistory,suchallusionsarenotalwayseasytounderstand,andwithoutunderstandingtherecanbelittleappreciation.Forexample:

aHerculeantask—taskrequiringgreatpowerofbodyormind.HerculeswasapowerfullybuiltheroofancientGreekDavidandGoliath(fromBible)—Davidwasashepherdboy;hekilledthePhilistinegiantGoliathwithashotfromhisslingandlaterbecamekingoftheHebrews;inmetaphoricaluse,DavidandGoliathstandforacontestbetweentwopersons,enterprises,countries,etc.,inwhichoneismuchsmallerand/orweaker,butinwhichthesmaller/weakeronewinsout.

aHoratioAlgerstory—any“successstory”,oftenconsideredamyth,ofapoorboywhoworkshardandfinallyrisestothetop,becomingrich,successful,famous;HoratioAlgerwasawriterwhosestoriesgenerallyhadthesamesuchplot.Hisbest-knownbooksaretheRaggedDickseriesandtheTatteredTomseries.

Someoftheseallusionsmaybelookedupinthedictionary,butwiththecontinuousdevelopmentofsocietyandlanguage,newallusionshaveappeared.Unlessoneiswellacquaintedwithdevelopmentsofacertaincountry,onewouldbeatalossaboutthemeaningandconnotationsoftermsorexpressionssuchasthosebelow:

aRambo—RamboisthecharactermadefamousbyAmericanmoviesaroundthemid-1980s.HeisatoughsoldieroftheVietnamWar,resourceful,taciturn,lonely,somewhat“odd”.Rambogetsinvolvedinnumerousriskyadventuresorinoneviolentsituationafteranother.Hemakesmiraculousescapesfromimpossiblesituationsbyshooting,knifing,bombingorburninghiswayout.Unbelievableashisfeatsmayseem,andrepugnantassomeofhisviolentactionsmayappear,heisthecurrentheroofmanyAmericanboysandyoungmen.

aPepsodentsmile—Asmileshowingbeautifulwhiteteeth;fromadvertisementsforPepsodenttoothpaste,oneofthebetter-knownbrandsintheUSA.Idiomisanimportantpartofthelanguageandcultureofasociety.Theyareoftenhardtounderstandandhardtousecorrectly.Theyarealmostimpossibletounderstandfromthemeaningsoftheindividualwords.AndwithEnglishidioms,eventhesamewordsmayhavedifferentmeaningsasintheexamplesblow:

So,firstofall,astudentshouldlearnnottolookdownonsuchidiomsjustbecausethey’remadeupofsuchsimpleandeasywords.Heshouldlookoutforidenticalphraseswithdifferentmeaningsandlookthemupinadictionaryifhe’snotsure.He’sboundtorunintoalotoftroublewhenhefirstusesthem,butheshouldn’tgivein,muchlessgiveup.Ifhekeepstryingandkeepsatitlongenoughhe’llmakeoutandthingswillturnoutwellintheend.

Thoughthepassageisshort,itincludestenidioms:lookdown,madeupof,lookoutfor,lookup,runinto,givein,giveup,keepatit,makeoutandturnout(well).

Itisthusclearthatdifficultiesinreadingcannotbecompletelysolvedbyone’slanguageknowledge,becauseworksofapeoplecannotbeseparatedfromthepeople’sculturaltradition.So,inteachingreading,ateachershouldexplaingrammaticaldifficultiesaswellasexpoundculturalbackground.

Similarly,writingandtranslatingcannotbeseparatedfromculturalbackgroundknowledge.

Intranslation,eventheverysimpleexpressionscannotbedealtwithwithoutanyconsiderationofspecificcontextandcustoms.

Weshalltaketheword“dog”asanexample.

ToEnglish-speakingpeople,thedogdoesnotcarrythesameassociationsasitdoestoChinese.Thedogisconsideredtobederogatory,forexample,“癩皮狗”“丧家之犬”“走狗”“狗急跳墙”“狗头军师”etc.areoftenusedtodescribedisgustingpeople.ButdoginEnglish,especiallyinproverbs

1.Everydoghashisday.

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,itisprobablybecausemostChinesestudentshavenotyetmasteredthelanguage;Ontheotherhand,itisprobablybecauseofdifferencesinChineseandEnglishwritingstylesthatreflectculturaldifferences.

NarrationanddescriptioninChineseseemtobeabitmoreornate,or“flowery”,thaninEnglish.Thefollowingpassagefromastudent’scompositionistypicalofthiskindoffaultywritinginEnglish:

“Iwalkedjoyfullyalongthepaththatwaslitupbythegoldenraysofthemorningsun.Beautifulflowersofmanycolorswereblooming.Howfragranttheysmelled!Littlebirdsweresinginginthetrees,asifgreetingme‘Goodmorning!Goodmorning!’…myheartwasburstingwithhappiness…”

OneofthecommonfaultsinthismatteristhetendencyofChinesestudentstousetoomanyadjectives.Adjectives,ofcourse,arenecessaryingoodwriting.Butifnotusedwithcare,theycanhavetheoppositeeffect—quicklykillinterestandproduceboredom.

ChineseandEnglish-speakingpeopleseemtolookdifferentlyontheuseofsetphrasesandexpressions.GoodEnglishwritingdiscourageswhatarecalled“clichés”or“triteexpressions”.Chinesewriting,ontheotherhand,givesitsapprovaltowell-chosen“four-characterexpressions.”ToanativeEnglish-speaker,thefollowingsentencewouldbefrownedonasanexampleofpoorwriting:Hesleptlikealogandwokeupatthecrackofdawn,freshasadaisy.

Triteexpressionsandclichésoriginallycaughtpeople’sattentionpreciselybecausetheywereandaresocolorfulandexpressanideasowell.Butoverusecausedthemtolosetheircharmandfreshness.

Inpersuasivewritingsuchassocialorpoliticalessaysandeditorials,English-speakingwriterstendtobelessmilitantintoneandlanguagethanmostChinese.Theideaistoletthefactsspeakforthemselves.Inotherwords,thefactsthemselvesshouldbeabletoconvincethereader.Thusinsuchtypesofwriting,onefindsrathersparinguseofsuchphrasesaswemust,weshouldnot,itiswrongto,itisabsurd,cannotbedenied,resolutelydemand.Thetoneisusuallyrestrained;thelanguageidgenerallymoderate.Inpresent-dayChinesesocialandpoliticalwritings,factsareofprimaryimportance,ofcourse,butconsiderablestressisalsolaidonmilitancy,onmakingone’sstandclear.Thisdifferenceinattitudesisanimportantone.Experiencehasshownthatahard-hittingessayoreditorialinChinesedoesnotalwayshavetheeffectintendedwhentranslatedintoBesidesthethreepointsofdifferencesmentionedabove,thereareothers.Ifwecouldn’tbeacquaintedwiththesedifferences,wewouldnotwriteastandardEnglishcomposition.

Fromwhathadbeensaid,itisclearthatculturalbackgroundknowledgeisnecessaryinlanguageteaching.Teachersshouldhelpstudentstosolvethedifficultiesinlanguageaswellasinculture.Thus,furtherimproveourqualityofteaching.

Itisnoteasytoteachculturalbackgroundknowledge.Firstly,teachersmustbeacquaintedwiththedifferencesbetweenthetwolinguisticcultures.Teacherscanprovideculturalinformation,aswellasmakestudentsexpressthemselvescorrectlyindifferentoccasions,andthelatterismoreimportant.

Firstlyteachingmaterialisimportant.Aproportionofforeignmaterialandauthenticmaterialshouldbeused,especiallydialogues,becauseit’smoreauthenticandreflectsculturalbehaviorfollowedbyspeakers.Authenticmaterialreferstomaterialselectedfromauthenticactivitiesconcerningsocialfactors.Next,teachersshouldexplainculturalfactorsinvolvedinthematerialwithpurpose.BelowisadialoguebetweentwoEnglishpersons:

Helen:Hello,Susan.

Susan:Hello.I’mgoingtogetamagazineandsomechocolate.Wouldyouliketogowithme?

Helen:OK.Let’sgotothatnewsagentinthecorner.Iwantsomecigarettes.

Susan:Iwanttogototheonedowntheroad.I’vegottosendoffthisparcelandthereisapost-officeinthatone.

ThisdialoguetellsusinEnglandsomenewsagent’sshopsnotonlysellsweetsandcigarettes,butalsoinstallpostofficewherepeoplecansendofflettersandparcels.ButinChina,therearenotsuchshops.Ifteachersdon’tgivetheexplanations,studentsmayfeelpuzzled.Secondly,encouragestudentstoreadextensively,includingnovels,magazines,andnewspapersetc.TomostChineselearners,acquisitionofknowledgeofwesternculture,mainlydependonreadingmaterial,whileliteralworksisthemostrichmaterialthroughwhichwecanknowsomethingaboutapeople’spsychology,culturalcharacters,customsandhabits,socialrelationsetc.Teachersshouldguidestudentstoaccumulaterelativeculturalbackgroundknowledgewhenreadingmaterial.Throughenormousreading,students’understandingofculturewillbecomeripeandcomplete.

Thirdly,intheclassroom,teachershouldpayattentiontoproperlanguageformsaswellassuitableuseoflanguage.Onewayofclassroomteachingistoaskstudentstomakesimilardialoguestothetext.Astudentinevitablyneedstoplayaroleandcarryonaconversationaccordingtoacertainrole.Teachershouldattractthestudent’sattentiontohisroleandpointouthisexpressionswhichareimproperforhischaracterortheoccasion.Furthermore,remindstudentstopayattentiontodetailssuchaspronunciation,intonation,countenancewording,gestureetc.

Fourthly,usegoodnativeEnglishvideotapesandfilmsinteaching,andthenorganizediscussions.Whenwatchingvideotapesorseeingafilm,studentsandteachersshouldpaymuchattentiontothesceneofdailylife,suchasconversationsbetweenshopkeepersandclients,dialoguesonthetelephone,chatinthestreet,etc.Afterthat,teachersandstudentsmayexchangeviewsandreplenisheachother.

Fifthly,encouragestudentstocommunicatewithnativeEnglishspeakers.Butsofar,wehaven’tcarriedoutsuchactivitiesenough.Incontactwithnativespeakers,studentscanbedeeplyimpressed

Sixthly,holdsomelecturesaboutculturesandcustoms,comparingChineseculturewithwesternculture.

Inteaching,teachersshouldattachimportancetoculturaldifferencesandstudythesedifferences.AsEnglishteachers,weshouldnotonlyhelpstudentstolearnaforeignlanguage,butalsotolearnsocialandculturalbackgroundknowledge.Onlyso,studentscanwidentheirknowledgeandthusfurtherlearnEnglishwell.(4,168)

Bibliography

I.BooksinEnglish:

DengYanchang,andLiuRunqing,LanguageandCulture,ForeignLanguageTeaching&ResearchPress,Beijing,1989

LiuDaoyi,andN.J.H.Grant,JuniorEnglishforChina,People’sEducationPress,Beijing,1994

II.BooksinChinese:

胡文仲《文化与交际》，外语教学与研究出版社，北京,1994

贾冠杰《外语教育心理学》，广西教育出版社，广西，1996

王才仁《英语教学交际论》，广西教育出版社，广西，1996

王福祥、吴汗樱《文化与语言》，外语教学与研究出版社,北京，1994

III.Dictionaries:

OxfordAdvancedLearner’sDictionaryofCurrentEnglishwithChineseTranslation,3rdedition,OxfordUniversityPress,London,1984

TheOxfordDictionaryofEnglishProverbs,OxfordUniversityPress,London,1970