A Cross-Cultural Perspective On English Teaching And Learning In China

The application of cross-cultural communication theories to the teaching of English in the context of Chinese universities should be conducted in such a way that students are able to learn that Chinese and Western cultures exist as different systems, and to understand the fundamental ideas governing the respective cultural entities. By comparison and analysis, cultural differences are studied at the higher level of cultural thinking. Following the principle of equality, cross-cultural communication will function as a bridge in the exchange of Chinese and Western cultures.One of the major functions of the English language is to convey the culture of its speech community. Hence, the awareness of its cultural characters will facilitate English teaching against the Chinese cultural background. An analysis of the relationships between cultural awareness and English teaching comes up with the assumptions that (a) native cultural elements can become positive factors if handled in light of cross-cultural communication strategies; (b) teaching can be made more effective if the relevant cultural elements are attended to throughout the whole teaching process; (c) culture-oriented teaching approach, characterized by adequate linguistic and cultural input through suitable methods and textbooks, can produce not only fluent English users but also qualified cross-cultural communicators, which is in fact the ultimate goal of foreign language teaching and learning.Regarding language learning as mainly as a social skill formation, we hold the conviction that (a) a mastery of the home culture and that of the target culture are equally important if the potentials of culture-oriented approach are to be tapped and utilized; (b) English teaching should follow the general principles of applied linguistics, with socio-cultural input organically integrated in the teaching process; (c) the amount of cultural input in teaching should be carefully controlled in order to make learning a process of gradual revelation of the cultural panorama of both the home culture and the target culture; and (d) bearing in mind that cultural awareness is both the means and ends of foreign language teaching and learning, the teacher shouldstimulate the learners' desire to experience a different culture in a stimulated way so that learning a foreign language resembles submerging in a foreign culture, which is both informative and interesting.The present thesis consists of seven chapters. Chapter 1 gives introductory remarks which are concerned with (1) the need for this study; (2) a general description of this study; and (3) the overall structure of the present thesis. Chapter 2 deals with the values of socio-cultural competence as language learning outcome. In Chapter 3, different systems existing in Chinese and Western cultures and the fundamental ideas governing the respective cultural entities are given in relation to the comparison to and analysis of the two cultures.The discussion in Chapters 2 and 3 provides literature review and study background for Chapters 4 and 5, which respectively present empirical research design, and analysis concerning results and discussions of the survey. This survey consists of two parts, one is questionnaire conducted in Maanshan City, whose subjects are different-level Chinese English teachers; the other is interviews, with informants from Chinese English learners and teachers of English-speaking natives. Chapter 6, based on the survey in Chapters 4 and 5, offers suggestions for pedagogy, which involve material, approach, teacher's cultural training, as well as a sample analysis. Chapter 7 summarizes what is essential in this thesis, proposes the importance of this cross-cultural study on English teaching and learning in China, and describes the limitations and opportunities for future research.