Chinese English Majors’ Cultural Aphasia And Global Citizenship Construction

Since the studies of intercultural communication was introduced to China in the 1980 s,the intercultural dimension in foreign language teaching had received increasing attention,and it is seen as a crucial factor in improving students’ intercultural communicative competence.However,in reality,some English teachers and learners overemphasize the learning of the target language and culture,neglect the mastery of their native language and culture,and are unable to accurately express Chinese culture in English,which fails to give a good Chinese narrative,resulting in the phenomenon of “Chinese Cultural Aphasia”.With the deepening of globalization and cultural exchanges,people must act as global community and “global citizens” are becoming more and more important.It is generally believed that global citizens are defined as people who care for and embrace cultural diversity,while being able to promote social justice and sustainability,as well as having a sense of responsibility.Qualified global citizens can transcend national and cultural boundaries without conflict and discomfort due to cultural differences.This means that the preservation and development of national cultures has found its realistic root in the process of becoming competent global citizens,and global citizens and national cultures are inseparable.The study explores the relationship between Chinese English majors’ native cultural aphasia and their global citizenship construction.Based on Byram’s(1997)model of ICC,this study analyzes data using culture test,questionnaire survey and semi-structured interview.The paper explores the relationship between “Chinese Cultural Aphasia” and global citizenship construction,aiming to help students realize that their ability to express,negotiate and construct their own cultural identities in the target language constitutes an important part of their intercultural communicative competence,so that they can pay more attention to the learning of their native language and culture,and thus improve their native cultural competence in English,the ability to express Chinese cultural identities in English,intercultural communicative competence and become qualified global citizens.In view of the main purpose of the study,this paper is aimed at answering the following three research questions: 1)Does “Chinese Cultural Aphasia” still exist among English majors? 2)What is the relationship between “Chinese Cultural Aphasia” and intercultural communicative competence? 3)What is the impact of Chinese English Majors’ native cultural aphasia on their global citizenship construction?The results of the study indicate that English majors have a high level of“Chinese Cultural Aphasia”,and the ability to express Chinese culture in English is significantly and positively correlated with intercultural communicative competence.In other words,the greater the ability to express Chinese culture in English,the higher the level of intercultural communicative competence,which will be more conducive to global citizenship construction.Based on the above research,the author puts forward the following suggestions.Firstly,it is necessary for English majors to build a definite and strong cultural identity and understand the complexity and necessity of intercultural communicative competence.Secondly,teachers of English majors should improve their own Chinese cultural literacy and the ability to express Chinese culture and Chinese cultural identities in English and should have a profound understanding of global citizenship and global citizenship education so as to cultivate qualified global citizens.