Research On The Current Situation And Influential Factors Of Cultural Awareness Cultivation On Senior High School Students In The County Areas Of Guizhou Province

As English subject teaching reform in China continues to advance,the English Curriculum Standards for Senior High Schools(2017 Edition)has introduced the concept of core competence of English subject.This core competence highlights the holistic development of students’ language ability,cultural awareness,thinking quality,and learning ability,Specifically,cultural awareness,as a crucial component of the core competence of English subject,plays a vital role in senior high school English teaching.In the context of the accelerating process of globalization,it is of great importance to cultivate talents who understand the cultural backgrounds and differences between China and other countries with good cross-cultural communication skills.The goal of cultivating cultural awareness is to develop students’ cultural character through cultural learning,empowering the students with the ability to engage in crosscultural communication and promote Chinese culture.In addition,cultural awareness,as one of the important components of the core competence of English subject,will also play a positive role in the cultivation of students’ cultural values and moral emotions in English teaching.This research used questionnaire survey in quantitative research method and interview in qualitative research method as research instruments,and took five hundred students and thirty English teachers from five different senior high schools in the county areas of Guizhou province for questionnaire survey as well as six English teachers from Guiding Senior High School for interviews as the research participants,to explore the current situation of cultural awareness cultivation on students of senior high schools in English teaching in the county areas of Guizhou province and analyze its influential factors.Combined with the results and analysis of research data,the methods and strategies to effectively enhance the cultural awareness of high school students in English teaching were also discussed.In order to ensure the effectiveness of the research,the five senior high schools selected for the research were all provincial model high schools,which are representative within the scope of senior high schools in the county areas of Guizhou province.This research proposed three research questions:(1)What are the main issues existed in the cultivation of cultural awareness in English teaching on senior high school students in the county areas of Guizhou province?(2)What are the factors that influence the cultivation of cultural awareness in English teaching on senior high school students in the county areas of Guizhou province?(3)What are the strategies that can effectively enhance the cultural awareness of senior high school students?Through the analysis of the questionnaire and interview results,the study found that although English teachers and students of senior high schools in the county areas of Guizhou province have certain understanding of the importance of cultural awareness cultivation,the status of cultural awareness cultivation of senior high school students in English teaching in this region still needs to be improved due to the influence of many factors.The main issues existed in cultural awareness cultivation include insufficient motivation and time for cultural awareness cultivation,the lack of cultural knowledge reserve of English teachers and the lack of diversity in teaching methods of cultural awareness cultivation,single access to cultural knowledge for teachers and students,as well as the insufficient emphasis on cultural awareness development in curriculum design and policies of schools and relevant educational departments.The factors affecting the cultivation of students’ cultural awareness in English teaching of senior high schools include the motivation and time of cultural awareness cultivation,teachers’ cultural knowledge reserve and cultural teaching methods,the ways and means of acquiring cultural knowledge,and the policies of schools and relevant educational departments.In view of the main issues exited in the cultivation of cultural awareness and its influential factors found in the research,the research gave strategies to help effectively improve the cultural awareness of high school students,which include introducing various cultural concepts to students,encouraging the development of students’ critical thinking,using authentic teaching materials in English classroom teaching,and providing students with varieties of opportunities for cross-cultural communication.Also,this research concluded several pedagogical implications,which include three aspects: students should have a right motivation for cultural learning and actively participate in cultural learning as well as develop good habits of cultural accumulation in the process of cultivating cultural awareness;teachers should recognize that cultural awareness cultivation is a long-term process that needs to be done step by step,and that cultural teaching materials should be rationally used and cultural teaching methods should be enriched in cultural awareness cultivation;schools and relevant educational department should provide English teachers with professional guidance in cultural awareness cultivation,and attach great importance to improving the evaluation system for cultural teaching.May this research can provide some reference for English teachers in senior high schools of the county areas in Guizhou province,so as to achieve the curriculum goals of cultivating students’ cultural awareness in English teaching effectively.