A Study On Cultural Awareness Cultivation During English Reading Teaching Upon English Key Competencies In Senior High School

The English Curriculum Standard for General Senior High Schools(2017 Edition)puts forward that the specific goal of English curriculum for senior high schools is to cultivate and develop students’ English Key Competencies,which include four competencies: language competence,cultural awareness,thinking quality and learning ability.They are indispensable qualities and key abilities to meet the needs of individual as well as social development.Cultural awareness is listed as one of the key competencies of the English subject,emphasizing culture as a crucial part of language teaching.However,cultural teaching has not been given due concern in the current reading instructions.Teachers still tend to attribute students’ poor performances in reading to their deficiency in language knowledge,while neglecting the important role culture plays in reading comprehension,which is not conducive to the development of students’ comprehensive use of language and the cultivation of students’ cultural awareness.Based on the present situation by the way of questionnaire and interviewing,the aim of the present research is to find out the existing problems of cultural awareness cultivation in English reading teaching in senior high school and analyze the causes of those problems.Some suggestions are put forward in conclusion based on English Key Competencies.The thesis is divided into five chapters.The first chapter gives a brief introduction to research background,research purpose,research significance as well as research content.Chapter two begins by laying out the theoretical dimensions of the research and then gives a brief overview of related studies in China and abroad.The third chapter is concerned with the methodology employed for this study.Chapter four analyses the results of questionnaire and interviews and discusses the significant findings.The final chapter draws together the key findings,giving some enlightening suggestions for the cultivation of students’ cultural awareness during English reading teaching in senior high schools.English teachers and students from three senior high schools in Tongliao City are chose as the research objects,six teachers are the objects of interviewing.Through questionnaire and interviewing,it has been observed the following problems: First,language knowledge teaching is overemphasized while cultural awareness cultivation is weakened.Second,cultural awareness cultivating still stands in the superficially explaining cultural knowledge and phenomena,ignoring internalization process.Third,cultivation of students’ thinking profoundly,critically and creatively is insufficient in the process of English reading teaching.Forth,guidance of independence cultural knowledge leaning is absent in English reading teaching.According to the above current situation analysis,some causes are summarized in the paper as follows: First,teachers’ understanding of English core competencies is not comprehensive and systematic.Second,teaching idea is deeply influenced by exam-oriented education.Third,the heavy task of teaching and the pressure of students’ further education make it harder for teachers to systematically and comprehensively design cultural knowledge teaching based on English Key Competencies.The findings reported here suggest that English reading teaching in senior high school should be adapted to English Key Competencies.Some suggestions are put forward in the conclusion.This study has gone some way towards enhancing our understanding of the relationship between English Key Competencies and cultivation of students’ cultural awareness during English reading teaching in senior high schools.