The Role Of Chinese Culture In ELT In China

English language has proved itself to be an international language. The internationalization of this language inevitably accompanies its extensive indigenization in different social and cultural contexts. In the case of China, the nativization of English has aroused a heated discussion. In Chinese context, people find it impossible to use English without a transfer from Chinese culture. Some scholars argue that China English, embedded with Chinese cultural characteristics, is an inevitable product of intensified interaction between China and other countries and should be treated as a variety of English.It has been over ten years since the concept of culture teaching in foreign language teaching was advanced and put into practice in China. However, the application of the approach is far from being satisfactory though it has achieved some desirable result. In the field of foreign language teaching, researchers and scholars focus on the importance of cultural awareness of target language and it proved successful in increasing Chinese students' cross-cultural communicative competence to some extent. The teaching of culture in foreign language teaching involves a problem -how to deal with the home culture and target culture, for English is not only a resource of learning foreign cultures but a cultural interaction. Besides, the purpose of Open-door Policy is to introduce foreign culture into China and spread Chinese culture in the world as well (Wang Zongyan, 1997). However, Chinese culture tends to be ignored in English teaching in China due to some reason. Still Chinese learners of English have some difficulties that they feel hard to overcome even if they have a good command of the target language and its culture, particularly, when they are talking about those specific to Chinese culture. A Chinese scholar has defined it as "Chinese culture aphasia" in intercultural communication (MA, 2000).A study of China English may give us a new dimension to English teaching inChina to help Chinese English learners overcome this difficulty. Being conscious ofChina English and an integration of Chinese culture with ELT in China will surelypromote the current English teaching reform in China.Under the influence of teaching English as an international language, this thesis,based on an analysis of Chinese culture aphasia due to an inequity between Chineseand English cultures inEnglish language teaching, attempts to highlight the importance of an integration of Chinese culture with English language teaching in China. It is a complement to culture teaching which will help Chinese college students overcome the "Chinese culture aphasia", thus to raise their communicative competence in cross-cultural communication. Besides, this thesis also offers feasible solutions to this problem.