The Feasibility Of The Multicultural Curriculum English For Cultural Tourism In Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture

The beautiful natural scenery, primitive environment, rich cultural heritage and characteristic ethnic customs have made Liangshan Yi areas a hot spot of tourism exploitation. While its economic development greatly relies on the advancement of its cultural tourism, the shortage of English talents in cultural tourism will seriously obstruct the local tourism from being on its way to the world. Therefore, it is extremely necessary to give priority to English education in Liangshan Yi areas in order to meet its urgent demands for bilingual or multilingual talents in tourism.Despite the fact that many domestic researches have been done about the education of minority nationalities, most of such researches focus on minority history, the regional economic development, group distinctions, or teaching methods. Multicultural curriculum, however, was rarely discussed from Chinese view; thus, the theories and practice on curriculum development for minority students are seldom to be found. The thesis aims to discuss the feasibility of the multicultural curriculum English for Cultural Tourism in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, with the theories of multicultural education, cross-cultural communication and curriculum development as its basis. Needs analyses in this work are conducted under the guidance of the theories of curriculum development, and the data collected serve as the foundation for the formulation of goals and objectives, material design and curriculum evaluation. The author hopes that the exploration of feasibility will put forward some constructive suggestions, and provide a concept scheme and a practical case for the reform of the curriculum of foreign language education in Liangshan Yi areas.The whole thesis is composed of five chapters, namely, introduction, analysis, discussion and a conclusion.The introduction, also the first chapter of the thesis, briefly states the motivation of the research, the significance and methodology of the study.Chapter Two covers the literature review of theories needed to support the study. Theories of multicultural education, cross-cultural communication, and curriculum development are respectively presented in this chapter.Chapter Three analyzes the basis for the curriculum English for Cultural Tourism in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture. Based on the analysis of characteristic culture of Yi nationality, tourist resources in Liangshan, and present conditions of English teaching there, this chapter puts forward the rationale for the development of the multicultural curriculum in Yi areas. Under the constructive integration of English teaching and cultural tourism, the curriculum development is not only innovative but also practical. Emphasis of this chapter, on the whole, is put on the needs analysis of students of Yi nationality in English learning.Chapter Four discusses the design of the curriculum English for Cultural Tourism. It sets the goals and specific curriculum objectives based on the results and major findings of the needs analysis. Specifically, after completing the curriculum, students of Yi nationality will gain familiarity with their indigenous knowledge and ethnic culture, and develop their ethnic identity as well. They will have better cross-cultural communication abilities and communicative competence in English for cultural tourism. It also presents the principles and framework for material selection and design, the contents arrangement and the format. This chapter is also concerned about the roles of English teachers, teaching process and teaching approaches and methodology, followed by the evaluation contents and means. The purpose of evaluation is also pointed out here as to make sure that the curriculum objectives are obtained after students of Yi nationality go through the curriculum.The conclusion, based on the study of the curriculum development of English for Cultural Tourism in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, confirms the feasibility of the multicultural curriculum English for Cultural Tourism, with a mention of the difficulties and problems existing in the study. The author expresses her wish that more researches would be done in this field, hence the English teaching quality and the economic development in Yi areas would be promoted.