Surveying English Majors' Awareness Of Native And Target Socio-cultural Differences

This empirical study is designed to explore Chinese English majors'intercultural communicative competence and their sensitivity and awareness of L1-L2 (Chinese-English) socio-cultural differences. A total of 60 students from different grades and majors in Hunan University Foreign Languages Department are chosen as the subjects of this study, who are required to complete the questionnaire (The Intercultural Communicative Competence Questionnaire). The statistical techniques employed for data analysis are descriptive statistics and correlation analysis. Through the interpretation of the quantitative results, we have the following findings:1) Learners'performance of intercultural communication is not satisfactory. We could discover the evidence that English majors are sensitive to some L1-L2 socio-cultural differences and intercultural phenomenon, but most of the time, their awareness simply stays at the level of knowing what they are, not why these happen and how to handle with these. Therefore, in actual use, it turns out to be like this: English majors do not know how to behave appropriately in most intercultural communicative situations.2) The learners'level of awareness of social- cultural differences turns out to have negative relationship with their L2 proficiency. The learners who have better command of English (the language) are supposed to be better competent intercultural speakers. However, language proficiency which could promote and enhance the acquisition of ICC can't guarantee the competence of intercultural communication still. ICC is a combination of many abilities that differentiate from adding cultural knowledge and facts up by using the language. Instead, we need to stir up the potentials, hone the language ability and integrate various awareness and skills.3) Learners'awareness of native and target socio-cultural differences has a lot of influences on their cultural identity, especially on the aspects of behavior, belief, moral and value judgments. On one hand, the influences endow the learners with positive effects. We are glad to see the subtle but good changes in the young people's beliefs. The open and international way of thinking represents the linkage between China and the outside world. On the other hand, the mixtures are not that perfect. Chinese culture and English culture belong to two totally different cultural value systems which arouse many misunderstandings in intercultural communicative practices. Also in the survey, we can find that, because of cultural influences, the participants are often confused about their beliefs, moral and value judgments. The problem is how to handle the confusion and move on with both own native culture and target culture. 4) Chinese English majors are open to varieties of accesses to English culture, because the modern communication networks (e.g. television, the Internet and magazines) make it now possible for English learners to acquire any information about English culture. Through the survey, however, learners do not think classroom is the most effective and interesting method of acquiring the information they want, instead they prefer more entertaining way to absorb pertinent intercultural information and intercultural communicative skills. Based on the findings of the research, we have the following implications for the teaching and learning of L2 culture:First, a good L2 culture practitioner or any L2 teacher should have a clear and accurate idea and framework about intercultural communicative competence (ICC). It is a complicated combination of many systematic abilities, but two are the keys: skills and intercultural awareness. The teachers and students should pay more attention to the enhancement of communicative skills not simply language ability.Second, in classroom, the approaches of L2 culture teaching could be more multiple and attainable. The methods of acquisition for intercultural information and skills outside classrooms could be borrowed into our classrooms and encouraged. Other practical ways can be taken to stir up students'interests in culture classes.Third, the English learners'confusion and other harmful inner feelings evoked by cultural shock and intercultural differences is an urgent problem in L2 culture teaching. How to deal with these psychological and emotional issues in intercultural communication deserve more emphasis. Teachers should give prompt and proper direction to help students move on with both their own native culture and target culture and moreover the inner feelings from the culture shock can not be neglected.