A Study Of Teaching And Learning Of Chinese Culture In College English Textbooks

This study is principally conducted to probe into the contents of Chinese culture in college English textbooks. Intercultural communication is one of the main components of college English. Intercultural communicative competence includes not only language skills, knowledge of foreign cultures, but also ability to express home culture in English. Cultivation of the intercultural communicative competence becomes the principle that guides the edition of many teaching materials. However, Chinese college students' intercultural communicative competence is somewhat frustrating. In intercultural communication, they are listeners for most time due to the lack of the ability to express Chinese culture in English.With a view to analyze New Horizon College English, a test of the ability to express Chinese culture is designed for subjects who have finished learning New Horizon College English. Besides, a survey is conducted about the students' attitudes towards teaching Chinese culture in English.The result of the test shows that students' ability to express Chinese culture is far from satisfaction and according to the survey, learners think it necessary to include contents of Chinese culture in college English. The analysis of the contents of New Horizon College English indicates that even though different aspects of foreign cultures are introduced in the books, contents of Chinese culture account so little. Lack of Chinese culture is one of the reasons that account for the learners' poor ability in intercultural communication. The new College English Curriculum Requirements calls for a new generation of textbooks that may fulfill the need of intercultural communicative competence.