A Study Of Senior High School English Teachers' Beliefs And Practices Regarding Culture Teaching In The Context Of The Core Competence

In the background of globalization,the world has become interconnected and learners need to communicate with people from other countries and of other cultural backgrounds.Therefore,in order to adapt to such changes and challenges,it is very important to strengthen culture teaching in English teaching of senior high schools so as to cultivate students' cultural awareness and help learners to be global citizens with intercultural competence.According to Chinese National English Curriculum Standard(2017)for senior high schools,the Core Competence is composed of language competence,cultural awareness,quality of thinking and ability of learning.The cultivation of learners' cultural awareness as a core competence suggests that culture teaching in senior high schools and the cultivation of learners' cultural awareness should be attached great importance to.As teaching performers,senior high school English teachers' beliefs and practices towards culture teaching cannot be ignored.Their beliefs and practices regarding culture teaching are crucial to the successful cultivation of learners' cultural awareness under the background of the Core Competence.Based on the theory of constructivism,senior high school English teachers' beliefs and practices about culture teaching are examined in this thesis.Research subjects are some representative teachers from Chengdu Shishi High School(Wenmiao school district)and research instruments such as semi-structured interviews,stimulated interview and classroom observation are used to explore their beliefs and practices regarding culture teaching.Thematic analysis is also used in the research to analyze and categorize the collected data.The thesis explores the relationship between teachers' beliefs and practices regarding culture teaching and what factors may influence their relationship.It also considers,in the context of Core Competence,how to support the integration of culture in senior high school teachers' teaching practice.The research findings have indicated that senior high school teachers believe culture teaching is an essential part of their teaching,but it is still ignored in their teaching practices.In the procedure of their teaching of culture,the way of traditional information transmission is the primary one that these teachers adopt.Besides,there are still many factors which have negative influences on culture teaching.The findings of this thesis suggest that it is necessary for senior high school English teachers to integrate the teaching of culture with that of language,and at the same time to treat students' English learning as an intercultural process.This research also emphasizes the necessity and importance of senior high school English teachers' education and training in terms of culture teaching.