I. Introduction
1.1 Research Background
From the 1980s, the importance of culture in foreign language teaching is anindisputable fact. However, people devote more attention to foreign language and theforeign culture. Learning of native culture is ignored. Although in 1981 Beiwai tested theirstudents about knowledge of Chinese and Western culture, and the average score wassixty-two, the freshmen had a higher score than other students. By 1999, Lu Kuiqiuconducted a questionnaire survey about Chinese culture for sophomore of English majorsin Shantou University. It was also a disappointing result and the average score wastwenty-six. The results of these two tests showed that: the longer the Chinese studentslearned English, the less they mastered Chinese culture (quoted from Yumei, 2007:33). Butthese two tests can’t attract people’s attention about Chinese culture. And they did notrealize that native culture is equally important in foreign language teaching. We not onlyuse the foreign language to import, but also use foreign language to export.Now the cross-cultural communication has become very popular, and languageteaching should be combined with the cultural teaching. Cultivation of cross-culturalcommunication competence is also emphasized in the latest curriculum standards. Thefinal goal of language learning is for communication. Therefore, real cross-culturalcommunication needs to know about native culture first. And then it is possible to comparewith other cultures. If learners are lack of knowledge of native culture, they will fail in thecross-cultural communication.
…….
1.2 Significance and Objective of the Research
It is known to us that there is a close relationship between culture and language.Language is the carrier of culture. Cultural awareness is listed as one of the five goals ofEnglish teaching, which are proposed in the New English Curriculum Standards. Culturalawareness includes cultural knowledge, cultural understanding, cross-culturalcommunication consciousness and ability. Recently, English has developed as theinternational language. The number of users is daily on the increase. It is no longer just forBritain or American. Of course, English should not the special carrier of western culture. Learning English is not blindly accepting English and American culture. In a word, in thetendency of cultural globalization, our native culture need to be transmitted— our Chineseculture needs to be transmitted through English. That is to say, native culture also plays animportant role in cross-cultural communication. Foreign language learners should cultivatetheir cross-cultural communication consciousness if they want to have a successfulcross-cultural communication.Cross-cultural communication consciousness has a close relationship withcross-cultural communication competence. Cross-cultural consciousness is showed throughthe cross-cultural communicative competence in real communication. Consciousness ofcultural equality, cultural understanding, cultural diffusion and cultural integration (Wu Fei,Zhong Yuying, 2005) are involved in cross-cultural communication.
………
II. Literature Review
2.1 Basic Concept
Language and culture have a close relationship. Shu Dingfang and Zhuang Zhixiang(2001) pointed that language is a part of culture. Language is the medium of culture.Language is helpful for the formation of human’s thoughts, at the same time, human beingscan express their ideas through language. Therefore, language and culture can influenceeach other.There is cultural effect on language. We all have known that culture plays animportant role in the process of language acquisition. At the first place, language is just ameans of expressing thoughts. Different language structures can reflect a person’s thinkingways. However, language is not able to determine people’s ideas or thoughts. That is to say,their cultural environment requires them to consider the thinking contents and theirlanguage patterns (Nida, 2001). Moreover, language only can be inherited in the certaincultural background.Language influences on culture. Language is an essential part of culture. Humancommon knowledge and social experience can be presented and described by language.Traditional customs, behaviors or habits, social status, values, belief and world view alsocan be analyzed or showed by language. Culture will not be transmitted from generation togeneration if language is not as the medium. In a word, language can represent everyaspect of culture. The words, expressions or phrases, sentences all can represent somecharacteristics of cultural connotation.
…..
2.2 The Theoretical Basis
According to Pavlov’s the doctrine of two signals theory, the first original system ofChinese learners is their native language—Chinese. The foreign language we learned is thenew second signal system. The second signal system is based on the first signal system.Because we are familiar with Chinese, our Chinese knowledge has the sensitive contactwith those stimuli that entered in our brain. In addition, our Chinese knowledge can alsoproduce correct reaction and corresponding signals for these stimuli. From this aspect, iflearners want to acquire new second signal system of foreign language, they must rely onthe first signal system of native language. Therefore, rejection of native culture in foreignlanguage education is unrealistic. Learning native culture is good for learners to understandculture of target language. Gao Yihong (1994) stressed that the level of target language andnative language should promote each other, learners’ potential and ability can improvequickly.
………..
Ⅲ. Methodology ........17
3.1 Research Objective...... 17
3.2 Research Questions ..... 17
3.3 Subject .... 17
3.4 Instrument...... 18
3.5 Research Process ......... 18
3.6 Data Collection and Analysis .... 18
IV. Results and Discussion ........ 20
4.1 Analysis and Discussion of Curriculum Standards ...... 20
4.2 Results and Discussion about the Contents of Chinese Culture in theNSEFC .......... 22
4.3 Results and Discussion of Students and Teachers’Attitudes………27
4.4 Summary ....... 39
Ⅴ. Conclusion......41
5.1 The Main Findings ...... 41
5.2 Limitation of the Study ...... 42
5.3 Suggestions for Future Study .... 42
5.4 Some Other Suggestions .... 42
IV. Results and Discussion
4.1 Analysis and Discussion of Curriculum Standards
Syllabus plays a key role in English teaching in the middle schools. It is the guidanceof teaching for a country or a region. And the choice of teaching contents and teachingmethods, teaching materials writing and establishment of teaching plan are restricted bythe syllabus. From resumption of college of entrance of examination in 1977 to now,English syllabus has experienced three periods. The first two stages called syllabus, and thethird stage began to call curriculum standards.The New English Curriculum Standards was promulgated in 2003, which proposedthat the cultivation of learners’ cultural awareness should be become one of five goals ofEnglish teaching for the first time. Then cultural awareness is also demanded in thecurriculum standards which are revised in 2011. Linguistic knowledge, language skills,learning strategies, emotion and attitude, cultural awareness are formed five goals ofcurriculum. In the profile, it has mentioned that integrative language competence as theoverall goal of English teaching and learning. And cultural awareness is guarantee of usinglanguage appropriately (The Education Department, 2004:6).
……..
Conclusion
The essay aims at finding some problems of Chinese culture teaching based on highschool English textbooks and trying to put forward some suggestions in order to change thesituation.
(1) The requirements of Chinese culture in New English Curriculum StandardsThe requirements to Chinese culture in the curriculum standards are not clearly stated.The requirements of Chinese culture teaching is not clear in the curriculum standards, suchas the goal of Chinese culture teaching, teaching methods and so on. What’ more, there isno clear and detailed requirements of teaching contents that high school should beinvolved.
(2) The contents of Chinese culture in the NSEFCThe configuration of Chinese culture contents is not perfect. In the textbooks—NSEFC,the vocabulary that related to typical Chinese traditional culture is not enough. About thereading resources, articles which originated from communicative practice, daily life areseldom in the textbooks. In addition, the proportion of communicative culture should beincreased. The articles that took Chinese culture as topic are simple and random. In a word,the content of Chinese culture in the textbooks should close to student’ life, and they mayhave interesting in it.
…………
Reference (omitted)