The Impact of Cultural Differences on English Learning and Teaching
The Impact of Cultural Differences on English Learning and Teaching I. Introduction Nowadays, culture plays a very important role in the foreign language classroom. Because cultural differences may give rise to misunderstanding that exists in intercultural communication. So the teaching of culture in the English classroom has been becoming a heated topic and people pay more and more attention to the cultural studies and intercultural communication in recent years. Therefore, culture teaching is feasible in the English language classroom. It can help English learners raise the cultural awareness and develop the communicative competence. In China, most scholars have widely considered the importance in foreign language teaching and learning. In order to communicate with foreigners correctly, language learners have to know the differences between Chinese and English cultures. So the process of learning foreign language is a process of learning its culture. This paper aims to find out the impact of culture on English learning and teaching.
Ⅱ. Misunderstanding about English Learning Most Chinese learners of English hold the view that the aim of English study mainly lies in “passing an exam”. When they are learning English, they usually focus on mastering of language knowledge and basic skills such as vocabulary, listening, speaking, reading and writing, which are usually tested in exams. As a result, though some English learners may have mastered the whole grammatical system, large vocabulary and standard pronunciation, they find it hard to follow a native speaker, cannot speak fluently but read slowly or write with many mistakes. The lack of cultural knowledge and the neglect of cultural differences usually result in an inappropriate expression. Another false idea is the conception of “instrumentalism”. During a long period of time, people’s conception towards English study has been greatly affected by instrumentalism, and they believe that language is
Ⅱ. Misunderstanding about English Learning Most Chinese learners of English hold the view that the aim of English study mainly lies in “passing an exam”. When they are learning English, they usually focus on mastering of language knowledge and basic skills such as vocabulary, listening, speaking, reading and writing, which are usually tested in exams. As a result, though some English learners may have mastered the whole grammatical system, large vocabulary and standard pronunciation, they find it hard to follow a native speaker, cannot speak fluently but read slowly or write with many mistakes. The lack of cultural knowledge and the neglect of cultural differences usually result in an inappropriate expression. Another false idea is the conception of “instrumentalism”. During a long period of time, people’s conception towards English study has been greatly affected by instrumentalism, and they believe that language is