Intercultural Communication and English Teaching

Abstract:This article talks about the relation between intercultural communication and English teaching， the importance of cultivating the knowledge of intercultural communication while teaching English， and some methods to let students develop the consciousness of intercultural communication.

Keywords:intercultural communication English teaching communicating skill

ⅠIntroduction

For a fairly long time， English learning is very popular in china， but it’s not easy to learn another language under the Chinese cultural environment and Chinese learners are likely to use English in Chinese pattern. “We two who and who” (咱倆誰跟誰)， “You give me stop” (你給我站住). It’s funny and may be a little exaggerating， but it shows the English of Chinese pattern， i.e. \"Chinglish\". Apart from this， people may make such and such mistakes while communicating with English-speakers because of different cultural backgrounds.

Intercultural communication (or Cross-cultural communication) refers to the communication between native speaker and non-native speaker or the communication between any peoples under different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. The different natural， material， social and religious environments of different nations lead to different linguistic habits， natural conditions， social customs and so on. People under different backgrounds will interpret and understand the same discourse with their own ways which may arise some linguistic conflicts and obstacle. So it is necessary to know the different cultural backgrounds during intercultural communication.

Ⅱ English learning in China

English as a subject has existed in China for a long time， but in fact English is mainly taught as a common subject in China. Teachers are busy teaching grammar and students are busy learning the grammar and preparing for the exam. Students are not able to open their mouths and communicate with each other， so it is of little meaning to learn English.

Knowing that English as a language is a tool of communication， it is teachers' duty to cultivate students' intercultural consciousness and help them know the cultural backgrounds， natural conditions， and living habits of the foreign countries.

ⅢIntercultural communication and English teaching

It is undeniable that students can learn more native English if they have more chance to talk with native English speakers. By this way， students can not only learn basic skills， but can also share the foreigners' experience of communicating with people under different cultural backgrounds. However， foreigner teachers are not enough for all the English learners actually， so other measures should be taken to a large range. By implanting cultural tips into basic skills learning， teachers enable students to know the differences between Chinese culture and English culture and enhance their consciousness of intercultural communication.

1.Intercultural communication and reading skill learning

First， it is doubtless that reading more can improve students' English learning， but reading does not mean pronouncing every word only. Unfortunately a lot of students just read every word out without knowing the meaning of what they are reading， not to mention knowing the underlying meaning of what they are reading. Reading is not so simple as it appears. English reading materials are written according to English custom， so there is a lot of underlying knowledge. To understand the English materials clearly and truly readers not only need know the language but also the custom， culture， religion and so on. When the material is about American country music， teachers can introduce the history and some singers (John Denver， Carpenter); or play some songs of this kind， e.g. Country Road Take Me Home， Yesterday Once More in order to let students learn more about American country music. In this case， students will show more interest in English class， and obviously the class can not only be livelier but the students can also enhance their knowledge variously and actively.

2.Intercultural communication and speaking skill learning

Second， a language can take two forms: writen form and spoken form. Spoken form can be seen easily in the daily life， and communication takes the spoken form more， so the knowledge of intercultural communication reflected on speaking should be paid more attention to. According to the western custom， the income must not be asked; the age of the females must not be asked and so on. There is a saying in English: A man's home is his castle. That means that a man's home is sacrosanct and nobody else can enter freely without his permission. They attach more attention to their privacy， so such silly questions as \"How old are you\"， \"What's your income\"， \"Are you Catholic\" are just like attacking their castles and must be avoided. If you really want to know these， you can first talk about yourself and then ask the foreigners politely. From this we can realize that every detail in the intercultural communication should be considered. For the close relation between intercultural communication and oral English， teachers and students can make every effort to broaden their knowledge and try to communicate more with the foreigners as possible as they can.

3.Intercultural communication and grammar learning

While speaking is a big problem for the Chinese students， grammar can be regarded as an advantage for them， but grammar is also closely related to intercultural communication， so it's more complex than simple. Every language has its grammar and we should not only learn the rules in the grammar but also the implications lied under the grammar. For example， in English the word “bread” is an uncountable word， so we should say “ a piece of bread” instead of “ a bread”; but in Chinese “面包” can be seen as a countable word. According to the western custom， the bread is usually knifed into slices (片)， so they take “bread” as an uncountable word. Apart from that， in the sentence “My knife and fork is in the table”， the predicate verb takes the single form instead of plural form even if the subject is \"knife and fork\". That is because the westerners is used to using knife and fork while they are having their dinner and they take knife and fork as a whole. If teachers can insert some cultural tips into grammar explaining， students will feel that grammar is interesting and they can also learn and use it more efficiently.

4.Intercultural communication and vocabulary learning

When a learner begins to learn a language he must first meet the vocabulary and then he can organize sentences with the knowledge of grammar. It's true that the relation between the form and the meaning of a word is arbitrary in every language， however， the meaning of a word can be influenced by the development of culture. Such different cultural consciousness as living conditions， religious backgrounds and psychological factors in different cultures can endow different implications with a word in different languages. In English a lot of words are related to religion， e.g. \"Adam's apple” does not mean “亞當(dāng)?shù)奶O果” but mean “喉結(jié)”. This meaning comes from a well-known Christian story: the story of Adam and Eve. “Friday’s face” means “愁眉苦臉” and “black Friday” means “災(zāi)難的一天” because Jesus experienced suffering on Friday. Instead Jesus relived on Sunday， so \"Sunday\" are always connected with \"holy\"， \"merry\"， and \"Sunday\" or \"Sunday best\" mean beautiful clothes. Therefore the simple words are endowed with complex meaning under different cultural environment. Students can avoid a lot of misunderstandings in the intercultural communication after they know the underlying meaning relating to culture.

5.Intercultural communication and translation learning

It's true for the English learner that translating is one of the skills one should possess after learning English. For the difference between Chinese and English， translation is not just translating every English word into Chinese word; cultural background should also be taken into consideration. Take a common example; \"lucky dog\" in English can not be translated into \"幸運狗”， but into “幸運兒”， and “Every dog has his day” should be translated into “人人都有得意時”. In English culture a dog is regarded as a loyal friend of human and so “dog” is usually endowed with commendatory meaning， which is contrary to Chinese culture. There are also some expressions which only exist in English culture or only exist in Chinese culture， in which case， learners should translate the expressions freely or put some necessary notes after literal translation. Under the influence of religion a lot phrases are from the Bible or Greek mythology， e.g.\"God helps those who help themselves\"(上帝幫助自助的人)、“Penelope’s web”(永遠(yuǎn)完不成的工作).Translation can only be better but not be perfect no matter how fluent and elegant it is. The more knowledge of intercultural backgrounds we have， the better translation we can achieve.

Ⅳ Conclusion

With the increase of international communication， Chinese people have more and more chance to contact with foreigners， so English teaching is not so simple as before; new and heavy burden has been put on both teachers and students. Students not only have to learn English as a language， but also have to learn English as a cultural carrier， i.e. students not only have to learn another language， but also have to learn another culture. Intercultural communication should be penetrated into English teaching and the knowledge of cultural tips should be paid more attention to in order to enable students to communicate with people under different cultural backgrounds.

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