Reflections on the Introduction of Culture into English Teaching in Higher Vocational Colleges

李清容

【Abstract】The practicality of teaching content was emphasized and the cultivation of students communicative competence was focused in higher vocational English teaching. Language is the carrier of culture， culture depends on language preservation， dissemination and inheritance. To learn a language， we must understand the culture of the language. Therefore， it is helpful students in daily life and study to better understand and use English language， to achieve the purpose of application， that introducing the cultural teaching into English teaching of higher vocational education. In this paper， the importance and necessity of cultural introduction in higher vocational English teaching was explained. And， the methods of introducing culture was puted forward.

【Key words】reflections； cultural introduction； English teaching in higher vocational colleges

1. Introduction

English plays a more and more important role in daily life， learning and international communication and cooperation， and it is more practical and operable for the students of higher vocational colleges. According to the development trend of the ministry of education in higher vocational English teaching to cultivate students listening， speaking， reading， writing， translation and other aspects of students ability， improve students cultural quality， promote students ability to express language， excavate students potential， so as to promote the reform of language teaching， the English teaching in higher vocational colleges get better social benefits. This requirement caused us to think about the traditional teaching in the teaching process. We found that most of the problems encountered by students in English learning are not only the weak ability of language communication skills， but also the cultural information contained in the language. What happens is not grammatical errors， but cultural understanding. Therefore， the key problem that must be solved in the reform of English teaching in higher vocational colleges is the introduction of culture into English teaching in higher vocational colleges.

2. The necessity and importance of cultural introduction in higher hocational English teaching

Culture is a complex system. In the course of English teaching， it relates to the English national history， geography， local customs and practices， customs， way of life， art of literature， behavior norms， values and so on. Every one of them has a very rich content. Culture not only has a wide range of content， but also closely related to daily life. It will cause misunderstanding， even conflict in communication and lead to barriers to communication， that lack of understanding of the culture. Language is a kind of initial culture， and it is a manifestation of culture. Language is the carrier of culture， and it is the crystallization of culture at the same time. It can not go beyond the culture and independent existence， can not be separated from a nation down， determines the life of a nation and the customs and beliefs of the system. The culture restricts the form of language， it will continue to inject their essence into the language， then become the cultural connotation of language and its basic content. The development of culture can promote the development of language. Similarly， the development and enrichment of language is also a necessary prerequisite for the development of the whole culture. Therefore， language teaching can not be separated from cultural teaching.

3. Methods of culture introduction in higher vocational English teaching

3.1 Make full use of modern teaching methods

Multimedia is a modern teaching tool， reducing the burden of classroom teaching. In higher vocational English teaching class， teachers can use multimedia to display pictures， play audio and video and other characteristics， the relevant cultural background information can be more specific and intuitive to students.

3.2 Vocabulary development

Cultural knowledge includes not only the knowledge of cultural background， which also involves cultural vocabulary. In this case， the teacher can ask the students to expand vocabulary before class， list out the cultural vocabulary involved， understand the cultural connotation of the word will be studied， in order to have a targeted study in class.

3.3 Role playing method

Role playing method is to simulate and reproduce the real life scene in the classroom. By allowing students to role play， in a particular cultural atmosphere in the use of English greetings， exchanges， appointments， gifts， etc.， to cultivate students sensitivity to cultural differences. It is very suitable for cultivating students communicative competence.

4. Discussion

This research explained the importance and necessity of cultural introduction in higher vocational English teaching， and puted forward the methods of introducing culture. The introduction of culture into English teaching in higher vocational colleges can greatly improve the students interest in learning， and the language knowledge， professional knowledge and cultural background knowledge are properly integrated. It can help students to eliminate the cultural barriers in language communication， so that they can communicate more smoothly and effectively in practical work.

References：

[1]Wei Wu.Cultural introduction in higher vocational English teaching[J].Journal of Taiyuan Urban Vocational college，2008，（11）：43.