The Cultivation of Cross—cultural Awareness in English Literature Teaching

陳燕婷

【Abstract】In some extent， literature is unbounded since the emotions embedded in literary works are often common； literature， however， has national boundaries since the different languages between countries and regions often cause understanding pluralism. In reality， learning literature belongs to the category of learning culture and the cultivation of cross-cultural awareness is an essential point to reduce the diversity. The paper is going to find a practical method to cultivate the cross-cultural awareness in English literature teaching by illustrating and probing its importance during teaching process， as well as to contribute to the blending and transmission of different cultures under the background of the current era of cooperation and harmony.

【Key words】English literature teaching； Cross-culture awareness； Cultivation

With the development of economic globalization， the political and cultural exchanges between countries are becoming increasingly frequent. In terms of cultural blending， the cultural teaching with transnational attributes is more common， among which English literature teaching is deeply rooted Chinas educational courses. How to distribute the charm of English literature during teaching process is a problem to be solved urgently.

1. The importance of cultivation of cross-culture awareness

1.1 To cater to the trend of “big blend”

As a matter of fact， the cultivation of cross-culture awareness is a great advance with times basing on the trend of globalization. The transmission of culture not only refers to the mainstream culture in different countries ideology fields but also the interpretation of literary works. This is a culture blend situation under this era.

1.2 Alleviate the “cultural aphasia” situation

This is a very universal concept by Prof. Cong who comes from Nanjing University. Many surveys show that a great amount of young people with high level of English cannot to explain the essence of Chinese traditional culture properly during communicating with western scholars. In fact， many Chinese people are plagued by the dilemma of “dumb English” in Chinas exam-oriented education.

1.3 Contribute to the shape of cultural inclusion

English literature learning expends students horizons and promotes their acceptance of various cultures by contacting with different types of cultural expressions and cultures. Apart from Chinese traditional culture， more different cultures increase students independent thinking ability， which make the cultural inclusion ingrained in the students mind.

2. Specific initiatives of the cultivation of cross-cultural awareness

The cultivation of cross-cultural awareness needs practical and specific initiatives to help students aware the beauty of English literature during teaching process.

2.1 Choose great works and read widely

During teaching process， teachers should train student to develop good habit of reading well and widely. Because， only after reading widely can students realize what they really need， as well as， can they distinguish what are good literature works. Consequently， with a firm foundation of English culture teaching the literature courses can achieve two-way interaction and the effective formation， besides， the students can achieve literacy accumulation via reading literature works.

2.2 combining multi-media teaching with teaching practice

In reality， English literature teaching should not be confined to textbook only. Focusing on practical application and training of practical abilities the books follow the westerners style of life that pays attention to practices. Therefore， the use of multi-media technology and the development of a series of English literature teaching practice make the cross-cultural awareness in practice to become more vivid and hierarchical. Furthermore， students can deepen their understanding and cognition of English literary works through the multimedia technology， such as text， image and sound， and experience the exotic style in the extracurricular English literary practice.

2.3 The re-construction and optimization of teaching staff

Good teachers can train students according to their aptitude， so that the strict requirements of teacher literacy and the optimization layout of teaching staff are essential for the cultivation of cross-cultural awareness in English literature teaching， in other words， only teachers play a good role model， can the students interest and enthusiasm is promoted effectively.

2.4 The national education policy

The cultivation of cross-cultural awareness is a heavy task that requires a corresponding social environment that the state and its society should create a strong atmosphere of learning English literature. For instance increasing some city English Corners to bring English learning all around the society， so that students can participate in the study of English literature in a natural social environment to establish and strengthen the concept of cultural awareness.

To sum up， the cultivation of cross-cultural awareness in the process of English literature teaching is a great effort of the state， society， teachers and students. A good English learning environment is not only beneficial to students， but also contribute to a country cultural competitiveness and nations cultural self-esteem from learning other excellent culture.

References：

[1]Zhangxin，“The Cultivation of Cross - cultural Awareness in English Literature Teaching”[J].Literature Education，2011（2）：33-35.