On English Teaching and Intercultural Communication

【Abstract】This paper discusses the relationship between language and culture ， the culture conflicts between China and western countries， and then puts forward several practical ways to cultivate students intercultural communication ability in foreign language teaching .

【Key words】culture conflicts； intercultural communication； English teaching

【作者簡介】陳杰秀，福建省永安市第九中學。

I. Introduction

Starting from the end of 1990s， influenced by the tide of culture， the relationship between English teaching and intercultural communication has become a hot discussion topic. Most of us are concerned with the intercultural communication. New requirements are found in our English teaching， not only should we train the students abilities of using language， but also we should train them how to use a language to communicate with native speakers. Furthermore we should ask learners to contact the culture of the goal-language country to cultivate and improve their abilities of intercultural communication.

II. Relationship between language and culture

A language is not merely a set of symbolism； the using of language IS influenced and restricted by many aspects， such as community customs， life style， personal behavior， individual idea of value， thinking mode， religious belief， national psychology， national disposition and so on. A language is an important carrier of a culture， but itself is also a kind of culture. When we refer to a culture， it can be divided into two parts .Generally speaking， it is the combination of material culture and spiritual culture in historic practice. Each person， no matter where he or she was born， he or she is the product of its own special culture.

III. Conflicts between Chinese and the western cultures

1.Different attitudes towards the value of time. In western countries， time is regarded as money and people keep this in mind in their daily life. In order to fully use the time， they make plans for their study， work and rest， which results the good habit of punctuality. They always do things according to their schedules. It is rather hard for westerners to understand this mentality and adapt themselves to it.

2.Showing modesty. Modesty is one of the great virtues in China. When praised by others， a Chinese would always belittle himself to show his modesty by saying： “No，I dont think so”. “It is really nothing”. “Well， it is just so-so”. But in the same situation in USA， the Americans would say： “Thank you.”， “I am glad you like it.” It couldnt be more natural for them to receive compliments from others. On the contrary， unnecessary modesty is regarded as dishonest and impolite.

3.Different dining customs. In Western， everybody has their own plate of food， while in China dishes are placed on the table and everyone shares. Sometimes the hosts use their own chopsticks to put the food into your bowl or plate. They also try to persuade you to eat and drink as much as possible. People in China tend to over-order the food – it is considered as embarrassing if the food is completely consumed. In the west， however， the hosts would prepare the dinner according to actual need. At dinner， they will simply say： “Help yourself，please.” When you are full， they will not bother to ask to you eat more.

4.Conflict of the private matters. In intercultural communication， you should avoid asking people personal questions such as： Are you married？ How much do you earn every month？ So youre divorced， what was the reason？ People show their concern for others this way in China and it is fairly common and highly acceptable. But in the western countries， where people care a lot about privacy， questions relating to personal matters are not highly appreciated by people.

IV. Main reasons for the conflict

1.English-Chinese thinking pattern differentiations. Thinking pattern controls language and language represents thinking pattern. The influence of thinking pattern on language and translation cant be ignored. Westerners pay attention to reasoning and logical thinking， while the Chinese pay more attention to comprehensibility and dialectical thinking. English sentences are normally well organized.

2.Different behavior standards. For most westerners， it is impolite to ask questions referring to age， income， marital status or religious belief. These questions are under taboo. One of the most frequent topics is the state and prediction of the weather when they exchange a few words on greeting. Normally they dont ask questions on privacy. Westerners usually keep individual privacy to themselves.

3.Individualism values. The concept of “oneself” prevails in the western culture. There are lots of words related to “oneself” in English， for example： “self-admiration， self-confidence， self-absorption， self-cultivation， self-image， etc.” The whole society emphasizes individual freedom. Individual interest is viewed as the most important and nobody has the right to destroy it. While on the opposite， the Chinese culture considers collective interests much more important than individual interests.

4.Negative pragmatic transfer. People with different cultures may come across communication difficulties although they have good knowledge of pronunciation， grammar and a large vocabulary and are capable of speaking the language well. It is， however， their lack of understanding of other cultures， different customs and modes of speaking/thinking， that leads to the pragmatic failure in communication.

V. Some suggestions to foreign language teaching and intercultural communication

The aim of foreign language teaching is to make students use the foreign language in reality. To deepen the reformation of English teaching is the basic key to solve the problem. Restricted by the system of college entrance examination， English teaching has focused on the teaching of theory knowledge for a long time As a result， students have no time to put the knowledge into practice. We should therefore pay more attention to the intercultural communication teaching. The teachers can organize students to watch English films， TV programs and video recording and encourage them to talk with native speakers. In the classroom the teachers should create as many communicative activities as possible， thereby， to create a kind of atmosphere to learn English.

Conclusion

Developing students intercultural communicative competence means developing their language skills including listening， speaking， reading and writing. In conclusion， although the intercultural communicative approach is not a magic tool in language teaching， it can not be neglected in the process of language teaching .