Western Culture Teaching In The English Class Of Chinese Primary Schools

The importance of understanding foreign culture and developing cross-cultural skills is an increasingly acknowledged aspect in the teaching of foreign language. It is now increasingly recognized that foreign language learning and foreign culture learning cannot realistically be separated. This thesis is concerned with the contribution and incorporation of Western culture teaching into China's primary school English classes. More specifically, some considerations will be given to the why and how of teaching Western culture. It will be demonstrated that teaching a foreign language is not equal to giving a homily on syntactic structures or learning new vocabulary and expressions, but mainly incorporates, or should incorporate, some cultural elements, which are intertwined with language itself. Furthermore, an attempt will be made to incorporate culture into the classroom by means of considering some techniques and methods currently used.The main premise of the paper is that effective communication is more than a matter of language proficiency and that, apart from enhancing and enriching communicative competence, sociocultural competence can also lead to empathy and respect toward different cultures as well as promote objectivity, cultural perspicacity and the students' personal growth.There are four chapters in this thesis: Chapter I deals with the necessityand importance of Western culture teaching in the English class of Chinese primary schools. Firstly it points out the significance of Western culture teaching in the English class of China today, then it briefly reviews the history, current situation and problems of Western culture teaching in the English class of China, especially in primary schools. Chapter II covers the theoretical basis of Western culture teaching in the English class of Chinese primary schools. Since Western culture teaching involves some interdisciplinary research, in order to show the importance and significance of Western culture teaching, this chapter summarizes and comments on some relevant theories from an anthropological, psychological, educational and linguistic points of view. Chapter III accounts for the feasibility of Western culture teaching in the English class of Chinese primary schools. Firstly it shows that culture can both be acquired and learned; then it describes the differences and interaction between Western culture and Chinese culture in the process of foreign language learning; at last it analyses the psychological characteristics of primar\y school students, which make it possible and feasible to exert Western culture teaching in the English class of Chinese primary schools. Chapter IV deals with a practical framework of Western culture teaching in the English class of Chinese primary schools. It covers the pedagogical objectives, contents, methods and principles of Western culture teaching, and also pays attention to the evaluation of Western culture teaching and the requirements of the primary school English teachers' cultural qualities. The conclusion of this thesis summarizes the importance and significance of Western culture teaching in the English class ofChinese primary schools, points out the status of Western culture teaching in foreign language teaching, and mentions some limitations in implementing Western culture teaching in China today.