An Experimental Research Of The Strategies Of Culture Accumulation In Junior Middle School English Teaching

It is to meet the demands of new syllabus requirement for middle school English teaching and the social needs of personnel to cultivate language learners' intercultural communicative competence. Though more and more scholars and English teachers write lots of articles and books on culture teaching in English teaching from different aspects, most of which are discussed on culture teaching in colleges and universities English teaching, the discussion of culture teaching in middle school, especially in junior middle school English teaching is little. Culture teaching in junior middle school English teaching still remains problematic for many reasons of objective reality, such as junior English teachers' limited cultural knowledge or their confusion about the content and practice of culture accumulation in junior middle school English teaching. Therefore, more research is needed in this field.In this dissertation, the author absorbs much experience of the study of culture teaching at home and abroad and puts forward clearly that culture teaching is actually culture accumulation. The process of culture learning is the process of systematical accumulation of culture knowledge and gradual cultivation of language learners' intercultural competence. Being in the period of rapidly developing their body and mind, the junior students are acceptable to new things. So culture accumulation in junior school English teaching is possible and necessary. It's the aim of the dissertation to find an effective way to improve the junior students' cultural awareness and intercultural communicative competence so as to integrate language teaching with culture teaching in junior middle school English teaching through the experimental research of the strategies of culture accumulation in junior middle school English teaching.Culture accumulation is based on the strong theoretical basis of thedefinition of culture, the relationship between language and culture, the relationship between culture and communication including the theory of communicative competence and pragmatic failure in intercultural communication. According to the junior students' age and learning acquisition, culture accumulation is not only met the demand of the new syllabus requirement for middle school English teaching, but also is absorbed rich experience from the research of culture teaching and its mode at home and abroad. It is a three-stage culture teaching mode. The three stages are cultural sensitivity of cultural differences between English culture and Chinese culture, cultural evaluation and intercultural communicative competence of the junior students, which are very important for their further studying in senior middle schools and universities.The author interviewed other English teachers of the junior department in The Affiliated School of Peking University, Shenzhen Nanshan Branch where the author is working and surveyed all 268 fresh students of Grade Seven (Junior One) about their attitude toward culture accumulation in order to know status quo of culture accumulation in junior middle school English teaching. The experiment of the strategies of culture accumulation in junior middle school English teaching lasted one full term. It was done in two parallel classes taught by the author, one of which was chosen as an experimental class, and the other as a controlled class based on the textbook of Junior English published by Canton Education Publication. The author applied many strategies of culture accumulation including providing culture information in class such as introducing culturally loaded words and expressions, inputting cultural information through the phenomena of cultural assimilation, cultural asides and culture comparison and creating culture activities out of the class, such as culture club and cultureexperience in the experimental class. More knowledge of English culture was given systematically in usual English teaching in order to enhance cultural awareness and intercultural communicative competence of the students in the experimental class. According to data analysis of pretests and posttests between the experimental class and the controlled class, the author generalized that the application the strategies of culture accumulation in junior middle school English teaching could not only actually stimulate the learning interest and motivation of the students in the experimental class and improved their linguistic acquisition, but also helped them to use English appropriately in the actual language situation. This dissertation expected more scholars and English teachers could make further discussion and research on junior English teachers' cultural awareness, the materials of culture accumulation and content of culture accumulation embodied in exams in junior middle school English teaching.This dissertation consists of four chapters besides introduction and conclusion.Chapter One expounds theoretical basis for culture accumulation.Chapter Two discusses the aspects of culture accumulation in junior middle school English teaching including its principals and the content.Chapter Three discusses the preparation, the pretests and the post-tests of the experiment of the strategies of culture accumulation in junior middle school English teaching.Chapter Four serves as the data collection and analysis, and gives the result and suggestions of the experiment.At last, the conclusion of the whole dissertation is drawn.