A Study On The Current Situation Of Cultural Teaching In English Teaching In Junior High Schools

With the informationalization and globalization, the relations between China and other countriesbecome more and more close. The communication between Chinese and foreigners becomes more andmore frequent. In this kind of communication, cultural difference is an issue which can not be ignored. Inrecent years, the status of cultural teaching in English teaching is more and more important. EnglishCurriculum Standards for Compulsory Education states explicitly that the overall objectives of Englishcurriculum include five parts: language skills, language knowledge, emotional attitudes, learning strategiesand cultural awareness. And each objective is divided into nine levels. These indicate that the cultivation ofcultural awareness becomes more and more important. Therefore, English teachers should not only payattention to language knowledge, while cultural teaching is also important.On the basis of the above, the author designs the following research questions:(1) What is the current situation of cultural teaching in English teaching in junior high schools?(2) What are the successful methods adopted in English teaching in junior high schools?(3) What are the major problems affecting cultural teaching in English teaching in junior high schools?This thesis investigates212students and12teachers in Anyang No.61Junior High School in Henanprovince by cultural test, questionnaire, interview and classroom observation. According to the datacollected, the author analyzes and discusses the current situation and problems of cultural teaching in juniorhigh school. The results of the investigation show that:(1) The current situation of cultural teaching inEnglish teaching in junior high school is not satisfying. Most students do not master cultural knowledgecompletely. They have not possessed intercultural communicative awareness and competence. And theyhave not formed cultural awareness.(2) The successful methods applied by English teachers are verylimited. Most teachers still use the traditional grammar-translation method to teach knowledge. And theyignore cultural teaching. Only several young teachers could use various teaching methods to conductcultural teaching.(3) The pressure of tests, the teachers’ traditional teaching ideas and the students’indifference to cultural learning are the main factors influencing cultural teaching. On the basis of theanalysis and discussion of the results, the author gives some suggestions to improve cultural teaching. At first, the teachers should change their traditional teaching concepts and improve their ability of culturalteaching. Next, English teachers need to have a clear understanding of cultural teaching and choose theteaching materials containing rich cultural knowledge. Then the teachers should pay more attention to thecultural connotation of words, grammar and discourse. In addition, the teachers could apply variousteaching methods to create cultural atmosphere. The last one is to increase the proportion of culturalknowledge in tests.This thesis consists of five chapters.Chapter One is introduction. It introduces research background, research motivation and significance,research objectives and the organization of the thesis basically.Chapter Two is literature review. This chapter not only combs the related documents, but alsointroduces the related researches at home and abroad.Chapter Three is research design. It includes research questions, research subjects, research methodsand instruments, and research procedure.Chapter Four is data analysis and discussion. In this chapter, the author analyses and discusses thecollected data through cultural test, questionnaire, interview and classroom observation.The last chapter is conclusion. It is the last chapter, and also the most important one. It consists ofthree parts: the major findings, pedagogical implications, and limitations and prospects.