A Qualitative Study On English Teachers' Cultural Self-consciousness In Intercultural Teaching

The Ministry of Education published new compulsory education curriculum standard of English in 2011.It said:students in initial stage of English learning should have a roughly understanding of the differences and similarities between Chinese and foreign culture.In the higher stage of English learning,by expanding the scope of contacting with foreign culture and expanding the field of vision of students,English teachers should improve students' ability of identification of the differences and similarities between Chinese and foreign culture.And also students should have sensitivity of cultural differences.In the cultural awareness requests,the curriculum standard said:students should pay close attention to the differences and similarities between Chinese and foreign culture,should understand Chinese culture;students can introduce Chinese festivals and cultural customs.English teachers,as the practitioners of intercultural teaching,their cultural outlook and cultural self-consciousness appearing in English teaching affects directly the students' understanding of Chinese and foreign culture,and the forming of cultural self-consciousness.However,in a long time,English teaching paid more attention to language forms and knowledge structure,which influences the development of students' intercultural communication skills and the forming of students' cultural self-consciousness.Therefore,it is far important for English teachers to pass culture and to teach cultural knowledge.This paper used qualitative research method,taking six junior high school English teachers as research objects,observing their intercultural teaching practice.By interviewing the six English teachers,the author wants to know their understanding and opinions of inter-culture.By analyzing their reflective diaries,the author wants to explore the reasons behind intercultural teaching behaviors.Therefore,the paper tries to reveal English teachers' cultural self-consciousness development conditions and behaviors.Moreover,the paper also wants to show the status of intercultural teaching affected by English teachers' cultural self-consciousness.The study has the following findings.English teachers' cultural self-consciousness is that when English teachers contact with English culture and American culture,experiencing foreign culture continuously,rethinking the relationship of Chinese culture and foreign culture,after thinking deeply of Chinese,they have some realization and changes in their cognition,emotion and action.The features of English teachers' cultural self-consciousness includes particularity,otherness and growth.It has following four kinds of representation in teaching practice,they are cultural acceptance,cultural criticism,cultural reflection and cultural awakening.In English teachers' intercultural teaching,their cultural acceptance mainly presents in teaching cognition,teaching emotion,and teaching behaviors.Their cultural criticism mainly presents in English classes which include many cultural differences.Their cultural reflection mainly presents in their reflection diaries.The cultural awakening presents in teaching process in English class.The factors of influencing English teachers' cultural self-consciousness can be divided two parts.The first part is the inner factors such as English teachers'education experience,work experience and life experience.And the second part is the external factors like school environment,textbook preparation.The inner factors includes:English teachers love foreign culture and they are willing to accept the foreign culture,so they have high cultural quality and more like intercultural teaching;teaching training attaches much weight to the theory of intercultural teaching,which strengthens the consciousness of inter-culture;English teachers,pursuing the depth of English class and strengthening the interest of English class,they have high request of their intercultural teaching and a strong sense of cultural self-consciousness.However,the external factors also influence English teachers'cultural self-consciousness.The school leaders pay attention to students' academic achievement,so the importance of intercultural teaching is weakened.The older teachers ignore the intercultural teaching influencing the younger English teachers' intercultural teaching practice.The curriculum standard lacks guidance on cultural teaching and weakens the testing of cultural knowledge,which makes English teachers ignore cultural passing.Besides,because the students have a poor foundation of English teaching,there are many difficulties while passing culture.Moreover,English teachers doesn't dig the rich cultural knowledge in English textbooks.The cultural self-consciousness has a long way to go.Facing the status of English teachers' cultural self-consciousness during their intercultural teaching,the author puts forward some suggestions for reference to improve English teachers' cultural self-consciousness in their intercultural teaching.English teachers should establish cultural self-confidence.They should establish the double role self-consciousness and the students culture learning belief.Also,they need to promote the cultural self-consciousness,including improve the intercultural consciousness and the culture reflection awareness.The last one is strengthening self-culture practice.English teachers should deal the relationship of culture of English and Chinese well.They can also draw lessons from English-speaking countries of their intercultural teaching model.