A Study On Cultural Identity Of English Majors In Wuhan

Language and culture are closely related.As an important factor of cultural identity,language highlights a person's cultural identity,and participates in the construction of identity.The learning and use of a language,to a certain extent,will influence and even change language learners' original cultural identity.At present,the studies of language learning and cultural identity have been carried out in the field of second language acquisition in China,and some achievements have been achieved.However,the subjects of previous studies are mainly immigrants and foreign students who study language in the target language context.The development of globalization and technology promote the spread of cultures,and everyone is in a multicultural society.Great changes have taken place in the society and the English learning environment.English learners can contact English culture easily even in the native language context.Based on the Lambert's social psychological model,Schumann's acculturation model and Gao Yihong's 1+1>2 model,the study investigates the cultural identity of 105 English majors from a university in Wuhan by questionnaire.Survey results show that:1)In the process of English learning,English majors' cultural identity has changed in varying degrees.2)Cultural identity is a dynamic process.English learning has a certain effect on different types of cultural identity changes,among which the additive change and productive change are more obvious.3)English learners' gender,investment and English proficiency have a significant effect on their cultural identities.Based on the study,there are some implications.First,it is essential to improve the cultural sensitivity and inclusiveness.Educators and learners should always pay attention to the change of cultural identity and timely guide the change of cultural identity to a positive direction.Besides,it is of great significance to establish the correct concept of culture.Educators should increase the input of native culture while teaching English culture and keep the balance between the two languages and cultures.Moreover,it is necessary to make rational use of factors that affect cultural identity.Educators should combine English teaching with learners' learning conditions,adjust the teaching contents and methods according to different characteristics of students,and improve their English ability while maintaining their cultural identity in a positive direction.