Application Of Simulation Games In Intercultural English Teaching

In the past two decades,as China’s Ministry of Education has adopted the cultivation of Intercultural Competence(ICC)as one of the main objectives of English teaching,how to cultivate students’ ICC in English teaching has become a topic of concern to the majority of English teachers and trainers.This study will take the classic intercultural simulation game Bafa Bafa as a case to explore the educational effectiveness of simulation games in intercultural English teaching.This study mainly focuses on two questions: one is whether simulation games can improve students’ intercultural sensitivity(Attitude dimension of ICC);the other is what educational effectiveness do simulation games have on students’ English learning.This study selected a total of 102 students from three sophomore classes of W University and X University of Shanghai as the research objects.The Bafa Bafa was redesigned based on preliminary analysis and carried out in real English classes.In this study,the author chose the Triangulation and use literature research,class observation,Intercultural Sensitivity Scale,interview and satisfaction questionnaire to collect and analyze the data.The research shows that simulation games,as an effective method of intercultural English teaching,can improve students’ intercultural sensitivity,interest in English learning,and ability of analysis and reflection to a certain extent.Furthermore,the author found that the educational effectiveness of simulation games in intercultural English teaching is affected by students’ English proficiency,intercultural communication experience and intercultural theoretical knowledge.Finally,based on the research conclusions,the author discusses how to combine simulation games with English listening,speaking courses and writing courses,so as to maximize the educational effectiveness of simulation games in intercultural English teaching.