王婷
西安航空职业技术学院 通识教育学院， 陕西西安 710089
Abstract
Cultivating students' cross-cultural communication ability is an important goal to be achieved in English teaching in colleges and universities. Cross-cultural communication ability requires students not only to learn language, but also to understand the culture of other countries. Cultivating and enhancing college students' cross-cultural awareness can improve their application ability in cultural knowledge and cultural understanding, as well as their cross-cultural awareness and ability. In the daily English teaching process, teachers should recognize the importance of cultivating college students’ cross-cultural awareness, analyze the principles and methods of training, and then propose strategies for cultivating their cross-cultural awareness, and comprehensively improve the effectiveness of English teaching and the comprehensive quality of students
Key words: English teaching; Cross-cultural awareness; Training methods
The concept of cross-cultural awareness is the sensitivity of participants to cultural and other social factors in cross-cultural communication, including the sensitivity to the similarities and differences between foreign and domestic cultures, and the self-consciousness of adjusting foreign language expressions. Scholars who study the cultivation of cross-cultural awareness have put forward the importance of "awareness", because awareness can not only improve cognitive, emotional and behavioral skills, but also improve learners' autonomy in foreign language learning.（Liao,2001）It is also because of cross-cultural awareness that learners can consciously and autonomously compare and analyze the target language culture with their native language culture, so as to find the differences between the two languages, and then improve the ability and accomplishment of cross-cultural communication, to achieve the purpose of foreign language learning.
1.The Significance of Cultivating College Students’ Cross-cultural Awareness in English Teaching
1.1 The cultivation of cross-cultural awareness can enhance students' communicative ability
There are great differences between Chinese and Western cultures, such as "whether or not to eat" and "where to go ", while in the United States, whether to eat or not, where to go is a matter of privacy, generally will not ask, but with" how the weather "to replace. Each country has its own unique living habits and customs. (Wu, 2013) Some researchers (Chen and Huang, 2004) pointed out it is necessary to master vocabulary and grammar in learning,, but also to actively understand the cultural background of English-speaking countries, shorten the differences between different languages, and improve the communicative ability in cross-cultural awareness
1.2The cultivation of cross-cultural awareness helps students understand the English cultural background
English reading ability is a comprehensive ability, to read an article, not only must have the necessary language knowledge, but also master professional knowledge or cultural background knowledge. (Zhao, 2005) When the language difficulty of the article is low, the lack of cultural consciousness is the main obstacle to reading. Only when readers have a strong cross-cultural awareness can distinguish and understand the background knowledge of the work, so that the reader and the author can interact with each other and understand the true content and true meaning of the article. (Wu, 2003)
1.3 The cultivation of cross-cultural awareness is conducive to enhancing students' ability to use language
In the teaching process, teachers should introduce the cultural background knowledge of English articles to students; guide them to understand Western values, customs, and experience exotic customs, which can broaden students' knowledge, but also enable students to understand cultural habits, thereby improving students ability to use language comprehensively in listening, speaking, reading, writing and translation. (Zhou, 2005)
2. Principles and methods for cultivating college students’ cross-cultural awareness in English teaching
2.1 Principles of cultivating students' cross-cultural awareness
Cultivating students' cross-cultural awareness must abide by the phased principle and communicative principle. (Yang, 2005) According to the researcher (Gao, 2006), the phased principle is to determine the content of cultural teaching according to the development degree of students' language, emotion, intelligence and psychology, and to analyze the daily life, cultural background, humanistic geography and historical tradition of English-speaking countries from simple to complex, from simple to deep, from phenomenon to essence, and then to study people's moral value and attitude towards life. The communicative principle means that the university foreign language classroom itself reflects the communicative nature. Language is both the carrier of culture and the way of communication. (Gao, 2006) Teachers have the responsibility to enhance students' cross-cultural awareness. Under the premise of students learning basic knowledge, they can understand the lifestyle of other countries, local customs and cultural background.
2.2 Methods of cultivating students' cross-cultural awareness
2.2.1 Display method
According to the content of learning, intuitive effects can be achieved through display. For example, when studying the natural and cultural landscapes of English-speaking countries, it can be displayed through pictures, photos, maps and other materials. (Yang, 2005)
2.2.2 Contrast method
This method is the most common way to develop cross-cultural language communication. Through comparison and identification, it analyzes the cultural and structural similarities and differences between English and the mother tongue, thereby enhancing the sensitivity of cross-cultural communication. (Tan, 2004)
2.2.3 Practice method
Chen and Huang (2004) showed that students learn English by means of writing, reading, speaking, etc., by imitating and observing non-verbal expressions such as facial expressions, postures, and gestures of characters in the scene, they recognize the culture contained in the language and enhance their communicative skills.
2.2.4 Fusion method
This method combines language materials with cultural content. Some languages themselves are historical allusions and cultural customs. Combining the two can improve teaching effects in a subtle way. (Zhou, 2005)
3.Strategies for cultivating college students’ cross-cultural awareness in English teaching
Cultivating college students' language practical ability is the overall goal of English teaching, and it is also an important criterion for society to judge students' comprehensive quality. To improve students' practical application ability of language, we must focus on cultivating students' cross-cultural awareness. (Liao, 2001) Therefore, in English teaching, cultivating college students' cross-cultural awareness is the focus of current discussion.
3.1Infiltrate humanistic knowledge in teaching and improve students' cross-cultural awareness
At this stage, the English teaching reform and classroom teaching mainly adopt multimedia teaching and modern science and technology provide the classroom with rich, vivid and vivid language materials. Teachers should fully consider cultural factors when developing overall language teaching focusing on thematic unit teaching. The researcher (Wu, 2013) showed that we should not only explain the difficulties and emphases of language, but also introduce the history and culture, religious beliefs, customs and habits of English-speaking countries in class, so as to guide and encourage students to discuss, write and read with cross-cultural as the core. Let students understand cross-cultural issues from many angles and levels. In the teaching of listening and speaking, with the help of multimedia or social and cultural environment, students can understand the cultural background and guide students to communicate in different situations. (Gao, 2006) For example, setting up scenarios such as festival celebrations, birthday parties, dining out, shopping, etc., students use role-playing, use language in a relatively real atmosphere, and understand cultural knowledge in communication and exchange, thereby enhancing students' cross-cultural awareness.
3.2Comprehensive use of modern information technology to strengthen students' cross-cultural awareness
In the process of cultivating college students' cross-cultural awareness, modern information technology plays an important role. Teachers can use multimedia, network and other information technology to guide students and enhance their cross-cultural awareness. ( Chen and Huang, 2004) The way of thinking and learning of students extends from language and writing to visual images, from rational thinking to perceptual thinking, guiding students to analyze and think about deep-level culture in depth, enabling in-depth breakthroughs and development of cultural cognitive ability, and enhancing students' memory ability, recognition and communication skills. Through modern technology, students can understand cultural information more intuitively, accurately and clearly, and prevent the uncertainty, ambiguity and indirectness in traditional teaching. Zhou (2005) pointed out in terms of time, it can get rid of the constraints of teaching procedures and obtain visual information in a short time and in all directions; In terms of space, present things in virtual or real scenes to improve cultural appeal; in terms of content, visual resources are diverse and infinite, which expand the learning space of students; In terms of learning effects, vivid sceneries with vivid colors can stimulate students' continuous investment in psychological resources. Using modern information technology to convey culture and displaying foreign cultures through multimedia can deepen students’ understanding of English and the differences between English and Chinese, thereby enhancing students’ cross-cultural understanding and sensitivity.
3.3Set up elective courses to comprehensively introduce Western cultural knowledge
With the help of modern information technology to reform college English teaching, the traditional English courses with basic English as the core are changed into courses covering different systems and combinations such as English improvement courses and comprehensive English courses, and a diversified and multi-level course system is established, not only for students Lay a solid language foundation. (Liao, 2001)
It also improves students' comprehensive application ability, helps students develop autonomous and personalized learning, and meets the development requirements of students for different majors. Most colleges and universities in our country attach great importance to the construction of the curriculum system and set up advanced courses with distinctive characteristics. (Zhao, 2005) For example, Nanjing University offers courses in English film and television appreciation, Anglo-American novels, cross-cultural English, Anglo-American culture and society when designing the selective cultural and literature section. Through diversified forms, various cultural exchanges will be expanded to activate students' cultural exchanges and English learning atmosphere. (Gao, 2006)
Conclusion
With the continuous advancement of the global integration of politics, culture, and economy, international communication has become more in-depth and extensive, especially the enhancement of the world's informatization level and the emergence and use of the Internet, making it easier for people to achieve cross-cultural communication. Therefore, in the process of college English teaching, it is very important to cultivate students' cross-cultural awareness, which is related to whether students can correctly grasp English and apply it in real life. In teaching, we should pay attention to the cultural connotation embodied in the English language, increase students' knowledge accumulation, improve cross-cultural and cross-conscious communication skills, and then enhance the teaching effect of college English.
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作者简介：王婷(1988-)，女，汉族，陕西西安人，硕士在读，讲师，研究方向:英语教学