Intercultural Competence Teaching

【Abstract】It is widely realized that cultural competence is playing an increasingly important role in language teaching because of the close associations between culture and language. To enhance the efficiency of language teaching， this essay will elucidate the importance of intercultural competence teaching and introduce three methods of cultural teaching.

【Key words】Intercultural competence； Language teaching； Cultural teaching

“Intercultural competence” is a new concept which has just been introduced into the domain about twenty years ago and is presently gaining increasing attention from the academia. However， no concise and unified definition of “intercultural competence” has been formed so far. Kim believes that intercultural competence should involve three levels， that is， cognition， emotion， and behavior. He describes this competence as to know more and to behave in new ways. （Kim， 1991） According to Brislin （1993）， intercultural competence refer to having adequate relevant knowledge as well as general knowledge about particular cultures， and it demands for a lot of contact with foreigners， and fulfills tasks in foreign environments efficiently without feeling stressful.

As a matter of fact， learning a language is inseparable from learning its culture. When learning a foreign language， students need to not only learn the words， the grammar， but also learn enough about the target language’s culture to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings. This essay will discuss intercultural competence from three respects： the relationship between language and culture， the significance of teaching intercultural competence， as well as the basic methods of cultural teaching.

Every language is a product and a part of a culture. Language is intensely associated with culture in life. For one thing， language is both a component and a carrier of culture， which can reflect and serve culture demands. For another thing， having a complete understanding of the target culture is the premise of implementing cross-cultural communications in the target language fluently. Language is rooted in and mirrors national culture.

In view of the indivisible relations between language and culture， the crucial importance of intercultural competence becomes notable in foreign language teaching. Foreign language teaching should involve not only teaching of language itself， but also introduction of culture and cultivation of cultural competence. It is undeniable that combining cultural teaching with language teaching can facilitate enhancing students’ cultural sensitivity， help students to master and employ the target language smoothly， as well as help them to avoid communication disorders caused by cultural difference. Having realized the crucial importance of cultural competence， educators begin to make great endeavors to explore the best methods of cultural inputting. Generally speaking， there are three ways of teaching culture presently. The first approach is to input cultural information into vocabulary teaching. It seems indubitable that vocabulary teaching is crucial to language foundation， and focusing only on meanings is far from enough. Therefore， in order to avoid misuse of words， it’s necessary to introduce the cultural information of words. For example， the word “dragon” is a symbol of divine and experiences high social worship in Chinese culture. However， in western countries， the “dragon” in the Bible symbolizes mascots and evils.

The second approach is to conduct cultural introduction combined with classroom teaching. It is generally admitted that the most effective way of absorbing and experiencing a culture is to be exposed to the environment where this culture lies and to implement direct contact with the native speakers of this culture. Nevertheless， this is impossible for most Chinese students， which makes textbooks and classroom teaching an important way for them to know and feel the exotic culture. In English classes， teachers ought to introduce some cultural background knowledge of English-speaking countries， such as something about the history， the religion beliefs， the customs and the life styles. English teachers have the responsibility to introduce the knowledge about the cultures of English-speaking countries as much as possible so as to make up for students’ deficiencies in this respect.

The third approach is to implement culture introduction by means of extracurricular activities. It is commonly acknowledged that extracurricular activities can function as the extension and the supplement of classroom cultural teaching. Teachers can select some updating articles of high cultural values as outside readings. Moreover， it is a great practice to invite native English speakers to give cultural lectures and to organize students to develop extracurricular activities like English corners， English evenings， and English broadcast， through which students can get a general idea about the social cultural situations of English-speaking countries.

In conclusion， it seems convinced that intercultural competence plays a crucial role in language teaching and intercultural communications. In order to help students to learn enough about the target language’s culture， teachers should provide enough cultural input. As a matter of fact， the ultimate aim of foreign language teaching is to accomplish cross-culture communications successfully. Accordingly， language knowledge teaching must be combined with cultural introduction to enhance students’ sensitivity to cultural difference and their competence of conducting intercultural communications.

【References】

[1]Brislin， R. W.. Understanding Culture’s Influence on Behavior[M]. New York， NY： Harcourt Brace College Publishers，1993.

[2]Kim， Y. Y.. Intercultural Communication Competence. In Ting-Toomey， S. & Korzenny， F. （eds.） Cross-Cultural Interpersonal Communication[M]. London： Sage Publisher，1991.