1) The document discusses approaches to teaching Chinese culture alongside Chinese language, including whether culture or language should come first, or if they should be integrated.
2) It examines the importance of developing intercultural communicative competence in students and outlines its three components: cultural knowledge, behavioral culture, and perception.
3) A study on teaching Chinese culture found that most teachers lack systematic approaches and focus mainly on cultural products over perspectives, calling for improved teacher training on culture.
7. ACTFL National Standards on Culture
PRODUCTS
(books, foods, music,
games, movies etc.)
PRACTICES
PERSPECTIVES
(patterns of social (attitudes,
behavior & interaction) values, ideas)
9. Communicative competence
• Linguistic competence 语言能力
• Social linguistic competence 社会语言能力
• Discourse competence 篇章能力
• Strategic competence 交际策略
Canale & Swain, 1980
10. Communicative competence modified
• Linguistic competence 语言能力
• Social linguistic competence 社会语言能力
• Discourse competence 篇章能力
• Strategic competence 交际策略
• Social cultural competence 社会文化交际能
力
• Social competence 社会交际能力
van Ek 1986
12. Information culture
文化知识
• Knowledge of Chinese culture
• Knowledge of local culture
• Knowledge of the similarities of the
two cultures ( 文化共性 )
• Knowledge of the differences of the
two cultures ( 文化差异）
13. Behavioral culture
交际实践
• Ability to use the target language
appropriately
• Ability to use non-verbal language
• Ability to use communicative
strategies and skills
• Ability to resolve communication
barriers
14. Perception ( 文化意识 )
• Understand deep culture
• Willing to communicate with people of
a different culture
• Respect other cultures
• Accept cultural differences and
overcome cultural prejudices
• Understand cultural relativism and
reject ethnocentralism
17. A Study on teaching culture
• Ongoing since 2012
• Participants: Over 50 Chinese language
teachers in American K-12 schools
• Data collection: Survey, Interview,
school visit, classroom observation,
roundtable discussions
18. Findings
• Everyone teaches culture in his or her
own way.
• No one has a curriculum or syllabus or
good textbook on culture.
• Culture is a supplement to the learning
of language and no one teaches culture
systematically or purposefully.
19. Findings
• Most teachers teach PRODUCTS, and
focus more on traditional culture than
modern culture, more on high culture
than pop culture.
• Most teachers teach PRACTICES, but
more dependent on textbooks.
20. Findings
• Few teachers teach PERSPECTIVES.
• Reasons for hesitation to teach
PERSPECTIVES:
–Fear to touching sensitive topics
–Social stereotypes
–Bias towards China
–Ethnocentralism
21. Findings
• Most teachers use the “by-the-way
approach,” “festival approach,” “Culture
Friday,” “cultural capsule,” etc.
• Teachers do compare cultures but
infrequently.
• Most teachers lack understanding about
intercultural communicative competence
and intercultural competence
22. Findings
• Most teachers feel they are not
adequately educated in teaching culture.
• Most teachers feel they lack knowledge
in the local culture (American culture).
• Over 80 percent respondents are
dissatisfied with the training at college &
graduate school.
• A strong need for pd on culture.
23. Implication to teaching I:
Enrichment of teachers’ cultural perspective
• Attitude ( 态度层面 )
• Knowledge ( 知识层面 )
• Skills ( 技能层面 )
31. Fantini’s process framework to
develop intercultural
communicative competence
• Presentation of new materials
• Language practice
• Language exploration
• Transposition or use the language
• Sociolinguistic exploration
• Culture exploration
• Intercultural exploration (compare &
contrast target & native linguacultures)
Fantini 2001
33. Perhaps the most important article
of faith is that the learner’s
emotional attitude towards the
teacher, towards fellow learners,
and towards the target language
and culture, is the single most important
variable in language learning. It is crucial,
not only to take account of this factor, but to
give it a central place in the selection of
content, materials and learning activities.
- David Nunan, 1991
34. Student-centered approach
Focus on students’ need and interest
Select and develop curriculum
materials that meets students’ needs
Adopt a new teacher role as
a guide, facilitator, and advisor
35. Types of cultural content
Chinese & world culture
Past and present
Authentic materials
My stories
36. Adapt, do not adopt: Create your own
textbook
第
五课
看
朋友
40. Story:
What brain research tells us
Humans are not ideally set up to
understand logic; they are
ideally set up to understand
stories.
Roger Schank, cognitive scientist
46. Not a conclusion
Integrate the learning of language and
culture
Take an intercultural approach to develop
intercultural communicative competence
Adopt an humanistic approach to develop
students’ positive attitude towards you as
a teacher, their fellow students, and the
Chinese language and culture as well as
the world culture
47. A conversation between
Daniel Goleman and George Lucas
on new demands to teachers
educate the hearts and minds
of our students
