大学英语拓展课 跨文化交际

徐 州 工 程 学 院 教 案 20　  —20    学年  第    学期    第      周    星期  　    课题名称（含教材章节）：Encounters with Westerners ( Unit 3 Speaking in a Foreign Language) 教学目的和要求： 1) grasp mistakes in a foreign language learning 2) understand westerner’s responses to compliment and the cultural reasons behind them 3) comprehend differences between Chinese and Western students 4) realize mistakes would occur at different levels and know how to avoid them 5) learn about egalitarianism 教学重点： 1) understand mistakes in a foreign language learning 2) comprehend westerner’s responses to compliment and the cultural reasons behind them 3) grasp the different aspects of American egalitarianism 教学难点： Let the students keep in mind and have a general understanding of the following parts: 1) understand mistakes would occur at different levels and know how to avoid them in Foreign language learning 2) grasp American middle class identity 3) comprehend American concept of equality   教 学 内 容 （ 要 点 ） Unit 3 Speaking in a Foreign language 1st and 2nd period Teaching Objectives: 1) Students grasp mistakes in a foreign language learning; 2) Students know the stress during speaking in a foreign language; 3) Students comprehend why would speaking in a foreign language cause stress in intercultural encounters. Teaching Contents: 1. Case study: Mistake　 1) Interpretation Questions: Why do you think Mr. Schmidt never corrects Huizhen’s English mistakes? 2) List as many possible explanations that why Mr. Schmidt never corrects Huizhen’s English mistakes. * Huizhen actually doesn’t make many mistakes, and Mr. Schmidt doesn’t consider the few mistakes she makes serious. * Mr. Schmidt doesn’t notice Huizhen’s mistakes because he is paying more attention to the content of what she was saying. * Mr. Schmidt doesn’t correct Huizhen because he doesn’t want to interrupt her; he doesn’t want to discourage her from talking. * Mr. Schmidt thinks it would be rude to correct Huizhen’s English errors. * Mr. Schmidt does correct Huizhen’s errors, but he only corrects her subtly by repeating corrected versions of what she said wrong. However, Huizhen doesn’t notice this. * Mr. Schmidt doesn’t think that correcting students’ errors helps their English very much. * Mr. Schmidt avoids making grammar corrections because he can’t explain English grammar very well. * Mr. Schmidt doesn’t take teaching very seriously, especially grammar. 3) Some likely interpretations * Chinese students and American teachers often have quite different beliefs and expectations about the role of the language teacher, and also about what is most important in English learning. These differences may lead to misunderstanding.　 4) Culture Notes 　 * Correcting foreigners’ English mistakes: While a language teacher might be willing to interrupt a student of English in order to point out his /her errors, most westerners would consider this rude or awkward. In fact, in most countries the average person would probably not interrupt a language learner to correct his/ her grammar mistakes. What many people will do when talking to foreigners is correct things the foreigner said wrong by repeating them later correctly, so if the learner pays attention he/she might still learn much. (If a learner obviously appreciates each of these little corrections and makes an attempt to learn from them, this will encourage others to continue correcting. If, on the other hand, the learner seems to ignore corrections or be annoyed by them, it is not likely that the other person will continue to correct learners for very long.) * Correction and language learning: There is actually little evidence that active correction of mistakes in spoken English by a teacher helps learners significantly improve their grammar. Some corrections help learners learn, but most corrections tend to be ignored or forgotten. How much a learner learns depends more on how carefully he/she pays attention rather than on how much the teacher corrects. * Western approaches to language learning: Many western teachers take an approach to language learning and teaching which emphasizes communication, sometimes even at the expense of attention to grammatical accuracy. The assumption is that when using English it is more important to understand others and be understood by others than it is to have every sentence be perfectly correct. Of course, this does not mean that grammatical accuracy is unimportant, but it does mean that American teachers may stress grammar less than students from other cultures are accustomed to. * Native speakers and grammar: The average native English speaker doesn’t have much explicit knowledge of the rules of English grammar (although some who are English teachers by profession will know grammar very well) – and most don’t especially like grammar. This does not mean that native speakers speak ungrammatically, and it certainly doesn’t mean that native speakers don’t know what grammatically correct and incorrect. However, like the speakers of any language, native speakers of English learn their mother tongue at a young age without any explicit instruction in grammar, so while they can speak correctly and know what is right and wrong, they generally don’t know how to explain its rules. Often English teachers who are not native speakers of English have a better explicit knowledge of grammar rules because they learned these rules as they learned English. 5) Discussion Activities　 * How do you feel about English teachers correcting your mistakes when you speak English? 　 * How often do you want to be corrected? * What kind of correction do you find most helpful?　 2. Speaking in a Foreign Language and Stress 1) Comprehension Questions * Why would speaking in a foreign language cause stress in intercultural encounters? 2) Usage * to experience stress e.g. Many people experience stress when they have to make phone calls in a foreign language. * to have to do with e.g. I bet the fact that he was tired has something to do with why he was in such a bad mood today.　 * to feel more/less sure of yourself e.g. If you practice before giving a presentation you will probably feel more sure of yourself. * feelings of (something) e.g. When she returned from abroad and saw her parents, she was overcome by feelings of excitement and joy. 3) Supplementary Notes * Stress in intercultural encounters: Ward, Bochner, and Furnham (2001:16) note: “… there is overwhelming empirical evidence that interacting with culturally different individuals or functioning in unfamiliar physical and social settings is inherently stressful, with outcomes ranging from mild discomfort to severe, debilitating anxiety.” * Foreign language as a source of stress: Some of the reasons why speaking a foreign language is stressful are fairly obvious; for example, the sheer difficulty of comprehending or expressing ideas in an unfamiliar language. However, stress in intercultural encounters can also be caused by more subtle language problems. For example, one source of stress in intercultural communication is simply differences in style of communication. The “foreigner” doesn’t maintain the normal flow of verbal and non-verbal interaction that one expects – silences are too long or too short, etc. (Barna 1997:375-6) These subtle differences tend to break the rhythm of the interaction, and this can cause tension and a sense of disease. (Gundykunst and Kim 1997:257) The need to use a foreign language is especially stressful and tiring for “sojourners” – people who have gone to live in another country and who consequently need to rely heavily on their foreign language skills. As Paige (1993:8) notes: “Initially, using a language other than one’s own day in and day out can be quite fatiguing, particularly when the sojourner is not yet proficient in it.” In part, the problem is that it is mentally draining because functioning in a foreign language is also fatiguing because of the emotional drain it involves. For example, in her study of Chinese graduate students in the US, Chen (1998:304) found that one of their strongest feelings was of being useless, ignorant, foolish, like big children, and their main reason for this was their imperfect English and culture skills. They also found it exhausting to speak and listen to English so much, and felt a great deal of pressure when they needed to speak in English. (307) 4) Discussion Activities　 * To practice talking about feelings; to call attention to the affective side of speaking English and its potential impact on intercultural communication. Ask students to survey several classmates asking: how did you feel the first time you spoke to a foreigner in English? Be ready to share what you find out with the rest of the class. Be sure to use the correct part of speech when you talk about feelings. Pay special attention to the following four terms of each word: verb, noun, passive adjective, and active adjective. 3. Assignment: 1) Terms: mistake , native speaker, stress 2) Questions: * What are typical characteristics of Chinese language learners? * What are differences between Chinese and Western students? * How do you feel when you speak English? Unit 3 Speaking in a Foreign Language 3rdand 4th period Teaching Objectives: 1) Students understand the compliment in western cultures; 2) Students realize westerner’s responses to compliment and the cultural reasons behind them; 3) Students grasp the different aspects of American egalitarianism. Teaching Contents: 1. Case study: The Compliment　 1) Comprehension Questions * Why do you think the American woman complimented Xiao Feng’s English ? 　 * Why is there so much difference between what Xiao Feng feels and what she says?　 2) List as many possible explanations　 * The woman was just being polite; she really didn’t think Xiao Feng’s English was very good. * The woman was genuinely impressed by Xiao Feng’s ability to handle such a difficult topic, even though he made some errors. * The woman could tell Xiao Feng was having difficulty with his English, and she wanted to encourage him. * The woman felt a little awkward because she put Xiao Feng through so much trouble, and her compliment as really another way of saying thank you. 3) Some likely interpretations * In this situation it is difficult to tell whether the Western woman is genuinely impressed with the quality of Xiao Feng’s English or whether she is simply being nice and encouraging to him. Of course, it is also possible thst both are true. * Xiao Feng’s feelings of inadequacy may well cause him to focus more on the flaws in his English than on his degree of success. 4) Culture Notes * Being nice: In mainstream middle-class North American culture, great value is placed on being nice to others, and also on saying things that will make others feel good (even when people don’t completely believe what they say.) This attitude is reflected in a lesson many parents teach their children: “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” Many North Americans would consider this approach polite rather than insincere. However, there are also many North Americans who believe in saying exactly what they think, even if such honesty hurts other people’s feelings. * Responding to compliments North America style：North Americans usually don’t directly reject compliments by saying something like “My English is really poor;” in fact, directly contradicting someone might even seem a little rude. North Americans more often respond to compliments with the following strategies: a. Accept it. When North Americans feel a compliment is reasonable, often they respond just by saying “Thank you.” In some situations, it is also appropriate to return the compliment. (Example: Ann: “Helen, your dress is lovely.” Helen: “Thank you. Yours is also quite beautiful.”) 　 b. Deflect it. Often North Americans will accept a compliment by saying thank you, but then quickly pass the credit on to someone else. (Ann: “Helen, your dress is lovely.” Helen: “Thank you. My mother made it for me.”) Another common strategy is for the person receiving the compliment to quickly shift attention away from him/herself by adding information that opens up a new conversation topic. (Helen: “Thank you. I got it in Mexico last year.) c. Thank but decline. If a North American really feels a compliment is unjustified or cannot be accepted, often he/she will thank the person offering the compliment, but without actually accepting it, using a sentence like “It’s nice of you to say so” or “That’s very kind of you.” 　 5) Discussion Activities　 * When and how are compliments usually given in Chinese culture? How should one respond? * In China is it consider better to say nice things, even if they aren’t true, or to always be honest? Is “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all” usually (always) a good policy? Is it ever not a good idea? 2. Difference in Rank and Power　 1) Comprehension Questions * What is “hierarchy”? * How do Western cultures generally view hierarchy? * What are some ways in which Western society differ in how they view the issue of equality? 2) Usage * high rank e.g. Some people strive for wealth; other strive for high social rank.　 * to minimize differences e.g. While there are certainly many similarities between Chinese and Japanese cultures, we shouldn’t minimize the differences.　 * to have appositive/negative view of e.g. Employees who don’t work very hard are often subject to criticism from their bosses.　 * an appearance of equality　 e.g. Even though bosses have more power than their employees in Western companies, they generally try to maintain at least some appearance of equality. * one of the guys e.g. Our new boss is okay. He usually acts more like one of the guys than like a boss. * to pull rank e.g. My boss generally doesn’t pull rank. Instead of just giving orders, he explains why he wants us to do things. 3) Supplementary Notes * On American distrust of authority: Many Americans have a rather suspicious view of governmental authority, and this distrust can be seen in how the US government is designed, with its emphasis on a “balance of powers” between the three branches of government. As Lipset (1996:39) notes: “Fighting against a centralized monarchical state, the founding fathers distrusted a strong unified government… The chronic antagonism to the state derived from the American Revolution has been institutionalized in the unique division of powers that distinguishes the United States From parliamentary regimes…” * On American middle class identity: Scholars note that an interesting aspect of American egalitarianism lies in the tendency of almost all Americans – no matter how wealthy they actually are – to think of themselves as being middle class. For example, as Stewart and Bennett (1991:89) write: “… most Americans see themselves as members of an egalitarian middle class.” Likewise, Bellah et al (2008:xlix) point out that: “Everyone in the United States thinks largely in middle-class categories, even when they are inappropriate.” * On the American concept of equality: The American concept of equality assumes there should be equal opportunity, not that all people are of equal talent and ability. Rewards are assigned by achievement, not on an equal basis (Steward and Bennett 1991:93). One of the main assumptions of US culture is a belief that merit deserves reward, and this belief is stronger than egalitarian trends toward equal rewards (Lipset 1996:144-5). As Bellah et al (2008:25-6) write: “Our American traditions encourage us to think of justice as a matter of equal opportunities for every individual to pursue whatever he or she understands by happiness. Equal opportunities are guaranteed by fair laws and political procedures – laws and procedures applied in the same way to everyone. But this way of thinking about justice does not in itself contain a vision of what the distribution of goods in a society would end up looking like if individuals had an equal chance to pursue their interests. Thus, there could be great disparities in the income given to people in different occupations in a just society so long as everyone had an equal chance of getting a well-paid job.” * Aspect of American egalitarianism: One interesting aspect of American egalitarianism is the way confrontations are handled. “When a personal confrontation is required between two persons of different hierarchical levels, there is an implicit tendency to establish an atmosphere of equality.” (Stewart and Bennett 1991:90-1) 4) Discussion Activities　 * The reading above gives several examples of ways in which Western cultures tend to be less hierarchical than that of China. Can you think of other examples of : hierarchy in Chinese culture? minimizing rank and power differences in Western culture? * Hofstede’s generalizations about rank and power differences are useful, but they also need to be used carefully and view critically. Based on what you know, are there aspects of Chinese culture where rank and power differences seem not to be emphasized? 3. Assignment: 1) Terms: hierarchy, egalitarianism 2) Questions: * What is “hierarchy”? * How do Western cultures generally view hierarchy?