Intercultural Awareness Cultivation in English WritingTeaching in Senior High School

【Abstract】 There are significant differences between Chinese and western culture and thinking patterns. Writing， a skill that can best reflect peoples thinking activities， has become a tough problem for Chinese students in English learning. This paper discusses the impact of Chinese and western culture and thinking differences on English writing by comparing Chinese and western thinking models， and puts forward some suggestions for English writing teaching from the perspective of cultivating students intercultural awareness.

【Key words】 English writing teaching; Differences between Chinese and western thinking; intercultural awareness

【作者簡介】林佩珊，汕头市潮阳区河溪中学。

1. Introduction

With the continuous growth of social economy， globalization has become one of the most prominent features and trends in the development of todays world. Globalization is not only the process of economic expansion， but also closely related to culture， including the content of culture， which is called cultural globalization. Cultural awareness is one of the core qualities of English according to the New English Curriculum Standards in 2017. It refers to the understanding of Chinese and foreign cultures and the identification of excellent cultures. It is the cross-cultural cognition， attitude and behavior orientation of students in the context of globalization .

Intercultural communication competence is the comprehensive ability of combining language and thinking， while among four basic skills （listening， speaking， reading and writing） high school students are required to master， writing， as an indispensable means of communication， undoubtedly needs to be taught from a cross-cultural perspective. In English writing， the most direct and effective way to foster students intercultural communication ability is to train them to think directly in the target language. Instead of thinking in your native language， translate your own ideas and expressions into the target language . This training method can help students avoid the negative transfer and negative influence brought by Chinese. Therefore， it can be concluded that English teaching is not only to impart language knowledge， but also to cultivate students communicative competence for intercultural communication.

2. Comparison of Chinese and western writing thinking patterns

Language does not imitate the objective world. It is the cognitive picture and cognitive characteristics of human beings to the objective world. Its formation is not only subject to the original appearance of the objective world， but also subject to the cognitive mode， cognitive means and long cultural accumulation of human beings. Different cultural communities have their own unique cognitive characteristics . Thus， it is of great necessity for students to understand English language culture and thinking mode before writing.

（1） Spiral vs. linear thinking mode

Kaplan compared several types of lines by classifying the compositions of students from different countries. The figure of speech in English is “a straight line”， which goes straight to the subject. Oriental languages， including Chinese rhetorical patterns， are like a widening gyre . Although Kaplans rhetoric classification is still uncertain， it intuitively shows the thinking patterns of various languages . Chinese articles stress the importance of “ki-shoo-ten-ketsu”， which indirectly and implicitly express opinions. In terms of language expression， the cause comes first， then the event. Western culture is straightforward， often written in three straight lines. Therefore， influenced by Chinese roundabout expressions， similar expressions appear in students English compositions.

（2） Visual vs. logical thinking mode

When reading Chinese articles， readers need to automatically supplement the necessary information not mentioned in the text， such as connectives to express logical relations and transitions to connect the context， link seemingly unrelated sentences into a discourse， and clarify their own thoughts of the article. However， readers do not have to read English articles in this way. The author is responsible for explaining the idea of the article， so that the content of the article is clear and consistent. This is because easterners are used to visual thinking， while westerners are good at logical thinking. Therefore， such linking words that are necessary to indicate logical relations in English texts are often ignored by high school students.

（3） Collectivism vs. individualism

Western culture tends to individualism， advocating individuality， competition， independence， privacy and initiative. However， Chinese culture， influenced by Confucianism， belongs to collectivism culture， which emphasizes the importance of cooperation and collective decision. “In cultures that tend toward individualism， an” I consciousness prevails. In collective societies， a ‘we consciousness prevails ”. Collectivist values are common in Chinese students English compositions. For example， “we [all]...” represents a collective action that reflects the collective values of the Chinese people. This expression， however， is unnatural in English culture that gives a high emphasis on individuality and privacy.

3. Suggestions on fostering students intercultural communication awareness and competence in English writing teaching

（1）. emphasis on the combination of reading and writing

Reading and writing are closely related. Reading is the basis of writing. Reading is a way of language input， while writing is a way of language output. Reading can accumulate language materials for writing， which can not only enrich students knowledge， but also inspire students writing. Therefore， students are encouraged to share one or two English materials with diverse topics and genres at the beginning of my class. Last term， the original poem When You Are Old was read with great passion; one section from the TV documentary Planet Earth was shared; the whole book The Little Prince was finished， etc. Such method is both informative and entertaining for students to understand the thinking mode， values， moral standards， social culture， historical traditions and other aspects of British and American people， and accumulate materials for English writing and cultivate language sense.

（2） emphasis on the training of imitation writing

Most Chinese students will apply the Chinese thinking mode when writing an English composition， and translate it into English while thinking about how to speak Chinese. This almost Chinese-English writing mode is not only inefficient， but also causes the negative transfer effect of Chinese thinking and expression habits on English writing. In order to help students overcome the mechanical and inefficient writing mode， students were asked to imitate some English materials from the TV series The Vampire Diaries in writing class every two weeks on a regular basis， during which they were allowed to use dictionaries and other reference books to express their daily routine freely.

（3） emphasis on the introduction of culture

As Chinese students English learning is carried out in the Chinese cultural environment， their thinking mode and expression habits are influenced by Chinese culture. For instance， in order to minimize the negative impact of Chinese on students English writing， students were required to share and master the cultural differences in etiquette， education and negotiation style between China and the west through various channels in class last term， as well as the differences in English and Chinese writing caused by such differences.

4. Conclusions

Thinking， culture and writing are inseparable and writing teaching that does not involve the differences between Chinese and western culture and thinking mode is a failure. The primary problems to be solved in English writing teaching are to cultivate students intercultural consciousness， strengthen their thinking mode of English writing， and learn expressions in line with English habits. Only on this basis will students existing English knowledge be reasonably constructed and correctly output.

References：

[1]中華人民共和国教育部.普通高中英语课程标准（2017年版）[M].北京：人民教育出版社，2018.