According to the new syllabus, the purpose of junior high school English teaching in nine-year compulsory education is to cultivate students' preliminary English communicative competence. English test is gradually developing in this direction. Every language carries its national history and culture. When it comes to English teaching, we can't avoid the cultural differences between China and Britain.

(A) some differences between Chinese and English cultures

First of all, look at the differences from the cultural load of vocabulary.

Words often carry many cultural connotations. For example, in China, the tiger represents the king of all animals, and words such as "the tiger enters the door, the tiger is in the dragon plate, and the tiger is in power" often appear in vocabulary. But in English, tigers are replaced by lions. For example, the British nickname, as well as the animated film "The Lion King" broadcast some time ago. For another example, dogs often have derogatory meanings in Chinese: dog legs, dog slaves and so on. In English culture, dogs are the most loyal friends of human beings. Another example is as strong as an ox (translation: as strong as a horse), busy people are not busy but "nosy people", black tea is not black tea, and pornographic books are dirty books. Therefore, if you translate it literally, it will make a big joke.

Second, look at the difference from the name and title.

1, structural difference

As we all know, a first name consists of a surname and a first name. The arrangement of English people is first name+last name, while that of China people is last name+first name. Why is there such a difference? This is related to the values of the two peoples. Because the feudal system in Britain existed for a relatively short time, capitalism developed earlier, especially during the Renaissance, which advocated the idea of individualism first and advocated the individual as the center, which had a deep influence on the British. Therefore, the people of this country have strong individualism, which is reflected in the form of name supremacy.

China has a long feudal history, and Confucianism is deeply rooted. Emphasize the doctrine of the mean and oppose individualism. The most important thing is the inheritance of the family, which embodies a kind of group departmentalism. So there appeared the form of putting the family symbol-surname in front and the name representing the individual in the back.

2. Differences in the use of surnames

Because our country's surnames originated from totem as early as ancient times, after entering feudal society, we often take birthplace, fief, official position, title and so on as the source of surnames, and regard surnames as an honor. Therefore, it is extremely cautious and humble in the choice and use of surnames.

The British, on the other hand, fully demonstrated their self and freedom in the use of names. Some people take their profession as their name, such as: Cook; Some people use the names of family relationships, such as: Johnson Johnson Jackson; Some people take the weather and season as their names: snow, Si Nuo (snow), frost, and Xia Xia (summer); Some people are named after biblical figures: Bibble Baibl (Bible); In the name of looks: Strongstrong (strong), Longfellow Longfellow (big man); In the name of mythical figures: Apollo (the sun god), Xu Man (the god of marriage), Mars Mars (the god of war); Names of animals and plants: Bull, Wolf, Rose; Some are named after dates: May and Sunday; In the name of the object: stone Si Tong (stone), house (house) and so on, all kinds, regardless of beauty and ugliness. There are humpbacks, bad guys, fat people, thin people, churches and bushes ... so we often use transliteration instead of literal translation when translating English names.

But there is a bigger difference in naming, that is, in China society, future generations and other inferior people should avoid the names of elders and venerable persons, and cannot call them by their first names. For example, Emperor Taizong named Li Shimin, and as a result, Guanyin Bodhisattva was renamed Guanyin Bodhisattva; Bai Juyi, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, never recited Haitang because his mother's name was Haitang. In English-speaking countries, elders are proud of their children's use of their own names, so there have been such titles as Charles I and charles ii, as well as grandchildren's namesake.

3. Differences in appellation

In informal situations, both China and Britain like to call each other by their first names to show intimacy. But the appellation of the upper and lower generations is very different. In China, it is necessary to strictly observe the distinction between the upper and lower generations, and to use respectful names for elders, instead of calling them by their first names; In English-speaking countries, this is not necessarily strictly observed. In informal situations or when the relationship between the two parties is relatively close, they often call each other by their first names, which is true for parents, teachers, leaders and elders. It is common for parents to be called by their first names.

When addressing relatives, China people divide relatives very finely, while English-speaking countries divide relatives very roughly. For example, the Chinese word uncle means uncle, uncle and uncle with or without blood relationship, which is a general term. This has a deep relationship with the family concept of the two peoples.

In addition, China people like to address them by their positions and identities, such as Miss Wang and Lao Wang. This is not the case in English-speaking countries, such as Mr. Wang-Mr. Wang/Miss/Mrs. Wang instead of Mr. Wang (but this mistake has appeared in our junior high school textbooks).

Language is a tool. Due to the development of society, some new words will inevitably appear, so it is very necessary to pay attention to the English words that appear in our daily life.

For example: e-mail teletext (teletext)

Home page (home page) Mobile phone (mobile phone) ...

Third, the rules and habits of daily conversation.

Because we still don't pay enough attention to the listening and speaking ability of language, especially how to use some words in a specific context. Therefore, in practical application, there are often some sentences that are not problematic from the perspective of grammar or linguistics, but do not conform to the customs of English-speaking countries, or take it for granted to apply some native language forms, commonly known as Chinglish, and some ridiculous mistakes appear. Give a few examples to illustrate.

For example: 1, there are interesting differences in responses to praise and thanks. China people think modesty is a virtue, so when they meet the praise and thanks of foreigners, foreigners will say: You have done a good job. China people's first reaction is: Oh, no, or, um, just so-so. This reaction will lead to the editor's displeasure. The correct answer should be: thank you.

2. Differences in telephone opening remarks

Hello, I'm May. Is that Mary? This is a simple English telephone opening remarks. Hello, I'm May. Are you Mary? Here, we can't simply use Chinese and take it for granted that I am and you are used.

3. Other differences

For China people, there seems to be no privacy of their own, while the British attach great importance to personal privacy. China people like to ask questions about age, income, marriage and family status when they meet, which is extremely annoying to the British. The answer to this question is often: none of your business. It's none of your business. )

There are also some idioms. For example, merry Christmas should be merry Christmas instead of merry Christmas, which is also happiness. Just because of habit (this mistake has appeared in junior high school English coastal edition textbooks).

Of course, Chinese as an analytical language is quite different from English as a comprehensive language in grammar. I won't elaborate here.

(B) How to solve these problems in teaching.

The significance of cultural differences between China and Britain lies in the fact that due to the differences, Chinese, our mother tongue, will inevitably have some negative transfer effects on our English learning. How to avoid the negative influence of mother tongue in teaching and improve learning efficiency by understanding the differences? Mainly do the following two things:

First of all, on the basis of doing a good job in daily English teaching, we should purposefully infiltrate some communicative cultural backgrounds into the teaching. Students can do some supplementary extracurricular reading, or organize to watch original English movies, videos and VCDs. Through the use of the Internet, some social and cultural connotations, such as sound, silence, tangible, intangible and literal images, can penetrate deep into students' hearts, so that students can get in touch with the most authentic English world as much as possible.

Secondly, provide students with as many practical opportunities as possible. Classes are taught in pure English to create an atmosphere of listening and speaking in English. By creating simulated scenes, students are encouraged to speak and practice boldly, so that students can practice repeatedly, form a good sense of English language and enhance their coping ability in practice.

In short, ignoring the cultural differences between China and Britain in English teaching will directly affect the teaching quality and the improvement of students' communicative competence. Only by paying attention to improving students' understanding of the cultural background and social knowledge behind the language can students be truly invincible in language learning and application. Finally achieve the purpose of learning.