Abstract:With the process of globalization speeding up, economic exchange and culture communication among different countries and districts become more and more frequently. How to better accelerate economic cooperation and culture communication and reduce the risk of cultural conflicts under certain circumstances with language and culture differences make English, as a global language, play an important and indispensable role in globalization. How to grasp English comprehensively and use it to communicate more effectively under cultural differences? Actually, we need to learn more about cultural content behind English except grasping language knowledge. 

Culture is the soil of language and language is the carrier of culture. With increasing awareness of the inseparable relationship between language and culture among people, intercultural communication was gradually set up as a new and independent science in America in 1960s. At the same time, the cultivation of learners’ cross-cultural awareness in English teaching catches more and more attention gradually, and many conceptions, such as cultural differences and cultural adaptation, are proposed as well. With the theories and methodologies of intercultural communication gradually being established, cross-cultural awareness cultivation gradually becomes an important part in English teaching. Compared with America, intercultural communication research in our country starts a bit later, but it develops fast. During the reforming process of English teaching and English standard curriculum, it can be clearly seen that intercultural communication and cross-cultural awareness cultivation receives more and more concerns than before. 

     This essay briefly introduces related background information about cultivating students’ cross-cultural awareness and definitions of closely related conceptions for a closer view of the relationship between language and culture and explains the importance to cultivate students’ cross-cultural awareness in junior high school English teaching. It mainly illustrates a survey about cross-cultural awareness cultivation conducted in Chengdu Experimental School Attached to Beijing University through questionnaires and interviews and briefly analyzes the present situation of cultivating students’ cross-cultural awareness in junior high schools of our country and some possible problems, according to which some suggestions are given. In the last chapter seven effective strategies for cultivating students’ cross-cultural awareness are introduced, which aims to provide junior high school English teachers with some related, convenient and possible references for their further teaching.

Key Words:

Culture, Cross-cultural Awareness, Intercultural Communication, Cultivation of Cross-cultural Awareness, Strategy

Content

摘要：

Abstract:

Introduction-6

1.-Background Information and Core Conceptions-7

1.1 Culture-7

1.2 Language and culture-8

1.3 Intercultural communication and cross-cultural awareness-10

1.4Origination and review of intercultural communication and cross-cultural awareness-12

1.5 Cultivation of students’ cross-cultural awareness in English standard curriculum-14

1.6 Importance to cultivate students’ cross-cultural awareness in junior high school-16

2. A Survey Conducted in Chengdu Experimental School Attached to Beijing University about the Cultivation of Students’ Cross-cultural Awareness-17

2.1Reasons for conducting this survey-17

2.2Methods-19

2.3Procedures-20

2.4Results and discussions-20

2.5Suggestions-24

2.5.1Cultivate students’ motivation-24

2.5.2Increase cultural knowledge input-25

2.5.3Optimize evaluation system-25

2.5.4Develop sharable resources for cultivating students’ cross-cultural awareness-26

2.5.5Balance examinations and language development-26

3. Strategies for Cultivating Students’ Cross-cultural Awareness-27

3.1Increase teachers’ cross-cultural awareness-27

3.2Use body language-28

3.3Cultivate through task-based teaching methods-29

3.4Make full use of activities-30

3.5Apply comparison and discussion-31

3.6Create real language environment-31

3.7Use multi-media devices-32

Conclusion-33

Appendix I:-34

Appendix II:-38

Bibliography-39

Acknowledgements-40