Research on Intercultural Education and Chinese Teaching Methods

for Secondary School Students in UK

Literature Review

Choy (2017) pointed out two objectives of foreign language teaching: “intercultural competence” and “understanding ability”; Kinginger (1993) pointed out that, language teaching cannot be carried out in isolation because the process of social and cultural transmission is many Levels and language are bundled together. Flores (2000) points out that, the inseparable relationship between language and culture makes us realize that leaving culture teaching language teaching will not be possible. Murphy (2009) also believes that cultural teaching in foreign language teaching is Indispensable. Fredrickson (2012) pointed out that foreign language teachers should pull out from the language output of the concerned students and turn to the process of cross-cultural adjustment and adaptation that every foreign language teacher will experience. Shanahan (2011) proposed It is necessary to recognize the context and culture in foreign language teaching.”

Get Help With Your Essay
If you need assistance with writing your essay, our professional essay writing service is here to help!
Essay Writing Service

In view of the indispensable status of culture in language teaching and the flourishing development of cross-cultural education, the concept of cross-cultural education in foreign language teaching has been widely recognized and concerned: Striving for the Third Place: Intercultural Competence through Language Education (1999) including Bianco, Anthony, Chantal and many other scholars on the promotion of cross-cultural competence through foreign language education, promoting international understanding, scholars from the relationship between language and culture, the world Development, language education policy, multiculturalism, cross-culturalism, etc., discusses the feasibility and importance of improving people’s cross-cultural competence through foreign language education, and proposes cross-cultural education goals and cross-cultural strategies in foreign language education.

Dogancayaktuna (2006) defines the cross-cultural education objectives of foreign language teaching from four aspects: attitude, knowledge, skills, and critical cultural awareness. The confusion encountered by foreign language teachers in implementing cross-cultural education gives a guiding solution. Huntington (2010) defines the concept of foreign language education and discusses the significance of foreign language education. Based on this, combined with the concept of cross-cultural, pointed out that in foreign language education Cross-cultural competence training “The importance of this goal, and the cultural dimension of foreign language teaching into line, Huntington discussed the close relationship between language education and the world of civic education.

Kumiko Fushino (2012) describes an experiment conducted at a university in Tokyo, Japan, which is an English-language-led activity that develops students’ intercultural communicative competence through three stages of experimentation: discussion of cooperative skills, based on training The goal of intercultural communication ability is to choose a learning topic and repeat the content of the second stage. At the end of the experiment, the student feedback not only improved the English ability, but also expanded the cultural vision. Castro (2016) puts forward the importance of cross-cultural education in foreign language teaching based on the analysis of relevant international and Swedish education policies, and uses “Intercultural Communication Ability” and “Intercultural Speaker”. Based on the theory of Castro (2016), some foreign language cross-cultural strategies advocated and used at home and abroad are explained and suggestions for improvement are proposed.

The close relationship between foreign language teaching and cross-cultural education has been widely recognized in Europe and the United States and has attracted great attention. Countries have introduced modern foreign language policies to promote the development of multi-language and intercultural education. In 1953, the American Association of Modern Languages ​​held a conference on the theme of “Enhancing Cultural Understanding through Foreign Language Learning”. In 1996, it promulgated the “National Standards for Foreign Language Learning for the 21st Century”, pointing out the five goals of foreign language teaching “communication, culture, ties, Comparison, community, that is, using the language to communicate, respect the diversity of culture, the interrelationship of various subjects, compare the similarities and differences of different languages ​​and cultures, and adapt to different linguistic and cultural communities (Ying. & Hong-Jin, 2016). In Europe, the “European Language Day” was announced in 2001, advocating the diversity of language and culture and peaceful coexistence, and the nationalization of the nation. In 2002, the Department of Language Policy of the European Commission promulgated the “Cross-cultural Dimensions in Expanding Language Teaching”, pointing out the importance of implementing cross-cultural education in foreign language teaching and defining the cross-cultural education objectives in foreign language teaching (Selvarajah, 2013). The EU Multilingual Framework published, stating that “the ability to use more than one language becomes a necessary skill for European citizens, which makes it easier for people to accept and understand the cultures and perspectives of other countries”, about learning other languages (Young, 1997). Importantly, European countries have reached consensus on several key themes, two of which are “cross-cultural understanding and mutual respect”. Guide for the development of language education released in 2007 and Policies in Europe and 21 reference providing in-depth analysis of various issues relating to languages ​​and policies, emphasizing the implementation of multilingual intercultural education policies in Europe to enhance people’s multilingual and intercultural competence, and the release of Multicultural Societies in 2009 Pluricultural People and the Project of Intercultural Education pointed out that the current situation of multi-language and multi-cultural coexistence has brought great challenges to Europe (Moore, 2009). At present, it is necessary to improve the education of people’s intercultural ability, which can be carried out through language education. A series of guidance documents on the promotion of multilingual and intercultural education were issued for reference by European member states in formulating foreign language policies.

As a fruitful UK in the inter-cultural education in Europe, it actively advocates and supervises the opening and opening of modern foreign language courses at all levels of schools, and provides a series of guidance documents for the implementation of intercultural education in modern foreign language teaching: 2002 The British Ministry of Education released the Languages ​​for Languages ​​for All: Language for life report that in the 21st century, language ability and cross-cultural understanding are essential conditions for a qualified citizen (Kaplan, 2010). Language skills gradually become a way to promote mutual understanding and break the country and nation. There are suspicions, misunderstandings and other sharp ice tools. “Learning the language of other countries, let us understand the people, culture and trade with other countries in other countries, and help us understand the language and culture of our country”. Jaspal (2010) stated that language is more than just a trade tool, and language dominates our worldview. People need the ability to communicate with others and understand the behavioral values ​​of people from different cultures. Learning a language is the way to acquire this ability.

Chinese teaching in the UK started very early, but in the past it was only a small-scale development. Since entering 2002, Chinese language teaching in the UK has begun to enter the accelerated development track. During this period, many institutions began to invest in Chinese teaching, and with the support of funds, the promotion of Chinese was made more rapid. For example, the HSBC Global Education Foundation, the Chinese Education Annual Conference organized by the British Council and the Chinese Speech Contest of British Middle Schools held in November of the same year have had a significant impact on the secondary school in the UK, and have greatly promoted students (Nelson, 2009). The enthusiasm of learning Chinese has enabled more secondary school principals, teachers and students to become interested in Chinese. At the same time, the relevant agencies of the British government have also provided support for such activities, and this synergy has prompted the rapid spread of Chinese within the secondary school.

According to statistics, there are more than 300 schools with Chinese classes in England, and many private schools offer Chinese classes(Karliuk, 2015). The UK’s private secondary school responded very sensitively to market demand. When the rapid development of the Chinese economy, the globalization of the world, and the increasing number of Chinese education and competitions in the UK prompted many secondary school principals to start offering Chinese classes (Karliuk, 2015). The primary and secondary school principals in the UK have a certain degree of independence in the curriculum, which also facilitates the opening of Chinese classes in large schools in the UK. London Kingsford Community School is the first public school in the UK to use Chinese as a compulsory course in a foreign language. The school is not very famous and is located in the more chaotic Eastern District. Most of the students in the school are not British. The school looked for teachers on the Internet and eventually hired three Chinese teachers. The opening of the Chinese language course marks the official entry of Chinese into the British secondary school class, which is a milestone. The school not only teaches Chinese knowledge, but also regularly organizes Chinese cultural activities to help students learn Chinese better and understand China. The students also actively participated in various Chinese speech contests and Chinese exams, and achieved excellent results.

There are many well-known aristocratic schools in private schools that have joined the ranks of Chinese classes, such as Eton College, Brighton College, and Wellington College. Among them, Wellington Public School held a large-scale Chinese seminar, attended by representatives from more than 200 secondary schools (Slaouti, 2007). In addition, the director of Hanban and the officials of the Education Office of the British Embassy attended the meeting. It can be said that this seminar has enabled more British secondary schools to understand Chinese, feel the charm of Chinese culture and the need to promote Chinese, so this is a very valuable meeting to further promote Chinese in the secondary school. Played a positive role.

Methodology

Participants

There are two parties in this paper: one is a Chinese teacher who has taught Chinese for more than one year in the UK secondary school. Because Chinese teachers, especially public teachers and volunteers, have great mobility, the number of people is difficult to determine. The number of years of Chinese language classes offered by Chinese teachers is from 3 to 15 years. Chinese classes are basically elective courses in the first year of secondary school, followed by elective examinations. The number of Chinese classes offered per week varies from school to school, but most schools offer two Chinese lessons per week.

The other side is a student who takes a Chinese course at the UK secondary school (S1 to S6). There is no specific elective Chinese language student statistics, so the author is prepared to use the net-based questionnaire method. According to the previous information, the number of students in different levels of Chinese language in UK secondary school is seriously out of balance. The students are concentrated in the primary to intermediate stage. In some schools, the number of Chinese students in the Chinese language classes at the primary and intermediate levels reaches more than 200, but it is There are only 5 people left in the middle and senior stages, and some Chinese classes in the advanced stage of the school even have only one student.

If the questionnaire is used, the student’s Chinese learning will be investigated. The author considers the low-level students’ lack of knowledge and psychological maturity, and only investigates the secondary school students to improve the validity of the questionnaire. It is expected that 100 questionnaires will be issued to ensure a minimum effective rate of 80%.

Research design

In the selection of research methods, questionnaire survey, interview method and classroom observation method are often used to investigate the relevant situation of cross-cultural education objectives, content and methods in Chinese teaching practice, which has been widely adopted by many scholars. Among them, the questionnaire survey method is based on the literature analysis to design a questionnaire to obtain real information and information, and improve the objectivity and accuracy of the survey research. The interview method focuses on tracking interviews after the questionnaire survey to understand more detailed and real situations. The classroom observation method is to accurately understand the implementation of cross-cultural education in the actual Chinese teaching of the UK secondary school, and to observe and record the Chinese classroom at the intermediate level of the target secondary school.

In the difference between the questionnaire method and the interview method, the questionnaire method can be used in a wide range, and it is convenient and quick to understand the thoughts and opinions of the respondents, mainly relying on a large number of surveys to obtain the accuracy of the survey results, which is characterized by fast and cost. Low, large amount of information, and wide coverage. The disadvantage is that only the general information can be obtained, but for example, the sensory experience of the target group is not accurately counted by the questionnaire. Through interviews, the interview method can understand the target people’s feelings about something in a more detailed way. The authenticity of the survey is the most reliable. The disadvantage is that the scope of the survey is too narrow, the amount of information is small, the survey is difficult, and the cost is high. Situations, such as information about the student’s experience and feelings, which can not be obtained through the questionnaire, can be used in this way. Considering the advantages and disadvantages of the above two methods, this assignment is a preliminary exploration of pedagogy research methods. It is intended to use the questionnaire survey method to grasp the comprehensive information of Chinese teaching. At the same time, the interview method is listed as an alternate method, which can be targeted in the future. In-depth interviews and investigations. Integrating the relevant theories of intercultural education with the relevant analysis of the requirements of cross-cultural education in modern foreign language teaching in UK, this assignment is designed with the questionnaire of teachers and students.

The teacher questionnaire is divided into two parts: the first part is the background of the teacher and the information of the teaching school to understand the situation of the Chinese school in the second school in Scotland and the teacher status; the second part is the teacher’s cross-cultural education goal, content and method in Chinese teaching. Feedback on implementation. Use the Likert Scale (choose one of the five numbers, 5 for extreme consent, 4 for consent, 3 for uncertainty, 2 for disagreement, 1 for disagreement), and a combination of multiple-choice questions and open-ended questions.

Because the UK secondary school students who take Chinese courses are concentrated in the primary to intermediate stage, the Chinese class at this stage can basically be positioned as an introductory course: the requirement of most schools is to improve students’ understanding of Chinese and Chinese culture. There are no hard requirements in terms of ability, and many schools have almost no requirements. In addition, because the teachers in the UK have a lot of autonomy, and because the Chinese class is an emerging course, the autonomy of the teachers is greater, the selection and organization of the teaching content and the scheduling of the class have great autonomy. Schools are different, so the level of students varies and the variables are too large. When testing students’ level of achievement of each project, it is impossible to set a specific test volume, so the problem of relatively open is set.

The student questionnaire is also divided into two parts: The first part is about the background of the students, including age, grade, Chinese and Chinese language length, to understand the relevant situation of the UK Chinese teaching objects, and also whether the students can accurately reflect the teaching situation. A certain reference; the second part is the feedback of students on the objectives, contents and methods of cross-cultural education in Chinese teaching. The number of questionnaires is expected to be issued 100 copies, and at least 80 copies will be collected as valid questionnaires.

Ethical considerations

The concept of informed consent was originally proposed and developed by the West. Faden & Beauchamp (1980) conducted a direct and systematic argumentation on the theoretical basis of informed consent. They clarified that the purpose of informed consent was to respect human autonomy, and they believed that Autonomy can be understood from two aspects: one is an independent individual, and the other is an autonomous action. In this study, all the respondents received the instructions for informed consent, and the information collected by the respondents was used for educational research.

Proposed data analysis

The statistics and analysis of the data will use SPSS and MicroSoft Excel to perform descriptive statistics and correlation analysis on the variables of the sample.

In the statistical analysis of teachers’ implementation and realization of cross-cultural education goals in Chinese teaching, it is important to examine whether they have the following characteristics: to enable students to have a certain understanding of important Chinese festivals and folk customs; to make students’ traditional Chinese art (such as calligraphy) , Chinese painting, paper-cutting, etc.) have a certain understanding; cultivate students’ open attitude towards Chinese language and culture; enable students to form a certain understanding of the current real social life knowledge (work, diet, clothing, guest, travel, etc.) in China; Improve students’ sensitivity to the differences between Chinese and English; encourage students to form a certain understanding of China’s national conditions and relevant geographical knowledge; cultivate students’ attitudes towards equality, tolerance and respect for Chinese language and culture; improve students’ use of Chinese for listening, speaking, and Ability to read and write; develop students’ attitudes towards understanding and appreciation of Chinese language and culture; enable students to have some understanding of Chinese literary works and film and television works; enable students to have a certain understanding of Chinese social values; China has a certain understanding of relevant political, historical and cultural knowledge; Deepen students’ understanding and love of their own culture; improve students’ ability to use Chinese in the real context and communicate effectively with Chinese people; improve students’ objective view of differences and conflicts between Chinese and English, and critically treat the two cultures Ability.

In the statistical analysis of students’ implementation and realization of cross-cultural education goals in Chinese teaching, focus on whether they have the following characteristics: Chinese culture is very interesting, I want to understand Chinese culture; I have a certain understanding of China’s important festivals and traditions; I have a certain understanding of traditional Chinese art (such as calligraphy, Chinese painting, paper-cutting, etc.); I have learned some of the current real social life knowledge in China (work, diet, clothing, guest, travel, etc.); I can always realize Chinese culture is different from British culture; Chinese culture is unique and excellent, I like Chinese culture very much; knowledge about China’s national conditions and geographical location; the differences between Chinese culture and British culture make me confused; Chinese culture is as good as British culture. I have some knowledge about China’s relevant political, historical and cultural knowledge; I have improved my ability to use Chinese to listen, speak, read and write; I have a certain understanding of Chinese people’s values ​​and thinking characteristics; I have deepened my country. Understanding and love of language and culture; my literature on China Some works, film and television works have some understanding; improve my ability to use Chinese to communicate.

References

Bell, J. (2010) Doing Your Research Project, (3rd edition) Milton Keynes: Open University Press. 

Bianco, L., & Anthony, J. (1999). Striving for the third place: intercultural competence through language education. Adult Education, vol. 85, no. 2, p. 191.

Castro, P., Woodin, J., Lundgren, U., & Byram, M. (2016). Student mobility and internationalisation in higher education: perspectives from practitioners. Language & Intercultural Communication, vol. 16, no. 3, p. 1-19.

Choy, Sarojni, Singh, ParloLi, Minglin. (2017). Trans-cultural, trans-language practices: potentialities for rethinking doctoral education pedagogies. Education Sciences, vol. 7, no. 1, p. 19.

Cohen et al. (2007) Research Methods in Education, 4th ed. London: Croom Helm.

Dogancayaktuna, S. (2006). Expanding the socio-cultural knowledge base of tesol teacher education. Language Culture & Curriculum, vol. 19, no. 3, p. 278-295.

Jaspal, R. (2010). Language and identity among British south asians: a theoretical review. Psychological Studies, vol. 55, no. 1, p. 61-70.

Kumiko Fushino. (2012). Causal relationships between communication confidence, beliefs about group work, and willingness to communicate in foreign language group work. Tesol Quarterly, vol. 44, no. 4, p. 700-724.

Faden, R. R., & Beauchamp, T. L. (1980). Decision-making and informed consent: a study of the impact of disclosed information. Social Indicators Research, vol. 7, no. 4, p. 313-336.

Flores, G., Abreu, M., Schwartz, I., & Hill, M. (2000). The importance of language and culture in pediatric care: case studies from the latino community. Journal of Pediatrics, vol. 137, no. 6, p. 842-848.

Fredrickson, K. M. (2012). Contrastive rhetoric: cross-cultural aspects of second-language writing. Tesol Quarterly, vol. 31, no. 2, p. 377-378.

Huntington, J. (2010). From foreign language education to education for intercultural citizenship: essays and reflections by byram, michael. Modern Language Journal, vol. 94, no. 1, p. 148-150.

Kaplan, R. B. (2010). Cultural thought patterns in inter‐cultural education. Language Learning, vol. 16, no. 2, p.1-20.

Karliuk, M. (2015). The effectiveness of building a culture of linguistic self-education among students in learning a foreign language in high school.

Kinginger, C. (1993). Context and culture in language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Studies in Second Language Acquisition, vol. 16, no. 4, p. 498-499.

Moore, D., & Gajo, L. (2009). Introduction – french voices on plurilingualism and pluriculturalism: theory, significance and perspectives. International Journal of Multilingualism, vol. 6, no. 2, p. 137-153.

Murphy, E. (2009). The cultural dimension in foreign language teaching: four models. Language Culture & Curriculum, vol. 1, no. 2, p. 147-163.

Nelson, G. (2009). From foreign language education to education for intercultural citizenship: essays and reflections. Clevedon, UK: multilingual matters, Studies in Second Language Acquisition, vol. 31, no. 3, p. 522.

Slaouti, D. B. A. (2007). Opportunities for practice and development: newly qualified teachers and the use of ICT in teaching modern foreign languages in uk secondary contexts. Contact Dermatitis, vol. 60, no. 5, p. 295-6.

Selvarajah, C. (2013). Cross‐cultural study of asian and european student perception. Cross Cultural Management An International Journal, vol. 13, no. 13, p. 142-155.

Shanahan, D. (2011). Articulating the relationship between language, literature, and culture: toward a new agenda for foreign language teaching and research. Modern Language Journal, vol. 81, no. 2, p. 164-174.

Ying, X. U., & Hong-Jin, L. U. (2016). On foreign language education reform in america from the white paper the teachers we need. Foreign English. vol. 15, p. 249-250.

Young, S. J., Adda-Dekker, M., Aubert, X., Dugast, C., Gauvain, J. L., & Kershaw, D. J., et al. (1997). Multilingual large vocabulary speech recognition: the european sqale project. Computer Speech & Language, vol. 11, no. 1, p. 73-89.