新编大学英语教案(第二册)_Unit 7 Culture

Unit Seven Culture

Teaching Objectives

1. Culture and characteristics of people;

2. Learn to bridge a gap among different culture groups;

3. To know the importance of culture in our English study;

4. To enable students to master the new words and phrases.

Teaching allotment

6 academic hours.

1)1-2 Preparation

2)3-4 In-Class Reading: Bridging Cultural Gaps Gracefully

3) 5-6 After-Class Reading & Exercises

Focus Points

1. Key words,phrases & usages

abrupt, accompany, accomplish, assure, avoid, caution, compliment, confusion, constant, cultural, definitely, edible, fancy, farewell, feasible, gap, graceful, gracious, haste, inadequate, inevitable, involve, literally, mission, modest, modify, naughty, negotiation, polar, proposal, protest, refusal, respond, signal, surpass

2. Difficult sentences

1. Why is it that when you study a foreign language, you never learn the little phrases that

let you slip into a culture without all your foreignness exposed?

2. Then finally, listening to others, I began to pick up the phrases that eased relations and

sent people off with a feeling of mission not only accomplished but surpassed.

3.If I try to go fast to discourage them from following, they are simply put to the discomfort

of having to flee after me.

4.Not so a Chinese host or hostess (often the husband does the fancy cooking), who will

instead apologize for giving you “nothing” even slightly edible and for not showing you enough honor by providing proper dishes.

3. Grammar focus

特殊疑问词的强调; 双重否定;不定式复合结构;动名词的复合结构;be + 不定式结构

Methods of Teaching

1) Using multi-media teaching equipment（应用多媒体教学手段）

2) Group-Discussion （分组讨论）

3) Watching VCD --- Joy Luck Club (观看影片《喜福会》，讨论东西方文化尤其是中美文化的差异)

I.Related Information:

Culture is a very broad term used to describe the arts, the beliefs, the values, the traditions, the customs, and the institutions that are considered to be characteristic of a community, a people,

a region, or a nation. Culture also includes the languages and dialects that people use to express

their feelings and to communicate with each other. It is often difficult to dissociate language and culture since, in most cases, language is the main medium through which culture is transmitted.

Most people feel that it is impossible to really know a culture without speaking the language. In some immigrant populations in North America, however, the original language has been lost but customs and traditions are still maintained.

Although many cultures in the world have remained isolated for centuries, commerce and trade have often been the source of all sorts of cultural exchanges, ranging from foods to tools.

Chinese porcelain and other inventions reached Europe thanks to the silk route, for example.

However, cultural exchanges have not always been fair or balanced. The native populations of North and South America were decimated by disease and alcohol brought by the Europeans.

Throughout history, wars and political decisions have destroyed cultures and forced people to adopt the language and the customs of the dominate civilization.

It is often assumed that if a culture is technologically advanced, it must be superior or that if

a culture is young it must be inferior. Everyone tends to make value judgments about other

cultures. Finding fault with or making fun of other customs and beliefs is often merely a way of bolstering our complacency or our pride. It is certainly much easier to learn about other cultures if one approaches them with an open mind and if one respects differences rather than criticizing them. Often something that appears strange or unusual in another culture is in fact very logical and part of a deeply rooted tradition. What might seem rude in one culture might seem perfectly normal and acceptable in another culture. Tolerance and curiosity are key factors in all cross-cultural learning experiences.

Although modern transportation and communications have reduced the world to a …global village‟, there are still many fascinating cultural differences to explore. Discovering ho w people from other regions or other countries see the world can be an enriching experience. Tasting new foods, listening to different music, and studying the architecture or the literature of other cultures can open up new perspectives on life.

Customs

1)customs in Japan

The Japanese are noted for their courtesy. They bow all the time and repeatedly. Japanese who greet people from the west often try to do two things at once. They try to bow to follow local