Unit 4 Cultural Encounters Teaching plan综合教程二

Unit 4 Cultural Encounters

Teaching Points

1) 2) 3) 4)

By the end of this unit, students are supposed to

grasp the idea revealed in the writing and make clear the structure of the whole passage through an intensive reading of Cultural Encounters.

comprehend the deductive approach of argumentation development.

get a list of new words and structures and use them freely in conversation and writing.

be aware of the importance and significance of intercultural understanding and empathy.

Topics for discussion

1) In what language are you usually surfing at Internet websites? 2) What fun do you find on Internet?

3) Have you ever encounter any intercultural misunderstanding? If have, can you list

the reasons that account for the misunderstandings?

Cultural information 1. Quotes

Human beings draw close to one another by their common nature, but habits and customs keep them apart.

— Confucius

2. Cross-cultural Communication Strategies

The key to effective cross-cultural communication is knowledge.

? First, it is essential that people understand the potential problems of cross-cultural communication, and make a conscious effort to overcome these problems.

? Second, it is important to assume that one’s efforts will not always be successful, and adjust one’s behavior appropriately.

Suggestions for heated conflicts is to stop, listen, and think. This helps in cross-cultural communication as well.

? When things seem to be going badly, stop or slow down and think.

? Active listening can sometimes be used to check this out — by repeating what one thinks he or she heard, one can confirm that one understands the communication accurately.

? Often intermediaries who are familiar with both cultures can be helpful in cross-cultural communication situations. They can translate both the substance and the manner of what is said. They may explain the problem, and make appropriate procedural adjustments.

Text I

Cultural Encounters

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Susan Bassnett

Global Reading I. Text analysis

1. Which sentence is the thesis statement?

The last sentence of the 3rd paragraph: ―Most fundamental is the profound relationship between language and culture that lies at the heart of society and one that we overlook at our peril.‖

2. Compromising, in the author’s view, is a key notion in translation and thus also in

intercultural communication. Numerous examples are used to explain this notion. Try to find these examples.

Paragraph 4: The lack of an exact counterpart of the English word ―homesickness‖ in other languages such as Italian, Portuguese, and German.

Paragraph 5: The problem of untranslatability which the early Bible translators encountered.

Paragraph 6: English and Welsh speakers make adjustments regarding the color spectrum in the grey / green / blue / brown range; the flat breads of Central Asia are a long way away from Mother’s Pride white sliced toasties, yet the word ―bread‖ has to serve for both.

II. Structural analysis

1. What type of writing is this essay? And what’s the main strategy the author adopt to

develop the body of the essay?

It is a piece of argumentation. Abundant examples are provided to support her argument in the body of the essay.

2. Divide the text into parts by completing the table. Paragraphs 1-3 Main ideas It describes the communications revolution taking place worldwide and the widespread use of the English language, and then points out that there are indeed problems with the communications revolution. It exemplifies that language and culture are so closely interrelated that often we find that what we can say in one language cannot be conveyed at all in another, and that confronted with insurmountable linguistic problems, translators negotiate the boundaries between languages and come up with a compromise. It briefly points out the immense significance of intercultural understanding. 4-7 8 Detailed Reading

Paragraphs 1-3 Questions:

1. What do cheap flights and the Internet mean to people today? (Paragraph 1)

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Cheap flights mean that millions of people can afford to visit places their parents could only dream about, while the Internet means that numerous people are able to communicate with the remotest places with great ease.

2. Exemplify and explain that English has become the most important international language. (Paragraph 2)

Conferences and business meetings around the globe are held in English, regardless of whether anyone present is a native English speaker. English has simply become the language that facilitates communication, and for many people learning English is an essential stepping stone on the road to success.

Paragraphs 4-7 Questions:

1. Supply specific examples to prove that language and culture are closely related to each other. (Paragraph 4)

Numerous examples show that language and culture are interrelated. Take a look at some English idioms and see how different their Chinese counterparts are: a drop in the ocean 沧海一粟 to laugh one’s head off 笑掉大牙 to shed crocodile tears 猫哭老鼠 to spend money like water 挥金如土

to be born with a silver spoon in one’s mouth 生长在富贵人家

2. Explain and illustrate what ―compromising‖ and ―the spread of English‖ mean. (Paragraph 7)

For ―compromising,‖ refer to Paragraph 6 of the text. As to ―the spread of English,‖ a typical example is the spread of English in China. Compared with other nations, China boasts the largest number of people who have learned or are learning English. Chinese learners of English are learning how to overcome cultural and linguistic differences. In today’s China, the mastery of English has become an important skill which is of great use and value in all walks of life.

Paragraph 8 Questions:

1. According to the writer, what is the great function of intercultural understanding? (Paragraph 8)

The writer says, ―World peace in the future depends on intercultural understanding.‖ In other words, intercultural understanding will play a most important role in the promotion of world peace in the future.

2. Who will probably be most able to help the process of world peace in the future? (Paragraph 8)

Those who are most competent to contribute to the process of world peace probably are those who have acquired the skills to understand the literal, implied, figurative, or cultural meanings of the words spoken in many different languages.

Text II

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Does Your Body Betray You?

Lead-in Questions

1. What is body language? What kinds of body language can you think of? 2. Can you tell the meanings of some common facial expressions or gestures?

Main ideas

Does Your Body Betray you, the title indicates that changes in your body position and movements show what you are feeling or thinking. In fact, three-quarters of the social meaning of a typical two-person exchange is carried by nonverbal cues, though most of the time we are not aware that we are doing it. Nonverbal signals differ from culture to culture at least as much as one language differs from another, and so we need to realize that knowledge of a foreign language is incomplete unless it extends to the nonverbal signals. So, it is essential to get some knowledge about nonverbal communication. The passage provides us with some commonly-used body language cues and their interpretations through a list of examples.

Notes

1. body language (Paragraph 1): Body language is communication by means of facial expressions, gestures, postures, and other wordless signals. Body language also includes grooming habits, hair and clothing styles, and such practices as tattooing and body piercing. Body language communicates unspoken information about people’s identity, relationships, and thoughts, as well as moods, motivation, and attitudes. It plays an essential role in all interpersonal relationships, such as childcare, politics, teaching, and public speaking. The scientific study of body language is called kinesics. 2. be telling the world a totally different story (Paragraph 1): be meaning entirely different things from what you are saying

3. ... however cool and contained you think you’re being, there is a host of little telltale gestures and expressions that give you away ... (Paragraph 2): … however successfully you think you are managing to appear calm and self-controlled, a large number of slight changes in your body position and movements provide evidence about what you are feeling or thinking ...

4. ... you’re a bundle of nerves. (Paragraph 4): ... you are feeling very nervous. 5. invading your space (Paragraph 5): intruding into your air space

Studies by experts suggest that man walks around inside a kind of private bubble, which represents the amount of air space he feels he must have between himself and other people. To invade is to affect someone in an unwanted and annoying way. e.g. Does that give you an excuse to invade my privacy?

6. keep them at arm’s length (Paragraph 5): avoid developing a relationship with them

e.g. If you’re wise, you’ll keep Mrs. Jones at arm’s length. She’s the worst gossip in

the village.

7. You want to block out the speaker’s words … (Paragraph 7): You want to stop yourself thinking about what the speaker says …

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8. in your heart of hearts (Paragraph 8): If you know, feel, or believe something in your heart of

hearts, you are sure about it although you may not admit it.

e.g. Claire knew in her heart of hearts that she would never go back there.

9. trying to shield her listener from what she’s saying (Paragraph 9): trying to protect her

listener from being hurt by what she’s saying

e.g. Several officials are accused of trying to shield the General from US federal

investigators.

10. rather than (Paragraph 11): instead of

e.g. Rather than squeezing your own oranges, have you tried buying packs of orange juice?

11. in a quandary (Paragraph 12): unable to decide what to do about a difficult problem or situation

e.g. The city council is in a quandary over whether to raise taxes or not.

Questions for discussion

1. What does the title of the text mean?

2. What does the author mean when he says ―three-quarters of our knowledge about them comes via our eyes rather than our ears‖?

3. How can one’s gestures and expressions give him / her away?

4. What conclusion can we draw from such instinctive behaviour as fiddling and arm folding?

5. What is the main idea of LOVE SIGNS?

6. Why doesn’t the author spell out a precise vocabulary of gestures?

7. What implications does the study of body language have for learning a foreign language?

8. Observe people near you for several days, looking for uses of body language. Try also to be conscious of your own use of body language. What conclusion can you draw?

Key to questions for discussion

1. Changes in your body position and movements show what you are feeling or thinking. 2. Three-quarters of the social meaning of a typical two-person exchange is carried by nonverbal cues.

3. All of us communicate with one another nonverbally, as well as with words. Most of the time we are not aware that we are doing it. Body language provides evidence about how the human mind processes information.

4. People feel safer behind some kind of physical barrier. If a social situation is in any way threatening, then there is an immediate urge to set up such a barricade.

5. When two people look searchingly into each other’s eyes, emotions are heightened and the relationship becomes more intimate. Therefore, we carefully avoid this, except in appropriate circumstances.

6. The author looks for patterns in the context, not for an isolated meaningful gesture. Besides, there are several possible interpretations for a single gesture. For example,

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when a student in conversation with a professor holds the older man’s eyes a little longer than is usual, it can be a sign of respect and affection rather than a sign of love. 7. Nonverbal signals differ from culture to culture at least as much as one language differs from another, and so we need to realize that knowledge of a foreign language is incomplete unless it extends to the nonverbal signals.

Memorable Quotes

Read the following quotes and analyze the purposes of culture advanced by Matthew Arnold.

Guidance: The following quotes are from Culture and Anarchy — a series of periodical essays by Matthew Arnold. In the book, he advanced that ―Culture ... is a study of perfection‖. He further wrote that: ―It (Culture) seeks to do away with classes; to make the best that has been thought and known in the world current everywhere; to make all men live in an atmosphere of sweetness and light ...‖

1. Culture has one great passion — the passion for sweetness and light. It has one even yet greater, the passion for making them prevail.

— Matthew Arnold Matthew Arnold (1822–1888) was an English poet.

Paraphrase: Part of the essence of culture is the love of beauty and unbiased intelligence. The even more essential part of culture is to make the best ideas — the love of beauty and unbiased intelligence, to be the most common.

2. The men of culture are the true apostles of equality.

— Matthew Arnold Paraphrase: The men of culture diffuse the best ideas regardless of class.

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