Culture Shadow on Language Learning for ESL Students.docVIP

Culture Shadow on Language Learning for ESL Students 　　Introduction 　　Culture and language are always two of the heated topics in educational field. Whether culture has effect on language learning is also concerned by educators and scholars， especially for ESL students. I want to examine cultural differences in this paper， to explore the importance of teaching culture. 　　The Relationship between Language and Culture 　　Language is a part of culture. Culture can be defined as a learned system of value， beliefs and /or norms among a group of people. （Greepy， 1994， as cited in Kuo， M Lai， C， 2006， p5） The certain group of people share their identities， values， thoughts and languages， etc. All these factors form their common background which is called culture. When we trace back to the long history of human beings， language as a communication tool resist for a long time， no matter it is an oral form or a written form. The written form becomes literature， documentaries which are parts of culture later and also reflect the culture. So language and culture are inseparable. 　　Language is a tool for people to express their own opinion in their mind； and culture is a container which is including all the thoughts. Without language， people cannot raise their voice to exchange their ideas amongst a certain group of people. Culture is always linguistically mediated membership into a discourse community， that is both real and imagined. Language plays a crucial role not only in the construction of culture， but in the emergence of cultural change. （Kramsch， C. 1995， p3） 　　The importance of culture in English Learning 　　Culture can help students to explore language learning and to apply language in real life. Cultural knowledge is crucial in achieving linguistic proficiency. （Kuo， M Lai， C， 2006， p5） Learning a language should be completed by a sustained and ethnographically structured encounter with the language’s culture. （Roberts etal， 2001， as cited in Holme， R. 2002）