In Chinese-English intercultural communication, kinship terms often present problems because satisfactory equivalents are not always available... The Chinese practice is generally , but not always, to use 公，母 to show whether a creature is male or female. In English, more specific terms are often used, including terms for the young.
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"Therefore, if ESL learners want to communicate in English, it is important for you to know not only the symbols (words) of English, but also the rules and the contexts for using those symbols. That is to say, English language is much more that a symbol and rule system that allows you to communicate with native English speaking people. English language also shapes the process by which people become introduced to the order of the physical and social environment. Therefore, language would seem to have a major impact on the way an individual perceives and conceptualizes the words.
As ESL learners in Taiwan, you should keep such mottoes in your mind as ‘English language and its culture are inseparable’; ‘English language and its culture are intimately linked’; ‘English language is culture and culture is language’. In other words, English language reflects the assumptions of Anglo-American culture and develops in the context of its society’s history and social institutions. Learning English as second language is important in how we see Western society and different groups within it. Thus, learning the links between language and cultural diversity in perception is the keep point to promote your intercultural communicative competence in the world of globalization."
2 comments:
Great sibling debate! The only thing I have to add is that no matter if my students were in class to learn English for fun or to pass the TOEFL, they always got the most pleasure in finally being able to watch a movie or TV show without subtitles and really "get it."
your site keeps deleting my posts....
this was supposed to be continued down there but it has been deleted twice now.
calling a friend sister or cousin or whatever is not a big deal if you are trying to have them communicate and be fluent in English. What does arguing do for the child other than frustrate and discourage them? If they held a conversation with anyone in English, I doubt there would be much confusion. When you hear someone in America say "Hey sister" are you confused? Again, this is where our ideals are quite different because you believe in teaching to the book where I believe in respecting one's culture. Do they understand their girl sibling is their sister? Do they understand their friend is a friend? Yes... okay then who cares what they say. Sorry, the tests. Lets follow the way of the world and stress a 5 year old out because she calls her friend something different than her American teacher. As an educator I find it difficult to hear a child berated because they (using English words) said something different, but similar to what their teacher believes. As an English major, did you ever get points off because your teachers did not agree with your point?
every standardized test has cultural bias.
"I don't consciously teach to the TOEIC or the TOEFL, but it just happens to be that both exams use the same proper English that I was brought up using."
Exactly... you are a white male who lived on the east coast your whole life. these tests (as all standardized tests) are designed for people who speak "East coast or west coast" English. And the tests are biased against people who have liven in the U.S. for a number of years... hmm I wonder if they is because they are learning idioms rather than simply learning from the book. does this mean they stop using their own expressions? i sure hope not. I do not believe there is a globally universal understanding of English, nor should there be. Sure, the basic principles of the language, but there is beauty in differences around the country and around the world. In having conversations with people from somewhere else and saying, "we call this___. what do you call it?" It happens all over the country and the world and that is how it should be, in my opinion.
By denying "Chinese-English" words, you are basically saying their language or words are not good enough. So many words in English come from other languages. And I am not talking about won-ton type words. Words like cookie, golf, brick, shark. These are not American-English words. Of course, if your student was calling a boy a girl or something that does not make sense, I would understand the correction. But, as pointed out in the dictionary, she was actually saying the word in a correct way, just not YOUR correct way. Just like the toast thing, the actual definition of bread is the loaf. so if they call sliced bread toast or rolls or whatever... I mean really... is it a sub or a hoagie?? DEPENDS ON WHERE YOU ARE FROM! Therefore, I do not see the big deal other than that it is different from what you believe to be true.
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