The Humanity of New Curriculum for Secondary School English Teaching Material

劉小敬

Abstract： Language is the carrier of thought， which undertaken the task of improving students comprehensive humanity. English is a subject which is full of humanistic characteristics. Many topics and paragraphs of the text are centralized humanistic spirit. Teachers should fully develop the humanistic connotation in their teaching， letting the students be infected and gradually improve their humanities manners.

Key words： Humanity； Secondary school； English teaching material

New curriculum reform requires English teachers should not only attache great importance to the teaching of basic language knowledge and the cultivation of basic English skills， but also to the study of the teaching material in order to deeply excavate the humanistic elements of the textbook. Teachers in the process of their teaching should make full use of the teaching materials， cleverly permeate humanistic education， broaden students horizons， form students cross-cultural awareness in the experience of the similarities and differences between Chinese and foreign culture， so as to raise students humanities. Humanism is a kind of culture pursuing health， progress and development， and it is also a kind of culture for peoples psychological need， care and paying attention to fairness and personalized culture.

I.Focus on students psychological needs

Listening and speaking is the focus of writing the teaching material， which lays foundation for the future reading and writing. New teaching material is in line with the writing ideas of combining， complementing and promoting listening and speaking， which sets up many listening and speaking practice. The humanized design concept has promoted students sense of language.

II.Guide students to develop good habits

i. The habit of students civilized terminology. “Good morning！” is first learned in Grade seven aiming to let the students enter the palace of learning English under a warming greetings. What impressed students most in Grade seven must be “Excuse Me. I m sorry. Thanks a lot. What can I do for you？ ...” and in Grade eight， “Could you please... / Would you mind doing”. Such target languages aim to cultivate students courtesy.Through the language education， we can edify students sentiment， purify their souls， increase their confidence and courage to communicate， making their daily language specified and decent.

ii. The habit of good living style. The reading article of Unit4 in Grade seven compares whose room is cleaner of the two sisters to cultivate the habit of students love of tidy and clean. The unit of “What time do you go to school？” Trains the student to develop a good sleep and work habits.Unit4 “Don t eat in class” guides students to abide by the rules and regulations. Continuing to “Unit3 Could you both please clean you room？” of Grade eight aims to guide the students the habit of labor.

iii. The habit of good study. The design of new textbook focuses on providing related topics and pictures for the students before listening and reading， setting the corresponding questions and discussions to pave way for the students listening and reading. The questions designed are graded which can help students grasp and break through the difficult and important points through exploratory learning. Pairwork and groupwork make it possible for students to cooperative learning. Self-check designed in each unit allow the students to self-check and review the learned knowledge， which are all aims to guide students to form good learning habits.

III.The embodiment of Chinese traditional culture elements in the textbooks

This textbook has introduced Chinese traditional national culture which can enhance students understanding and love to our national culture and train their ability to introduce our culture in English.

i. Chinese traditional festival

The second unit of Grade nine concerning Chinas traditional holiday -- the Mid-Autumn festival. The text leads to the Mid-Autumn festival through the story of ancient Chinese myth of “Chang e”. This unit aims to make students master the exclusive vocabularies of festivals， to introduce Chinese culture in English， to learn how to communicate and increase awareness of intercultural communication.

ii. Chinese traditional art

Unit 5 of Grade nine introduces the representative of Chinese traditional culture like kite， kongming lanterns， paper cutting and clay sculpture. Students understand the customs and habits related to Chinese traditional culture and art through the introduction of traditional Chinese culture elements. They can learn how to craft and produce raw material and express the symbolic meaning， improving their sense of national pride which has a subtle effect on their sensitivity in cross-cultural communication.

iii.Chinese traditional culture

Unit 6 of Grade nine introduces the Chinese tea culture. “Saint” is the worlds first tea book by tang dynasty Liu Yu. Chinese tea culture has significant effects on the world， which is one of the greatest contribution to human culture and civilization. Tea culture is the combination of tea art and spirit， and tea spirit is shown through tea art. Making friends by tea is one of the most widely social function of tea culture.

IV. Attention to foreign etiquette， culture， festival

Through this textbook， students can understand the similarities and differences between Chinese culture and foreign culture， which can develop their cross-cultural awareness.

i. Difference of Chinese and foreign customs and etiquette

Custom culture refers to the culture of social life and communicative activities. Chinese custom varies from foreign custom. Such as unit 10 introduces etiquette and table manners of people in different countries when they first meet： Indians eat with hand grasping； The elder eat first at the dinner table in South Korea； In China you cant inset your chopsticks into the food or knock the bowl. French table manners is that you shouldnt put bread on the plate but on the table. All the food you eat should not be grasped to eat by hand in addition to bread； If you are full， you will not expected to say “I am full” but say “ the food is delicious”. Compare the customs of Colombia， and Swiss etiquette： date is on time， whether to inform the other party before visiting friends， after meeting activities if arranged in advance. Conversation happened may cause embarrass due to the differences of customs and etiquette.

ii.Different cultural connotations of words and phrases

Unit3 of section A 2d part tells us the misunderstanding caused by the different expression of toilet through a dialogue， letting the students understand restroom is toilet， or washroom， rather than lounge.

iii. Different educational idea and method

Unit7 of 4b mentioned different attitudes towards Chinese and foreign parents on the issue whether allow their less than 18 years old children live alone. Western parents allow their children to move out， they believe that children can take care of themselves and it is a good way to cultivate their independence. However， Chinese parents worry about their safety.

In a word， English is a strongly humanistic discipline. English learning has a very positive meaning to improve pupils humanities. In the current reform of teaching system， teachers must in line with the concept of humanity service for students， strengthen their own humanities accomplishment， pay attention to the cultivation of humanistic quality of students， in order to improve students comprehensive ability and lay a solid foundation for all-round development.

Reference：

[1]教育部.2012義務教育英語課程標準（2011 年版）[S].北京：北京師范大學出版社.

[2]劉紅玉.淺析初中英語新教材中“人文性”[J].教師通訊，2014（11）：9

[3]吳麗，挖掘教材人文性元素 巧妙滲透人文性教育[J]英語教師，2015（23）：155-157