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HowtoCultivateStudents'HumanityinEnglishTeaching-TakingAdvancedEnglishCourseasanExampleBuXunEnglishDepartment,ShanghaiNormalUniversityTianhuaCollegeShanghai,ChinaAbstract—Influencedbytraditionalexam-orientededucation,Englishteachingtendstobemoreutilitarian,anditshumanityandcriticalthinkingareneglected.
Inviewofthisphenomenon,thispaperexploreshowtocultivatehumanisticspiritinEnglishteachingthroughliteraturereview,EnglishteachingpracticeandtakingAdvancedEnglishforEnglishmajorsasanexample.
Thispaperdiscussesmethodssuchasextendedtopicdiscussion,multi-perspectivereading,rhetoriclanguageappreciationandexplorationofculturalconnotation,allofwhichaimtoexpandstudents'humanisticvision,enhancetheirhumanityqualities,andequipthemwithcriticalthinking.
Keywords—Humanityquality;Humanisticvision;Topicdiscussion;Appreciationofrhetoric;CulturalconnotationI.
INTRODUCTIONWhenitcomestoEnglisheducation,thefirstthingthatpeoplethinkofisitsinstrumentalityandpracticalityratherthanitsdisciplinarity.
Ononehand,influencedbythetraditionalexam-orientededucation,thecurrentEnglishteachingignoresstudents'emotionalneeds,thinkingdevelopmentandvaluesformationbecauseoftakingtheexamasamainfocus.
ThehumanisticconnotationofEnglisheducationisneglectedandrarelyusedasacarrierofhumanitieseducation.
Inaddition,thecurriculumcenteringonskillstrainingoflistening,speaking,reading,writing,andtranslationalsodegradesstudents'depthofthought,knowledgestructure,andabilitytothinkandinnovate.
Ontheotherhand,"againsttheimpactofthemarketeconomy,humanisticcourseshavebeencut,andtheirclasshourshavebeengreatlyreduced"(LiuWei),sohumanisticcultivationandcarehasbeengreatlyneglected.
ZhangZhongzaicallsfor"enhancinghumanisticeducationofforeignlanguagecollegesandhumanisticcultivationofstudentshasbeenaprioritythatwemustpaycloseattentionto.
"However,inordertoachievedifferentiatedcompetition,Englishmajorinprivatecollegeshasalwaysfocusedonskillstraining,andimplementedvocation-orientedcompoundEnglisheducation.
ThemainobjectivesoflanguageskillsandprofessionalknowledgereflectthepracticalityandutilitarianismofsuchEnglisheducation.
AstheGermaneducatorHumboldtputsit,"Theprimarygoalofeducationistocultivatehumanspirit.
Onlyacompletepersoncantrulycontributetosociety.
"Thereexisttechnologicaldevelopment,environmentaldeterioration,andmoneyworshipintoday'ssociety.
Assuch,undervariouspressures,studentsmusthavegoodhumanityqualityandmoralssoastoproperlyhandletherelationshipbetweenpeople,betweenpeopleandsociety,andbetweenmanandnature.
Insummary,Englishteachingisnotonlyatoolforstudentstolearnlanguage,butalsohelpsthembroadentheirhumanisticvisons,expandtheirmentalspace,enrichtheirlifeexperiences,andcultivatetheirhumanisticspirits,therebyenhancingtheirrealmoflife.
II.
THECONNOTATIONOFHUMANITYQUALITY"Humanity"referstovariousculturalphenomenainhumansociety,while"quality",basedonhumanacquisitionandexperience,emphasizesitsinternality.
Duetotherichconnotationofhumanityquality,scholarsalsodiversifytheirunderstandings:"Thekeytohumanityqualityishumanemotionsorfeelings(YangShuzi)"and"humanityqualityisthespiritformedbypeopleinternalizingtheacquiredcultureastheyareincontactwiththeoutsideworld(ZhangChuting)".
Ultimately,humanityqualityistheexcellentcultureandcultivationofthespirituallevel,includingnobleideology,idealsentiment,psychologicalpersonality,valuesandculturalaccomplishment.
People-orientedhumanityqualitypaysattentiontotherealexistenceandultimatevalueofpeople.
Tocultivatestudents'humanityquality,thatis,throughthestudyofhumanities,teachershelpstudentsobtainamorecomprehensiveknowledgeofhumanities,amorerigorouswayofthinking,andahigherspiritualrealm,aswellashelpthemestablishacorrectvaluesystemandshapeaspiritualhomewithwonders.
Students'"self-improvement"issetasthestartingpoint,andhowtohelplearnersachieve"self-realization"servesastheultimatetaskofeducation.
WangShourenholdsthat"Englishisapartofhumanities…ThebasicelementsofEnglishsubjectareEnglishlanguage,literatureandculture.
"Languageisthecarrierofculture,so"thereisalwaysaninseparableinnerconnectionbetweenlanguageandculture.
Learninglanguagewithoutunderstandingtheculturefrombottomtotopisequaltoatreewithoutroots.
Inthisway,languagecanneverbemastered.
"Theinheritanceoflanguageistheinheritanceofculture,andthespreadoflanguageisthespreadofculture.
HanBaochengandLiuRunqingbelievethatthepurposeofEnglisheducationisthatstudentslearnculture,knowtheworld,andcultivatemindsviaEnglishforlayingfoundationsfortheirlifelongdevelopment.
QianGuanlianalsoputsforwardasimilarpointofview,"Theso-callededucationandcultivationfunctionofforeignlanguagereferstothethinkingtrainingofforeignlanguageteachingtolearnersexceptutilitarianism,thecultivationofpersonality,theinstillationofthecultureandspiceoftheforeignlanguage,andtheimprovementofcomprehensivequality.
Inaword,itaimstocultivateapersonwhowilldevelopharmoniouslyandissuitableforahighdegreeofcivilization.
"Infact,asstudentswithEnglishmajorofhumanities,theymustnotonlymastertheskillsofusingforeignlanguages,butalsohaveprofoundprofessionalandhumanisticknowledge.
TheyneedtohavethehumanisticvisionandcriticalthinkingtointegrateChineseandWesternculturesandcrossChineseandforeignculturalbarriers.
Englishitselfisaculturalform,carryingacolorfulhumancultureandhumanisticspirit.
QinXiubaipointsout,"Withouthumanity,languagewillnotexist,anddiscardinghumanitywouldneverletyoumasterlanguage.
"III.
THEMAJORAPPROACHESTOCULTIVATEHUMANITYQUALITYINENGLISHTEACHINGAdvancedEnglishisacompulsorycourseforEnglishmajorsintheirjunioryear.
ItisalsoacorecourseofcomprehensiveskillstrainingforthemtopassTEM8.
IthasbeenthekeycourseforEnglishmajorsincethefoundingofthecollege.
Themainteachingtaskistoimprovethebasicskillssuchaslistening,speaking,reading,writingandtranslationonthebasisofthefirstandsecondgrades,andcomprehensivelyenhancetheirintegratedlanguageskills.
Onthisverynote,studentscancommunicateinEnglishatahigherlevel,theirabilityoflogicthinkingandcriticalthinkingandtheabilitytoindependentlyconductresearch-basedlearningcanbedeveloped,theirhumanisticvisioncanbeexpanded,andtheirhumanisticaccomplishmentcanbeenhanced.
Otherthanthebasicstageofthefirstandsecondgrades,thethirdandfourthgradesshouldfocusonimprovingliteraryappreciation,translation,writing,aswellaslogicandcriticalthinkingonthebasisofgrammarandvocabularylearning.
Themeunderstanding,writingstrategies,rhetoricaltechniques,translationskillsandculturalthinkingserveasthekeypointsofteaching.
ThedifficultpointofthecourseishowtocombineEnglishteachingwithhumanisticeducation.
ThesignificanceofEnglishteachingliesininfectingstudentsthrougharticleswithexcellentcontentandstyle,andmakesstudentsharborhumanisticspiritgradually.
Thiscourseaimstonotonlyimprovestudents'languageproficiencybutalsoenhancetheirhumanisticaccomplishmentthroughthefollowingways:First,itisadvisabletorevealtheauthor'swritingmotivationandinfluenceonthesubjectofatextthroughtheintroductiontohisorheridentity,culturalbackgroundandmasterpieces.
Whenintroducingawriter,ifteacherscanletthewritershowupbyhimself,usingvividwordstointroducehisorherlifeperceptionandwritingmotivation.
Inthisway,studentsundoubtedlywillhaveamoreintuitiveandin-depthunderstandingofthepeoplebehindthework.
TakingthetextAHangingasanexample,ifteacherssimplyintroducethelifestoryofitsauthorGeorgeOrwellandlisthismainworks,itisdifficultforstudentstohaveadeepunderstandingofhislanguagestyle,standpointandwritingmotivation.
ButbyintroducingaclassicdescriptioninTextIIShootingAnElephant,teachersletstudentsfindsentenceswhichcanexpresstheauthor'sstandpointandmotivation,suchas"imperialismwasanevilthing,allagainsttheiroppressors-theBritish,thedirtyworkofEmpire,anintolerablesenseofguilt".
Throughthesewordsfullofsubjectivefeelings,theauthor'spointofviewstandsvividlyonthepaperandstudentsobtainaspecificanddirectunderstandingoftheview.
Suchafirst-handlanguageismorepowerfulthanteachers'tedioussecond-handintroduction,impressingstudentsmorefundamentally.
Basedontheabovewarm-upintroduction,teachersfurtherintroducetheauthor'swritingmotivation,namelysheeregoism,aestheticenthusiasm,historicalimpulseandpoliticalpurpose,usingOrwell'srepresentativeworkAnimalFarmtoexplainandanalyze.
Thecultivationofthehumanisticspiritisinseparablefromtheclassicreading.
Classicreadingenablesstudentstounderstandthecommonexperienceofhumanbeings,helpsstudentsdevelopnoblevalues,andguidesstudentstothinkaboutwhatkindofpersontheywanttobeandwhatkindoflifetheyshouldlive.
Duetotheinfluenceoffastfoodculture,thementalityofstudentsisnowimpetuous.
Itisdifficultforthemtocalmdownandreadclassics,sotheylackenoughextracurricularreadingandtheirhumanisticvisionisverylimited.
Inresponsetothisphenomenon,teachersselectthemostrepresentativeparagraphfromAnimalFarmforstudentstoappreciate,extractthemostclassicandinterestingpartofthetext,namelythesevenlawsbeforetheanimaluprisingandthefivelawsaftertheanimaluprising,andletstudentsfinddifferencesviacomparisonandtrytoanalyzethereason.
Inthisway,students'interestisstimulatedandtheirenthusiasmisfullyaroused.
Somestudentsbuytheoriginalworktostudyafterclass,andsomegotothetheatertowatchtheadaptedversion.
Therefore,teachersarenotonlytheimpartersofknowledgeinclass,butalsoactasguides,therebyprovidingstudentswithnewperspectivesandrecommendingandsharingclassicworks.
Students'readingamountmaybelargeorsmall,andtheirhumanisticvisionmaybewideornarrow,buttheyhaveacommonperceptionoftheclassics.
Byexcerptingrepresentativeandinterestingsegmentsanddesigningthought-provokingquestions,teachersmakestudentslearnandthink,andhavethedesiretorushtothelibraryafterclass,stimulatingstudents'interestandcuriosityandignitingtheirpassionforreading.
Second,throughthediscussionofthetextthemeandextendedtopics,students'criticalthinkingcanbetrained.
Thecultivationofstudents'criticalthinkingservesasacriticalpartofimprovinghumanityquality.
AfterstudentsunderstandthethemeofAHangingandtheauthor'sdisapprovalofhanging,teachersguidethestudentsonthetopictodiscussanddebatewhethertoabolishthedeathpenalty.
Atthesametime,thetopiccanbeextendedtodiscusswhethereuthanasiashouldbelegalized.
Duetothelimitedlifeexperienceandreadingvolume,studentstakemanyopinionsforgrantedwithoutindependentthinking,sotheyhavenothingtosayaboutmanytopicsandcannotargueonacertainstandpoint.
Atthistime,teachersshouldgivestudentssomeconstructiveopinionsandtips,letstudentslistentosomedifferentvoices,andencouragestudentstocheckrelevantliteraturetodemonstratetheirpositions.
Forexample,whendiscussingeuthanasia,teachersintroduceavideofromBostonLegal.
Inthevideo,thetwolawyersconductaheatedcourtdebateonwhetheritislegalthatthedoctorgivesthepatienteuthanasiabeforemajordisasters.
Whenwatchingthevideo,studentsnotonlyexercisetheirlistening,hearingdifferentopinions,andgaineffectiveinput,butalsolearnthelogictechniquesusedbylawyersintheirarguments,includingexemplification,analogy,andcomparison.
Moreover,studentsacquireskillsofimpressingtheaudienceinpublicspeaking,includingtellingstories,citingpersonalexperiences,andemployingparallelism.
Inthissense,itcanbesaidthatwatchingthevideohasachievedtheabovepurposesatonetime.
Third,throughthesupplementaryofthesubject-relatedreadingmaterialsandthepresentationofdifferentperspectives,studentsareencouragedtoconductcomparativeanalysisofthetext,andusevariouswaystointerpretthetext,thusexpandingstudents'humanisticvision.
TakingAHangingasanexample,inadditiontotheauthor'spointofview,teachersalsoencouragestudentstolookatthearticlefromtheperspectiveofthemanwhoshouldbehanged.
Throughhisbodylanguage,studentscantrytofigureouttheinnerworldbeforehisdeathandhisattitudetowardsdeath.
ThesupplementaryreadingmaterialsareDiscusThrowerandTheGracefulHands.
Teacherssetupthreequestionstoconsider:Whatarethesimilaritiesanddifferencesamongtheprotagonists'attitudestowarddeathinthesethreearticlesWhatcausestheirattitudestowardsdeathWhatistheevidenceinthetextInthisway,itnotonlyexpandsstudents'reading,butalsoprovidesdifferentinterpretationsofthearticle,andexercisesstudents'abilitytomakeargumentsbasedonevidenceandtothinklogicallyviafindingsupportinginformationtoprovetheirownviewpoints,thusstimulatingstudentstoexplorethethemedeeplyandreflectonhumannature.
Fourth,itisnecessarytoimprovestudents'capabilityofliteraryappreciationandtranslationthroughtheappreciationofrhetoricandthecomparativeanalysisoftranslationversions.
Literaryappreciationabilityallowsstudentstoexperiencethebeautyoflanguageandwordsintheprocessofreading,andfeelthecharmoflanguage.
Inadditiontoguidingstudentstoidentifytherhetoricaldevicescommonlyusedinliteraryworks,suchassimile,metaphor,metonymy,exaggeration,personification,alliteration,rhyme,oxymoron,pun,andirony,teachersalsoneedtoexplainsomemorecomplicatedrhetoricaldevicesappliedinthetext,suchaseuphemism,transferredepithet,analogy,allusion,intertextuality,parody,separationofChinesecharacters,anti-climax,andreduplicatedwords.
Intermsoftheserhetoricaldevices,teachersintendtoletstudentsperceivethedevices'subtletiesandroleasapromotertoenhancewordexpressiveness,encouragestudentstoemploythedevicesforwriting,andimprovetheirwritingability.
Toimprovetheabilitytoappreciatetexts,readingtheoriginalisawayandconductingcomparativeanalysisoftranslationversionsisalsoaneffectivemeanswhichcanstimulatestudents'interest.
JuniorstudentsmajoringinEnglishhavealreadytakentranslationtheoryandpracticeclasses,andhaveknownandmasteredsomebasictranslationtheories.
Throughthecomparativeanalysisoftexttranslations,studentscanusetranslationskillstocomparelanguagestyles,wordingtechniquesandtranslationmethodsofdifferenttargettexts.
Fifth,throughthein-depthexplorationoftheliterarypointsandculturalconnotationsinthearticle,students'literaryperceptionandculturalsensitivitycanbecultivated.
Whenstudentspreparelessonsbeforeclass,theyoftenjustunderstandandtranslatewordsandphrasesinthearticle.
Itisdifficultforthemtofindsomehiddenliterarypointsandunderstandtheprofoundculturalconnotations.
Atthistime,teachers'humanisticvisionwork.
Teachersshouldgivestudentssuggestions,encouragethemtosearchforinformation,designprogressiveproblems,andguidestudentstograduallyexploretheculturalimplicationofthearticle.
Forexample,intheuniteightTwoTruthstoLiveBy,thereisasentence,thatis,"Lifeisaparadox",inthefirstparagraph.
TeacherscanquotethefamoussayingfromGeorgeOrwell'smasterpiece1984:"Warispeace.
Freedomisslavery.
Ignoranceisstrength.
"Andteachersaskstudentshowtointerprettheseparadoxessoastodeepentheirunderstandingoftheword"paradox".
"Itwasnotapleasantplace",asentenceinthefourthparagraphofthearticle,seemstobesimpleandusual,butinfactitcarriesmanyconnotations.
ItisasentencethatHenryJameswrotetohissisterinDecember1876,describingthecharmofLondon,whichcannotbeexpressedinafewwords.
ThelettersingsthemagnificentatmosphereofLondonandemphasizestheothersideofit:darkness,dirtiness,poverty,andtheabsenceofbeauty.
Inaddition,theFrenchwomanwriterFloraTristandescribedappallingconditionsinLondoninTheLondonJournalofFloraTristan.
ThepainterMonetalsoshowedtheparliamentbuildingunderthesmogofseverepollutionthroughpaintings.
Allthesearevividinterpretationsof"London,notapleasantplace".
Ifteachersdonotexplaintheintertextualityandculturalassociationofthesentence,studentswillnotknowwhatitisexactlyandnotknowhowtoparaphrasethesentence.
Inthiscase,studentscanhardlyunderstandtheessenceoftheculturalconnotationechoingthehistoricaltextlikenativereaders;theywilljustunderstandthesentencesuperficiallyandmissthepoints.
Onthisbasis,teacherscanalsoencouragestudentstolookthroughliteraryworksafterclasssoastofindoutwhichplacesarethepleasantonesintheeyesofthewriter.
Forexample,E.
M.
ForsterdescribedFlorenceasaheavenlypleasantplaceinARoomWithAView.
Moreover,accordingtothedescriptionofsunlightinthesixthparagraph,teacherscanalsointroducetheclassicdescriptionofsunlight"Inthesunlight,evendeathissunny.
Thesunalwaysshines.
"inD.
H.
Lawrence'sworksFloweryTuscany,andletstudentsdocomparativeanalysistofindsimilaritiesofthetwodescriptionsandtheirrespectiveprioritiesandanalyzereasonsaccordingtothecontext.
Similarly,fortheallusion"Seizeeachgoldenminute"intheninthparagraphandthe"flowing"inthefifteenthparagraph,teacherscanexplainthecontentswithcorrespondingculturalbackgrounds,therebyexpandingstudent'shumanisticvision.
Ifteachersareonlysatisfiedwiththesimpletextanalysis,buttheycannotunderstandtheprofoundculturalconnotationsandpassonthenourishmentofthesehumanisticspiritstostudentswhichwillbeahugelossforstudents.
IV.
CONCLUSIONTosumup,asacorecourseforseniorEnglishmajors,AdvancedEnglishshouldnotonlyfocusontheteachingoflanguageabilitysuchaslistening,speaking,reading,writingandtranslation,butalsoneedstocombineprofessionalconnotationsandtalenttrainingobjectivestoenhancestudents'humanityquality,includinghumanisticcultivation,humanisticfeelings,humanisticspirit,cross-culturalcommunicationskills,criticalthinking,lifelonglearningandsustainabledevelopmentcapabilities.
Teachersshouldreadmorehumanitiesclassics,establishamorecompleteknowledgereserve,andimprovetheirownlanguageproficiencyandawarenessofcross-culturedifferences.
Besides,teachersaresupposedtoexploreandexpandthecontentofteachingmaterials,enhancethehumanisticconnotationofteachingcontent,andbroadenstudents'humanisticvision.
Onlywhenteachershaveaprofoundknowledgeofculturecantheygivelecturesknowledgeablyandskillfully.
Assuch,studentscanlearnfromtheirteachers,experienceabroaderhumanisticworld,andopenuptheirownhumanisticthinking.
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