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3 case studies on the comparison of Chinese and Western cultures: After 40 years of reform and opening up, college English teaching has become more refined and deepened, from the original focus on basic knowledge such as grammar, vocabulary explanation, discourse understanding, and understanding of cultural background knowledge, to the current application of cross-cultural communication. You may also like to know the Impact of Big Data Analysis on CPA Audits.

Here are the articles to answer, the doubts about the Discussion A case study on the comparison of Chinese and Western cultures in college English teaching!

The reform of English in colleges and universities has put forward a new teaching goal: comprehensively strengthen the quality and ability training of college students, and vigorously promote cultural quality education. At present, many domestic colleges and universities have successively offered elective courses on the comparison of Chinese and Western cultures or cross-cultural communication to meet the learning needs of different students. English learning is inseparable from learning Western culture and customs.

In the process of international political, economic, and cultural exchanges, only by fully respecting and understanding other countries’ cultures, mastering their own cultures in detail, avoiding contradictions and conflicts, and following the thinking concept of seeking common ground while reserving differences, can success be successful Communication and transactions. In teaching, teachers take the case teaching method as their teaching theory and use vivid cases to allow students to fully participate in discussions and learning, achieve teaching goals, and cultivate 21st-century talents with excellent quality and comprehensive ability.

Constructivism and Case Teaching

Constructivism

Constructivism teaching theory is currently widely recognized as a relatively advanced teaching concept and a guiding ideology for deepening teaching reform. It emphasizes the key role played by individual initiative in the learning process, and at the same time, individual learning is also carried out in a certain historical and social context. Traditional teaching is teacher-centered, emphasizing “teaching”. You may also like to know about A case study of CPA audit failures in listed companies.

Classroom teaching is mainly based on teachers’ lectures. Students take a lot of notes. After class, they also need to spend time and energy consolidating and reviewing. Teachers are tired of teaching, students are tired of learning, and they have strong self-control. of students will follow the teacher’s requirements and get better grades; for students with poor self-control, learning is simply “drudgery”. Constructivist teaching is the opposite of traditional teaching. It is student-centered, emphasizes “learning”, gives full play to students’ initiative, actively explores and discovers knowledge, and actively constructs the meaning of knowledge.

Due to the high degree of participation, students have to use their hands and brains to complete tasks, so they will not feel boring, and at the same time, they can deeply understand the knowledge they have learned and build a new knowledge system. With the rapid development of information technology, the learning environment advocated by constructivism has been strongly supported, and the theory of constructivism has been more and more applied and practiced by teachers.

Case teaching method

Constructivist learning theory includes four elements: “situation”, “collaboration”, “conversation” and “meaning construction”. The case-based teaching method is precisely in the case “situation” set according to the course content. Under the guidance of the teacher, students actively collect information and conduct group and group “collaboration” in a group “collaboration” way. discussions and “conversations” between them, and then integrate all knowledge and experience to construct relevant knowledge meanings for what is learned.

Therefore, the case teaching method is the specific application of the constructivist teaching theory, and the constructivist teaching theory is the theoretical basis for the existence of the case teaching method. The case teaching method originated in the 1920s. Harvard Business School used real business cases and events to teach and encouraged students to actively participate in discussions, with good results. Later, it was gradually applied to teacher training, and until recently, the case teaching method has been a tried and tested teaching method for teachers of various subjects.

The focus of the case teaching method lies in the cultivation of thinking. Students’ brains work to analyze and think about problems, and use “true and credible, objective and vivid, diverse and relevant cases” to cultivate students’ awareness of critical reflection, unity, and cooperation. Consciousness, and the ability to think in multiple directions, are divergent. The author will not repeat the specific implementation process of the case teaching method and will reflect its essence in the following cases.

Comparative Cases of Chinese and Western Cultures

When asked about the experiences of international students abroad or the experiences of foreign teachers in China, they would say: that every day in communication and life, there are all kinds of embarrassment or misunderstandings due to cultural differences between China and the West, and every day their minds will feel it This kind of cultural difference is also constantly reflecting on their own culture, reflecting on their behavior, constantly correcting their thinking, and thinking and responding to these situations with a more objective mentality. Here are a few hot examples:

Case 1: Education and teaching

One day, a foreign teacher came to the class, and the classroom atmosphere became active. Since foreigners are rare in the local area, and the course content is set to be relaxed and interesting, students are more willing to participate. At this time, all the students in the class are listening carefully and passively learning. of students and those who sleep with mobile phones are also listening to the content of the foreign teacher with their ears pricked up. So, what exactly did the foreign teachers tell the students so attractive? It’s very simple.

First, I said a few special question words: who, what, which, when, where, why, and how. The foreign teacher read it several times with passion, and then asked the students to make sentences, but did not make a sentence within the specified time. I will be punished. Of course, the punishment is simple and pleasant. Some students can’t understand the foreign teacher’s speech and make all kinds of jokes, which makes other students laugh. Soon one class is over, and then the second class is simple.

I imported it for a while, then played the video to the students, and then showed the students a few questions about the video, giving everyone time to start thinking and writing personal opinions. The video playback took about half the class time, and the writing took up half the class time. The foreign teacher hardly said anything in this class, but the students all participated and handed in all the writing content at the end of the class. It is also an English class. Chinese teachers often use the teaching method.

The amount of information is relatively large and there are many knowledge points. Students need to take a lot of notes and complete the homework assigned by the teacher after class. Students are active, listen carefully, and take notes. Although one-third of the students are listening, they are passively accepting knowledge, and one-third of the students simply stay out of the way, either playing with their mobile phones or sleeping. in a negative learning state. Students made a comparison of the education and teaching modes of two teachers from Chinese and Western cultures:

Some students said: “Chinese teachers’ classes are still the most suitable for Chinese students. Although they are boring, they have a lot of content and can learn more knowledge.”

Some students said: “I don’t seem to have learned anything in this class.”

Some students said: “I prefer foreign teachers to teach, not tired and interesting.”

Another student said: “The foreign teacher’s class allows me to think independently so that my brain and thinking have been exercised.”

The first two viewpoints belong to the first third of students, and the last two viewpoints belong to the second and third of the students. Students feel the difference between Chinese and Western teaching models, and some Accept, some rejected them. As can be seen from the above cases, in terms of teaching, there are great differences between Chinese and Western education methods. At present, many English teachers in colleges and universities are still using this traditional method of teaching and lecturing.

They teach the content of hard preparation with a dry mouth, but many students do not buy it, and only one-third of the students can learn. The foreign teacher from Canada managed two classes with ease. The problem is that all the students benefited from it, especially by expressing their personal opinions on the video content and presenting it in writing. Every student is very happy after class, and some students were even reluctant to leave, and even took pictures with foreign teachers. Foreign teachers use the case teaching method to give full play to the initiative of the students.

The students seem to have not learned anything, but they have subtly gotten a lot of exercises, analyzing problems, thinking about problems, answering questions, and constructing their cognition of external things. and critical thinking skills. In the long run, what are the educational concepts and models of foreign teachers? ^ Chinese teachers are more advanced, they can cultivate students’ self-awareness, give full play to students’ initiative, and cultivate students’ analytical ability, critical thinking ability, oral expression ability, and even work efficiency, this is what Chinese teachers should study hard.

Case 2: Expression

A Chinese was having dinner with a friend in the United States, and they disagreed when discussing the issue of starting a company.

The American said, ”There are many business opportunities in China. My idea is very good. We can do our own business and make big money.”

The Chinese said, “It’s easier said than done. We should consider every aspect. Your idea is great and ahead of time， but it’s difficult to carry out such a big business. We can’t invest casually. What if we lose it？”

The American was angry and said, “Life is short. If we are always concerned about losing money， we can’t realize our life value. I have all the resources except money, I need investors.”

The Chinese smiled and told him, “Right, money is important. But who would invest in you if you don’t have good planning research in the paper? It’s just an idea. Everything is just in your mind. But others don’t know what you are doing or what you want to do. So， let’s start with just a little thing， such as preparing planning research.”

In the above example, the American insisted on starting a company with his ideas. He felt that his views were very advanced and would make a profit. He never considered the difficulties that he would encounter in China. He was a little unhappy, talking about how life is short, and he shouldn’t overthink the consequences, otherwise, nothing will be accomplished. In comparison, the Chinese are cautious and considerate. He warned Americans to think more about practical issues, and suggested starting with planning. So the students began to speak:

“Chinese people are more restrained and modest, Americans are more direct and aggressive, and I prefer the Chinese way of doing things, being thoughtful and cautious, to get the best results.”

“Doing business is different from doing business. If we are just a small vendor, we can do it without hesitation. However, huge investments must be well-planned and have a reasonable system and theory. Otherwise, who will be responsible for losses?”

“Americans are too whimsical to understand.”

We can see the difference in expression between Chinese and Americans. Americans are more direct and aggressive in thought and expression. They follow the concept of the individual before society, and have been taught since childhood to be independent, confident, and realize self-worth. Only by realizing their value can social value and national value be realized. Western society pays attention to the development of individuality, and individual opinions will be valued and recognized by society.

They speak and act more directly, decisively, ambitiously, and put into action when they have an idea. People who lack self-confidence and aggressiveness are difficult to be accepted and recognized by society. In China, however, the society advocates the concept of the collective before the individual. Only when the collective interests are guaranteed can individual interests be realized. the relationship between the government and the members of society.

Therefore, people pay attention to euphemism, humility, and low-key, “think twice before doing things”, and must consider all aspects of things. “Full of losses, modest benefits” has become people’s life creed. If the Chinese are as confident as the Americans who seem to have a big career without a well-planned plan, people will think that this person is problematic and unreliable, and even if there is a good plan, people will think that this person is in too much of a hurry, too ambitious.

In China, being ambitious is regarded as bad behavior, which means that the interests of others and even their lives will be threatened, and they have been denied and rejected by Chinese society for generations. It can be seen that if the understanding of Chinese and Western cultures is not thorough enough, it is easy to be coldly treated in foreign countries. To avoid similar embarrassment for domestic students going abroad, it is very necessary to continuously infiltrate and let students understand this difference in college English classes or open elective courses on cultural differences between China and the West.

Case 3: the way of thinking

The difference between Chinese and Western cultures can also be seen on the world map. We have always thought that the world map that we have known and are familiar with since childhood should be like the following, and this type of world map is used all over the world. However, when the students were shown the British and American versions of the world map, the students were shocked. It turned out that the world map can still be like this.

They immediately found that the two different versions of the map have one thing in common, that is, whether China or the United Kingdom and the United States, their own countries are in the center or off-center. Recently the United States has used a different version of the world map, putting its own country in a more central position.

When Australia and New Zealand version of the world map was shown to the students, there was an uproar, because this map was even more outrageous. At least the British and American versions of the world map were placed north and south, but the Australian and New Zealand versions were placed on the top South to North, completely reversed, the purpose is to place one’s own country in a relatively central position. As a result, the students had heated discussions and speeches, and students said:

“I never thought that there would be so many different versions of the world map! These maps refreshed my eyes and gave me a lot of knowledge!”

“This gave me a new understanding of the world from another perspective. The world we think of is not necessarily like that. It may have many other ways of existence. We should learn more about the West and other countries or countries as possible. The culture of a nation enriches its cognition of the world, so the evaluation or conclusion made in this way is more accurate.”

“This is more of a philosophy. From these maps, I can feel the difference between other countries’ cultures, and there may be more places for us to understand and learn. As citizens of a big country, we can’t be arrogant and blind. To be confident, you should go out ideologically, or simply go abroad to see the outside world, understand the world, and at the same time understand yourself and your nation better.”

From this case, it can be seen that the students’ thinking has been impacted. They have felt a different way of thinking. China and the West have different understandings and solutions to the same problem, and it also reflects the wisdom of human beings. Due to the differences in geographical environment, economic system, and philosophical tradition, Chinese and Western cultures have different ways of thinking, which in turn affect people’s different understandings of things, presenting a variety of solutions to problems, and Each method embodies human wisdom and thinking.

To make the map more intuitive and make it easier for people to understand the world from the perspective of their own country, they all place their own country in a more eccentric position, so there are several different versions of the world map. Looking at the world from different angles will make people feel different and generate different ideas, which will make people think of other things. Looking at problems and solving problems from another angle may get more ideal results. This kind of conclusion arouses the strong curiosity of the students. Some want to continue their hobbies and discover the beauty of more things;

Go out to explore more unknown worlds, then analyze and integrate what you have seen, heard, learned, and learned, take the essence and remove the dross, come to your conclusions and opinions, and create more wealth for society and the country. No matter what students think, this course of comparing Chinese and Western cultures will undoubtedly inspire their desire to explore, like a key that opens the door to a new world, which will make them put into action and create new perspectives, new Inventions…will play a positive role in promoting the personal development of students and the sustainable progress of the country.

Summary

The case teaching method is a teaching method based on the theory of constructivism, which has been widely recognized and respected and is a relatively advanced teaching mode. Case teaching can greatly shorten the gap between theory and practical life, and make classroom teaching lively and interesting, and theoretical learning will not be pretentious and boring. At the same time, students will gain analytical skills, critical thinking skills, and practical problem-solving skills in the process of thinking, group discussion, collective discussion, and in the process of summarizing.

There are huge differences between Chinese and Western cultures. This article lists three examples of education, thinking and expression, which fully demonstrate a truth: in the case of the increasing globalization process, stories of cultural conflicts and collisions occur every day, as the upcoming College students who are going to the society need to be familiar with and understand these differences at the fastest speed to adapt to the rapidly changing world. Understanding cultural differences can better guide future life and work. This is not only a skill learned for work and life but also a kind of intellectual enlightenment.

Using the case teaching method to instill the knowledge of Chinese and Western cultural comparison in college English classrooms to cultivate students’ critical thinking ability is the process of students’ ideological enlightenment, and it is a process of jumping out of the original old-fashioned thinking mode, making thinking more diverse, more compatible and more open, a more critical and reflective process. The enlightenment of this kind of thinking is the inner driving force of behavior. People will invent or create with great enthusiasm, promote the progress of society, and write a glorious stroke in the history of human civilization.