摘 要

随着全球化的迅猛发展，有效的交流成为了跨文化交际中的重要话题。这也表明外语学习不应仅限于单纯的语言知识输入，还应包括跨文化能力(ICC)的培养。跨文化意识与能力培养的方式多种多样，但近年来的研究多关注以影视欣赏为主的多媒体课堂教学策略，而忽略了以音乐赏析为主的语言输入策略。

本文通过问卷和访谈调查法，对327名非外语专业大学生的外语输入方式、外国歌曲欣赏情况以及跨文化交际能力进行了定性和定量分析，并探讨了外国歌曲欣赏对大学生跨文化能力的影响。研究结果表明，除了传统的语言课堂教学，大学生的跨文化能力培养也得益于外文歌曲欣赏。其中，外国歌曲欣赏对大学生跨文化态度的影响最深, 对跨文化意识的影响次之，而对跨文化技能的影响则最弱。基于研究结果，本文强调了外国歌曲欣赏作为语言输入方式在大学生跨文化能力培养中的重要性，并从外国歌曲欣赏的角度对大学生跨文化能力培养提出了若干建议。

关键词：跨文化能力；外国歌曲欣赏；多媒体课堂；语言输入

Abstract

As globalization increasingly accelerates, effective communication nowadays has been a heated issue in intercultural communication. It indicates that besides simple input of language knowledge, foreign language learning is supposed to embrace the cultivation of intercultural competence. Strategies to train intercultural awareness and intercultural competence vary a lot. Recent researches paid more attention to teaching strategies based on films’ appreciation rather than songs’ appreciation in multimedia class.

This paper, aiming at studying the influence of foreign songs’ appreciation on college students’ intercultural competence, surveyed 327 non-foreign language major college students to analyze their foreign language input modes, their situations on foreign songs’ appreciation and their intercultural competences by quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis. Results prove that in addition to the traditional language teaching course, the cultivation of college students’ intercultural competence benefits from language input during their foreign songs’ appreciation as well. Among four dimensions of intercultural competence, foreign songs’ appreciation has the strongest influence on intercultural attitude, the second strongest influence on intercultural awareness, and the weakest influence on intercultural skill. Based on research results and discussion, this paper emphasizes the importance of foreign songs’ appreciation as a language input mode in cultivation of college students’ intercultural competence, and proposes some suggestions on training college students’ intercultural competence from the perspective of foreign songs’ appreciation.

Key Words: intercultural competence; foreign songs; language input; multimedia class

Contents

1 Introduction 1

1.1 Research background 1

1.2 Research objective 2

2 Literature Review 3

2.1 Intercultural communication 3

2.2 Intercultural competence (ICC) 4

3 Research Methodology 7

3.1 Research subject 7

3.2 Research method 7

3.2.1 Questionnaire 7

3.2.2 Interview 8

3.3 Data analysis 9

4 Result and Discussion 11

4.1 Foreign songs' appreciation 11

4.2 Results of College students’ ICC 12

4.2.1 Intercultural knowledge 12

4.2.2 Intercultural attitude 13

4.2.3 Intercultural skills 14

4.2.4 Intercultural awareness 15

4.3 Influence of foreign songs’ appreciation on college students’ ICC 16

4.3.1 Influence of foreign songs’ appreciation on intercultural knowledge 17

4.3.2 Influence of foreign songs’ appreciation on intercultural attitude 18

4.3.3 Influence of foreign songs’ appreciation on intercultural skill 18

4.3.4 Influence of foreign songs’ appreciation on intercultural awareness 20

5 Conclusion 21

5.1 Enlightenment 21

5.2 Limitation and further research 22

References 23

Appendix 1 25

Appendix 2 29

Acknowledgements 30

The Influence of Foreign Songs’ Appreciation on Intercultural Competence of College Students

1 Introduction

1.1 Research background

As globalization increasingly accelerates, effective communication nowadays has been a heated issue in the process of intercultural communication. Since 1980s, intercultural communication was introduced by Foreign Language World and spread recently at home. Contemporarily, the cultivation of intercultural competence attracts great attention in scholars and experts. There is a consensus that foreign language learning, especially foreign language teaching in universities should be combined with its own culture (Jia, 1997). So great is the importance scholars and experts attach to it that not only the teaching modes as well as language textbooks, but also the syllabus design and course project underline that language acquisition must be accompanied by cultural background.

In recent years, intercultural communication has become a popular topic, emphasized by a great number of teachers and specialists. Thomas (1983) indicated that grammatical faults are easy to be found from addressee. Once the mistakes appear, the addresser will be deemed as one who is lack of enough relevant language knowledge consequently being forgiven by addressee. Nevertheless, pragmatical mistakes will be viewed solemnly rather than grammatical mistakes during intercultural communication. It is more likely that a man will be considered impolite or unfriendly, in case who, speaking fluent English, makes pragmatical mistakes. Even his failure in communication is possible to misunderstood as rudeness or hostility instead of lack of language skills and cultural background. Through what this man experienced, it indicates that reasonable intercultural communication needs particular ability -- intercultural competence.

Foreign language learning is supposed to embrace the cultivation of intercultural competence (Hu, 2013). Methods to train intercultural awareness and competence vary a lot. Recent researches paid more attention to teaching strategy based on film appreciation rather than songs’ appreciation when students are learning foreign language in multimedia class. While this research will attach more importance to the influence of foreign songs’ appreciation on college students’ intercultural competence rather than film’s appreciation. It is assumed that, in addition to the traditional language course, the cultivation of college students’ intercultural competence benefits from language input during their foreign songs’ appreciation as well.

1.2 Research objective

Besides simple input of language knowledge, foreign language learning is supposed to embrace the cultivation of intercultural competence. This research, aiming at discussing influence of foreign songs’ appreciation on college students’ intercultural competence, is expected to survey some domestic non-English major college students for analyzing situation on foreign songs’ appreciation and their intercultural competence from the aspect of intercultural knowledge, intercultural attitude, intercultural skills as well as intercultural awareness. Around 300 non-foreign language major college students in domestic, whose information will only used for paper writing, will be investigated during research. Questionnaire and interview will provide research with real and precise data from a wide range of sources. In the following parts, the two variables, intercultural competence and foreign songs’ appreciation, together with the correlation between them will be analyzed and discussed. The paper, based on the results, will also mention some suggestion on cultivation of college students’ intercultural competence for sake of further research.

2 Literature Review

2.1 Intercultural communication

Born in America in the 1950s, intercultural communication is a discipline studying communication across different cultures and social groups, or how culture affects communication.

In 1956, Chomsky proposed the concept of "language competence" in Aspects of the Theory of Syntax at first, and regarded it as “an ideal user's knowledge of his language”, with emphasizing the rules of language use, “universal grammar”. In late decades, Hall (1959) then applied the concept of intercultural communication, and analyzed verbal communication deeply in The Silent Language. This book became the masterpiece of intercultural communication. Certainly, the use of language cannot be detached from its culture. American social linguist Hymes (1972), who criticized that Chomsky’s definition of "competence" was incomplete, adopted the concept of “communicative competence” instead of “language competence”. He advanced that “communicative competence”, actually intercultural competence, consists of four components including possibility, feasibility, appropriateness and performance. In particular, “appropriateness” emphasizes that language use must conform to certain social and cultural context. Subsequently, a few scholars and experts continued to explore in this field. It costed half a century that intercultural communication eventually became a discipline with distinct and complete framework (Lin, 1999).