Moral education of cadets in teaching English through culture

Moral education of cadets in teaching English through culture is important to build a teaching process and develop the way of thinking in English through cross-culture education. Cultural education affects cadets’ view toward world, life and social value.

Language is the significant component of culture. Language is the most prominent symbol of a national culture, it reflects one nation’s daily life and includes one nation’s way of thinking.

Key words: moral education, culture, teaching process, view toward world, significant component of culture, way of thinking, cross-culture education.

Нравственное образование курсантов при обучении английскому языку через культуру важна при формировании образовательного процесса и развитие способа мышления. Культурное образование влияет на мировоззрение мировых, жизненных и общественных ценностей.

Язык является значительной частью культуры. Язык — это самый знаменитый символ национальной культуры, она отражает ежедневую жизнь нации и отражает ход мышления той или иной нации.

Ключевые слова:нравственное обучение, процесс обучения, взгляд в мир, значительный компонент культуры, способ мышления, обучение через пересечение культур.

Throughout history, morality transmission has been present in education. Furthermore, many people believe that there is a connection between learning academically and the development of mental power, and the learning of moral values and the development of strength of character. The development of the intellect and moral character are close related.

In high schools teachers are responsible for guiding cadets in the step by step developmental process, and moral development or learning moral and cultural values is a step in the process of greater development. Therefore, it can be seen partly as high schools’ responsibility to educate cadets in morality. Another reason why moral education should have a place in high school curriculum is the role that teachers play in cadets’ lives.The Government and the Ministry of Education of Turkmenistan concerned with curriculum development and the improvement of teaching procedures compiled a report outlining ways to help better the current situation. They recommended more moral education in high school curricula, the development of clear guidelines for teachers so they can understand how to be character educators the creation of a social and cultural atmosphere that supports moral behavior by having parents, schools, high schools, public organization, the media and all members of society working together to establish a positive environment. Additionally, they advocated the incorporation of critical thinking and decision making skills in morality education, and the use of regular assessments of the moral ambiance of high schools.

With the development of modern culture, it is meaningful for our Turkmen teachers to develop and improve moraleducation and way of thinking in English cross-culture education, which will enhance high school cadets’ ability in distinguishing choosing western culture during their learning.

In Turkmenistan, people pay much more attention to cross-culture education in English teaching. But as far as the recent study result is concerned, most researchers mainly discuss this topic with the views of improving quality of education andincreasing cadets’ capability in language using. Language is the basis of culture, which can be reflected by language.At the same time, language is the significant component of culture.

Language is the most prominent symbol of a national culture; it reflects one nation’s daily life and includes one nation’s way of thinking. In a developing country like Turkmenistan, learning English occupies too much time for cadets, as a result, the content of western culture is accepted by Turkmen cadets unconsciously and affects cadets’ view toward world, life and social value. Thus, we need to choose English as means begin cross-culture education. Before we introduce cultural education into English teaching and carry on moral education by cultural comparison, we should firstly grasp the differences in tradition between the West and the East.Choosing culture education in English teaching and putting moral education into teaching processes is based on analyze about cultural phenomenon, after this we can define cultural content of all kinds of cultural phenomena. And then discuss differences between the west and the east and get the positive and the negative. From this cadets can choose the positive parts and practice it. Before practice, teachers need to do moral investigation about culture to cadets; carry on cultural training to cadets; choose right angles and methods to begin cultural introduction. Before we start to teach cadets, we need to do investigation about cadets thinking about culture; improve teachers’ cultural level and choose right way to carry on.

The purpose for doing a moral investigation in culture to high school cadets is to get to know the cadets’ concepts and opinions about our traditional culture and western culture.Also, most cadets major in scientific subjects or art subjects in high school and all their exams are for college entrance exam. Such a condition makes us think it is necessary to know how much advanced traditional culture still exist among the man how much they know about western culture and how they think about western culture. The high school cadets’ quality in culture is not only related to formal education, but also has relation to family education, living conditions andcadets’ interests. All above is needed to be investigated and analyzed seriously.

The means tocomplete cultural introduction. We know that language learning is the most important in English teaching. For Turkmen cadets, the major purpose to learn English is to communicate in English. When we finish this target, we can start the second stage, it is to put moraleducation on the basis of cross-culture education into effect. The second step is hard to fulfill, for it needs us to considerat what time and how to introduce western culture and compare western culture and Turkmen culture. In the light ofrelation of language and culture, we can introduce the cultural comparison and discuss it withcadets with teachingregulations and sequence. Many specialists have got some research results and with these results we can introduce culturediscussion into our English teaching with three steps.

Step one: introduce cultural discussion into English teaching withthe learning of basic information. On this stage, we should analyze the cultural elements and genes with the learning oflanguage, vocabulary, grammar and sentences. Meanwhile, lots of key elements related to language about culturebetween the east and the west should also be considered. The purpose to do this is to eliminate understanding barriersfor cultural difference. On the other hand, it can reveal the cultural connection.

The cultural introduction in second stage becomes more systematically. On this stage, the cultural discussion is chieflycarried out with the explanation of text. The steps are as followings: Get a cultural scheme which can cover therelated text and list related cultural items which should be talked about with cadets. The cultural information is talkedover with cadets while language structure is taught;

Get a cultural summary which includes the whole content ofthe textbook with all the texts in that book. Teachers can explain the cultural content before the class or after class. Theboundary of ‘culture items’ is hard to be agreed on and experts and teachers hold different opinions about this. Somebelieve culture can be divided into several concrete items according to certain structures and standards, such as: ‘dining,accommodation, greeting, introduction, invitation, declination and so on’. The cultural introduction with division likethis can be used to analyze and explain cultural phenomena for a particular behavior. Also, we can reveal cultural differences between the West and the East in daily lives. After overcoming the language barriers in communication, wewill indulge into discussion about values, thinking method and many other deeper cultural topics and accordinglyimprove cadets’ moral idea.

The third stage is to talk about history and philosophy with view of culture. The key inthis stage pays more attention to generality and cultural origin. The best way to deal with such topics is to hold optionalcourses and lectures on some special topics. The necessity to fulfill the target on this stage must construct a theoreticalsystem which can reflect one nation’s literature and characters. For one thing, this system must reflect historical originof a nation and summarize the basic characters of a nation as well. Meanwhile, we must realize cultural differencesamong different nations with this system. From the philosophical angle, this theoretical system should include ‘therelationbetween human being and nature’, ‘the relation between human being and society’ and ‘thinking method’ andso forth.

As far as cultural introduction in teaching is concerned, students need to be stimulated. During the course of teaching inclassroom, setting some kinds of cultural atmosphere and organizing many sorts of simulated condition are needed. We,for example, can get a movie or TV program to play, still, we can do a cultural analysis about some important historicalevents and many social items; analyze thinking method and values about western countries by a great deal of works(literature, painting and sculptures). Also, cadets can discuss those interesting cultural topics, and analyze culturaldifferences related to language actively, thus cadets’ ability in judging and choosing culture will be raised.

Activities play an important role in education, and language learning also needs practice. To the same reason, moraleducation cannot exist without practice. Cadets will have deeper understanding about western culture and differences between the West and the East by doing colorful activities and conducting language communication. When we do someactivities related to cultural education, the following may be helpful: hold seminars. Some topics such as ‘Languageand culture”, “American culture”, “English culture”, “Turkmen culture” in order to cultivate the cadets’ ability in consulting materials independently, comingup questions, thinking about questions from different points and analyzing and solving problems. Cadets should be organized on purpose to interview foreign teachers and students, have seminar withthem, through which the students will acquire more cultural information.The cadets should be encouraged toparticipate in extra-curricular activities, such as English corner, English speech contests and so forth. Thus theircross-cultural ability will be greatly tested and improved.

An important phase of the theory of moral culture is concerned in the relation of morality to the total aim of education. Liberal education has from time immemorial occupied itself with ethical culture, especially its civic and social phases. But the development of leisure led to phases of culture calculated to minister rather to individual gratification than to social service. In consequence, liberal education came to aim at knowledge and beauty as well as at strictly ethical qualities.

The relationof the language and the culture is dual: on the one hand language is a part of spiritual culture, on the other hand language engenders the culture itself and it’s an expression resource. The portrait of national culture of each language is possible to understand only by learning, understanding and accepting through language. Of course, on the pragmatic level language is possible to master without a culture but on the base of one language, but outside of cultural background to enter to the World of Language is impossible.

On principle it’s important for learners that the process of a foreign education is implemented on the dialogue of two worlds — the world of foreign culture and the native one. It’s weighty because formation of a cultured man, a moral man is possible thanks to the dialogue of cultures — native and foreign.

The low level of a foreign literacy is a negative factor which influences on the reputation of our country in the field of corporation with foreign countries. Our prestige abroad also depends on tourists’ behaviour. Not knowing the language and the culture they may demonstrate disrespect of ourselves and at the same time to people of other countries. Language and Culture are united and inseparable. We should consider the language (facts of language) as inalienable part of culture (facts of culture). The process of a foreign education includes four cases: look at Table 1.

In fact, these cases, aspects in educational process are combined and interdependent.

Table 1

By choosing the content of moral education of cadets in teaching English through culture and carrying out in accordance with the high school curriculum taking into account cadets’ cultural preferences and differentiates as the foreign material is assimilated. Organizational and pedagogical conditions of increasing effectiveness of cultural education in process of teaching a foreign language in high schools includes correlation of different subjects, which make provision for cadets’ moral education in process of professional training and leisure, taking into consideration needs and requirements of personality in cultural development, usage of modern means of multimedia, modern equipments for enriching foreign classes with cultural material, organization of cultural atmosphere, favourable psychological climate which promotes emotional communication in class.

The main thing is not only learning the foreign language but ability to use it in real communication, its practical professional usage, so coming into conclusion we may say that the important thing is development of pragmatic intercultural competence. Only culture in different points contributes to form a man’s personality.

Thus, moral education of cadets in teaching English through culture makes a great contribute in up-bringing of our youth generation of our great growing country. The subject of a foreign language, English, is one of the important subjects. Teaching a foreign language we may introduce not only the culture of learnt language but by comparing peculiarities of our own national culture acquaint with common to all mankind values. In other words, it helps to educate in context of “culture dialogue”.

References:

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3. Passov Ye.I. “Individual development in culture dialogue” 2000.
4. WangJie “Cross-culture education and moral education in English teaching”, 2008.