【文章內(nèi)容簡(jiǎn)介】 closely related to the knowledge of American and British culture, politics and economy, in fact, is an examination of one’s prehensive petence which includes one’s English language level, range of knowledge, petence of analysis and imaginative power.There are two jokes in the following:1) A: Where are you from?B: I will ask her. (Alaska)2) A: Why do you ask her? B: How are you? (Hawaii)When you listen to them for the first time, you would be very confused since B’s answer is irrelevant to A’s question. However, if we know something about geography knowledge of the and the names of the two states in —Alaska and Hawaii, we will understand what he say. In view of this, the introduction of cultural background is necessary for the teaching of English listening.ii. Speaking obstacles in EnglishMany foreign teachers who teach IELTS in China regard speaking part is the most difficult part for Chinese students to get high mark. We Chinese students’ munication petence is not satisfactory because we ignore the social meanings of language forms and language applications in reality. Moreover, more often than not, the materials we use today are outdated or seldom pay attentions to differences between different cultures. So our students are usually ignorant of factors of culture and they can only mechanically copy what they have learned. The following dialogues can often be found in our textbooks.1) A: How old are you?B: I’m thirty.2) A: Where are you going?B: I’m going to the library.3) A: How often do you write to your parents?B: About once a week.These dialogues are roughly the bination of Chinese thinking and English forms. Although such forms are right in the means of English grammar, they are not appropriate. For those native speakers, it’s unimaginable for someone to ask alike questions. The natural reply of Englishspeaking people to the greetings like “Where are you going?” would most likely be “Why do you ask?” or “It’s none of your business.” Questions like “How often do you write to your parents?” would be thought to intrude on one’s privacy. Therefore, in oral teaching, teachers should lay stress on factuality of language and adopt some materials approaching to daily life, such as daily dialogues with tape, magazines, newspapers and reports etc, because the materials are from real life, and they help students to be well acquainted with standard pronunciations and intonation, to speak English appropriate on the occasion, to understand western way of life and customs, etc.iii. Reading Obstacles in English“The major difficulty encountered by language learners when they deal with written texts stems from the passage from orate to a more literate mode of speech” (Claire 130).Claire advocates that, “They thought they understood what it meant to talk like members of French or German speech munities: are you needed was to abide by their grammatical and lexical rules. Now it appears that the rules in the use of written language are of a different order” (Claire130). To a large extent, it would affect the readers’ reading speed and ability. What is more, since writers’ proper use of idioms, proverbs and sayings is often a mark of a person’s mand of the language, they are fond of picking up some idioms and proverbs in their passage. However, it would be a great obstacle to the English learners because it is rather difficult to understand the cultural connotation and meaning. For example, one Chinese proverb goes “silence is good.” It means that silence is more helpful and useful than speaking. However, English proverbs goes “squeaking wheel get oil” which means do not keep quiet, otherwise you would receive nothing. If you know nothing about cultural background of foreign countries, you would be very frustrated and confused when you encounter them in the written materials. iv. Writing Obstacles in EnglishIn writing, cultural knowledge is of great importance too. When we tend to write in English, what you should have is not only a mastery of vocabularies and grammar knowledge. Without some cultural information, such as economical, political, social information, you would definitely not finish an excellent essay. According to Halliday, “Language is not a set of isolated sentences。 rather, it is an interrelated set of texts in which meaning potential is actualized。 People express meanings to realize some social goal” (16).All of us want to write like a native. If you have mastered the language well, then you should pay more attention to the cultural differences since they play a significant role in your English writing.II. Culture knowledgethe Part of Communicative AbilityOnce an American was visiting the home of a Chinese, when he saw the host’s wife, he said, “Your wife is very beautiful.” The host replied, “Where, where?” Then the American was very surprised and confused, but he continued to answer “face, nose, eyes…” Then it was the host’s turn to show his confusion. In China, people say “哪里，哪里”(“Where, Where”) when others show their pliment and admire since it is a way of humble saying. The reason for both sides’ misunderstanding was differences in customs and habits. To a large extent, Chinese students have the municative difficulties in English. There are two reasons for this problem. To begin with, most of Chinese students are used to opening their mouth when they study English. They prefer to read or write English, but they spend little time speaking or talking. The second reason may be more important, students are lack of cultural knowledge which plays an essential and positive role in their munication. As long as you gain enough cultural knowledge, you will find that your municative petence will be improved.According to Hinkel, “Intercultural munication takes place across a broad range of situations, form highlevel governmental negotiations to hailing taxis while on vocation in other country” (182). Nowadays, many people have realized the impo