英文摘要 |
The tasks and practices of foreign language education are discussed in this paper. This paper suggests that the ultimate goal of foreign language teaching should be extended to achieving successful interpersonal, inter-organizational and international interaction, in addition to the mastery of the target foreign language. Foreign language education should thus cover: 1) the concept of international competence, 2) non-verbal languages, 3) the patterns of language behavior, 4) the patterns of interpersonal and interorganizational interactions, 5) metaculture, 6) intercultural and international topics in other social sciences and news, 7) attitudes and techniques in cross-cultural communication. It should also 1) arrange cross- ultural/international connections, 2) develop students’ sensitivity towards cross-cultural and international topics, and 3) cultivate the students’ ability to employ their own international experiences to smooth future cross-cultural interactions. As proposed in this study, English teaching in the 21st century has become multi-dimentional and should comprehensively integrate other foreign language teaching so as to accommodate various cultures in language teaching. More specifically, our job as language teachers no longer focuses solely on the use of a language but also on the appropriate reaction to various cross-cultural situations. Knowledge about verbal and nonverbal languages, interpersonal and interorganizational interactions, values, history, and life situations taught in all foreign language courses should be shared in order to develop cross-cultural and international competence. |