Youzhi Cheng

Language and Culture -: a Critical Perspective on English Education in Chinese Secondary Schools Youzhi Cheng

This stesis is a study on the necessity for integration of langauge and culture in China. The need for this is considered in the context of modern China where the door has been opened to the world since the 1980s. Sequential changes have resulted in more interaction between China and the western world. Yet, how to integrate English and its culture has continued to be unsolved. The causes are complicated, for they involved China's politics, history, tradition, people's conceptions and education; particularly the great diversity of the cultures between China and the western world from which both worlds have developed different social structures, ideologies, beliefs, values and conceptions. Chinese authorities are afraid that the introduction of western ideas may lead to the collapse of Chinese social structure. And they believe English is only a tool to access to western science and technology. Once they master it, China would become a powerful country. Thus a dilamma of English teaching in secondary schools in China has been made, casting many issues to be considered and solved.