6。 Conclusion。。。。。。11

Works Cited。13

1。Introduction 

Primary school is the enlightenment stage of English learning。 However, traditional primary-school teaching generally focuses on teaching pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar as well as mechanical pattern practice but always neglects the spreading of the cultural background knowledge of English-speaking countries。 The teaching mode of “valuing language but neglecting culture” can help the students get high scores but may set barriers for them to flexibly use the language in real life, so that many students learn “dumb English” or “China English”。 So the teachers shall keep immersing cultural background knowledge in teaching, so as to help the students to understand the difference between Chinese and western culture from childhood, widen their vision, and use English accurately, appropriately and fluently。 

2。 Literature Review

2。1 Definition of Cultural Immersion

According to the “New English Curriculum Standards”, culture refers to the historical geography, local conditions and customs, traditions, lifestyle, literature and art, behavior standards, values, etc。 of the country of the target language; cultural immersion means the teachers guide the students to learn and understand the culture of English-speaking countries in teaching, so as to improve the students’ comprehension and cognition to English, and cultivate the world consciousness of primary school students。 论文网

2。2 Significance of Cultural Immersion to initial stage English Education

Mr。 Wang Zuoliang, a famous English professor, once said, “No one can really master a language without understanding the social culture of the language”。 (Shi 64)As a tool for thinking and communication, language carriers different cultural and reflects different cultural life of the human society。 The immersion of cultural awareness in English education not only can improve the students’ interest in learning English so that they understand the culture of the English-speaking countries while learning and mastering the language and cultivate their awareness of cross-cultural communication, but also can help the students to correctly understand and accurately use English, so as to really master it。 For that reason, in the English enlightenment stage, i。e。 the primary school period, the teachers must put the education of “cultural awareness” in quite a prominent place, and lay good foundation for the students’ English learning in future。

2。3 Initial -stage Cultural Immersion for Various Age Groups 

According to the theory of Critical Period Hypothesis (Lenneberg: 1967)，learners of different ages have different psychological characteristics, so they have different advantages when learning English。Children' have stronger  imitation ability, adult brains are more good at focusing and complex thinking, children suitable for subconscious to learn a language, and adults for conscious system of learning language。Therefore, for the English learners in the Enlightenment stage, we have to decide how to start English teaching and how to conduct English teaching better according to the psychological characteristics of students and the advantages of learning English at all ages。

3。The Effective Approaches to Cultural Immersion in initial stage English Education 

3。1 Vocabulary Building and Cultural Immersion 

Vocabulary is the heart of a language, and it has three meanings: lexical meaning, structural meaning, social and cultural meaning。 In the teaching of English vocabulary, we always focus on the pronunciation, spelling and meaning of a word, and think we have learned a lot only after mastering some basic usage。 In fact, that is not the case。 We only master the vocabulary and their structural meanings, but have not really mastered the connotation of vocabulary learning。 The purpose of learning a language is for communication。 It is not only a linguistic phenomenon but also a cross-cultural phenomenon。 Hence in primary-school English vocabulary teaching, we shall immerse cultural awareness by teaching the vocabulary in the textbooks。 During the class teaching process, the teachers shall pay attention to the interpretation of cultural connotation when solving problems about vocabulary, and immersing culture by the Chinese interpretation of vocabulary, so that the students can feel, experience, understand and accept the cultural difference between different areas。 The correct understanding and use of English vocabulary are good for cultivating the students’ habit of thinking in English。 For example, love, dear, etc。 are very common on some informal occasions in the west, but in China, they are only used between very close relatives or family members。 To simply interpret vocabulary and lead the students to master the cultural difference between China and the English-speaking countries can help arouse the students’ interest in learning and promote the teaching activities。（Zhang 13）