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Article published In: Chinese as a Second Language (漢語教學研究—美國中文教師學會學報)
Vol. 59:1 (2024) ► pp.1–25

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Investigating the Chinese cultural mind through Chinese-American cross-cultural films

Implications for teaching culture to Chinese language learners

ORCiD logo with link | Lafayette College
 | Lafayette College
Published online: 5 November 2024
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/csl.24003.luo
Abstract
The importance of teaching cultural perspectives or cultural mind is now widely recognized in the field of foreign language education. Meanwhile, language teachers and scholars are also aware of the difficulty of implementing this aspect of cultural instruction in the classroom because the cultural mind tends to be abstract, intangible, and invisible. As Chinese-American cross-cultural films often foreground cultural differences and conflicts caused by underlying systems of values, beliefs, and behaviors in Chinese and American societies, they serve as tangible discussion points for guiding students in exploring the Chinese cultural mind. Therefore, this paper utilizes Chinese-American cross-cultural films as a springboard to analyze four key themes reflective of the Chinese cultural mind as depicted in the films (i.e., collectivism vs individualism, saving face, filial piety, and the role of women) and discusses pedagogical implications for cultural instruction, especially the teaching of cultural perspectives or cultural mind in the Chinese language classroom.
摘要
在过去的二十年里，外语教学领域已经充分认识到文化心理教学的重要性。同时，外语教师和学者也意识到文化心理教学难度很大因为文化心理本身很抽象、看不见摸不着。中美跨文化题材的电影通常聚焦中美文化差异以及文化冲突，而这些差异和冲突往往是由内在的中美文化心理导致的，所以这类题材的电影为引导学生探究文化心理提供了具体的讨论素材。这篇文章利用中美跨文化电影为跳板，深入分析电影中渗透的四大华人文化心理，包括集体主义/个人主义、面子问题、孝道以及女性角色，并探讨了如何在中文课堂中采用这些电影和分析进行文化教学，尤其是文化心理教学。
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.An overview of Chinese-American cross-cultural films
  • 3.Key themes in Chinese-American cross-cultural films
    • 3.1Individualism vs. collectivism
    • 3.2Saving face
    • 3.3Filial Piety
    • 3.4The role of women
  • 4.Pedagogical implications and conclusion
  • References
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