On the Integration of Excellent Traditional Chinese Culture into Public English Teaching in Higher Vocational Colleges in China

Abstract

This research adopts a mixed-methods approach (structured questionnaire survey of public English teachers from some key vocational colleges in Jiangxi province in China, semi-structured interviews with public English department directors, literature review, and inductive analysis) to explore effective pathways for integrating excellent traditional Chinese culture into public English teaching in higher vocational colleges and address implementation dilemmas. It finds out that the integration is essential for fostering students’ cultural confidence, safeguarding national cultural identity, and meeting the talent development objectives outlined in the English Curriculum Standards for Higher Vocational Education (2021 Edition). However, current challenges include limited awareness and competence among public English teachers regarding cultural education, fragmented and superficial inclusion of traditional cultural elements in teaching materials, and teaching practices that are often formalistic and ineffective. To address these issues, it is crucial to promote collaboration among governments, colleges, teaching staff to explore cultural resources and develop diversified teaching materials, strengthen teacher training to improve their capacity for cultural integration, and innovate classroom instruction through the expansion of extracurricular and "cloud classroom" learning platforms. Given their effectiveness, these measures are recommended to enhance cultural integration efficacy and ultimately achieve the talent cultivation goals outlined in the New Curriculum Standards.