Computer-Assisted Interactive Integration of Traditional Chinese Cultural Elements into College English Instruction: A Mixed-Methods Quasi-Experimental Study
- 1 School of Applied Foreign Languages, Zhejiang Yuexiu University, Shaoxing, China
Abstract
This study examines how traditional Chinese cultural elements can be integrated into college English instruction through a computer-assisted interactive design. Drawing on cultural transmission theory, language-culture interaction theory, intercultural communicative competence, and output-oriented language teaching, this study adopted a mixed-methods, quasi-experimental design that combined student questionnaires, teacher interviews, a one-semester instructional intervention, pre- and post-tests, a follow-up questionnaire, and student interviews. The participants were 91 first-year students from two intact classes and 10 college English teachers at Y University. The experimental class (n = 44) received instruction that integrated traditional cultural topics through multimodal digital input, guided cultural comparison, vocabulary and translation practice, peer interaction, and oral or written output tasks, whereas the control class (n = 47) followed regular college English instruction. The pre-investigation indicated that both students and teachers valued traditional Chinese culture, but classroom integration remained limited in content depth, task structure, and opportunities for English output. Descriptive comparison of the pre- and post-test results showed larger gains in the experimental class than in the control class in cultural vocabulary, idiom explanation, and festival-related expression. Follow-up data also indicated stronger learning interest, cultural confidence, and willingness to communicate traditional Chinese culture in English. The study proposes an optimization framework that links cultural objectives, graded content, computer-supported interaction, contextualized translation practice, and process-oriented assessment. Because the study used intact classes and mainly descriptive statistics, the findings should be interpreted as context-bound evidence rather than definitive causal proof.
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