A Study on the Integration of “Sitcom-Based” Teaching Methodology into Junior High School English Classroom from the Perspective of Cross-Cultural Thinking Education

Cross-cultural thinking competence is defined as a multi-competency based on cross-cultural competence and critical thinking, which assists students in making cultural choices in cross-cultural situations by utilizing critical thinking skills. The application of this competency to English teaching aligns with the requirements set forth by the integration of ideological and political education. In light of this, the thesis used cross-cultural thinking education as the theoretical guidance and the “sitcom-based” teaching method as the bridge, investigating the current level and application situation of 126 Grade eight students’ cross-cultural thinking competence and “sitcom-based” teaching acceptance through descriptive analysis while giving several suggestions. The results indicate that the critical thinking of the target students is currently in a wavering state in terms of cross-cultural thinking competence, with the academic dimension performing better than the social dimension; their overall cross-cultural competence is at a mid-to-high level, but the understanding of cross-cultural knowledge has a lot of room for improvement. For the “sitcom-based” teaching method, on the one hand, its function in cultivating students’ cross-cultural thinking competence is well-acknowledged and teachers prefer to implement it in the practical class. On the other hand, several deficiencies, such as single application form and limited resources for reference, remain. In light of this, the paper makes several recommendations, including increasing the proportion of sitcom scripts in textbooks, creating teacher support groups to develop interdisciplinary and cross-cultural curricula that use English sitcoms as integrated tools, and creating a comprehensive evaluation system for sitcom performances.