A Text-based Analysis Of Culture Representation In English Testing Materials

Under the background of globalization,the communication between countries is getting closer and closer,and the ability of cross-cultural communication is becoming more and more important.As an international lingua franca,English plays an important role in cross-cultural communication,and language is a tool of communication,reflecting and transmitting culture.Therefore,the transmission of culture and the cultivation of cultural awareness and intercultural communicative competence should be reflected in English teaching.Testing can bring washback effects to teaching,lead the focus of teaching,and promote the effect of teaching.As an important language testing in China,the washback effects of college entrance examination can have a great impact on teaching.However,by literature review,it is found that there have been few studies on English text materials of college entrance examination,and at present there has been no relevant literature on culture representation of text materials in English testing.Based on theories and viewpoints of "English and its culture","English testing and culture" and "washback effects of English testing",this paper adopts the methods of literature research,text analysis and statistical analysis and mainly discusses culture representation of English text materials of college entrance examination in the four provinces of central and western China.The specific issues studied are as follows:What is the status quo of culture representation of text materials of college entrance examination in the four provinces of central and western China? How are the types of cultural content embodied in text materials of college entrance examination in the four provinces? How are the cultural regional types of text materials distributed in college entrance examination in the four provinces? Are there any problems in culture representation of text materials of college entrance examination? What are these problems? What is the washback effects on English testing and teaching in senior high schools?According to the analysis,it is found that there are few text materials reflecting culture,while the Chinese reading materials of college entrance examination of English in Shanxi and Hunan provinces do not involve culture at all.In addition,the distribution of text materials which reflect culture is uneven,mainly in reading materials,and the proportion of listening materials and Chinese reading materials is small.The text materials reflecting culture of college entrance examination in the four provinces do not reflect the diversity of cultural content and cultural region.Cultural content is mainly concentrated in the type of lifestyle,and the proportion of different types of cultural content is unbalanced;The distribution of the regional types is also unbalanced,mainly concentrated in the English inner circle culture,and outer circle culture accounts for the smallest proportion.What’s more,it is worth noting that the English materials of college entrance examination in Hunan do not reflect the Chinese culture.Based on the above findings,this study gives some suggestions to explore how to improve the compilation and selection of English text materials in college entrance examination and cultural teaching in English teaching,so as to promote the cultivation of students’ cultural awareness and intercultural communication.