A Comparative Study Of Reading Materials In Senior High School English Textbooks Of New And Old Versions Published By People’s Education Press

As an important carrier of classroom teaching,textbooks provide learners with language learning materials for listening,speaking,reading,and writing.As an important part of the language knowledge of the textbook,reading materials are not only a source of teaching materials for students’ reading ability cultivation,but also closely related to the development of other language skills.Therefore,the selection and design,evaluation and analysis of textbook reading materials are of great significance to the development of students’ reading ability and the good development of classroom reading teaching.As one of the most widely used senior high school textbooks in China,the English textbook for senior high school were published by People’s Education Press in two versions in 2004 and 2019.This research is based on The General Senior High School English Curriculum Standards(2017),and at the same time,Cunningsworth’s internal evaluation of the reading text analysis framework was adopted.This research takes the reading materials of senior high school English textbooks in both old and new versions by People’s Education Press as the research objects,and uses the content analysis method and comparative analysis method,from levels of text(read topic,genre,length,language features)and practice activities design(pre-reading,while-reading,and post-reading activities)to compare the reading materials in the textbooks of two versions in seven specific aspects,analyze their differences,and explain whether the new version is more in line with The General Senior High School English Curriculum Standards(2017),with a hope to provide some meaningful reference suggestions for the future compilation and use of high school English textbooks.This study attempts to answer the following questions:(1)What are the differences between the reading materials for senior high school English textbooks of the new and old versions at the textual level(topic,genre,length,and language features)?(2)What are the differences between the reading materials for senior high school English textbooks of the new and old versions in the design of activities(pre-reading,while-reading and post-reading activities)?(3)Do the reading materials for senior high school English textbooks of the new version better reflect the requirements of The General Senior High School English Curriculum Standards(2017)?Through the research,it is found that the overall differences between the new and old versions of textbook reading materials in text and reading activity design are small.Their topic coverage,genre distribution,length,and language characteristics of the reading text are highly consistent and coherent,inheriting the experience and achievements accumulated in the development of English education in China.In contrast,the authenticity of the topics in the reading materials of the new version is stronger,and more culturally focused,the genre distribution is more balanced,and the language features are more prominent in textual concepts.At the level of reading activity design,the new version of the textbook highlights the embodiment of activity-based curriculum content in the textbook.It integrates English language listening,speaking,reading,viewing,and writing skills more effectively,and better reflects the requirements of The General Senior High School English Curriculum Standards(2017).Based on the findings of the study,the author suggests that the editors of the textbooks should follow The General Senior High School English Curriculum Standards(2017),compile and design reading materials in textbooks more specifically.Teachers should carefully analyze the teaching materials,and use the reading materials more flexibly according to the needs of students and teaching purposes.It hopes that this paper can provide some reference suggestions for the compilation and use of reading materials in textbooks,so that the reading materials in textbooks can better promote the development of English reading teaching in high schools.