A Study On Chinese Cultural Content In English Textbooks(FLTRP Published In 2019)of Senior High

As globalization continues apace,international cultural exchanges are becoming closer and closer,and cross-cultural communication has gradually become the focus of both research and foreign language class.The importance of cultural content is also fully demonstrated in National English Curriculum Standards for General Senior High School(2017 edition)(NECS 2017).It not only regards culture awareness as one of the four core competencies of English subject,but clearly explains the requirements for cultural knowledge in course content section.What’s more,NECS(2017)in particular emphasizes the significance of learning Chinese excellent traditional culture,revolutionary culture and advanced socialist culture.It indicates that cultural exchange is a two-way process.For students,it is necessary to spread and carry forward excellent Chinese culture while understanding the western culture at the same time.English textbooks,as the important teaching material in foreign language classroom,play a nonnegligible role in culture teaching and the cultivation of culture awareness.This study selects three textbooks belonging to compulsory series of senior high school published by Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press(FLTRP)in2019 as the research subject.The method of text analysis is adopted to analyze Chinese cultural content in textbooks from three perspectives.First of all,the distribution is studied and analyzed.By studying the proportion of Chinese culture overall and its distribution in each section of textbooks,it can be inferred whether the distribution is balanced.Secondly,this study explores the presentation types of Chinese culture to see whether the types are abundant.Finally,cultural themes of Chinese culture are investigated based on Byram’s criteria.The major findings are as follows.(1)Chinese cultural content is not very rich and the distribution is not very balanced.Overall speaking,the proportion of Chinese culture is comparatively less than other culture and target culture.When it comes to Chinese culture in each section,it is found that Chinese cultural content is mainly distributed in using language section and the writing part of developing ideas section.However,it is insufficient in reading part and project section.(2)Chinese culture is presented through various presentation types,mostly in the form of picture combined with text.(3)Chinese cultural content covers various cultural themes.However,it is not sufficient and thorough in some themes,such as social interaction and etiquette.Finally,given the findings discussed above,several suggestions and reference will be offered to textbook compliers and senior high school English teachers.First of all,it is suggested that textbook compliers should appropriately add more Chinese cultural elements in reading part,and also supplement Chinese culture which can reflect on national identity,such as social interaction,state institutions,historical and contemporary events and so on.For English teachers,it is necessary to understand the distribution and constitution of Chinese cultural content in textbooks so that they can use and develop it in English class creatively.Moreover,teachers are suggested to create more opportunities for students to express and communicate combined with Chinese culture.What’s more,teachers should also combine modern media with various presentation of Chinese culture in textbooks to conduct cultural teaching under the guidance of new concept.