Abstract
English language education in China plays an important role as a vehicle to learn from highly developed economies, and to interact with the rest of the world. This study focuses on College English (CE), the general English courses designed for non-English major undergraduates. College English prepares undergraduates for the workplace and academic arena; more than 3.6 million new students have enrolled in CE courses yearly since 2014. Intercultural communication is viewed as a necessary ability in the workplace and academic arena worldwide, and is a major component in the College English curriculum in the policy documents that are released by the Ministry of Education. Given the significant role of CE in preparing graduates to assist with national development, the content of the curriculum receives attention from policymakers to ensure their social relevance. This chapter focuses on the cultural content in two popular series of published teaching materials for CE, including the textbooks and associated media. The theoretical basis for the study is that materials are the product of a range of social factors, and therefore reflect underlying cultural conceptualizations and values (Dubin & Olshtain in Course design: Developing programmes and materials for language learning. Cambridge University Press, 1986). The topic is significant, given the historical controversy surrounding the ambivalent attitudes towards English in Chinese education, whereby the utilitarian value associated with the language has to be balanced with the perceived dangers of importing cultural hegemony that might clash with and threaten Chinese culture (Adamson in China’s English: A history of English in Chinese education. Hong Kong University Press, 2004). The study uses content analysis based on Moran’s (Teaching culture: Perspectives in practice. Heinle, 2001) categorisations (cultural products, cultural practices, cultural perspectives, cultural communities, and cultural persons) to identify the cultural content embodied in these textbooks. The findings reveal trends that reflect the on-going tensions brought about by China’s modernization and international development, and the conservation of traditional values.
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Appendix A: Technical Details of Syllabus, Textbooks and CET
Appendix A: Technical Details of Syllabus, Textbooks and CET
Type | Title | Year | Author/Editor | Publisher |
---|---|---|---|---|
Syllabus | College English Curriculum Requirements (For Trial Implementation) | 2004 | Department of Higher Education of Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China | Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press (Shanghai, China) |
Syllabus | College English Curriculum Requirements | 2007 | Department of Higher Education of Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China | Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press (Shanghai, China) |
The series of textbook | New Horizon College English (second edition) | 2011 | Chief editor: ZHENG Shutang | Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press |
Textbook | Reading and Writing 1 | 2011 | Main editors: ZHENG Shutang | |
Textbook | Reading and Writing 2 | 2011 | Main editors: ZHOU Guoqiang | |
Textbook | Reading and Writing 3 | 2011 | Main editors: HU Quansheng | |
Textbook | Reading and Writing 4 | 2011 | Main editors: CHEN Yongjie | |
The series of textbook | New College English (second edition) | 2014 | Chief editor: LI Yinhua | Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press (Shanghai, China) |
Textbook | Integration Course 1 Student’s Book | 2014 | Main editors: LI Yinhua, WANG Demin | |
Textbook | Integration Course 2 Student’s Book | 2014 | Main editors: LI Yinhua, XIA Guozuo | |
Textbook | Integration Course 3 Student’s Book | 2014 | Main editors: LI Yinhua, WANG Demin | |
Textbook | Integration Course 4 Student’s Book | 2014 | Main editors: LI Yinhua, XIA Guozuo | |
Test paper | 大学英语四级历年真题全析全解集中赢 [College English Test Band Four test papers with explanations] | 2015 | Main editors: ZHAO Jiankun, QU Gen, WANG Fei | China Petrochemical Press Co. LTD |
Test paper | 大学英语六级历年真题全析全解集中赢 [College English Test Band Six test papers with explanations] | 2015 | Main editors: ZHAO Jiankun, QU Gen, WANG Fei | China Petrochemical Press Co. LTD |
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Dong, L., Adamson, B. (2022). Culture in Textbooks: A Content Analysis of College English Teaching Materials. In: Xiong, T., Feng, D., Hu, G. (eds) Cultural Knowledge and Values in English Language Teaching Materials. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1935-0_6
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