Evaluation Of The Cultural Content In The College English Textbooks

In recent years, the teaching of culture has become an increasingly importantaspect of foreign-language instruction. Many editors try to incorporate it in thedesign of textbooks, which have long played a central role in classroominstruction. This paper offers insight into the cultural content of two series nowwidely used in college English teaching in China. It is hoped that the study willprovide textbook editors with useful criticism and suggestions.The series analyzed are College English (New), 2001, edited by Li Yinhua etal. and published by the Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press;and NewCollege English, 1999, edited by Zhejiang University and published by theForeign Language Teaching and Research Press. Book 1 of each series is chosenas a representative sample for analysis.The paper utilizes Byram's criteria for textbook evaluation to identify andclassify the cultural content in the two textbooks. An attempt is made to determinethe overall cultural picture presented in each textbook. Hohn's theory is thenapplied to evaluate the treatment of cultural content. Both series rely on originalmaterial from the target cultures to show features of the cultures of variousEnglish-speaking societies. However, the two textbooks differ in their content andthe treatment of the cultural material. The paper also discusses the culture-blindcontent and the weaknesses in the treatment of culture.