The Shift Of Cultural Values Reflected In The English Textbooks For Chinese High School Students

China has witnessed profound social changes in every area such as economy, politics and culture etc. since the Open Door Policy. And the embodied cultural values also have experienced a dramatic shift. So this thesis is intended to make an initial exploration of the shift of cultural values communicated in high school English textbooks. The two sets of textbooks this study selects are the English textbooks for Chinese high school students which were first published in 1984 and 2003 respectively (SEFC 1984 and SEFC 2003 for short) by the People's Education Press. These two sets of textbooks are not only typical but also with a time span of almost two decades.The comparison of the cultural values reflected in the English textbooks is conducted by applying the theoretical framework of Geert Hofstede's five cultural dimensions to them. The topic and subject matter, the structure of the textbook as well as the teaching model, assessment and so on of each set of textbooks are analyzed and compared to see whether there are any differences in cultural value, or whether it can bring any enlightenment to the development and compilation of high school English textbooks. Meanwhile, a good many examples and tables are added to illustrate the differences. In order to verify the applicability of the value framework and the extent to which the results of the study can be evidenced, an interview with some high school English teachers about their personal opinions over the shift of cultural values in the textbook has been conducted. By comparing the findings of the previous analysis with that of the interview, the author finds that they are in accordance with each other to a great extent. The cultural values communicated in the English textbooks for high school students do have undergone a remarkable shift. Finally, the author also points out some limitations of the study and puts forward some suggestions for further research.