Analysis Of Chinese Culture Contents In English Textbook

Cross-cultural communication is a two-way communication, which includes foreign culture input and Chinese culture output as well. Meanwhile, English course is an integrity of instrumentality and humanity, which means English educators should not only improve their students’ English knowledge and skills, but also cultivate their humanistic quality. Only when they are equipped with solid English knowledge and skills as well as rich Chinese culture, can they overcome "Chinese Culture Aphasia", and use English to disseminate Chinese culture in the process of cross-cultural communication. In China, English study in school is mainly relied on the studying of English course; therefore, the ways of dealing with the English textbooks has a great influence on students’ learning.This research will make an analysis of Oxford English (Shanghai Edition) of Senior High School from the perspective of Chinese culture contents and based on the National Standard Curriculum and Syllabus. The research studies from the following aspects:from the macro aspect, the research studies the overall situation and the specific characteristics of Chinese culture contents presented in the textbook; from the micro aspect, the research makes in-depth analysis from the presentation, types, and ages to the value that the Chinese culture contents reflect in the textbook one by one in details.The findings are as follows:(1) The Oxford English (Shanghai Edition) Senior High School Textbook contains a certain amount of Chinese culture contents, and most of them are arranged in the parts of Reading and Listening. It also has the awareness of presenting Chinese culture by comparing it to other cultures, but it’s pity that Chinese culture contents are lack of repetition and deep meaning. (2) The ways of the presentation of Chinese culture contents are diverse and flexible, and the textbook pays attention to the combination of the words and pictures which enhance the learning effects. (3) The textbook shows different types of Chinese culture and it is Han culture oriented, but the arrangement of the Chinese culture is disjointed and lacks of hierarchy. (4) The textbook embodies many modern Chinese culture contents and it also presents many local culture about Shanghai. It pays attention to the inheritance between modern and traditional culture, but lacks of typical traditional culture contents. (5) The materials in the textbook reflect Chinese values concerning the views of the nature, society and ideology.According to the results, this dissertation puts forward some suggestions to the educational sector, textbook designers and teachers.