An Analysis On The Contents And Use Of Advance With English From The Perspective Of Cultural Awareness Cultivation

Language and culture are interrelated and inseparable.Language is the carrier of culture and culture enriches language.Therefore,cultural elements must be integrated in foreign language teaching so as to improve students’ comprehensive language competence.In English Curriculum Standard for Senior High School promulgated by the Ministry of Education in 2003 and 2017,cultural awareness is listed as one of the five goals of English teaching,and has been made one of the core competencies of the subject.Since textbooks of English are not only the major source where students can learn English,but also the important carrier of cultural contents which can help students improve their cultural awareness,it is thus of vital importance to study and analyze the cultural elements in English textbooks,thus providing valuable reference for textbook compilers in their textbook compilation and English teachers in their use of these textbooksAccording to the requirements on cultural knowledge in English Curriculum Standard for Senior High School(2017)and the classifications of culture proposed by Zhang Zhanyi(1990),this thesis explores the cultural elements involved in Advance with English,the major English textbooks used in Jiangsu Province.It seeks to address the following three research questions(1)What cultural elements are involved in Advance with English?(2)How do teachers and students evaluate the cultural elements in their textbooks in terms of cultural awareness cultivation?(3)How do teachers make use of the cultural elements in the textbooks to cultivate students’cultural awareness in practical teaching?In the study,qualitative study and quantitative study are both used.By referring to English Curriculum Standard for Senior High School(2017),the author explores the cultural contents in Advance with English;by conducting Questionnaire survey,the author collects feedback about the cultural contents in Advance with English from senior high school English teachers and students;by carrying out interviews on English teachers,the author investigates the teachers’ use of the cultural contents to cultivate students’ cultural awareness in practical teaching.The findings of the study are listed as follows:(1)Advance with English textbooks cover the cultural knowledge required in English Curriculum Standard for Senior High School(2017),with more emphasis on both traditional Chinese culture and world culture,on celebrity deeds in such countries as Great Britain and America,and on people’s behaviors and ways of treating others.However,cultural knowledge concerning English idioms,traditional Chinese and western festivals as well as customs is relatively few.(2)Most of the senior high school students believe that this set of textbooks covers a wide range of subjects,which are conducive to strengthening their identification of excellent culture and establishing correct values.However,only a small number of students hold positive attitude towards the role of textbooks in terms of improving their cross-cultural communication strategies.As for English teachers,they consider the cultural contents in Advance with English rich and various,but contents concerning cultural differences are not sufficient and some contents are not closely related to students’ real life.(3)From the perspective of cultivating students’ cultural awareness,the present situation of teachers’ use of cultural contents in Advance with English is not optimistic.Although most teachers are aware of the necessity and importance of cultural teaching,due attention hasn’t been paid to cultural teaching due to examination-oriented education and teachers’ lack of cultural literacy.It seems just a small number of teachers are willing to spend enough time in class talking about cultural issues or design cultural activities for students to experience and understand cultural matters.Many other teachers simply skate over the cultural contents in the textbooks.Sometimes,when they teach,they teach in a very boring way,not trying to create a favourable environment to arouse students’ interest in cultural learning and help cultivate their cultural awarenessThis study has the following implications:First,for textbook compilers,they should be aware of the importance of textbooks in the cultivation of students’ cultural awareness,and make sure that the cultural elements required in English Curriculum Standard for Senior High School(2017)are well covered in the textbooks.Second,for teachers,they should read more to update their teaching concept and to improve their cultural literacy and overall quality;they should study the Curriculum Standard so as to establish correct view about cultural teaching and can therefore pay more attention to cultural teaching both in class and after class;they should also enrich cultural learning resources by developing more school-based cultural materials.