Analysis on Cultural Elements in Junior Middle School English Textbooks——Taking Go for it for an Example文献综述

 2022-08-11 15:27:49

Abstract：As the world economy globalization exerts a greater influence on cultural communication, English has gained an ever-increasingly significant function in the intercultural situations. It is the characteristics of the new era that determines the English textbook, which serves as an important tool for students to learn English, has to lay emphasis on the presentation of multicultural elements, in case of negative effect of monotonous cultural orientation. Besides, textbooks should also play the role of improving students deeper understanding of Chinese excellent traditional culture and cultural self-confidence, so as to further enhance their competence to spread Chinese culture in cross-cultural communication. Selecting junior middle school textbook Go for it published by Peoplersquo;s Education Press in 2013 as the research object, this study investigates into the selection and presentation of cultural elements in the textbook according to Prof. Zhang Zhanyis cultural theory. It aims to discover the existing advantages and disadvantages in the selection and presentation of the cultural elements in the textbooks, and propose some corresponding suggestions to provide some valuable references for textbook editors and teachers.

Key words：junior middle school; English textbook; culture; Go for it

1．Literature Review

    1. Related studies on culture
      1. The definition of culture

The term “culture” usually refers to all the ways and products of the activities of human society that distinguish it from other animals. In actual research, different scholars have different definitions of culture. The American linguist Eugene A.Nida (1993) believes that culture “is the total of social beliefs and practices.”(1993: 45) He generalizes the scope of cultural content. In comparison, Tylorrsquo;s (1871) definition in Primitive Culture is more comprehensive. He believes that “the content of culture should include knowledge, beliefs, art, ethics, legal customs, and the habits of the members of society.” It not only covers the material level, but also highlights the pattern of behavior. Moreover, Beamer and Varner (2001) give a definition which points out the characteristics of culture. They believe that culture is the learned and shared view of a community about social lifersquo;s concerns, ranking what is important about appropriate things and dictating behavior.

Generally speaking, culture refers to the behaviors which are learned or shared in a community. It also refers to the norms (i.e. the usual way people in a given society behave), values (i.e. something that people in a certain society hold dear) and material objects.

      1. The definition of cultural elements

The term “cultural elements” refers to “the ways of expression in a particular culture, which is closely related to the ecological environment, material life, spiritual life, customs and religion of a nation” (Newmark, 1988). They are the basic elements contained in culture and can be classified into different categories. It has been stated before that culture is a deposit of history and creative activity of a society, and it is peculiar to a community covering the cultural elements including 'knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society' (Tylor, 1871). Besides, the cultural elements proposed by Samovar and Porter (2009) includes “knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, actions, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles spatial relations, concepts of the universe and artifacts by a group of people in the course of generations through individuals and group striving.'

To sum up, although different scholars classify culture into different categories, they hold the same opinion that cultural elements contain various cultural elements, which are the specific and sensible expressions of a particular culture and show in human society.

      1. The relationship between language and culture

Culture and language are inseparable. Being used as the major means to carry out social life, language is associated with culture in various complex ways when it is used for communication.

Brown (2002) holds the opinion that language belongs to a part of culture, and culture is also a part of language. He emphasizes that language and culture exist interdependently, and they organically infiltrate each other. Language is not only the manifestation of culture, but also a part of culture. While culture restricts the form of language, it continuously inputs its essence into the language, reflecting the cultural connotation of language.

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