A Study on the Cultural Representation in the Compulsory Textbooks of High School English_Vol. 3 No. 2 (JHET 2026)_Journal of Higher Education Teaching (ISSN: 3005-5776)

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A Study on the Cultural Representation in the Compulsory Textbooks of High School English

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.62517/jhet.202615206

Author(s)

Qiuyue Wang

Affiliation(s)

School of Foreign Languages, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng, Shandong, China

Abstract

Under the context of English globalization and the multicultural education requirements of the new curriculum standards, the quality of cultural representation in English textbooks is crucial for cultivating students' intercultural competence. This study focuses on the three volumes of the 2019 edition of the FLTRP High School English compulsory textbooks. Using the analytical framework developed by Zhang Hong and Li Xiaonan and employing content analysis, it investigates the characteristics of geographical distribution and type composition of cultural representations. The findings reveal: in terms of geographical distribution, common culture (38%) and native culture (30%) are dominant, while international culture (13%) accounts for a relatively low proportion; in terms of type composition, cultural products (48%) are the primary form of representation, with content on cultural communities absent, showing a progression from material to spiritual culture. The conclusions may provide references for textbook writers to balance cultural distribution and for teachers to optimize intercultural teaching, thereby helping to achieve the new curriculum standard's goal of cultivating “intercultural communication competence with both Chinese identity and international perspective.”

Keywords

Textbook Analysis; Cultural Representation; High School English; Cultural Competence; FLTRP Edition Textbooks

References

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