It is generally known that textbook is the first and the most vital tool for teachers to proceed with successful English language teaching activities. Hence, it is indispensable for all language teachers to evaluate books critically and choose a suitable textbook. This article aimed to explore the different features of two famous college English textbooks utilized in the researcher’s school of Wenshan University, Yunnan, China, in alignment with the China Standards English framework, and whether the two books satisfied local students’ needs and proficiency. It is hoped to provide an empirical example of textbook evaluation from a Chinese context and inspire local teachers to make possible improvements during evaluating and selecting a textbook. To achieve the objective, a checklist aligned with the framework and a questionnaire was utilized for the collection of comparable data. Moreover, content analysis and percentage were used during the analysis of the two textbooks and students’ perception about the textbooks, respectively. Results of the evaluation indicated that the two books are not aligned with the China Standards English framework suggested levels. Both textbook levels tend to be lower than the framework demanded levels, namely level five and six. Students also implied that the textbooks are accessible and seem not to help their language skills improvement. The recommendation is that these textbooks need to be adapted and modified for the English educational practices to suit local students’ needs and English proficiency to achieve the China Standards English suggested levels.
The study aimed to identify the features of linguistic competence, cultural awareness, thinking capacity and learning ability found in the English textbooks used in senior high school in China. This study used a qualitative approach and content analysis of the three PEP senior high school English textbooks. China’s English Curriculum Standards (CECS), established by the Ministry of Education in 2017, were used to identify the features of English Core Competencies (ECCs). The three English Compulsory textbooks were the subjects for this study. They were used as learning materials in a high school where the study was held. One research question was asked as part of the underpinning: What features of linguistic competence, cultural awareness, thinking capacity, and learning ability components were found in the English textbooks used in senior high school in China? The findings showed that linguistic competence had the highest frequency of 29%, and vocabulary ranked second at 22%. Whereas cultural awareness, Chinese culture had the highest frequency of 41%, foreign culture ranked second with 34%. Thinking capacity had the highest frequency of 48%, and critical thinking ranked second at 27%. The learning ability inquiry learning had the highest frequency of 45%, and cooperative learning ranked second at 27%. Each component has its features, but they are interrelated and integrated into each other to make up a system.
The study aimed to identify the features of linguistic competence, cultural awareness, thinking capacity and learning ability found in the English textbooks used in senior high school in China. This study used a qualitative approach and content analysis of the three PEP senior high school English textbooks. China’s English Curriculum Standards (CECS), established by the Ministry of Education in 2017, were used to identify the features of English Core Competencies (ECCs). The three English Compulsory textbooks were the subjects for this study. They were used as learning materials in a high school where the study was held. One research question was asked as part of the underpinning: What features of linguistic competence, cultural awareness, thinking capacity, and learning ability components were found in the English textbooks used in senior high school in China? The findings showed that linguistic competence had the highest frequency of 29%, and vocabulary ranked second at 22%. Whereas cultural awareness, Chinese culture had the highest frequency of 41%, foreign culture ranked second with 34%. Thinking capacity had the highest frequency of 48%, and critical thinking ranked second at 27%. The learning ability inquiry learning had the highest frequency of 45%, and cooperative learning ranked second at 27%. Each component has its features, but they are interrelated and integrated into each other to make up a system.
In translation, not only two languages but two cultures come into contact which means that translators must consider who wrote the text, when, why, for whom and who is now reading it and for what purpose. In the wake of rapid technological advances and the need to spread information quickly and efficiently, translation has grown in importance in the globalized world. So has its reliance on English in its role as a global lingua franca. English is often being used for 'interculturalizing' native languages but it is also true that English texts are written by speakers who use English as a lingua franca (ELF) with the additional consequence of local languages being incorporated into the texts. This is the linguistic hybridity used in constructing a wider view of the world. However, the prime aim of any lingua franca communication is mutual intelligibility. Saussure wrote about the contrasting principles of provincialism (ésprit de clocher) and what he termed intercourse: the need for broader communication. We can see Saussure's principles as two imperatives: the cooperative and territorial imperatives. That is to say that language change is brought about by the 'cooperative imperative' as we need to continually modify our language in order to communicate with other people. At the same time, there is the 'territorial imperative' to secure and protect our own space and sustain our separate social and individual identity. In this study, the translation of linguistic units can only be understood when considered together with the cultural contexts in which they arise, and in which they are used. Blogging in Singapore and the Philippines is part of the 'cooperative and territorial imperatives' where the use of English as a lingua franca is intertwined with translanguaging.
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