ERIC Number: EJ982338
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0159-6306
EISSN: N/A
Essence or Practice? Conflicting Cultural Values in Chinese EFL Textbooks: A Discourse Approach
Xiong, Tao
Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, v33 n4 p499-516 2012
While increasing attention is being paid to the ideological debate on Confucian-influenced cultural values communicated in Chinese language textbooks, EFL textbooks remain under-examined since the TEFL/TESOL is typically assumed to be "technical" and "neutral". Drawing on critical theoretical perspectives on curriculum, education and applied linguistics, I take the position that language textbooks need to be seen as social and cultural artifacts. By a discourse analytical approach, this study explores how cultural and moral values are constructed in textbooks by various linguistic and rhetorical resources. It is found that in such textbooks dominant cultural and moral discourses are occasionally contested and resisted by competing discourses. These conflicts and ambivalence concerning different cultural discourses highlight the possibilities of critical reading and critical pedagogy. (Contains 1 table.)
Descriptors: Applied Linguistics, English (Second Language), Moral Values, Critical Reading, Critical Theory, Textbooks, Foreign Countries, Second Language Learning, Second Language Instruction, Confucianism, Cultural Influences, Discourse Analysis, Conflict, Teaching Methods
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: China
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A