2009 개정 교육과정에 따른 중학교 2학년 영어교과서 삽화의 문화적 요소 분석

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine cultural aspects which were based on visuals in Korean middle school English textbooks. To achieve this purpose, 10 middle school English textbooks for second year based on the 2009 Revised Curriculum were selected. The visuals in the textbooks were analyzed according to the five criteria related to cultural elements. First, visuals were categorized by big C Culture and little c culture. Second, the visuals were analyzed and broken down into five categories according to cultural backgrounds; Korean culture, British and American cultures, other cultures, comparing and contrasting cultures, and universal cultures. Third, 19 topics stipulated in the Revised Curriculum were used to analyze the visuals. Fourth, visuals were categorized into language skills, i.e. listening, speaking, reading, and writing, to see how cultural elements were distributed in the visuals. The last criterion for the analysis was the cultural distribution in the cultural corners where various cultures were introduced in the textbooks.

The findings of this study were as follows. First, there were more visuals which expressed little c culture than those that expressed big C Culture. The textbooks analyzed seem to focus on how students can most effectively acquire the given knowledge through English. Little c culture could be easier for the second year middle school students to understand than big C Culture which includes literature, art, and music. Second, universal cultures had the highest ratio in cultural backgrounds in every textbook. However, the ratio of Korean culture, British and American cultures, other cultures, and comparing and contrasting cultures appeared to be diverse among the textbooks. The explanation for this result could be that they are useful in helping students understand the cultures without compunction rather than other cultures. Third, the most frequent topic shown in the visuals about culture was Topic 8, which shows daily lives of people in various cultures although the differences exist among the textbooks. It seems that the textbook writers tried to introduce cultures using the topics which students can compare the cultures in the textbooks with their own and become interested in them. Fourth, with regard to the language skills, reading was found to have the most varied cultural visuals. The textbook writers might have considered this skill to be apt to introduce the cultures through many kinds of stories, so visuals are also meant to be various. All aspects of cultural distribution of visuals between the aforementioned analysis and the language skills were similar. However, there existed subtle differences among language skills regarding ways of cultures. Lastly, every cultural corner in the textbooks appeared to be different in number and proportion. In cultural backgrounds, the number of comparing and contrasting cultures ranked the second highest next to universal cultures. It seems to show the writers’ perspectives toward the importance of cultures.

Based on the above results, the following suggestions are made. First, more studies about the relationship between cultures and visuals are needed as visuals play an important role in the textbooks, and they have gradually gained more importance in helping students learn about and understand other cultures. Studying the visuals in relation to cultures will be meaningful in that sense. Second, we have learned that more studies on how visuals can affect students’ learning of the English language and its culture more effectively are needed, and this is expected to improve the quality of the textbooks for them.