현행 중학교 2학년 영어 교과서 문화 분석

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze cultural contents in second year middle school English textbooks based on the 2015 revised national curriculum. For this research, 9 out of 13 text books were selected and analyzed based on the following three criteria: cultural topics, types of culture, and cultural backgrounds. The findings of the study area are as follows: first, The analysis of cultural topics showed that the topic of ‘daily lives of people from other different cultures’ constitutes an even higher proportion than ‘the topics of introducing Korean culture and life style,’ and ‘the differences of Korean culture from other cultures’. The analysis of types of cultures revealed that ‘behavioral culture’ took up less than the 50 percent of all cultural types. ‘Material culture’ and ‘spiritual culture’ accounted for 31.3% and 23.9%, respectively, which is higher than in previous studies. Finally, the analysis of cultural backgrounds showed that ‘universal culture’ comprises around 50 percent of the total. Other backgrounds appeared in the order of ‘non-English culture,’ ‘cultural contrasts,’ and ‘Korean culture.’ In conclusion, the current textbooks clearly contain a variety of cultural contents, allowing students to study a more diverse range of cultures. In addition, there is a greater emphasis on ‘material culture’ and ‘spiritual culture,’ compared to previous studies when including different types of cultures. Furthermore, although the proportion of ‘Korean culture’ in the textbooks increased significantly, it still comprises a low proportion of the books. Therefore, the new textbooks should provide students with various cultural backgrounds, allowing for more chances to broaden their perspectives. Based on the above findings, some suggestions are made. The current Korean middle school English textbooks need to define cultures as a whole, provide informative, practical surveys via interviews, and examine differences among many cultures in detail by providing empirical data. In addition, analyzing the current textbooks yields expanded opportunities for pedagogical implications regarding other cultures based on components of cultural material, types of cultures, and cultural background. It is expected that the results of this study could be a helpful reference for teachers in the future.