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Representation of National Culture of USA in Textbooks of English «School of Tomorrow»
- Hits: 273
- Рубрика: SCHOOL EDUCATION
- Файл статьи: PDF
Abstract: The urgency of the question raised is determined by the fact that contemporary Russian educational system discusses the efficiency of authentic textbooks in English (written by the native speakers), which are advertised by the foreign publishing houses. Textbooks that do not meet the requirements of the Federal State Educational Standard and are not approved by the state cannot be used in teaching practice at state secondary schools, but most private linguistic schools advertise their courses saying they use only authentic textbooks, i.e. those published in the countries where the language taught is the official language. However the ideological (religional) component of a textbook is often neglected. We analyzed the textbook from the series “School of Tomorrow” from the point of view of cultural and religious values representation. These textbooks are written by Donald R. Howard, Ph.D., and E. Howard, Doctor of Christian Science, for Accelerated Christian Education project (according to the authors it has beed used in 7000 schools in 125 countries). The illustrations of the national culture and religion of the USA are analyzed. Statistical analysis of the material is undertaken, the results of which are shown in the tables. The conclusion is made that the dominance of religious information has a negative effect on culture, traditions and values representation. It is also underlined that the use of textbooks propagating religious values of one of confessions (for example baptism) may arouse suspicion of the parents who are devoted to the other religion (Orthdox, Catolicism, Muslim, etc.). We believe that a teacher may choose such textbooks only if parents agree.
Key words: Textbooks; English; methods of teaching English; illustrations; American culture; religion; religious education.
For citation
Kuchukguzel, M. M. Representation of National Culture of USA in Textbooks of English «School of Tomorrow» / M. M. Kuchukguzel, A. P. Chudinov // Pedagogical Education in Russia. – 2018. – №3. – P. 40-47.