English textbooks published in China

By Xi Li

In December 2023, Warwick ELT Archive received a generous gift of eight English textbooks published in China in the 1980s from a friend of the ELT Archive, Simon Smith, including six textbooks for junior high school pupils (初级中学课本 英语 English Textbook for junior high school) and two textbooks for senior high school pupils (全日制十年制学校高中英语课本 Senior High School Textbook-English), which were published by People’s Education Press and used nationwide. We are very appreciative of this contribution, which supports a current Warwick ELT Archive initiative to systematically collect, and catalogue English textbooks used in China from 1949 to the early 2000s.

This endeavor focuses on establishing a comprehensive China English textbook collection, a supportive resource for delving into the history of English language education in China. Once complete, this corpus will provide splendid primary source material for PhD and MA students in the Department of Applied Linguistics with a keen interest in researching the history of English language education. As we continue our efforts, the textbooks we acquire will be added to the Warwick ELT Archive catalogue.

This collaborative undertaking is spearheaded by a dynamic group of young researchers deeply passionate about the historical development of English language education in China. Within this HELE-China group at Warwick, we are actively engaged in research, exploring topics such as comparisons between English and Chinese language teaching and research in China prior to the 20th century, as well as research into the development of textbooks. Using the textbooks we collect, we aspire to develop diverse research avenues and methodologies for further exploration.

Xi Li : 12 Jan 2024 00:45 |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem