A Diachronic Study on the Integration of Chinese Culture into College English Textbooks: Evolution, Challenges, and Future Pathways

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Author: Jinglu Bi, Yufei Wang, Jiying Fan

Keywords: College English textbooks; Chinese culture; diachronic research; cultural confidence; ideological and political education in curriculum

Abstract: This study employs a diachronic research methodology to systematically analyze the integration characteristics and developmental trends of "Chinese cultural content" in university English textbooks across four distinct periods from 1980 to 2020. By examining four representative textbook series from major domestic publishers—including "College English" and "21st Century College English" —the research reveals a progressive evolution in the presentation of Chinese culture, progressing from initial absence and exploratory attempts to deepened development and systematic integration. In recent years, guided by the "curriculum-based ideological education" concept and driven by cultural confidence strategies, textbook compilation has increasingly emphasized systematic integration of Chinese cultural elements and the cultivation of cross-cultural communication competencies. The study proposes that future textbooks should achieve more balanced representation of Chinese and Western cultural content, while fully leveraging digital technologies to enhance cultural education, thereby better cultivating interdisciplinary talents with global perspectives and cultural confidence.

Article Info: Received: 18 Sep 2025; Received in revised form: 15 Oct 2025; Accepted: 19 Oct 2025; Available online: 24 Oct 2025

DOI: 10.22161/ijeel.4.5.15

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