Enhancing Cultural Awareness in Teaching Effectiveness of Situation-bound Utterances: A CSL Textbook Analysis

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 11:45 am - Gold 2
  In Roundtable Session: Discourse Analysis Across Language Education Contexts: Examining Textbooks, Policy, and Colonial Narratives

Abstract

This paper presents a textbook analysis, investigate cultural awareness through lens of Situation Bound Utterances (SBUs) in teaching Chinese as a Second Language (CSL). As prefabricated pragmatic expressions, SBUs pose significant challenges for learners due to cultural specificity and deficiency of explicit cues yet underrepresented in most CSL curricula. This paper systematically analyzes selected CSL textbooks to assess how cultural knowledge supports SBU understanding and producing. Utilizing a mixed method, the results indicate that current teaching materials insufficiently address cultural nuances in pragmatic competence. Qualitative interviews reveal that both learners and teachers acknowledge the critical role of cultural awareness in language acquisition despite cultural content inadequacy in textbooks. The findings lay the groundwork for the exploration of CSL teaching effectiveness.

Author

• Ying Kong, University at Albany - SUNY