Home Promoting the formation of environmental awareness in children: the representation of nature in Chinese language textbooks
Article Open Access

Promoting the formation of environmental awareness in children: the representation of nature in Chinese language textbooks

  • Jingxue Ma EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: September 8, 2023

Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the integration of environmental education into language education. Drawing inspiration from Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), our focus lies on examining the kinds of participants in material processes in texts carefully chosen from a collection of widely utilized primary school Chinese language textbooks. We pay particular attention to the power and activity hierarchy of participants, to understand how these texts represent nature and the interconnections between fundamental elements in nature. Our findings reveal that these textbooks, through age-appropriate content, are deliberately crafted to instill environmental knowledge in young learners, nurture their ecological awareness and inspire actions aimed at safeguarding the delicate ecosystems that sustain all life forms.

1 Introduction

The global community is currently confronted with a multitude of pressing environmental issues, and it is widely acknowledged that concerted efforts must be taken to address these challenges. Previous studies highlight that early exposure to environmental education is vital for cultivating lifelong environmental awareness (Chawla 2007, 2009; Iliopoulou 2018), and school-based education represents a critical means of disseminating environmental knowledge and concepts to young learners (Derevenskaia 2014; Eames et al. 2008; Jeronen et al. 2009). China has long recognized the paramount significance of instilling environmental awareness among its younger generations. In 1978, the officially launched Key Points of Environmental Protection Work outlined the need for formulating environmental protection laws and regulations and increasing the teaching content of environmental protection in primary and middle schools (Li 2005: 28). In 1979, the Environmental Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China (Trial) was enacted, noting that China would publicize scientific knowledge of environmental protection. Following this legislation, the People’s Education Press released several primary and middle school textbooks that feature the inclusion of environmental education content (Li 2005: 28). During this same period, the Environmental Education Development Plan (Draft) was devised to integrate environmental education into national educational schemes, thereby fortifying the position of environmental education in China (Li 2005: 29).

Throughout the ensuing decades, environmental preservation has steadfastly remained a significant tenet of China’s national policy, exerting a profound influence on the educational pursuits of the nation. A testament to this commitment can be found in the Guidelines for the Implementation of Environmental Education in Primary and Secondary Schools (Trial) (MOE 2003) which states that strengthening environmental education in primary and middle schools is not only the fundamental task of implementing China’s basic national policy on environmental protection, but also a foundational project for enhancing the environmental awareness of the entire nation by nurturing qualified talents for the 21st century. This study evaluates if and how a widely used version of primary school Chinese language textbooks popularizes and promotes “beneficial stories” (Stibbe 2015: 222) for the ecosystem by analysing the representation of major elements in nature and their relationships in the data under the guidance of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL). Any evaluation needs to be based on certain standards and principles. In the context of ecological discourse analysis, these standards and principles are referred to as ecosophy. This study predominantly derives inspiration from the ecosophy of “diversity and harmony, interaction and coexistence” (He and Liu 2020; He and Wei 2018), and embraces an ecosophy that advocates for the harmonious coexistence of all life forms in a good environment, opposing the human-centred mindset and promoting equal status among them.

2 Literature review

Environmental education research started to gain momentum in the late 1970s and the 1980s, as noted by Palmer (1998: 102). Over the years, numerous enquiries have been conducted in the realm of school-based environmental education, contributing significantly to our comprehension of this domain. Some of these enquiries (e.g. Maley 2022; Nagra 2010) have focused on topics such as educators’ environmental awareness, education knowledge, and teaching efficacy, as well as school-based environmental education practices, methods, and outcomes in various nations or regions. Moreover, other enquiries (e.g. Ardoin et al. 2018; Bonnett 2007; Neal and Palmer 2003) have centred on the development of environmental education research, such as research trends and limitations in this domain. Despite the valuable insights gained from prior investigations on school-based environmental education, the environmental concerns within educational discourses have received less scrutiny from a linguistic perspective.

Textbooks are often regarded as official, authoritative, accurate, and reliable materials for teaching and learning (Dove 1998; Fuchs and Bock 2018; Hickman and Porfilio 2012; Pinto 2007). Some works (Apple 1985, 1992, 1996; Apple and Christian-Smith 1991) have analysed the content of the textbooks concerning the political climate of the time, and their works have drawn the attention of scholars to sociocultural elements in textbooks. Bernstein (2000: 4) argues that pedagogic discourse is “a carrier of power relations external to the school, a carrier of patterns of dominance with respect to class, patriarchy, and race”. van Dijk (2004) states that forms of educational discourse such as lessons and textbooks play a vital role in the reproduction of society and culture, and the aims of the launching of official textbooks include popularizing standard knowledge in society and culture and the reproduction of dominant ideologies. These studies acknowledge that textbooks are the pillars of teaching and learning in school-based education and they are carriers of dominant ideologies in societies. Prior sociocultural research on textbooks has predominantly focused on issues related to gender, ideology, and racism, with comparatively a limited number of studies centring on environmental issues in textbooks (Erfani 2012; Gugssa et al. 2021; Srbinovski 2013), particularly in the context of Chinese language textbooks (Curdt-Christiansen 2021; He and Shen 2023).

In recent times, ecolinguistics has witnessed a significant upsurge, propelled by the pursuit of exploring the intricate bond between the environment and language, guided by certain underlying values. Currently, ecolinguistics encompasses two prominent models: Haugen’s model, which delves into the influence of the environment on language, and Halliday’s model, which centres on the examination of how language impacts the environment (He 2021; Penz and Fill 2022; Zhou 2021). SFL holds that language not only construes human experience but also enacts interpersonal relationships. Education itself is a language activity, involving both human experience and interpersonal relationships. Following the Hallidayan model, Stibbe has published several works, discussing the role of ecolinguistics in human society (e.g. Stibbe 2010, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2020, 2021) and the application of ecolinguistics in discursive analysis (e.g. Alexander and Stibbe 2014; Stibbe 2001, 2004, 2012). Stibbe (2018: 165) argues that “there is little point exposing the problems with current ways of using language unless there are beneficial alternative forms of language available to move forward”. Stibbe (2015: 222) defines a beneficial story as one that aligns with the ecological philosophy of the analyst, encouraging individuals to protect the ecosystems that sustain all life, and a destructive story as one that goes against the ecosophy, or ecological philosophy, of the analyst. Goatly, in a series of articles, has explored ecological issues in texts, such as how the grammatical resources of the language can be used and developed to become more adequate for the representation of the world (Goatly 1996), the presence of environmental issues in ELT coursebooks (Jacobs and Goatly 2000) and the representation of nature in the BBC World Service (Goatly 2002). In China, many studies following the Hallidayan Model (e.g. He 2021; Huang 2016) have enriched ecolinguistics. Huang (2018b), Huang and Chen (2016), Huang and Zhao (2017) systemically introduces ecolinguistics to Chinese scholars, and these studies have greatly promoted the development of ecolinguistics in China. He Wei has contributed to ecolinguistics by discussing the status of ecolinguistics as a discipline (He and Gao 2020) and extending the transitivity system (He and Wei 2017; Zhang and He 2020), logical system (He and Cheng 2021), theme system (He and Ma 2020b), appraisal system (He and Ma 2020c; Wei 2021), engagement system (Wei and He 2019), and the cohesion and coherence theory (He and Ma 2020a) within SFL from an ecolinguistic perspective. In addition, ecolinguistics has been widely applied in the discursive analysis of various discourses by Chinese scholars (e.g. He and Zhang 2017; Huang 2018a; Huang and Chen 2016; Huang and Zhao 2017; Lu and Chang 2019; Xin and Huang 2013).

Several recently published studies have shed light on the exploration of ecological values within educational discourses and have provided valuable insights for the present study. For example, He and Shen (2023) conduct an ecolinguistic analysis of images of animals in the texts in Chinese language textbooks used in primary schools nationwide in China, uncovering that the representations of animals principally reflect a people-oriented ecological view. This study also offers important implications for the compilation and use of language textbooks. Yu and Song (2022) carry out an ecological discourse analysis of children’s picture books by looking into the complementarity between texts and images, which aims to provide insights into the ecological evaluation of children’s picture books and to provide writing strategies. Zeng and Hong (2021) uncover the attitudes and values contained in moral education textbooks used in China for primary school students by following an analysis framework based upon the Appraisal framework (Martin and White 2005) and Economou’s (2009) proposals on visual semiosis and verbal-visual intersemiosis. The relevance of the aforementioned studies to the present study is quite significant, as they have demonstrated that ecolinguistic analyses of educational discourses, when informed by SFL, can uncover the role of children’s reading materials in fostering ecological consciousness. To date, there have been a limited number of studies examining the ecological values presented in primary school Chinese language textbooks. Given the extensive influence exerted by Chinese language textbooks in primary schools across China, coupled with the substantial inclusion of ecological content within them, investigating the integration of environmental education in language education and the potential impact of these textbooks on the cultivation of children’s ecological awareness represents a valuable undertaking.

3 Theoretical foundation

3.1 Ecosophy

The concept of ecosophy was first initiated by Arne Naess in 1973. Naess (1989: 37) explains that ecosophy is a compound consisting of two elements: “eco-” as in ecology and “-sophy” as in philosophy. Naess (1989: 41) also points out the significance of ecosophy, arguing that “without an ecosophy, ecology can provide no principles for acting, no motive for political and individual efforts”. He and Liu (2020) regard ecosophy as a guiding principle that directs investigations into the intricate connections between language and the environment within the realm of ecolinguistics.

Within Halliday’s model, Stibbe (2015: 13–16) proposes the ecosophy of “living!”, which is strongly based on values that encourage care for other people and species. Huang (2017) proposes an ecosophy which encompasses one assumption of people-orientedness and three principles, namely conscience, proximity, and regulation to guide ecological analysis of discourse and human behaviours. Based on the ecology principles, He and Wei (2018) combine the traditional Chinese culture and philosophy, including Confucianism, Daoism, and Mohism, together with modern Chinese diplomatic ideas to construct the ecosophy of “diversity and harmony, interaction and coexistence” (see Wei 2021). He and Liu (2020) develop and extend the principles of “diversity and harmony, interaction and coexistence”.

Inspired by the aforementioned ecosophies and influenced by the objectives of environmental education in China, the ecosophy in the current study espouses the notion of harmonious coexistence among all living beings. It opposes a human-centred mindset and strives to promote equal status among all life forms.

3.2 Material process in transitivity system

SFL holds that language serves three metafunctions, namely experiential metafunction, interpersonal metafunction, and textual metafunction, and that language use is a process in which language users make choices from the language system according to the context (Halliday and Matthiessen 2014: 213). From the experiential perspective, we are concerned with how language is used to represent the world, so language is seen as comprising a set of resources for referring to entities in the world and how these entities act on or relate to each other (Thompson 2008: 86). Accordingly, the transitivity system differentiates among six process types: material process, mental process, relational process, behavioural process, verbal process, and existential process, and each process type constitutes a distinct model or schema for construing a particular domain of experience as a figure of a particular kind (Halliday and Matthiessen 2014: 213). For the present study, we focus on the material process in primary school Chinese language textbooks.

Halliday and Matthiessen (2014: 224–226) have suggested that a material process is defined as “a quantum of change in the flow of events as taking place through some input of energy”. Typically, the source of energy bringing about the change is construed as Actor, while the participant at which the change is directed is Goal. Goatly’s (2002) study on the representation of nature on the BBC World Service reveals a power hierarchy of participants in material processes: Actors in transitive clauses are the most powerful, followed by Actors in intransitive clauses, while the Goals are the most passive and least powerful, and Circumstances are considered neutral and marginalized. Similarly, van Leeuwen (2008) has argued that social actors are represented as the active, dynamic forces in activity in activation, while in passivation, they are represented as undergoing the activity, or they are the receivers of the actions. Building upon these ideas and the transitivity system of SFL, this study has designed a hierarchy of power and activation in participants involved in material processes to provide a rough outline of the status of major elements in nature. This hierarchy has guided the qualitative analysis of the study to explore the representation of major elements in nature and their relationships.

4 Research design

4.1 Research questions

This study aims to investigate the integration of environmental education into language education in school-based education in China. The research questions are as follows: (1) How are the fundamental elements of nature and their intricate relationships constructed within our data? (2) How could language education potentially facilitate the fostering of children’s environmental awareness?

4.2 Data collection

The compilation of Chinese language textbooks has been conducted by People’s Education Press under the guidance of the Ministry of Education in China (Chen 2019). In 2012, the Ministry of Education in China initiated a program to update Chinese language textbooks for primary and middle school students. In addition to the primary aim of enhancing the effectiveness of primary school Chinese language textbooks in language teaching and learning, an important objective of the program is to reinforce the role of textbooks in promoting the holistic development of Chinese citizens, which encompasses a heightened ecological awareness. The revision program is guided by The Compulsory Education Chinese Curriculum Standards (2011 edition) (MOE 2011), which emphasizes the importance of fostering correct perspectives on the world, life, and values, including the imperative to love nature and safeguard the environment. For this study, data is collected from the latest version of primary school Chinese language textbooks published by People’s Education Press, which have been adopted by all primary schools across China since 2019. This widespread adoption has enabled these textbooks to have a profound and far-reaching impact on Chinese primary school students (He and Shen 2023).

Data for the present research are selected from the aforementioned primary school Chinese language textbooks based on the following standard enlightened by the concept of an ecosystem (Odum 1969; Odum and Barrett 1971; Tansley 1935). According to Odum (1969), the ecosystem is regarded as a biological entity comprising the entirety of organisms within a specific geographical region, commonly referred to as a community, and their dynamic interactions with the surrounding physical environment. This argument of ecosystem views the world as the physical environment and organisms living in the environment. Based on this definition, texts concerning the physical environment, animals, plants and human beings and their relationships are selected from the primary school Chinese language textbooks, and a corpus of environmental texts is built with a total word count of 42,364 Chinese characters.

4.3 Data annotation

The data for the present study is annotated as follows. The primary school Chinese language textbook for the first semester of Grade One is labelled as 1a, while the textbook for the second semester of Grade One is labelled as 1b. Consequently, the entire set of twelve textbooks is labelled sequentially from 1a to 6b. To account for the various categories of participants featured in these texts, the UAM Corpus Tool 3.3[1] is employed to assign the following tags to annotate participants involved in the material processes within the corpus for this study.

  • Actor (PE) = physical environment as an Actor

  • Actor (HB) = a human being as an Actor

  • Actor (PL) = a plant as an Actor

  • Actor (AN) = an animal as an Actor

  • Goal (PE) = physical environment as a Goal

  • Goal (HB) = a human being as a Goal

  • Goal (PL) = a plant as a Goal

  • Goal (AN) = an animal as a Goal

Statistics drawn from the manual annotation of the data are applied to the analysis of linguistic features of the environmental texts in the corpus. The analysis is conducted first to reveal the representation of elements in nature and their relationships and then to discuss the educational functions of the primary school Chinese language textbooks in raising students’ environmental awareness and the reflection of the ecosophy of the present study.

5 Analysis and discussion

5.1 Data summary

Assisted by the UAM Corpus Tool 3.3, the results of the manual annotation of the corpus are shown in Table 1.

Table 1:

Frequencies of differenct grammatical functions of elements in nature.

Feature Frequency Total
Actor (PE) 263 1,274
Actor (HB) 292
Actor (PL) 211
Actor (AN) 508
Goal (PE) 128 443
Goal (HB) 30
Goal (PL) 159
Goal (AN) 126

As shown in Table 1, there are 1,717 participants identified in the corpus where Actors outnumber Goals in general. Table 2 shows the statistics listed in accordance with the category of participants. As shown in Table 2, animals enjoy the largest presence including both Actors and Goals, followed by the physical environment, plants, and human beings.

Table 2:

Frequencies of different categories of participants in material processes.

Types Frequency
Animal Physical environment Plant Human being
Actor 508 263 211 292
Goal 126 128 159 30
Total 634 391 370 322

5.2 The power and activation hierarchy of major elements in nature

Based on arguments (Goatly 2002; van Leeuwen 2008) on power and activation reflected in participants in material processes, Actors are generally supposed to be more powerful and active than Goals in material processes. Assigning a plus score of 1 to Actors and a minus score of 1 to Goals, the Actors reveal positive values for animals (+508), the physical environment (+263), plants (+211), and human beings (+292). Conversely, the Goals showcase negative values for animals (−126), the physical environment (−128), plants (−159), and human beings (−30). By summing the positive and negative values within each category, the total values for animals, the physical environment, plants, and human beings are determined as +382, +135, +52, and +262 respectively as shown in Table 3. A larger positive value indicates a higher level within the power and activation hierarchy of the major elements in nature (see Figure 1).

Table 3:

Scores of participants in material processes.

Types Score
Animal Physical environment Plant Human being
Actor +508 +263 +211 +292
Goal −126 −128 −159 −30
Total +382 +135 +52 +262
Figure 1: 
The power and activation hierarchy of major elements in nature.
Figure 1:

The power and activation hierarchy of major elements in nature.

5.3 The representation of animals

As shown in the power and activation hierarchy detailed in Figure 1, it is noteworthy that animals feature prominently in data, manifesting the salience of these animals as major constituents of the natural world. This conspicuous presence of animals, both as individual entities and as parts of ecological systems, highlights their fundamental role in sustaining the ecological balance of the planet. Animals are consistently portrayed as active agents with volition, rather than as passive entities. This portrayal is achieved through the frequent use of intransitive clauses in the depiction of the movements of various types of animals. Such clauses highlight the inherent agency and self-motivation of animals, conveying a sense of their autonomy and independence. For instance,

(1)
小兔小兔 [actor] 轻轻 [process: material], 小狗小狗 [actor] 慢慢 [process: material]。(Textbook 1a)
Xiaotu xiaotu qingqing tiao, xiaogou xiaogou manman pao.
‘The little rabbit jumps gently and the little puppy runs slowly.’
(2)
[actor] 会 [process: material]······ [actor] 会 [process: material]。(Textbook 1a)
Niao hui fei … Yu hui you.
‘Birds can fly … Fishes can swim.’
(3)
松鼠 [actor] 经常在高处活动 [process: material]。(Textbook 5a)
Songshu jingchang zai gaochu huodong.
‘Squirrels often move at high places.’

The intransitive clauses in the previous examples illustrate that animals are depicted as existing in a state of tranquillity and security. Such a mindset can inspire ecological behaviours in humans, urging them to safeguard the environmental structures that support both human and non-human life (Virdis 2022). The aforementioned examples construct beneficial stories that depict a harmonious world where animals live without being hunted or disturbed by humans, or threatened by natural disasters. These narratives can be seen as imparting a message that animals have a right to their undisturbed habitats and that it is incumbent upon humans to protect these habitats. By instilling in children an appreciation for the intrinsic value of non-human life, the textbooks may be seen as promoting a broader ecological awareness and a sense of responsibility towards the natural world. The wide adoption of primary school Chinese language textbooks in China presents an opportunity for the dissemination of environmentally friendly ideas among teachers and students during the language teaching and learning process. Furthermore, the collection of primary school Chinese language textbooks introduces numerous species of animals to students, representing the abundance of life in the world. The vast array of species also underscores the “beneficial” nature of most stories in the primary school Chinese language textbooks, which shape a basic understanding of biodiversity in the minds of students. The simple clauses in Examples (1) through (3) are age-appropriate for children, which enable them to effectively comprehend and remember important information regarding animals, such as their categories, physical appearances, living habits, and behavioural characteristics, thereby laying a foundation for future high-level studies of biology.

In transitive clauses where both Actors and Goals are animals, the verbal groups typically depict relationships in the ecological chain where more dominant animals exert control over weaker ones. For example,

(4)
须鲸 [actor] 主要 [process: material] 虾和小鱼 [goal]。(Textbook 5a)
Xujing zhuyao chi xia he xiaoyu.
‘Baleen whales mainly eat shrimps and small fishes.’
(5)
小小青蛙 [actor] 大眼睛, 保护 [process: material] 禾苗 [goal] [process: material] 害虫 [goal]。(Textbook 1b)
Xiaoxiao qingwa da yanjing, baohu hemiao chi haichong.
‘The big-eye little frog protects the seedlings by eating harmful insects.’

In Examples (4)–(5), the Actors are baleen whales and a frog, and the Goals are fishes, shrimps, and harmful insects. In these examples, the Actors are predators, and the Goals are their prey, reflecting two major participants in the ecological chain. Though predators look superior to prey, this relationship is not harmful to the ecosystem under most circumstances. The ecological chain is a fundamental concept in ecology and plays a critical role in maintaining a balanced ecosystem. The ecological chain describes the flow of energy and nutrients from one organism to another in an ecosystem. Each organism in the chain depends on the one before it for its survival, and this interdependence helps to regulate populations and maintain a healthy ecosystem. However, human activities such as pollution, deforestation, and overfishing can disrupt the natural balance of the ecological chain and have harmful effects on the environment. In the above examples, what might truly exert a harmful impact on the ecosystem is the term “害虫” (haichong, ‘harmful insects’) and the human-centric mentality behind the term, because certain animals that threaten crops and food supplies for humans are evaluated and even named as “harmful” beings. Accordingly, animals that can help humans to kill harmful insects are portrayed as beneficial animals, and actions to protect these animals are encouraged, as shown in Example (5). Throughout the primary school Chinese language textbooks selected for this study, the word “害虫” (haichong, ‘harmful insects’) appears nine times, and animals that can kill these insects, such as “燕子” (yanzi, ‘swallow’), “啄木鸟” (zhuomuniao, ‘woodpecker’), “青蛙” (qingwa, ‘frog’), and “七星瓢虫” (qixing piaochong, ‘seven-star ladybug’) are introduced as beneficial animals. This perspective could lead to the use of harmful pesticides or other methods to eradicate these so-called “harmful” organisms, which could disrupt the balance of the ecosystem and harm other organisms that depend on them. Additionally, it can contribute to a lack of understanding and appreciation for the important role that these organisms play in the ecosystem.

According to Gaston and Spicer (2004: 3), biodiversity refers to the variety of life at all levels of biological organization. Gaston and Spicer (2004: 10–135) also argue that humans have had a strong negative impact on biodiversity. The issue of species extinction is a pressing concern within the field of ecolinguistics. Goatly (2022b: 297) has argued that all species have an inherent right to exist, regardless of whether or not they provide services to human beings. This unequal status of animals and humans may lead to human control of other species and ultimately, the entire world (Virdis 2022). Therefore, it is crucial that these destructive elements be either eliminated or rewritten in the primary school Chinese language textbooks. Failure to do so could potentially mislead young learners, just as it has done with many individuals in older generations.

In the primary school Chinese language textbooks, animals are frequently personalized with human actions and characteristics being attributed to them in many of the beneficial stories. Stibbe (2015: 165–169) argues that personalizing, individualizing, and foregrounding animals in clauses can activate them and make them more prominent in the minds of readers. This, in turn, can convey the message that animals are significant and deserving of attention, which could potentially lead to more compassionate treatment of them. Furthermore, Goatly (2022a) suggests that personification blurs the boundary between humans and animals, implying an intimate connection between them. Instances of personification and individualization in the primary school Chinese language textbooks help to achieve specific rhetorical effects and draw attention to animals. The pervasive use of personification in the data serves to construct a close relationship between humans and animals. For instance,

(6)
蚯蚓 [actor] 土里 [process: material] 宫殿 [goal]。(Textbook 1b)
Qiuyin tu li zao gongdian.
‘The earthworms build palaces in the soil.’
(7)
小白兔 [actor] 弯着腰在山坡上 [process: material] [goal]。 (Textbook 1a)
Xiao baitu wanzhe yao zai shanpo shang ge cao.
‘The little white rabbit cuts grass on the hillside with its waist bent down.’
(8)
小刺猬 [actor], [process: material] 理发。(Textbook 1b)
Xiao ciwei qu lifa.
‘The little hedgehog goes for a haircut.’

In Example (6), the construction of living space is metaphorically portrayed as the construction of palaces. In Example (7), the rabbit is depicted not as “eating” the grass but “cutting” it, as a human would. Such personification and individualization of animals help to make the narratives vivid and engaging, increasing the enjoyment of reading for children. Simultaneously, personification is a powerful tool in creating a world where animals are equal to human beings, by attributing to them human actions and thoughts. Animals are not portrayed as mere appendages to humans but as having independent lives similar to those of humans. In Example (8), the hedgehog’s action appears more socialized compared to the actions of the earthworms and the rabbit, for the action of going for a haircut is exclusively human. This blurring of boundaries between animals and human beings raises the status of animals in the power hierarchy.

In addition to endowing animals with human actions through verbal groups, many beneficial stories in the primary school Chinese language textbooks utilize the technique of naming animals as human beings to further personalize and individualize them. As Stibbe (2015: 166) contends, “naming is merely one aspect of individualization, whereby individuals are portrayed as distinctive and inimitable, as opposed to homogenization, where individuals are indistinguishable components of a larger group or mass”. The following example showcases the implementation of personification, individualization, and naming in foregrounding animals in material processes.

(9)
长颈鹿大叔 [actor] 给鼹鼠先生 [process: material] 来了一个包裹 [goal]······鼹鼠先生 [actor] 赶紧骑着 [process: material] 摩托车 [goal]······刺猬太太 [actor] 走出门······狐狸太太 [actor] 走出门。(Textbook 2b)
Changjinglu dashu gei yanshu xiansheng ji lai le yi ge baoguo … yanshu xiansheng ganjin qizhe motuoche … ciwei taitai zou chu men … huli taitai zou chu men.
‘Uncle Giraffe posted a package to Mr. Mole … Mr. Mole hurriedly rode his motorcycle to the post office to pick up the package … Mrs. Hedgehog walked out the door … Mrs. Fox walked out the door.’

Example (9) portrays animals as active agents, performing actions that are typically associated with human beings, such as “posting a package” and “riding a motorcycle”. These actions are more socialized and suggest a higher level of civilization and culture, as compared to the basic movement of “walking”. Moreover, animals are named as “Uncle Giraffe”, “Mr. Mole”, “Mrs. Hedgehog”, and “Mrs. Fox”, which endows them with social status and interpersonal relations as human beings. Through the use of these literary techniques, animals in the primary school Chinese language textbooks are portrayed as equals to human beings, suggesting that they possess emotions and feelings similar to humans. Consequently, they are presented as deserving respect and compassion in their treatment.

In a broader sense, animals often find themselves immersed in a realm of dominance within their interactions with other elements in nature; however, their interactions with humans warrant particular scrutiny. The portrayal of relationships between humans and animals is mostly positive, as exemplified in Example (10). However, there are a few instances where the depiction of such relationships seems traditional or normative, which may not align with current ecological ideas and could have negative impacts on children, as shown in Example (11) and Example (12).

(10)
[actor] 爱护 [process: material] 小青蛙 [goal]。(Textbook 1b)
Qing ni aihu xiao qingwa.
‘Please take good care of the little frog.’
(11)
[goal], 乡下人家 [actor] 照例总要 [process: material] 几只的。(Textbook 4b)
Ji, xiangxia renjia zhaoli zong yao yang jizhi de.
‘Country families always keep a few chickens as a routine.’
(12)
孩子们 [actor] 也在这里 [process: material] 小松鼠 [goal]······ [process: material] 红蜻蜓 [goal], [process: material] 绿蝈蝈 [goal]。 (Textbook 2b)
Haizimen ye zai zheli dou xiao songshu … zhuo hong qingting, dai lv guoguo.
‘Children tease squirrels … catch red dragonflies and green crickets here.’

Example (10) serves to encourage humans to protect animals by conveying a clear message that creatures such as little frogs deserve to be cared for, in which case a harmonious human–animal relationship is constructed. In contrast, the relationships constructed in Examples (11) and (12) reflect unequal positions of humans and animals. In Example (11), chickens are depicted as domesticated animals commonly kept by humans in rural households. Although the unequal human–animal relationship portrayed in this example is often taken for granted, from an ecological perspective, it is unfair to the animals who are sacrificed for human needs. Livestock breeding, while it may be a long-standing tradition, is not necessarily a morally justifiable practice. Alternative protein sources, such as soy, have a long history in China and are becoming increasingly popular even in Western countries. When portraying an unequal relationship between humans and animals, it is advisable to use a more measured tone in the primary school Chinese language textbooks. Using a careless tone in discussing the lives of animals may contribute to a careless attitude to these creatures among the general public, particularly children whose critical thinking skills have not yet been fully developed. Example (12) portrays scenes of playing games that involve capturing squirrels, dragonflies, and crickets as a fun activity. This kind of portrayal may encourage children to engage in similar actions, which is not conducive to promoting an environmentally conscious mindset. In the primary school Chinese language textbooks, it is important to carefully scrutinize depictions of destructive actions, such as treating animals as food or objects of amusement. These scenes may have the potential to harm the ecosystem and should be taken into consideration when integrating such content into textbooks for children. As such, future revisions of the primary school Chinese language textbooks should pay greater attention to the construction of the taken-for-granted relationships between humans and animals to ensure that they align with present ecological ideas.

5.4 The representation of the physical environment

The physical environment occupies the second position in terms of token frequency in material processes, as evident in Table 2. The primary school Chinese language textbooks depict the physical environment as an Actor twice as often as it is portrayed as a Goal. This suggests that the physical environment is more frequently portrayed as a powerful force rather than a vulnerable recipient in our data.

When the physical environment assumes the role of an Actor in an intransitive material clause, it typically refers to either the space environment or the earth environment. In such instances, the physical environment is characterized as an autonomous entity possessing natural power in the world, and its movements are governed by the laws of nature. For instance,

(13)
春天 [actor] [process: material] 了。(Textbook 1a)
Chuntian lai le.
‘Spring has arrived.’

The arrival of spring occurs as a result of the laws of nature, rather than the will of any other entity. Other physical environments, such as seasons, the sun, the moon, wind, rain, and snow, share similar features in their representations. Students can gain knowledge about physical environments by reading about these topics. When both Actors and Goals are physical environments in transitive clauses, it implies a mutual relationship between them without necessarily indicating a power hierarchy. In many cases, Actors and Goals are both presented as active participants, yet neither is depicted as superior or inferior to the other. Rather, they are presented as mutually influencing and coexisting in the ecosystem. Such constructions in the primary school Chinese language textbooks can help students develop a holistic view of the environment and recognize the interdependent relationships between various elements in nature. For example,

(14)
小岛 [actor] 把湖水 [goal] [process: material] 成两半。(Textbook 2a)
Xiaodao ba hushui fen cheng liangban.
‘The pond is separated by the island.’
(15)
新阳 [actor] 推开 [process: material] 了阴霾 [goal]。(Textbook 4b)
Xin yang tuikai le yinmai.
‘The rising sun broke up the haze.’

Example (14) is intended to illustrate the image of a small island located in the middle of a body of water, rather than to make an evaluation regarding which entity, the island or the pond, is more powerful. Similarly, in Example (15), while the sun is portrayed as the Actor responsible for dispersing the haze, readers tend to focus more on the visual imagery of the scene rather than pondering whether the sun is truly more powerful than the haze, as the comparison has limited significance. The inclusion of stories that depict natural landscapes and environments in the primary school Chinese language textbooks serves as a valuable tool for educating children about the natural world and fostering an appreciation for its beauty. These stories not only impart knowledge about the various features of the natural world, such as mountains, rivers, and forests but also highlight the interconnectedness and interdependence of different natural elements. Exposure to the natural world through these stories can inspire a sense of wonder and curiosity in children, motivating them to explore and learn more about the world around them.

In cases where physical environments serve as Actors and organisms serve as Goals in transitive clauses, physical environments are often depicted as formidable forces that exert various types of impacts on organisms in nature. This type of construction highlights the significant influence that physical environments can have on living organisms. It is a common strategy used in the primary school Chinese language textbooks to teach children about the complex relationships and interactions between organisms and their environments. For example,

(16)
树叶 [goal] 也经常被 [actor] [process: material] 得翻转不定。(Textbook 4a)
Shuye ye jingchang bei feng chui de fanzhuan buding.
‘Leaves are often turned over by the wind.’

In Example (16), the power of the wind is reflected in the state of the leaves. Natural powers are typically portrayed as constructive or neutral elements in nature in our data. The destructive aspects of natural powers, such as floods, earthquakes, and droughts, rarely appear in these textbooks. Probably, the relationships between physical environments and organisms are intentionally constructed as harmonious and peaceful in the texts, in order to avoid instilling fear of nature in children. This approach aligns with the ecosophy of seeking harmony between humans and nature.

As Goals in transitive clauses, physical environments usually belong to the category of landscapes, such as ponds or farmland, and are passive and subject to being acted upon, particularly in the face of human powers. In the face of humans, landscapes are often the target of human efforts to change the environment. For instance,

(17)
祖父 [actor] [process: material] [goal], [actor] 也 [process: material] [goal]。(Textbook 5b)
Zufu chan di, wo ye chan di.
‘My grandfather tilled the land and I tilled the land, too.’
(18)
我们 [actor] 要精心地保护 [process: material] 地球 [goal], 保护 [process: material] 地球的生态环境 [goal]。(Textbook 6a)
Women yao jingxin de baohu diqiu, baohu diqiu de shengtai huanjing.
‘We should carefully protect the earth and its ecological environment.’

As demonstrated in Example (17), human beings engage in a variety of activities that constantly alter the physical environment, with agricultural practices having a particularly intricate and enduring impact. In the primary school Chinese language textbooks, agricultural knowledge and scenes are represented without explicitly highlighting the negative consequences that certain agricultural activities may cause. The concept of ecological agriculture is seldom represented, either. For instance, while tillage is a traditional farming method, some tilling methods will harm the ecosystem. In the further revision of the primary school Chinese language textbooks, advanced agricultural ideas and concepts should be inserted. In Example (18), human beings hold a manipulative position towards the physical environment, implying that the well-being of the earth or the environment is contingent on human actions. Students are encouraged to adopt an environmentally friendly mentality and take action towards environmental conservation, thus echoing the ecosophy.

In numerous instances, physical environments do not function as Actors or Goals but appear in prepositional phrases as Circumstances. Typically, the Circumstance indicating location is constructed using a prepositional phrase consisting of a preposition and a nominal group, and the nominal group generally refers to a physical environment. For example,

(19)
葡萄 [goal] [process: material] 在山坡的梯田上 [circumstance]。 (Textbook 2a)
Putao Zhong zai shanpo de titian shang.
‘The grapes are planted on terraces on the hillside’
(20)
羊群 [actor] 在草原上 [circumstance] 走来走去 [process: material]。 (Textbook 2a)
Yangqun zai caoyuan shang zou lai zou qu.
‘The flock of sheep is walking on the grassland.’

In both Example (19) and Example (20), the hillside and grassland are presented as backdrops against which the lives of plants and animals unfold. In the primary school Chinese language textbooks, a variety of landscapes are featured in Circumstances that serve as backdrops for the stories. It appears that the editor deliberately enhances the prominence of descriptions of a benevolent environment, which creates a favourable atmosphere for uplifting narratives and offers numerous opportunities for teachers to engage in environmental education. Furthermore, the textbooks incorporate a broad spectrum of physical environments, which can enrich students’ knowledge of nature, laying the groundwork for further studies in environmental science and strengthening their environmental consciousness.

5.5 The representation of plants

Plants are typically portrayed as passive and inactive entities in the primary school Chinese language textbooks, as depicted in Figure 1. However, in our data, even though plants cannot actively influence other elements in the ecosystem, they are frequently depicted as lively and beautiful entities when they appear as Actors in intransitive clauses. The inclusion of plants in the primary school Chinese language textbooks fosters a delightful ambience, evoking positive emotions and cultivating an appreciation for plants among readers. For instance,

(21)
春天, 树木 [actor] 抽出 [process: material] 新的枝条, 长出 [process: material] 嫩绿的叶子。(Textbook 3a)
Chuntian, shumu chou chu xin de zhitiao, zhang chu nenlv de yezi.
‘In the spring, the trees pull out new branches and grow tender green leaves.’
(22)
芍药, 风仙, 鸡冠花, 大理菊, 它们 [actor] 依着时令, 顺序开放 [process: material]。(Textbook 4b)
Shaoyao, fenggxian, jiguanhua, daliju, tamen yizhe shiling, shunxu kaifang.
‘Peonies, wind fairies, cockscomb flowers and Dali chrysanthemums blossom in order according to the season.’

In Example (21), the vibrant growth of trees in spring is vividly portrayed, with the epithets “new” and “tender green” used to accentuate the positive qualities of the plants. In Example (22), a diverse range of healthy blooming plants are depicted without disturbance or damage. Chrzanowska-Kluczewska (2022) argues that the use of specialized vocabulary in the text can be seen as an indicator of its ecological value. As shown in Example (22), specific names of flowers such as peonies, wind fairies, cockscomb flowers, and Dali chrysanthemums are introduced to students, which is more ecologically sound than simply referring to them as “flowers”, as it demonstrates a respect for each individual plant species. The same approach is applied to animals in our data. Similarly, specialized vocabulary is used to refer to different kinds of trees in Example (23). The primary school Chinese language textbooks contain a multitude of specialized vocabulary for various types of plants, demonstrating the abundance and diversity of life on the planet. These vibrant and colourful depictions of plants leave a lasting impression on children, conveying the idea that plants are an indispensable component of nature and play a vital role in enhancing the environment. This, in turn, could help to instill a sense of responsibility towards protecting plants in children. It is widely recognized that understanding is the foundation of respect and love; thus, increasing awareness of the vast array of plant life in the world can foster a love and respect for plants, as well as an interest in botany.

Similar to the portrayal of animals, personification and individualization are also employed in the narratives of plants. For example,

(23)
松柏 [actor] 四季 [process: material] 绿装······桦树 [actor] 耐寒 [process: material] 北疆······. (Textbook 2a)
Songbai siji pi lv zhuang… huashu nai han shou bianjiang …
‘Pine trees and cypress trees wear green clothes in all four seasons … Birch trees are cold-resistant and guard the northern borders …’
(24)
蒲公英妈妈 [actor] 准备了 [process: material] 降落伞 [goal], 把 [goal] 送给 [process: material] 自己的娃娃。只要有风轻轻吹过, 孩子们 [actor] 就乘着风纷纷出发 [process: material]。(Textbook 2a)
Pugongying mama zhunbei le jiangluosan, ba ta songgei ziji de wawa. Zhiyao you feng qingqing chuiguo, haizimen jiu chengzhe feng fenfen chufa.
‘The Mother Dandelion has prepared parachutes and given them to her children. As long as there is a gentle wind blowing, her children can take off in the wind.’

In Example (23), the pine tree is characterized as an evergreen tree whose leaves retain their verdant colour throughout the year. This attribute is poetically depicted by the phrase “披绿装” (pi lv zhuang, ‘wearing green clothes’). Similarly, the cypress trees are compared to valiant soldiers who safeguard the northern borders of the country, thus extolling the trees. In Example (24), the techniques of naming and personification are jointly employed. The dandelion is personalized as “Mother Dandelion”, and the dispersal of its seeds is metaphorically recounted in a tale where mother dandelions assist their offsprings to take flight. The portrayal of plants is lucid and captivating, and these narratives could potentially inspire an appreciation for plants and foster an awareness of the need to protect them. It is worthwhile to mention that when plants are personalized, their movements or actions are comparatively limited and static, which underscores the notion that plants are not conceptualized as powerful or active beings.

In instances where plants are Goals in transitive clauses, they are predominantly impacted by other elements in nature. Despite their passive and reactive nature in relation to other elements in the primary school Chinese language textbooks, they are not portrayed as victims of harm. For instance,

(25)
树叶 [goal] 也经常被 [actor] 吹得 [process: material] 翻转不定, 被 [actor] 冲刷 [process: material] 得透湿。(Textbook 4a)
Shuye ye jingchang bei feng chuide fanzhuan buding, bei yu chongshua de toushi.
‘The leaves are also often blown over by the wind and washed wet by the rain.’

In Example (25), the Actors are the wind and the rain, which are elements of the physical environment. The relationship between plants and physical environments in the primary school Chinese language textbooks is generally depicted as neutral or harmonious. In Example (25), although plants are the bearers of actions, being washed by heavy rain and blown by the strong wind, they are not victims. In cases where the Actors are animals and the Goals are plants, the plants usually appear as food supplies for animals, for example,

(26)
[actor] 把果树 [goal] 给 [process: material] 了。(Textbook 5b)
Yang ba guoshu gei ken le.
‘The sheep nibbled on the fruit tree.’

In Example (26), the fruit tree is nibbled by the sheep. Though the nibbling poses a threat to the survival of the tree, this scene is not necessarily categorized as a destructive story because this relationship is a normal link in the biological chain and is not serious enough to jeopardize the ecosystem. It might be argued that only when the sheep population reaches a point where all the trees or grass are consumed, leading to desertification and environmental degradation can the relationship between non-animals and plants be considered imbalanced and destructive. When it comes to human–plant relationships, the primary school Chinese language textbooks deliberately include numerous tree-planting scenes to emphasize the important role of humans in plant protection. The discourse surrounding the relationship between humans and plants is often constructed with a positive tone, where humans protect and promote plant growth. For instance,

(27)
我对面这个手端一杆旱烟袋的瘦小老头 [actor], 竟创造 [process: material] 了这块绿洲 [goal]。(Textbook 6b)
Wo duimian zhe ge shou duan yi gan han yandai de shouxiao laotou, jing chuangzao le zhe kuai lvzhou.
‘The skinny old man with a cigarette bag in his hand in front of me unbelievably created this oasis.’
(28)
(他) [actor] 绿化 [process: material]了八条沟 [goal], 造了 [process: material] 七条防风林带 [goal]。(Textbook 6b)
(Ta) Lvhua le ba tiao gou, zao le qi tiao fangfengdai.
‘He planted trees in eight ditches and built seven windbreaks.’

In the aforementioned examples, a mutualistic relationship between humans and plants is established where human beings play an active role in nurturing and safeguarding the growth of plants. In Example (27), the Actor is the skinny old man who established an oasis, which is an ecologically beneficial undertaking. The Goals in Example (28) are trees and windbreaks, and the old man plays the role of the Actor who protects and nurtures them. In these instances, plants are safeguarded by human beings in a harmonious environment. These beneficial stories could facilitate the reinforcement of children’s environmental consciousness, while also serving as good illustrations of environmental protection. In contrast, the ensuing examples tell a different kind of story.

(29)
伐木人 [actor] 用斧子把它(树) [goal] 砍倒 [process: material], [process: material] 到山谷里去了。(Textbook 3a)
Famuren yong fuzi ba ta (shu) kandao, la dao shangu li qu le.
‘The loggers cut it (the tree) down with an axe and pulled it into the valley.’
(30)
[goal] 嘛, 在厂子里给 [process: material] 成细条, [process: material] 成火柴, [process: material] 到那边的村子里卖掉 [process: material] 了。(Textbook 3a)
Shu ma, zai changzi li gei qie cheng xitiao, zuo cheng huochai, yun dao nabian de cunzi li maidiao le.
‘The tree was cut into thin strips in the factory, made into matches, transported to the village over there and sold.’

In Examples (29) and (30), the Actors are human beings and the Goals are plants, and verbs in the processes are “砍倒” (kandao, ‘cutting down’), “拉” (la, ‘pulling’) and “卖掉” (maidiao, ‘being sold’), etc. In these stories, human beings exert destructive effects on plants and the environment. Plants appear passive, and their destinies are at the disposal of human beings. It could be argued that it is human beings who can choose whether to protect plants, damage plants or leave them alone, while plants are not in the position to choose. In summary, the representations of human–plant relationships are widely constructed in the primary school Chinese language textbooks, which could teach students to discriminate which actions are ecologically friendly and which are not. The unequal relationships between human beings and plants constructed in the stories provide a good opportunity for students to ponder how to act in their daily lives in their interactions with plants. The texts indicate that plants are passive beings in the face of manpower and it is the responsibility of human beings to properly manage the relationships between human beings and plants, which is a reinforcement of the ecosophy that we shall pursue harmony between men and nature.

5.6 The representation of humans

Human beings interact with animals, the physical environment, and plants in numerous ways. As demonstrated in Table 2, human beings are portrayed as Actors 292 times and as Goals only 30 times. First, in the limited interactions between human beings and animals in our data, the former dominates the latter by raising, protecting, petting, catching, playing with, or even killing them. Second, in the relationship between human beings and the physical environment, humans do not enjoy absolute superiority. Some physical environments, such as rain, wind, and snow, are portrayed as powerful, as they are not affected by any other elements in nature, while others, such as certain landscapes, are less powerful than human beings, as humans have the power and technology to change them. The impact of human activities on the physical environment can be either constructive or destructive, and both are depicted in the primary school Chinese language textbooks. Third, the relationship between human beings and plants is depicted simplistically. In the face of human beings, plants are unable to resist or fight back, which appear more passive and inactive beings than animals or the physical environment. The portrayal of human beings in the primary school Chinese language textbooks is crucial, as their actions and activities can serve as either positive or negative examples for children. Children can learn to appreciate and follow ecologically beneficial actions and identify and resist ecologically destructive activities.

Moreover, the professions of human beings in these texts could also reflect the purpose of strengthening environmental awareness in the primary school Chinese language textbooks. The word frequency of professions in our data is shown in Table 4.

Table 4:

Word frequency of professions.

Profession Word frequency
农夫 (nongfu, ‘farmer’) 9
学生 (xuesheng, ‘student’) 6
老师 (laoshi, ‘teacher’) 4
科学家 (kexuejia, ‘scientist’) 3
猎人 (lieren, ‘hunter’) 2
工人 (gongren, ‘worker’) 1
伐木人 (famuren, ‘lumberer’) 1
地质勘探队员 (dizhi kantan duiyuan, ‘geologist’) 1

The inclusion of various professions in the primary school Chinese language textbooks serves to highlight the different roles that human beings play in shaping the environment and their relationships with animals and plants. Farmers, hunters, and lumberers are among the professions that are frequently featured in the texts. Farmers engage in activities such as tilling the land, raising animals, and planting crops or fruit trees, which are essential for human survival, but not always ecologically beneficial because the way they carry out these activities could either be ecologically constructive or destructive. Hunters and lumberers are often viewed as ecologically destructive professions in contemporary society. The textbooks clearly express this attitude towards these two professions. For instance, the sentence “我真高兴, 父亲不是猎人” (wo zhen gaoxing, fuqin bushi lieren, ‘I feel happy that my father is not a hunter’) explicitly shows disapproval of hunting. The inclusion of these professions and the corresponding activities of these roles could enable educators to integrate environmental education into language education for children to discuss various human–nature relationships.

6 Conclusions

This study is guided by SFL to investigate how a collection of widely used primary school Chinese language textbooks in China contribute to environmental education. Specifically, the study has focused on material processes and explored the linguistic features of environmental texts. The quantitative analysis unveils that this compilation of textbooks acknowledges diverse participants within nature and strives to foreground non-human elements in nature, thereby challenging the human-centric mindset and echoing the ecosophy which advocates for the harmonious coexistence of all life forms in a good environment. A hierarchy based on participant analysis of material processes roughly outlines the relationships between major elements in nature and sets the direction for the qualitative analysis which elaborates on these relationships. The qualitative analysis uncovers that in the texts, animals are mainly portrayed as independent beings with free will, and in some cases, they are portrayed as equals to human beings. Natural powers are mainly depicted as mighty forces that could exert various influences on all other elements in nature, which strengthens the notion that the natural world possesses immense potency and merits utmost reverence. Plants are generally passive in their interactions with other elements in nature, and actions to nurture plants are frequently represented in the data. This embodies the significance of nurturing plants and acknowledging their profound role in the intricacies of the ecosystem. Humans exert a significant influence on other components within nature, despite their relatively limited presence in data as evidenced by the overall frequency of human Actors and Goals. The representation of major elements in nature and their relationship in these textbooks, as a whole, resonates with the ecosophy that challenges a human-centred perspective and endeavours to foster equality among all living beings.

Throughout the data, personification, individualization, naming, and specialized vocabularies are widely applied to foreground animals and plants, jointly constructing a world where non-human elements in nature hold an equal standing to that of humans. Furthermore, the vibrant depictions of the natural world and the dissemination of environmental knowledge within the textbooks possess the inherent capability to engender a deeper understanding of the intricacies of our surroundings, augmenting students’ comprehension of geography, botany, and zoology alike. Given the widespread use of these textbooks across China and their notable focus on cultivating ecological awareness, children embarking on their language learning journey may gradually develop a proactive commitment to environmental protection, a deep appreciation for natural resources, a profound admiration for the beauty of nature, and a genuine embrace of sustainable lifestyles. Nevertheless, it is imperative to acknowledge that certain topics contained within the present primary school Chinese language textbooks may still perpetuate a conventional understanding of the human–nature relationship, exhibiting remnants of a human-centric perspective. In the further revisions of these textbooks, utmost diligence should be applied to meticulously scrutinize and rectify such content. Furthermore, given that primary school Chinese language textbooks seldom provide explicit instruction on environmental conservation but rather construct a harmonious world that may influence students’ attitudes and behaviours, combined with the limited cognitive abilities of younger primary school students, it would be beneficial for educators to enhance the achievement of environmental educational goals by explicitly elaborating on the inherent ecological thinking embedded within languages.

It is worth noting that the analytical framework employed in this study is limited in scope, as it concentrates merely on material processes. Future studies could benefit from adopting a more complicated hierarchy of power among participants, as suggested by Goatly (2012) and Duan (2007) in their respective studies. Moreover, the development of environmental awareness is a gradual progression that may not yield immediate tangible results within a brief timeframe, particularly through the medium of language education. Hence, the practical efficacy of educating students with environmentally friendly content in fostering their environmental awareness is still to be tested. Despite these limitations, this study presents valuable insights into the potential role of linguistic factors in shaping children’s environmental awareness and showcases the effectiveness of SFL in unravelling power dynamics depicted within the texts. As Halliday (2003: 171–172) posits, language not only reflects reality passively but also actively constructs it and the problems of classism, growthism, destruction of species, and pollution are issues that concern not only the general public but also the linguistic community. Similarly, Huang (2016) argues that we must adopt an ecolinguistic perspective in our thinking and actions. Our language and the ecosystem are closely intertwined, and promoting harmony between humans and nature partly depends on the ecologically beneficial use of language. Hence, upon careful examination of the current study, the environmental content within educational discourses possesses the potential to function as enriching narratives to promote students’ ecological awareness.


Corresponding author: Jingxue Ma, School of International Studies, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai, China, E-mail:

References

Alexander, Richard & Arran Stibbe. 2014. From the analysis of ecological discourse to the ecological analysis of discourse. Language Sciences 41. 104–110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.langsci.2013.08.011.Search in Google Scholar

Apple, Michael W. 1985. The culture and commerce of the textbook. Journal of Curriculum Studies 17(2). 147–162. https://doi.org/10.1080/0022027850170204.Search in Google Scholar

Apple, Michael W. 1992. The text and cultural politics. Educational Researcher 21(7). 4–19. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189x021007004.Search in Google Scholar

Apple, Michael W. 1996. Power, meaning and identity: Critical sociology of education in the United States. British Journal of Sociology of Education 17(2). 125–144. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142569960170201.Search in Google Scholar

Apple, Michael W. & Linda Christian-Smith. 1991. The politics of the textbook. New York: Routledge.Search in Google Scholar

Ardoin, Nicole M., Alison W. Bowers, Noelle W. Roth & Nicole Holthuis. 2018. Environmental education and K–12 student outcomes: A review and analysis of research. The Journal of Environmental Education 49(1). 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/00958964.2017.1366155.Search in Google Scholar

Bernstein, Basil. 2000. Pedagogy, symbolic control and identity: Theory, research, critique, revised edn. Boulder: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.Search in Google Scholar

Bonnett, Michael. 2007. Environmental education and the issue of nature. Journal of Curriculum Studies 39(6). 707–721. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220270701447149.Search in Google Scholar

Chawla, Louise. 2007. Childhood experiences associated with care for the natural world: A theoretical framework for empirical results. Children Youth and Environments 17(4). 144–170. https://doi.org/10.1353/cye.2007.0010.Search in Google Scholar

Chawla, Louise. 2009. Growing up green: Becoming an agent of care for the natural world. The Journal of Developmental Processes 4(1). 6–23.Search in Google Scholar

Chen, Xian Yun. 2019. Xin zhongguo chengli yilai xiaoxue yuwen kecheng jiaocai de fazhan licheng yu sikao [The development history of primary Chinese language textbooks since the founding of People’s Republic of China and the reflections on it]. Kecheng, Jiaocai, Jiaofa [Curriculum, Teaching Material and Method] 39(12). 12–21.Search in Google Scholar

Chrzanowska-Kluczewska, Elżbieta. 2022. Lost landscapes of childhood: An ecostylistic analysis of The Issa Valley. Journal of World Languages 8(3). 486–514. https://doi.org/10.1515/jwl-2022-0031.Search in Google Scholar

Curdt-Christiansen, Xiao Lan. 2021. Environmental literacy: Raising awareness through Chinese primary education textbooks. Language, Culture and Curriculum 34(2). 147–162. https://doi.org/10.1080/07908318.2020.1797078.Search in Google Scholar

Derevenskaia, Olga. 2014. Active learning methods in environmental education of students. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences 131. 101–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.04.086.Search in Google Scholar

Dove, Marianne K. 1998. The textbook in education. The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin 64(3). 24–30.Search in Google Scholar

Duan, Jie. 2007. The discourse of disease: The representation of SARS – the China Daily and the South China Morning Post. Hong Kong: Lingnan University MA thesis.Search in Google Scholar

Eames, Chris, Bronwen Cowie & Rachel Bolstad. 2008. An evaluation of characteristics of environmental education practice in New Zealand schools. Environmental Education Research 14(1). 35–51. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504620701843343.Search in Google Scholar

Economou, Dorothy. 2009. Photos in the news: Appraisal analysis of visual semiosis and verbal-visual intersemiosis. Sydney: The University of Sydney PhD thesis.Search in Google Scholar

Erfani, Seyyed M. 2012. The rationale for introducing “global issues” in English textbook development. Theory & Practice in Language Studies 2(11). 2412–2416. https://doi.org/10.4304/tpls.2.11.2412-2416.Search in Google Scholar

Fuchs, Eckhardt & Annekatrin Bock (eds.). 2018. The Palgrave handbook of textbook studies. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.10.1057/978-1-137-53142-1Search in Google Scholar

Gaston, Kevin J. & John I. Spicer. 2004. Biodiversity: An introduction, 2nd edn. Oxford: Blackwell.Search in Google Scholar

Goatly, Andrew. 1996. Green grammar and grammatical metaphor, or language and the myth of power, or metaphors we die by. Journal of Pragmatics 25(4). 537–560. https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-2166(95)00057-7.Search in Google Scholar

Goatly, Andrew. 2002. The representation of nature on the BBC World Service. Text 22(1). 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1515/text.2002.003.Search in Google Scholar

Goatly, Andrew. 2012. Meaning and humour: Key topics in semantics and pragmatics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.10.1017/CBO9780511791536Search in Google Scholar

Goatly, Andrew. 2022a. Five themes for ecostylistics. Journal of World Languages 8(3). 443–485. https://doi.org/10.1515/jwl-2022-0026.Search in Google Scholar

Goatly, Andrew. 2022b. Two dimensions of meaning: Similarity and contiguity in metaphor and metonymy, language, culture, and ecology. Abingdon: Routledge.10.4324/9781003285977Search in Google Scholar

Gugssa, Mulugeta A., Jorund Aasetre & Meskerem L. Debele. 2021. Views of “nature”, the “environment” and the “human-nature” relationships in Ethiopian primary school textbooks. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education 30(2). 148–163. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2020.1763564.Search in Google Scholar

Halliday, Michael A. K. 2003. New ways of meaning: The challenge to applied linguistics. In Jonathan Webster (ed.), On language and linguistics: Vol. 3 in the collected works of M. A. K. Halliday, 139–174. London: Continuum.Search in Google Scholar

Halliday, Michael A. K. & Christian M. I. M. Matthiessen. 2014. Halliday’s introduction to functional grammar, 4th edn. London: Routledge.10.4324/9780203783771Search in Google Scholar

He, Wei. 2021. Shengtai huayu fenxi: Hanlide moshi de zaifazhan [Ecological discourse analysis: Further development of the Halliday model]. Waiyu Jiaoxue [Foreign Language Education] 42(1). 20–27.Search in Google Scholar

He, Wei & Ming Cheng. 2021. Shengtai yuyanxue shijiao xia de luoji guanxi xitong [Logical system from an ecolinguistic perspective]. Jiefangjun Waiguoyu Xueyuan Xuebao [Journal of PLA University of Foreign Languages] 44(3). 51–59, 160.Search in Google Scholar

He, Wei & Ran Gao. 2020. Shengtai yuyanxue xueke tixi de ronghe yu fazhan [Discipline system of ecolinguistics: integration and development]. Guowai Shehui Kexue [Social Sciences Abroad] 43(2). 127–135.Search in Google Scholar

He, Wei & Jiahuan Liu. 2020. Duoyuan hexie, jiaohu gongsheng: Shengtai zhexueguan de goujian yu fazhan [Diversity and harmony, interaction and co-existence: Construction and development of ecosophy]. Shandong Waiyu Jiaoxue [Shandong Foreign Language Teaching] 41(1). 12–24.Search in Google Scholar

He, Wei & Chen Ma. 2020a. Shengtai yuyanxue shijiao xia de xianjie yu lianguan [Cohesion and coherence from an ecolinguistic perspective]. Beijing Di’er Waiguoyu Xueyuan Xuebao [Journal of Beijing International Studies University] 42(2). 26–45.Search in Google Scholar

He, Wei & Chen Ma. 2020b. Shengtai yuyanxue shijiao xia de zhuwei xitong [Theme system from an ecolinguistic perspective]. Zhongguo Waiyu [Foreign Languages in China] 17(4). 23–32.Search in Google Scholar

He, Wei & Zijie Ma. 2020c. Shengtai yuyanxue shijiao xia de pingjia xitong [Appraisal system from an ecolinguistic perspective]. Waiguoyu [Journal of Foreign Languages] 43(1). 51–62.Search in Google Scholar

He, Wei & Wei Shen. 2023. Shengtai yuyanxue shijiao xia yuyan jiaocai dongwu huayu biaozheng yanjiu [Discursive representations of animals in language textbooks: An ecolinguistic perspective]. Waiyu Jiaoxue [Foreign Language Education] 44(4). 7–15.Search in Google Scholar

He, Wei & Rong Wei. 2017. Guojis shengtai huayu zhi jiwuxing fenxi moshi goujian [An analytical framework of transitivity for international ecological discourse]. Xiandai Waiyu [Modern Foreign Languages] 40(5). 597–607, 729.Search in Google Scholar

He, Wei & Rong Wei. 2018. Duoyuan hexie, jiaohu gongsheng – guoji shengtai huayu fenxi zhi shengtai zhexueguan goujian [Diversity and harmony, interaction and co-existence – Ecosophy for international ecological discourse analysis]. Waiyu Xuekan [Foreign Language Research] 41(6). 28–35.Search in Google Scholar

He, Wei & Ruijie Zhang. 2017. Shengtai huayu fenxi moshi goujian [An ecological analytical framework for discourse]. Zhongguo Waiyu [Foreign Languages in China] 14(5). 56–64.Search in Google Scholar

Hickman, Heather & Brad J. Porfilio (eds.). 2012. The new politics of the textbook: Problematizing the portrayal of marginalized groups in textbooks. The Netherlands: Sense Publishers.Search in Google Scholar

Huang, Guowen. 2016. Shengtai yuyanxue de xingqi yu fazhan [The emergence and development of ecolinguistics]. Zhongguo Waiyu [Foreign Languages in China] 13(1). 9–12.Search in Google Scholar

Huang, Guowen. 2017. Lun shengtai huayu he xingwei fenxi de jiading he yuanze [One assumption and three principles for ecological analysis of discourse and behavior]. Waiyu Jiaoxue yu Yanjiu [Foreign Language Teaching and Research] 49(6). 880–889, 960.Search in Google Scholar

Huang, Guowen. 2018a. Cong shengtai piping huayu fenxi dao hexie huayu fenxi [From eco-critical discourse analysis to harmonious discourse analysis]. Zhongguo Waiyu [Foreign Languages in China] 15(4). 39–46.Search in Google Scholar

Huang, Guowen. 2018b. M. A. K. Hanlide de xitong gongneng yuyanxue yu shengtai yuyanxue yanjiu [Hallidayan linguistics and ecolinguistics studies]. Zhejiang Waiguoyu Xueyuan Xuebao [Journal of Zhejiang International Studies University] 36(5). 31–40.Search in Google Scholar

Huang, Guowen & Yang Chen. 2016. Shengtai zhexue yu huayu de shengtai fenxi [Ecosophy and ecological analysis of discourse]. Waiguo Yuwen [Foreign Language and Literature] 32(6). 55–61.Search in Google Scholar

Huang, Guowen & Ruihua Zhao. 2017. Shengtai huayu fenxi de yuanqi mubiao yuanze yu fangfa [The origins, goals, principles and methods of ecological discourse analysis]. Xiandai waiyu [Modern Foreign Languages] 40(5). 585–596, 729.Search in Google Scholar

Iliopoulou, Ifigenia. 2018. Children’s thinking about environmental issues. Educational Research 60(2). 241–254. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131881.2018.1453753.Search in Google Scholar

Jacobs, George M. & Andrew Goatly. 2000. The treatment of ecological issues in ELT coursebooks. ELT Journal 54(3). 256–264. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/54.3.256.Search in Google Scholar

Jeronen, Eila, Juha Jeronen & Hanna Raustia. 2009. Environmental education in Finland: A case study of environmental education in nature schools. International Journal of Environmental and Science Education 4(1). 1–23.Search in Google Scholar

Li, Jiusheng. 2005. Huanjing jiaoyu lun gang [Literature of environmental education]. China: Jiangsu Education Press.Search in Google Scholar

Lu, Jian & Chenguang Chang. 2019. Youyixing huayu zhong de bian yu bubian: Liang shou honghushui de hexie huayu fenxi [In/consistency in beneficial discourse: A harmonious discourse analysis of Honghu Lake]. Waiyu Jiaoxue [Foreign Language Education] 40(5). 34–38.Search in Google Scholar

Maley, Alan. 2022. Language teachers as eco-activists: From talking the talk to walking the walk. Journal of World Languages 8(2). 346–370. https://doi.org/10.1515/jwl-2022-0005.Search in Google Scholar

Martin, James R. & Peter R. White. 2005. The language of evaluation: Appraisal in English. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.Search in Google Scholar

MOE. 2003. Zhongxiaoxue huanjing jiaoyu shishi zhinan (shixing) [Guidelines for the implementation of environmental education in primary and secondary schools (Trial)]. Beijing: Ministry of Education of China.Search in Google Scholar

MOE. 2011. Yiwu jiaoyu yuwen kecheng biaozhun (2011 ban) [The compulsory education Chinese curriculum standards, 2011 edn.]. Beijing: Beijing Normal University Publishing Group.Search in Google Scholar

Naess, Arne. 1989. Ecology, community and lifestyle: Outline of an ecosophy. Translated and edited by David ruthenberg. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.10.1017/CBO9780511525599Search in Google Scholar

Nagra, Vipinder. 2010. Environmental education awareness among school teachers. The Environmentalist 30(2). 153–162. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10669-010-9257-x.Search in Google Scholar

Neal, Philip & Joy Palmer. 2003. The handbook of environmental education. New York: Routledge.10.4324/9780203422021Search in Google Scholar

Odum, Eugene P. 1969. The strategy of ecosystem development: An understanding of ecological succession provides a basis for resolving man’s conflict with nature. Science 164(3877). 262–270. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.164.3877.262.Search in Google Scholar

Odum, Eugene P. & Gary W. Barrett. 1971. Fundamentals of ecology, 5th edn. Philadelphia: Saunders.Search in Google Scholar

Palmer, Joy. 1998. Environmental education in the 21st century: Theory, practice, progress and romise. London: Routledge.Search in Google Scholar

Penz, Hermine & Alwin Fill. 2022. Ecolinguistics: History, today, and tomorrow. Journal of World Languages 8(2). 232–253. https://doi.org/10.1515/jwl-2022-0008.Search in Google Scholar

Pinto, Laura E. 2007. Textbook publishing, textbooks, and democracy: A case study. Journal of Thought 42(1–2). 99–121.Search in Google Scholar

Srbinovski, Mile. 2013. Environmental education in Macedonian schools: A comparative analysis of textbooks. Applied Environmental Education & Communication 12(3). 163–172. https://doi.org/10.1080/1533015x.2013.838867.Search in Google Scholar

Stibbe, Arran. 2001. Language, power and the social construction of animals. Society & Animals 9(2). 145–161. https://doi.org/10.1163/156853001753639251.Search in Google Scholar

Stibbe, Arran. 2004. Environmental education across cultures: Beyond the discourse of shallow environmentalism. Language and Intercultural Communication 4(4). 242–260. https://doi.org/10.1080/14708470408668875.Search in Google Scholar

Stibbe, Arran. 2010. Ecolinguistics and globalization. In Nikolas Coupland (ed.), The handbook of language and globalization, 406–425. Malden, MA: Wiley Backwell.10.1002/9781444324068.ch18Search in Google Scholar

Stibbe, Arran. 2012. Animals erased: Discourse, ecology, and reconnection with the natural world. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press.Search in Google Scholar

Stibbe, Arran. 2014. Ecolinguistics and erasure: Restoring the natural world to consciousness. In Christopher Hart & Piotr Cap (eds.), Contemporary critical discourse studies, 583–602. London: Bloomsbury.Search in Google Scholar

Stibbe, Arran. 2015. Ecolinguistics: Language, ecology and the stories we live by. New York: Routledge.Search in Google Scholar

Stibbe, Arran. 2018. Positive discourse analysis: Rethinking human ecological relations. In Alwin F. Fill & Hermine Penz (eds.), The Routledge handbook of ecolinguistics, 165–179. New York: Routledge.10.4324/9781315687391-12Search in Google Scholar

Stibbe, Arran. 2020. Ecolinguistics and economics: The power of language to build worlds. WEA Commentaries 10(3). 2–7.Search in Google Scholar

Stibbe, Arran. 2021. Ecolinguistics as a transdisciplinary movement and a way of life. In Burkette Allison & Tamara Warhol (eds.), Crossing borders, making connections: Interdisciplinarity in linguistics, 71–88. Boston: Walter de Gruyter.10.1515/9781501514371-007Search in Google Scholar

Tansley, Arthur G. 1935. The use and abuse of vegetational concepts and terms. Ecology 16(3). 284–307. https://doi.org/10.2307/1930070.Search in Google Scholar

Thompson, Geoff. 2008. Introducing functional grammar. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.Search in Google Scholar

van Dijk, Tenu A. 2004. Racism, discourse and textbooks: The coverage of immigration in Spanish textbooks. Paper presented at the Symposium on Human Rights in Textbooks, Istanbul, April 2004.Search in Google Scholar

van Leeuwen, Theo. 2008. Discourse and practice: New tools for critical discourse analysis. Oxford: Oxford University Press.10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195323306.001.0001Search in Google Scholar

Virdis, Daniela F. 2022. Opposition in ecological discourse: An ecostylistic scrutiny of speakGreen ecological posts. Journal of World Languages 8(3). 515–545. https://doi.org/10.1515/jwl-2022-0036.Search in Google Scholar

Wei, Ruby Rong. 2021. An interpersonal framework of international ecological discourse. Journal of World Languages 7(2). 305–333. https://doi.org/10.1515/jwl-2020-0004.Search in Google Scholar

Wei, Rong & Wei He. 2019. Guoji shengtai huayu zhi jieru xitong fenxi moshi goujian [An analytical framework of engagement for international ecological discourse]. Jiefangjun Waiguoyu Xueyuan Xuebao [Journal of PLA University of Foreign Languages] 42(6). 91–99.Search in Google Scholar

Xin, Zhiying & Guowen Huang. 2013. Xitong gongneng yuyanxue yu shengtai huayu fenxi [Systemic functional linguistics and eco-discourse analysis]. Waiyu Jiaoxue [Foreign Language Education] 34(3). 7–10, 31.Search in Google Scholar

Yu, Hui & Jinge Song. 2022. Duomotai shijiao xia ertong huiben shengtai yiyi de shehui fuhao goujain [A multimodal approach to the social semiotic construction of ecological meanings in children’s picture book]. Beijing Keji Daxue Xuebao (Shehui Kexue Ban) [Journal of University of Science and Technology Beijing (Social Sciences Edition)] 38(6). 667–676. https://doi.org/10.1080/08941939.2020.1871535.Search in Google Scholar

Zeng, Lei & Dan Hong. 2021. Deyu jiaocai shengtai huayu zhi tuwen taidu pingjia moshi tantao [Exploring image-text attitude evaluation model of ecological discourse in moral education textbooks]. Zhongguo Waiyu [Foreign Languages in China] 18(1). 53–62.Search in Google Scholar

Zhang, Ruijie & Wei He. 2020. Human-nature relationships in experiential meaning: Transitivity system of Chinese from an ecolinguistic perspective. Journal of World Languages 6(3). 217–235. https://doi.org/10.1080/21698252.2020.1819519.Search in Google Scholar

Zhou, Wenjuan. 2021. Ecolinguistics: A half-century overview. Journal of World Languages 7(3). 461–486. https://doi.org/10.1515/jwl-2021-0022.Search in Google Scholar

Received: 2022-12-01
Accepted: 2023-07-30
Published Online: 2023-09-08
Published in Print: 2024-08-27

© 2024 the author(s), published by De Gruyter and FLTRP on behalf of BFSU

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Downloaded on 15.10.2025 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/jwl-2023-0024/html?srsltid=AfmBOooGEGCT8Kk97K7SW3gGFzd7evILgPMoSaJVBsIKQwc_vBYaCHxc
Scroll to top button