A TRANSITIVITY-BASED ECO-LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS OF “GREEN” CONTENT IN SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH TEXTBOOKS IN CHINA

Linguistic practices significantly influence humanity’s relationship with the natural environment and play a crucial role in addressing ecological crises. Consequently, English language teaching should not only enhance learners’ linguistic competence but also cultivate ecological awareness, guiding students to engage with global issues and participate in environmental governance. As a primary vehicle for second/foreign language education, English textbooks are instrumental in fostering learners’ ecological consciousness. This study employs Yu and Wang’s (2020) transitivity analysis framework to evaluate the ecological orientations of clauses within two reading texts from Unit 6 (Earth First) in senior high school English textbook (Compulsory Book 2) published by Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press (FLTRP). The analysis examines how these texts construct representations of nature and human-nature relationships. Findings reveal that both texts partly reflect anthropocentric perspectives, which may hinder students from developing egalitarian views toward nature. Teachers are thus advised to critically analyze implicit ecological ideologies in teaching materials and design instructional activities that reframe textual representations of nature, thereby enhancing students’ ecological awareness and fostering proactive environmental behaviors.