Continuity and Innovation in Reading Texts of Junior High School English Textbooks: A Comparative Study of Old and New PEP Grade 7 Editions

Yipei Huang

doi:10.63313/ESW.9143

Authors

Yipei Huang China West Normal University, Nanchong, China Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.63313/ESW.9143

Keywords:

Junior High English, Textbooks, Reading Texts, Comparative Analysis, Core Competencies

Abstract

This study compares reading texts in the 2012 and 2024 PEP Grade 7 English textbooks across four dimensions: thematic contexts, discourse types, text length, and reading difficulty. Using Cunningsworth’s evaluation model and the 2018 English Curriculum Standards, it finds that the new edition retains life-oriented themes and practical genres while significantly enhancing ecological awareness, digital literacy, and cognitive challenge through longer, more syntactically complex texts and new media discourses. These revisions reflect a shift from skill training to integrated competency cultivation. Pedagogical strategies such as task-driven design, differentiated instruction, and digital resource integration are proposed to support effective implementation.

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