As a significant multi-modal resource in English textbooks, illustrations can effectively facilitate English teaching. Based on Visual Grammar theory and thematic context requirements of new English curriculum for high school, the study analyzes the illustrations in the Reading and Thinking section of high school English textbooks (2019) for People’s Education Press in term of thematic meaning construction. It is discovered that the overall design and selection of the illustrations in this section basically cover the three major thematic contexts, but there are still some problems--uneven coverage of the thematic clusters and a deficiency in the function of meaning construction. The study intends to provide the textbook editors and English teachers with useful advice on how to design, select and utilize illustrations.

Pingping Hu, Kaini Xu. An Analysis of the Thematic Meaning of Illustrations in High School English Textbooks Based on Visual Grammar Theory. Frontiers in Educational Research (2024) Vol. 7, Issue 11: 267-274. https://doi.org/10.25236/FER.2024.071140.

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