An Evaluation of the Cultural Aspects in the University English Textbook, Well Read 1

Abstract

Abstract-This descriptive study, first, seeks to identify the extent to which the different cultures (source culture, target culture, and international target culture) are represented in the textbook, Well Read 1. This textbook is written by Laurie Blass, Mindy Pasternak, and Elisaveta Wrangell and published by Oxford University Press (2007). Second, it aims to recognize the way these cultural aspects are presented. Third, it ascertains the most dominant and portrayed culture(s) in the prescribed textbook. The content analysis method was employed to meet the abovementioned objectives, and Cortazzi and Jin's (1999) model was followed. The purposive sampling was applied to elicit the data from this textbook through selecting representative texts and passages. The findings clarified that the three cultures (source culture, target culture, and international target culture) are generally represented to varying degrees throughout this culturally-based textbook. Besides, the cultural aspects were explicitly and implicitly embedded in different cultural areas in the form of online, magazine, academic and timeline articles. Moreover, it is evident that the target and the international target cultures predominate with little reference to the learners' source culture, i.e. Islamic and Arabic culture (Turkey, Mediterranean, and Morocco). Being aware of the different cultural aspects and the inseparability of language and culture is crucial for an efficient use of English in diverse contexts.Index Terms-cultural aspects, textbook evaluation, language and culture, content analysis, EFL learning, Saudi Arabia I. INTRODUCTIONLanguage is culturally loaded in which one is unable to think of it without its culture. It indicates that learning a language goes beyond its boundaries; it is culture-bound. The textbook is a primary teaching aid and supporter for language teaching/learning in an academic context. It is a significant source of linguistic knowledge and many loaded cultural aspects. Ahmad and Shah (2014) confirmed that learners "feel influenced by the textbooks they exercise for learning English language and in the process they come across social, religious, cultural, and linguistic diversities" (p. 12). It is also known that culture is not about something consisting of facts to be learned or memorized, but it is about styles and behaviors that can be practiced and appreciated.Regarding the context of this study, Alshammari (2015) pointed out that the in-use materials and methods of English language teaching in Saudi Arabia reflect Anglo-American cultural and linguistic norms and values, and therefore lack the diverse nature of English today and conflict with the Islamic discourses and values. He discussed the inadequacy of the English materials used in Saudi schools and universities and argued that English an International Language (EIL) framework should be implemented in English curricula at all levels. This study accounts for the analysis and evaluation of the representation of the different cultures, the inclusion of cu...

Students' and instructors' evaluation of a foreign language textbook from an intercultural perspective

“…The results of this study showed that New Language Leader Pre-intermediate was satisfactory in terms of inclusion of a variety of cultures, which was similar to the findings of the previous research on internationally published textbooks (Alsofi, 2018;Böcü & Razı, 2016;Kayapınar, 2009;Taş, 2010). Since English is taught in many contexts as an international language, the place of culture in the textbooks was questioned by many scholars earlier (Alptekin, 2002;Baker, 2012).…”

“…A lack of insight into students' own culture was also detected in the earlier studies (Alsaif, 2016;Alsofi, 2018;Amarian & Tajabadi, 2020;Böcü & Razı, 2016;Çetin Köroğlu, 2016;Dimici et al, 2018;Taş, 2010) that investigated internationally published textbooks. This finding implies that the textbook under investigation and other similar internationally published textbooks could be revised based on the cultural context of the language teaching environment.…”

“…To summarize, a review of the literature uncovered that internationally published textbooks had generally limited cultural content regarding source culture (Alsaif, 2016;Alsofi, 2018;Böcü, 2016;Dimici et al, 2018;Kayapınar, 2009;Tas, 2010) and target culture was still the most dominant one compared to the home and international cultures (Alsaid, 2016;Shin et al, 2011;Dimici et al, 2018;Kayapınar, 2009;Tas, 2010). Moreover, some internationally published textbooks lacked content regarding stereotypes of home and target cultures and they did not encourage learners to challenge their views, and taboos (Çetin Köroğlu, 2016;Göktaş, 2013).…”

“…Çelik & Erbay, 2013;Demirbaş, 2013;Siddiqie, 2011) revealed that textbooks included international cultures though target culture content was more observable. Many studies (Alsaif, 2016;Alsofi, 2018;Amarian & Tajabadi,2020;Böcü & Razı, 2016;Çetin-Köroğlu, 2016;Dimici, Yıldız & Basbay, 2018;Erdoğan, 2015;Göktaş, 2013;Kayapınar, 2009;Shin, Eslami, & Chen, 2011;Taş, 2010;Tozun, 2012) were also conducted on the internationally produced textbooks. This study aimed to evaluate an internationally published textbook; therefore, a brief review of literature focused on the evaluation of such textbooks here.…”

“…In the Saudi context, Alsaif (2016) analysed a language textbook called 'Touchstone' via textual analysis with the perspective of critical pedagogy and problematized the excessive focus on western cultures and neglecting source culture in language textbooks. Alsofi (2018) had a content analysis on a textbook which is named as 'Well Read 1'. He aimed to identify to what extent target, international, and source culture were represented in the textbook and how they were presented.…”