Evaluating Iranian Secondary School Course Books for Learning English in Light of Construction of a Global Identity

Abstract

English language is no longer a language bound to the native speakers but used by almost all people in the world which creates a new identity for them co-existing with their ethnic and national identities. This new identity is called global identity which is the result of the socialization of individuals in the wide community of practice of English language. The purpose of the present study was to investigate to what extent the new course books for learning English at Iranian secondary schools entitled Prospect series contribute to Iranian English language learners' global identity. To do this, all the activities in the three books of this series were evaluated based on the proposed framework of global identity. The findings indicated that the activities in this series are not appropriate in terms of the construction of a global identity for Iranian English language learners. The development of appropriate activities to enable Iranian English language learners to socialize in the broad community of practice of English language is discussed.