Language textbooks: windows to the world

Risager, Karen

doi:10.1080/07908318.2020.1797767

Cited by 36 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Thus, in order to avoid such difficulties, the English coursebooks are advised to include different categories of culture. Similarly, scholars such as Risager (2020) challenge the tradition of focusing on the representation of "countries" in language teachingtarget language countries and the country of the learners. Furthermore, although scholars such as Kachru (1985) came up with the whole idea of three concentric circles of expanding, outer and inner circles, others such as Chao (2011) believe in five categories of culture as: source/local culture, target culture, international culture, intercultural interaction and universality across culture.…”

Section: Culture and Languagementioning

confidence: 99%

An analysis of the representation of cultural content in English coursebooks

Dahmardeh

Kim

2020

JARHE

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PurposeThe aim of this article was to understand about cultural representation in these coursebooks and if it is reflected the status of English as a lingua franca.Design/methodology/approachThis article is a report on a case study in the form of content analysis of different categories of culture represented in English language coursebooks used in schools of Iran. In order to do so, references to source, target, international and universal cultures were classified into four aspects: perspectives, products, practices and persons.FindingsGenerally, the findings suggested that despite the high frequency of cultural elements, the representation favoured the source culture, while the target, international and universal cultures were heavily under-represented.Research limitations/implicationsApart from the valuable contributions of the study, the implications of the study are that despite the high frequency of cultural elements, the representation favoured the source culture, while the target, international and universal cultures were heavily under-represented. Therefore, the imbalance in the content of materials on different cultures needs to be redressed. While the main concern of this investigation is the frequency of appearance, which replicates the extent of source, target, international and universal cultures represented in the coursebooks, the impact of the materials, affected by how the cultural elements are used and perceived by teachers and pupils, is beyond the scope of the present study; hence, future studies in this area are deeply encouraged, and it is recommended for further research.Practical implicationsThe implications for resolving the imbalance in cultural representation are also being explained.Originality/valueBearing in mind the importance of coursebooks as well as the role of culture in teaching the English language, this article aims at understanding about cultural representation within the newly developed Iranian English language coursebooks for schools, an issue that has never been studied by Iranian scholars with respect to the newly published materials.

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Section: Culture and Languagementioning

confidence: 99%

An analysis of the representation of cultural content in English coursebooks

Dahmardeh

Kim

2020

JARHE

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“…Tomlinson (2003) argued that language textbook evaluations were more “expert judgment” oriented, which will be inevitably influenced by subjective factors such as the evaluators’ personal bias, traditionalism, and their cultural backgrounds. Although it can be said that textbook analysis within applied linguistics is an established area of research from a variety of disciplines and perspectives ( Risager, 2021 ), a critical overview of the methodological approaches to the analysis of cultural representations or ideological underpinnings in ELT textbooks gave a cautionary reminder about the extent to which the claims and the conclusions are accepted as completely valid and reliable ( Weninger and Kiss, 2015 ).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Given such a background, how has the phenomenon of negativity toward Western religions changed in the way that the English textbooks were written or compiled?By drawing on the synergy of the theoretical framework of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and of corpus linguistics as a tool, this manuscript aims to examine whether Western religions are represented in Chinese university ELT textbooks, and if so, how are the religious beliefs being presented. As Risager (2021) posited, language textbooks may be developed in one country, while they can be used in another; the textbook users, teachers, and students may be located in different countries. Thus, the findings may offer relevant implications for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teaching and learning, along with textbook development worldwide.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Corpus Linguistics Approach to the Representation of Western Religious Beliefs in Ten Series of Chinese University English Language Teaching Textbooks

Liu

Zhang

2022

Front. Psychol.

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The early Sino-Western contact was through the way in which religion and language interact to produce language contact. However, research on this contact is relatively limited to date, particularly in the realm of English language materials. In fact, there is a paucity of research on Western religions in English Language Teaching (ELT) textbooks. By applying corpus linguistics as a tool and the Critical Discourse Analysis as the theoretical framework, this manuscript critically investigates the significant semantic domains in ten English language textbook series that are officially approved and are widely used in Chinese universities. The findings suggest that various Western religious beliefs, which are the highly unusual topics in previous Chinese ELT textbooks, are represented in the textbook corpus. The results also show that when presenting the views and attitudes toward Western religious beliefs, these textbooks have adopted an eclectic approach to the material selection. Surprisingly, positive semantic prosody surrounding the concept of religion is evident and no consistent negative authorial stance toward religion is captured. Atheism has been assumed to be in the center of Chinese intellectual traditions and the essence of the Constitution of the Chinese Communist Party. Interestingly, the findings from this study provide a new understanding of Chinese foreign language textbooks in the new era, and its addition to the literature on the study of ELT textbooks, as well as its development worldwide.

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“…Although the studies as described talk about the design of language textbooks, it appears that the content of the textbooks themselves and the analysis of student needs by taking into account the environmental context and stages of student development have not been emphasized aspects. As stated by Richards (2013), also elaborated more deeply by Risager (2020). The contextual content of language textbooks is important in needs analysis as a gateway for language learning that can answer the demands of 21st-century skills.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Redesign of Indonesian Language Textbooks Based on Student Needs Analysis

Nesi¹,

Su²,

Pristiwati

2022

AIJP

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The available Indonesian language textbooks, both compulsory and commercial, might not fully meet the students' future needs and industrial demands. This study examines the concept of redesigning Indonesian language textbooks based on students' needs analysis, presenting a critical review of several relevant studies from journals, conference articles, and other permanent references. This study reveals three primary results. First, teachers are responsible for evaluating the textbooks' content and determining how they can contextually adapt and modify it without losing the essence of curriculum demands. Secondly, teachers are supposed to be aware of the students' needs to facilitate the demands of the current context. A need analysis will help the teachers to get an overview of the aspects that must be adapted in Indonesian language textbooks. Thirdly, through a critical and in-depth review of the textbooks, it was found that it is necessary to redesign a model of Indonesian language textbooks, particularly the grammar textbook model, the listening and speaking skills textbook model, and the reading and writing skills textbook model. The expected product should be organized as an integrative textbook package and designed in a digital model that can be easily accessed through the network.

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Language textbooks: windows to the world

Cited by 36 publications

References 12 publications

An analysis of the representation of cultural content in English coursebooks

An analysis of the representation of cultural content in English coursebooks

A Corpus Linguistics Approach to the Representation of Western Religious Beliefs in Ten Series of Chinese University English Language Teaching Textbooks

Redesign of Indonesian Language Textbooks Based on Student Needs Analysis

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