Representation of National Identity and Culture in the Saudi EFL Textbook Series Mega Goal: A Critical Discourse Analysis

Abstract

National identity and culture are crucial concerns in the context of second language acquisition. This is because language plays a vital role in the formation of the same. Previous studies have shown that studying English encourages learners to adopt Anglo-American culture, as textbooks have prioritized the target culture at the expense of the local/source culture in language learning in which a balanced approach could have been instrumental in the context of international and multicultural interaction. In the Saudi English as a foreign language (EFL) context, the cultural investigation of textbooks is a necessity as they are designed by educators from the target culture. Hence, the present study investigates the nature and extent of national identity and cultural representation in the Mega Goal textbook series. The investigation follows Fairclough’s model of critical discourse analysis (CDA). Data are analyzed using Byram’s model of the textual evaluation of cultural contents and further categorized using Chao’s model of analysing cultural identity. The results and discussion are divided into three segments: description, interpretation, and explication. The study finds that the Mega Goal series underrepresents the local/source culture by excluding the cultural components necessary for the awareness and representation of national identity in the context of international and multicultural interaction.