Cultural Content in EFL textbooks

Abstract

Investigating the content of textbooks is not at all uncommon in the field of EFL research. However, in recent years, analysing the cultural content of textbooks has been of growing interest. This spike in interest could be an effect of the societies of today being increasingly globalised, which also means that intercultural encounters are happening more frequently than ever before. Culture being a part of the EFL curriculum merits concern for students’ development of intercultural competence, which is also emphasised by the CEFR (2009) and the Swedish Agency of Education (Skolverket, 2011a). Seeing that Swedish EFL teachers in an investigation (Skolverket, 2006) agreed or partially agreed with the claim of textbooks guiding their teaching too much, the impact of textbooks is relevant to explore. Thus, this literature review aims to examine (1) what cultural content exists, (2) how it is represented and (3) what possible effects the cultural content might have on learners’ intercultural competence. This review will begin by providing relevant definitions as well as background information on textbooks and the connection between culture and language. To continue, the literature on cultural content in EFL textbooks will then be examined under the following sections: cultural references and content, types and levels of cultural content and the inclusion of various cultures. Finally, major issues and findings of the studies reviewed will be discussed followed by concluding remarks including possible pedagogical implications and suggestions for future research.