English Language Teaching Coursebooks Research Articles

On the portrayal of indigenous peoples in English language teaching coursebooks used in Chile: a critical visual literacy/socio-semiotic study

This research critically examines the multifaceted role of English as a foreign language (EFL) coursebooks beyond mere language learning objectives. Specifically, the study focuses on how these coursebooks often project universal cultural values that, though seemingly bland, can perpetuate power dynamics leading to various forms of inequality. Drawing on a qualitative methodology that amalgamates socio-semiotic analysis and critical visual literacy, the investigation scrutinizes the portrayal of indigenous peoples within 12 EFL coursebooks used in state-run and subsidized schools across Chile. Furthermore, the research explores the viewpoints and attitudes of seven EFL teachers towards the visual representations of indigenous peoples compared to non-indigenous individuals depicted in the same coursebooks. The findings suggest that indigenous peoples are often depicted as stereotypical remnants of the past, oversimplifying their intricate cultural attributes and presenting them as disconnected from contemporary society. Moreover, the study identifies the failure of coursebook publishers in acknowledging the richness and diversity of indigenous cultures, thereby perpetuating cultural stereotypes and contributing to the process of otherising, which reinforces a sense of separation between the majority (“us”) and the indigenous minority (“them”).

A Cross-National Investigation of Cultural Representations in Iranian and Turkish ELT Coursebooks

Acquiring second/foreign language competence inherits target culture knowledge and awareness. In this regard, English Language Teaching (ELT) coursebooks play a significant role in culture acquisition especially in an English as a foreign language (EFL) context in which learners have little or no opportunity to practice English outside the classroom. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate and compare the cultural content of local EFL textbooks used in two Muslim countries; Iran and Turkey. Kachru’s concentric model was used to explore cultural contents of Iranian and Turkish 9th grade EFL coursebooks and the data was analyzed through content analysis. Results showed that the Iranian coursebook was vastly filled with native culture along with a few subjects from expanding circle countries such as Russia and China. On the other hand, the main cultural focus of the Turkish EFL coursebook was inner-circle countries while little emphasis was made on native culture. The results were discussed in terms of intercultural competence and material design in the EFL context.

An analysis of ELT coursebooks in terms of 21st century skills

With the advances in innovation in the 21st century, the abilities needed to be effective in life have extensively changed. English, as a school subject, has assumed a main part in executing large numbers of the instructive changes and new methodologies in teaching since it is a worldwide language. Coursebooks, being a significant part of the educating and learning measure, impressively affect joining new methodologies into their schedules. Therefore, the current study aims to examine the 4Cs of 21st Century Skills – communication, collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, in English language teaching coursebooks. In view of this reason, a qualitative method – content analysis design – was employed. The data was collected through internal and external evaluation checklists, which were developed based on related literature and field experts’ opinions. The scope of the study was three 9th grade coursebook series designed by international publishing companies, namely English Plus by Oxford University, Excel by Express Publishing and Fall Blast by MM Publications. These coursebooks were chosen because these books are chosen by MES of RK and used in all schools. As the researcher works at school and teachers the 9th grade namely the 9th grade is taken for this study.  According to the results of the study, it has been revealed that each coursebook series includes the 21st century skills to some extent mostly in project, speaking and writing tasks. According to the findings it was also revealed that there are limited number of outcomes in relation to creativity, responsibility, social and flexibility and adaptability skills. Furthermore, there are not any outcomes related to information literacy, innovation, problem-solving, media literacy, ICT, cross-cultural skills, productivity and accountability, initiative and self-direction and leadership. Keywords: 21st сentury sills, communication, collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, coursebook analysis, evaluation, ELT coursebooks.

Global Coursebooks in the Course of Time: The Case of Interchange Level 2

AbstractAlthough global English Language Teaching (ELT) coursebooks have been subject to numerous (critical) analyses, the changes occurring to their contents over different editions have received scarce attention. In this study, the researchers examined the transformations over different editions of Interchange series (level 2) regarding some selected aspects of their textual contents. Seeking experienced English teachers’ views of the global coursebooks’ transformations over the past decade was another aim of the study. The analysis and comparison of the included topics and titles, characters, sites and contexts in Interchange series as well as interviews with 12 English teachers revealed that the content-based changes of different editions of this coursebook are superficial and cosmetic-like and despite the claims for globality, fallacies such as real-life-ness, representation and globality are still evident. We hope the findings of the study would aid curriculum and policy makers, institute managers, and language teachers to reconsider the functioning and value of current global ELT coursebooks.

Cultural Presentation in Thai Secondary School ELT Coursebooks: An Analysis From Intercultural Perspectives

Globalization has accelerated the growth of English and created a need for several changes in English language teaching (ELT), one of which is related to the role of ELT materials in facilitating interaction across cultures. Considering the fast growing importance of cultural content in ELT, this study explores issues of cultural presentation in Thai secondary school ELT coursebooks. The purpose of this study is twofold: first, to analyze cultural content presented in visuals and reading texts; second, to investigate teachers’ attitudes toward cultural presentation in ELT coursebooks. The coursebook sample included seven approved ELT coursebooks entitled Bridge 1, English in Mind 1, Messages 1, Motivate! 1, New World 1, Time Zone 1, and Your Space 1. The findings suggested that native speakers’ contexts were dominantly portrayed in both visuals and reading texts in all the coursebooks except Time Zone 1, which yielded a great deal of non-native speakers’ contexts. Nevertheless, Thai cultural context was completely absent from the reading-focused activities, and only a few pictures presenting Thai culture were identified. The questionnaire findings revealed that Thai secondary teachers are ready to embrace the intercultural aspects of ELT, as the overwhelming majority of respondents’ opinions signified the shift toward localized and culturally diversified materials.

Neoliberalism and ELT Coursebook Content

ABSTRACTThe widespread use of commercially produced coursebooks tailored to a global market remains a reality within English language teaching (ELT) across a broad range of teaching contexts. Most of these coursebooks profess to being vaguely communicative in their approach, while at the same time attempting to package and present language as a standardized commodity, within a broader ideological framework that enthusiastically embraces a view of the world in terms of aspirational, atomized, competitive individuals pursuing their self-realization through a “free” market. Most teachers working within ELT, although perhaps critical of such standardized products, might not be aware that earlier examples of ELT materials embodied a quite different set of values and assumptions, and a different view of the role ELT served in the world. Drawing on the content of a range of coursebooks over a period of 40 years, the author attempts to show how the ideological positioning of ELT coursebooks has evolved and also what this may tell us about the role of ELT in the political economy of neoliberalism.

Attitudes of Japanese Learners and Teachers of English towards Non-Standard English in Coursebooks

Over the decades, efforts have been made to incorporate diverse perspectives on World Englishes into English Language Teaching (ELT) practice and teaching materials. To date, the majority of ELT learners and teachers have not yet been exposed to materials which use and explore non-standard forms of English. This paper examines the attitudes of Japanese learners and teachers of English towards the use of these forms in ELT coursebooks. This study, conducted through questionnaires, surveys, focus groups and interviews, indicates that junior and high school teachers in Japan are open to the possibility of exposing students to different varieties of English. There are also indications that teachers and students share practical concerns about this.

Gender in English Language Teaching Coursebooks

The relation between gender and language is bi-directional; that is, gender is reflected by language and language helps to shape gender. English Language Teaching coursebooks are important as tools of learning a second language and a second culture. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to maintain gender equality in them to enhance gender equality in life. The aim of this study is to investigate how gender is embedded into English teaching course books in the first four-year period of state schools in Turkey and to discuss whether gender is explicitly or implicitly presented; the indirect aim is, however, to raise teachers’ and textbook writers’ awareness in gender related issues.

The Types and the Functions of the Listening Activities in Turkish and English Course Books

Along with globalization, in our era, international communication has gained importance and thus the first aim of foreign language teaching has been to equip students with communicative competence. In order to communicate effectively and adequately in a foreign language, the students should be provided with real situations in which they would expose to language use and four skills, listening, reading, speaking and writing must be taken as a whole and given equal importance. Nevertheless, from past to present, in foreign language teaching methods, which are shaped according to the aims/requirements of foreign language learning, listening skills have been usually neglected. It is a fact that in the process of mother language acquisition the children stay silent and listen at first and then they start speaking, so it is natural to give place to listening comprehension from the very beginning in foreign language teaching. As the aim of this study is to determine the amount of importance given to the listening skills in Turkish language teaching and to make a contribution to teaching Turkish as a foreign language, a comparative study by taking the Common European Framework of Reference (CEF) as basis has been done at the basic level (A1-A2) using Turkish as a foreign language coursebook ‘YeniHitit 1 (A1-A2)’ and English language teaching coursebooks ‘New Headway Beginner (A1)’ and ‘New Headway Elementary (A1-A2)’ as sample in terms of listening comprehension exercises. This qualitative study has been realized via documentary analysis developing categories taking into account the listening activities in CEF and other studies in the field. The findings have been given in numbers in a quantitative manner, therefore mixed research method can be said to have been used.

An analysis of ELF-oriented features in ELT coursebooks

Due to its rise as a global means of communication, the English language has been increasingly used by and between non-native speakers (henceforth NNSs), leading to a growing interest in what has come to be known as English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) in English language teaching (ELT). As noted by Jenkins (2006: 159), ‘many of those who start out thinking they are learning English as a foreign language end up using it as a lingua franca’. This suggests that ELT materials need to be developed in ways that correspond with the emerging needs of such language learners. However, ‘the prevailing orientation in […] ELT materials still remains undoubtedly towards ENL [English as a Native Language]’ (Jenkins, 2012: 487). It is not yet clear how well ELF perspectives have been integrated into teaching materials to date.

Visual representations in portuguese produced english language teaching coursebooks

This paper examines the role of illustrations in the context of English Language Teaching (ELT) coursebooks produced in Portugal. Taking illustrations to be one pilar in the construction of meaning through the representation of culture, the discussion shifts between their use over the last 35 years and their potential as a source of innovation and improvement in this area of ELT materials development. The central issue relates to the need for illustrations to perform something more than a decorative function in ELT coursebooks. Further discussion deals with the general issue of cultural content in language teaching materials, its importance in relation to situating language learning as both meaningful and purposeful. There are clear links themes related to foreign language teaching methodology (the learner-centred approach) and to curriculum development (citizenship education).It is argued that local coursebook publishers and writers should pay closer attention to the importance of cultural representation in language teaching materials, in this case to the use of illustrations, as a way of optimising the long-held influence of coursebooks as significant educational instruments.

Is there ELF in ELT coursebooks?

This article aims to explore whether well-attested findings in the fields of World Englishes (WE) and of English as a lingua franca (ELF) have determined a shift in perspective in the overall approach to English language teaching (ELT), and how far this shift has permeated teaching materials and coursebooks. The research study was carried out in Italy, a country where ELT coursebooks have often played a relevant role in introducing innovations in language teaching methodology. The research design included a corpus of ten coursebooks that have been published and adopted in Italian secondary schools in the last 6 years. The coursebooks were evaluated in terms of the presence or absence of references to WE and/or ELF, of awareness-raising activities, of the promotion of using English outside the school environment and of the use of effective English communication and intercultural strategies among nonnative speakers. Findings show that there have been no significant changes in the inclusion of WE- and ELForiented materials and related tasks, apart from the area of promotion of cultural and intercultural awareness.

An investigation into CLIL-related sections of EFL coursebooks: issues of CLIL inclusion in the publishing market

The current English Language Teaching (ELT) global coursebook market has embraced content and language integrated learning (CLIL) as a weak form of bilingual education and an innovative component to include in General English coursebooks for EFL contexts. In this paper, I investigate how CLIL is included in ELT coursebooks aimed at young learners, available to teachers in Argentina. My study is based on the content analysis of four series, which include a section advertised as CLIL oriented. Results suggest that such sections are characterised by (1) little correlation between featured subject–specific content and school curricula in L1, (2) oversimplification of contents and (3) dominance of reading skills development and lower-order thinking tasks. Through this study, I argue that CLIL components become superficial supplements rather than a meaningful attempt to promote weak forms of bilingual education.

Lexical Evaluation of Teacher-made Coursebooks: Thai Case Studies of Foundation English Courses at Tertiary Level

Coursebooks as one of the major issues of language teaching / learning instruction can relieve the overburden as well as under-prepared teacher of a great deal of stress, time and additional work. Currently, both commercial and teacher-made English language teaching (ELT) coursebooks are available for use and seem flexible at hands. In any respect, however, usefulness of the coursebooks needs to be evaluated as claimed. To this end, the study, proposed as a new approach to lexical evaluation, examines the words occurring in three teacher-made ELT coursebooks used for compulsory foundation English courses in a Thai university as lexical syllabi are required to prepare university students for academic study at tertiary level. The RANGE program was employed to analyze the wordlists of the three teacher-made ELT coursebooks and it was found that those ELT coursebooks provided insufficient vocabulary size of general service words and academic words which were crucial to academic study regardless of syntactic structures. In addition, the three ELT coursebooks were frustrated for learners to survive unassisted reading in and outside the class. Application and suggestions are given for concerns and pedagogical practices.