Studies examining culture representation in language textbooks have rarely adopted the semiotic approach, despite its potential for presenting and (re)creating cultural meanings at their various levels (i.e. cultural, intercultural, multicultural, and transcultural) in the co-instantiations of texts, tasks, and images. To address this issue, a…

Environmental issue is one of the public concerns pertaining to human welfare. English language education is supposed to take its part to contribute to the sustainable development. In this study, a corpus comprising 12 series of English language textbooks used in Chinese universities (48 volumes/books) was constructed to examine the extent to…

There is an ongoing concern regarding the alignment of textbooks with curriculum standards across different subjects. Such studies have emphasized the critical, yet complex, role of textbooks in bridging pedagogical practices with curricular reforms. The present research builds upon these discussions, by examining not only the alignment but also…

This study examines the representation of cultures across three sets of national English textbooks currently used in China by conducting a synchronic content analysis to explore what and how cultures are represented in the textbooks. Data analysis was conducted based on a newly constructed framework focusing on the content (countries and…

It is widely acknowledged that textbooks play a critical role in instilling sociocultural norms, values, and ideologies in learners. Within this role, they are also recognized to significantly contribute to the development of learners' gender roles, particularly during primary education. A great deal of information about gender-appropriate…

Decades of research have established that most English Language Teaching (ELT) contexts rely on textbooks and corresponding materials to drive the education process. Textbook analysis as a vital quality control check of these products has also become a popular trend in applied linguistics and "second language" (L2) research. In the main,…

This systematic review explores the evolution and impact of corpus-based methodologies in textbook analysis within the field of language education between 2010 and 2024. Utilizing the PRISMA framework, 29 studies were identified and analyzed, highlighting the transition from basic frequency analyses to sophisticated examinations of lexical,…

Though reports of pedagogic materials production point to the range of compromises authors make when writing language teaching textbooks, many accounts are retrospective in nature. This study sought to expand the research perspective by interrogating writing episodes via qualitative content analysis to discover how two expert ELT (English language…

This article reports on a study that investigated the extent to which the discourse used to approach environmental issues in English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) textbooks in Brazilian public secondary schools helps students develop critical environmental literacy. We focused our discourse analysis on the outside materials incorporated into the…

Foreign language textbooks not only aid language learners in developing their linguistic skills and knowledge but also reshape their cultural identities. Drawing on theories of critical curriculum studies, this paper examines cultural representation in two sets of US-produced Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) textbooks for American college…

Textbooks socialise and legitimise cultural norms, and therefore, learners' social worlds should find expression in their textbooks. In the study reported on here we examined how Grade 4 English First Additional Language and life skills textbooks reflected learner diversity in South African schools as manifested in their racial, gender,…

Based on the specific reading outcomes under the Reading Section in the General Guidelines and General and Specific Outcomes of the English Language Teaching Objectives in Jordan in 2006, the present study aimed at analyzing the reading texts of the student's book in Action Pack Seven to determine to what extent the reading texts were authentic.…

Foreign language teaching is not only the teaching of the grammar and vocabulary and the acquisition of basic language skills of the target language, but it is also the teaching of the culture of the target language. Because foreign language always brings it with a foreign culture. It is extremely important that individuals learn the cultural…

This study analyzes three textbooks that were used to teach English to eighth graders in Ecuadorian public secondary schools from 1993 to midyear of 2019. The textbooks in question included "Our World Through English" ('OWTE') 1," "Postcards 1A," and "Viewpoints English A1.1." This work provides a descriptive…

Given the changing nature of the meaning of literacy, this study seeks to adopt a pluralistic view of literacies and provide a holistic picture of how coursebooks help learners improve their technological-related literacies to participate fully in the present and future world of multiple and multimodal literacies. Accordingly, the elements of…