Opening Pandora's Box: A Culturally-oriented Look at the Covert Content of Passages 1
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37134/ajelp.vol6.3.2018Keywords:
Covert syllabus, analysis of content, intercultural aspects, cultural content, universality of culturesAbstract
This study investigates the cultural content and covert syllabus of one well-known widely printed English Language Teaching (ELT) course book: Passages 1. In order to analyse the content, two coding systems the Five Dimensions of Culture and the Categories of Culture by Chao (2011) were used. The findings indicate that Passages 1 has encouraged various aspects of culture with an emphasis on the presentation of products, persons and viewpoints of the West. The partiality for the Target Culture (countries with English as the native language) is clear throughout the course book in terms of the selection of reading texts, listening tracks, and the images. Findings indicate that there is a minimal focus on the introduction of local and the Middle Eastern cultures. The theme of 'universality across cultures', as a specific classification in this study, is mostly placed in the speaking practices which revolves around sharing personal experiences rather than engaging in intercultural thinking and awareness. Based on the findings, some recommendations are given to ensure some aspects of the target culture are adequately addressed in the writing of ELT course books.
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References
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Richards, J. C., & Sandy, C. (2015). Passages 1: Student’s book (3rd ed.). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Scollon, R., & Scollon, S. (1995). Intercultural communication: A discourse approach. Oxford:Blackwell.
Seelye, H. N. (1993). Teaching culture: Strategies for intercultural communication. Lincolnwood, IL: National Textbook Company.
Tomalin, B., & Stempleski, S. (1994). Cultural awareness. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Zacharias, N. T. (2005). Teachers’ beliefs about internationally-published materials: A survey
of tertiary English teachers in Indonesia. RELC Journal, 36(1), 23-37.
Ajideh, P., & Panahi, M. (2016). An analysis of culture-related content in English textbooks for Iranian students entitled ‘Prospect’ and ‘Vision’ Series. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 3(6), 87-93.
Aliakbari, M. (2005). The place of culture in the Iranian ELT textbooks in high school level. Paper presented at the 9th Conference of Pan-Pacific Association of Applied Linguistics. Seoul, Korea.
Alpektin, C. (2002). Towards intercultural communicative competence in ELT. ELT Journal, 56(1), 57-64.
Apple, M. W., & Christian-Smith, L. K. (Eds.). (1991). The politics of the textbook. NY: Routledge.
Basttista, G. (1984). Language and culture: Strategies for teaching language in the classroom. Ann Arbor, Michigan: U.M.I.
Bennett, M. J. (1993). Towards ethnorelativism: A developmental model of intercultural sensitivity. In R. M. Paige (Ed.), Education for the intercultural experience (pp. 109-135). Yarmouth, MN: Intercultural Press.
British Council, (2006). A review of the global market for English language course. Retrieved
from: Https://www.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/a-review-of-the-global-marketfor-
english-language-courses.pdf
Brooks, P. (2004). Cultural intelligence: A guide to working with people from other cultures. UK: Intercultural Press.
Byram, M. (1997). Teaching and assessing intercultural communicative competence. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Byram, M., Nichols, A., & Stevens, D. (2001). Developing intercultural competence in practice. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Canagarajah, A. S. (2003). Resisting linguistic imperialism in English teaching Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Canale, M., & Swain, M. (1980). Theoretical bases of communicative approaches to second language teaching and testing. Applied Linguistics, 1(1), 1-47.
Chang, S. C. (2004). Integrating cultural education into FL class for intercultural communication. Soochow Journal of Foreign Languages and Cultures, 19, 203-221.
Chao, T. C. (2009). Understanding university English learners’ intercultural communication competence: Related studies and curriculum suggestions. Studies in International Cultures, 5(2), 49-86. (In Chinese)
Chao, T. C. (2010). A retrospective evaluation of a local college English textbook from an intercultural perspective. In Y. J. Chen, S. J. Huang, H. C. Liao and S. H. Lin (Eds.), Studies in English for Professional Communications and Applications (pp. 89-100). Taipei: Crane Publishing.
Chao, T. C. (2011). The hidden curriculum of cultural content in internationally published ELT textbooks: A closer look at New American Inside Out. The Journal of Asia TEFL, 8(2), 189-210.
Choi, Y. H., & Lee, H. W. (2008). Current trends and issues in English language education in Asia. The Journal of Asia TEFL, 5(2), 1-34.
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2000). Research methods in education (5th ed.). New York: RoutledgeFalmer.
Cortazzi, M., & Jin, L. (1999). Cultural mirrors: Materials and methods in the EFL classroom. In E. Hinkel (Ed.) Culture in Second Language Teaching and Learning (pp. 149-176). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Damen, L. (1987). Culture learning: The fifth dimension in the language classroom. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Fantini, A. E. (Ed.) (1997). New ways in teaching culture. Alexandria, VA: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc.
Gill, S., & Cánková, M. (2003). Intercultural activities. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Giroux, H. A. (1988). Teachers as intellectuals: Toward a critical pedagogy of learning. Westport, Conn.: Bergin and Carvey.
Graddol, D. (2007). English next. UK: The British Council.
Hall, J. K. (2002). Teaching and researching language and culture. London: Longman/Pearson Education.
Huang, C. J. (1990). Putting democratic education into practice through hidden curriculum. Teachers’ Friend Journal, 277, 16-18. (In Chinese).
Huang, C. J. (1993). The innovation of curriculum and instruction. Taipei: Shi-Da Book Publisher. (In Chinese)
Huang, S. H., & Lu, T.-J. (2006). A content analysis of the hidden curriculum in the sixth-grade English textbooks. Journal of Primary and Secondary Education, 17, 1-24. (In Chinese)
Huang, S. Y. (2009). Global English and EFL learners: Implications for critical pedagogy. The Journal of Asia TEFL, 6(3), 327-350.
Jackson, P. W. (1990). Preface. In Life in classrooms (p. xxi). New York: Teachers College Press.
Kramsch, C. (1991). Culture in language learning: A view from the United States. In K. Bot, R. B. Ginsbers, and C. Kramsch (Eds.), Foreign language research in cross-cultural perspective (pp. 89-125). Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing.
Kramsch, C. (1998). Language and culture. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Lado, R. (1997). How to compare two cultures. In Heusinkveld (Ed.), Pathways to culture. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press.
Lange, D. L., & Paige, R. M. (2003). Interdisciplinary perspective on culture learning in the second language curriculum: Introduction. In D. L. Lange and R. M. Paige (Eds.),
Culture as the core: Perspectives on culture in second language learning (pp. ix-xvii). US: Information Age Publishing.
Lázár, I. (2007). Theoretical background. In I. Lázár, M. Huber-Kriegler, D. Lussier, G. S.
Matei and C. Peck (Eds.), Developing and accessing intercultural communicative competence: A guide for language teachers and teacher educators (pp. 7-10). Council of Europe Publishing.
Margolis, E. (2001). The hidden curriculum in higher education. New York and London: Routledge.
McKay, S. L. (2002). Teaching English as an international language. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Mikk, J. (2000). Textbook: Research and writing. New York: P. Lang.
Moran, P. (2001). Teaching culture: Perspectives in practice. Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle.
Myles, B. S., & Simpson, R. L. (2001). Understanding the hidden curriculum: An essential social skill for children and youth with asperser syndrome. Intervention in School and Clinic, 36, 279-286.
National Standards in Foreign Education Project (1999). Standards for foreign language learning in the 21st century. Yonkers, NY: National Standards in Foreign Language Education Project.
Neuman, W. L. (1997). Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches (3rd ed.). MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Pennycook, A. (1994). The cultural politics of English as an international language. New York: Longman.
Rashidi, N., & Najafi, R. (2010). The representation of culture in Iran Language Institut Advanced level textbooks. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 1(5), 624-631.
Richards, J. C., & Sandy, C. (2015). Passages 1: Student’s book (3rd ed.). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Scollon, R., & Scollon, S. (1995). Intercultural communication: A discourse approach. Oxford:Blackwell.
Seelye, H. N. (1993). Teaching culture: Strategies for intercultural communication. Lincolnwood, IL: National Textbook Company.
Tomalin, B., & Stempleski, S. (1994). Cultural awareness. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Zacharias, N. T. (2005). Teachers’ beliefs about internationally-published materials: A survey
of tertiary English teachers in Indonesia. RELC Journal, 36(1), 23-37.
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Published
2018-11-23
How to Cite
Choubsaz, Y., Jannejad, M., & Arizavi, S. (2018). Opening Pandora’s Box: A Culturally-oriented Look at the Covert Content of Passages 1. AJELP: Asian Journal of English Language and Pedagogy, 6, 22–36. https://doi.org/10.37134/ajelp.vol6.3.2018
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