Textbooks material is one of the important issues that are worthy to investigate in order to enrich student＇s engagement and interaction in EFL （English as a Foreign Language） classrooms. In this study, the author ...Textbooks material is one of the important issues that are worthy to investigate in order to enrich student＇s engagement and interaction in EFL （English as a Foreign Language） classrooms. In this study, the author argues that textbooks materials used in academic institutions may well take a significant part in generating an active environment in EEL classrooms. It is believed that more opportunities will be created for students to be more involved, active, and able to understand the content being addressed more effectively. Yet, by looking at the textbooks being utilised （at a university context where the author teaches）, one can notice that student＇s culture （Eastern） is to a large extent missing in these textbooks, most of these books instead represent dominantly ＂Western＂ culture namely American and British cultures. This can deafly be depicted by topics discussed, pictures, clothing, names, and many other issues portrayed in these textbooks. This study is an attempt to challenge and problematize such domination of Western cultures portrayed in the content of English textbooks used in academic institutions not merely within Saudi Arabia but also extended to other countries and nations in the world.展开更多
The paper investigates Saudi English textbooks in order to trace the ways in which culture was dealt with in the English curriculum in the last 33 years. To this end, the three textbooks which were published one after...The paper investigates Saudi English textbooks in order to trace the ways in which culture was dealt with in the English curriculum in the last 33 years. To this end, the three textbooks which were published one after another for the third-grade secondary school students in the last three decades were analyzed. The paper finds that in the first book published in 1982, the writer introduced only those cultural elements from outside Saudi Arabia, which could be subordinated to the self-enclosed cohesive Saudi national culture that rested and was shaped on and around the faith of Islam. The same cultural pattern is maintained in the second book published in 1998, but in the third book published in 2013, a huge number of western and multicultural elements were accommodated without any attempt to assimilate them to Saudi national culture. The paper concludes that in these textbooks, culture was taken either as Parsons＇s ＂system＂--pattern-maintaining national culture-or as Rothkopf＇s and Friedman＇s ＂pattern-breaking＂ western culture, but it was seldom treated as Bauman＇s ＂matrix＂.展开更多
文摘Textbooks material is one of the important issues that are worthy to investigate in order to enrich student＇s engagement and interaction in EFL （English as a Foreign Language） classrooms. In this study, the author argues that textbooks materials used in academic institutions may well take a significant part in generating an active environment in EEL classrooms. It is believed that more opportunities will be created for students to be more involved, active, and able to understand the content being addressed more effectively. Yet, by looking at the textbooks being utilised （at a university context where the author teaches）, one can notice that student＇s culture （Eastern） is to a large extent missing in these textbooks, most of these books instead represent dominantly ＂Western＂ culture namely American and British cultures. This can deafly be depicted by topics discussed, pictures, clothing, names, and many other issues portrayed in these textbooks. This study is an attempt to challenge and problematize such domination of Western cultures portrayed in the content of English textbooks used in academic institutions not merely within Saudi Arabia but also extended to other countries and nations in the world.
文摘The paper investigates Saudi English textbooks in order to trace the ways in which culture was dealt with in the English curriculum in the last 33 years. To this end, the three textbooks which were published one after another for the third-grade secondary school students in the last three decades were analyzed. The paper finds that in the first book published in 1982, the writer introduced only those cultural elements from outside Saudi Arabia, which could be subordinated to the self-enclosed cohesive Saudi national culture that rested and was shaped on and around the faith of Islam. The same cultural pattern is maintained in the second book published in 1998, but in the third book published in 2013, a huge number of western and multicultural elements were accommodated without any attempt to assimilate them to Saudi national culture. The paper concludes that in these textbooks, culture was taken either as Parsons＇s ＂system＂--pattern-maintaining national culture-or as Rothkopf＇s and Friedman＇s ＂pattern-breaking＂ western culture, but it was seldom treated as Bauman＇s ＂matrix＂.
