Published July 29, 2025
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An Analysis of Cultural Content in an English Textbook Series
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This article analyzes the integration of cultural content in the Evolve English textbook series, which was used by an English preparatory school in Türkiye. This study investigates the extent to which cultural elements are presented in the textbook series, as well as cultural sources and the types of culture that are prioritized. The study used quantitative content analysis to classify cultural content based on Peterson’s (2004) cultural framework and the classification of cultural sources based on Cortazzi and Jin’s (1999) framework. The results of this study showed that the book series contained more cultural content than culture-free content, predominantly incorporated the target culture and international culture with minimum representation of students’ local culture, and the small “C” type of culture was emphasized more. The study also found that although the Evolve textbook series incorporates significant cultural exposure, it prioritizes Anglo-American cultural content, limiting language learners’ exposure to diverse global perspectives, including their local cultures. The study highlights the importance of incorporating diverse cultural elements in EFL and ESL teaching to enhance the intercultural communicative competence of English language learners. The study reveals a need for a balanced representation of learners’ native, target, and international cultures in textbooks to better prepare students for global communication.
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