Critical Analysis of English Textbooks in Korean Contexts

• In Event: Friday Roundtable Session 7:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: From Curriculum Textbooks to Morning Circles: Research on English Language Teaching Across the Globe (Table 41)

Abstract

Research shows that Eurocentrism is dominant in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) textbooks. However, it is unclear on how it is delivered in contemporary EFL textbooks as EFL students’ resources. Grounded in critical language/literacy perspectives, the study examined the portrayal of cultures across the world in Korean EFL textbooks. The findings suggest that the textbooks convey that there is diversity in the world by introducing many countries’ cultural and historical information. However, by depicting non-Western people as marginalized groups, the textbooks implicitly give the language and culture power to Western people. The findings suggest that a balanced representation of people and cultures beyond Western cultures is necessary in textbooks for EFL learners’ access to genuine diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Authors

• Bogum Yoon, Binghamton University - SUNY

• Diana Murtaugh, Binghamton University - SUNY