English Language Textbooks and Portrayal of Culture: A content analysis

This study aims to find out if there were materials that are not in harmony with Islam. The sampling of this study was taken from 5 textbooks that were being used in an intensive English course. The findings from this study showed that in general the contents of the ELT textbooks could be categorized into three categories of neutral, positive and negative.

English Language Textbooks and Portrayal of
Culture: A content analysis
Ruzai Syarilili Aiyu Abd Rashid1,*, Engku Haliza Engku Ibrahim
1English Language Division, The Centre for Languages and Pre-University Academic Development
(CELPAD), International Islamic University Malaysia, 53100, Jalan Gombak, Kuala
Lumpur,Malaysia
Abstract. Research has shown that there is a need to use materials that are
cultural sensitive and context-appropriate in the EFL classroom. It is
imperative that teaching materials match with the goals, objectives and
philosophy of the programme. This is to ensure that the materials are
congruent with the learners’ attitudes, religious beliefs and preferences.
Thus, this study aims to find out if there were materials that are not in
harmony with Islam. The sampling of this study was taken from 5
textbooks that were being used in an intensive English course. The findings
from this study showed that in general the contents of the ELT textbooks
could be categorised into three categories of neutral, positive and negative.
Additionally, it was also discovered that these themes fall under
community knowledge, beliefs and values of the western culture in
Byram’s (1993) cultural content checklist. This study has strong
implications for the use of ready-made textbooks in the EFL context.
1 Introduction
Many researchers have highlighted that textbooks play an important role in teaching and
learning, especially in foreign language classroom. It has been emphasised by Hatoss [26]
the importance of culture teaching through language learning that without textbooks,
English teachers would find it difficult to teach a cultural content to their students as
textbooks supply this need without transporting the students to the native speakers’ country.
“The presence of cultural content in course books is also important for the development of
students’ intercultural communicative competence” [53]. Today there is a plethora of
commercially available textbooks in the market, thus the growing need to determine
whether the teacher or the decision maker has made the right choice concerning the right
textbook for the right purpose. As Anjaneyulu [9] affirmed, “the analysis of the textbook
would yield insights as to its suitability... It was therefore important to examine whether it
corresponded to the learners needs of the particular situation” (p.181).
Wright [55] who studied the factors shaping the attitudes of secondary education
learners in Great Britain towards French, found that textbooks are viewed by learners of
languages as having a significant influence on their attitudes towards the target culture and
* Corresponding author: [e-mail]
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© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution
License 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

that there is a significant positive correlation between this influence and the attitudes of
many pupils. Additionally, Yamada [57] stated that a textbook is not merely a
commercially available reference book which is used in a language teaching programme, it
also serves as an important means to deliver political and ideological orientation. She
further pointed out that “textbooks can be understood and examined as curricular materials,
which project images of society and culture. They reflect historical, social, cultural and
socio-cultural, economic and political contexts” (p. 20). Dellinger [16] too asserted that
language is a type of social practice used for representation and signification. Texts,
including textbooks, are written by socially situated persons. Thus, textbook descriptions
can be examined as a social product. In other words, textbooks determine not only material
conditions for teaching and learning but also define what elite or legitimate culture is
passed on [10]. Apple and Christian-Smith too advocate that a textbook signifies a
“particular constructions of reality, particular ways of selecting and organizing that
universe of possible knowledge” (1991, p.3).
The constantly changing landscape of higher education has compelled the teaching and
learning of English to be culturally sensitive to the context in which the language is taught
and used (Kachru, [30]; Prodromou, [38]; Fawwaz and Oqlah, [19]; Ratnawati, [41];
Phillipson, [37]; Al-Attas, [4]; Pennycook, [36]; Canagarajah, [12]; Cardona, [13];
Yamada, [57] and Ainol and Isarji, [3]) This is especially true after the 9/11 tragedy. The
teaching and learning of English began to undergo a robust push for the utilisation of
teaching materials that meet the needs of learners, institutions, and industry. It necessitates
ELT materials and learning outcomes to be well-matched. Despite the realisation of the
importance of meeting the needs of ESL learners, institutions, and industry, it is extremely
difficult for teaching materials to be socio-culturally neutral because it has to express a
social order and value system, implicitly or explicitly [43] With the absence of proper
guidance, the tasks could turn out to be complicated in terms of deciding whose value
system or social order needs to be incorporated.
On this account, there is an urgent need to study ELT materials from socio-cultural
perspectives and its appropriateness to Muslim learners to ensure that the materials
complement learners’ needs and the vision and mission of the institution.
Literature review: The literature on second language teaching and learning and ELT
materials have addressed the need for both learners and teachers to be aware of the dynamic
interplay of language, thought and action and the macro and micro cultures on ELT theory
and practices. Many studies have been done on socio-cultural perspectives in second
language learning. These include the works of Haja Mohideen [22,23,24], Casewit [14],
Shamimah (2008), Mojgan Majdzadeh Tabatabaei [31], Mohamed S. Haded [33], Abdullah
[2], Yadullah [56], Ratnawati [41,42], Tariq [52], Hyde [28], Fawwaz and Oqlah [19], Ali
Ahmed [6], Dahiru [15], Mohamed Ismail [32], Grace [21], Qiang and Wolf [40], Sohail
and Pennycook [36], Mohammad Shafi [34], Farzad [18], Pennycook [36], Sami [44],
Ainol and Isarji [3], Isarji and Mohd. Feham (2000). Alghamdi and El-Hassan [5]
emphasised specifically that “English-language teaching must be responsive to the local
culture and realities and must be driven by local needs” (p. 1).
Casewit [14] for example, stated that in developing appropriate materials for learners in
Muslim societies, one must look beyond and beneath such superficial confirmation of the
social psychological theory of foreign language acquisition. He continues that multicultural
TEFL materials could be prepared in such a way as to promote more favourable attitudes
and stronger motivation on the part of learners in Muslim societies.
Similarly, Haja Mohideen [23] articulated that language teaching and learning materials
need to include a section on offensive expressions to warn users against their usage because
English today is not used exclusively by native speakers of English and there is a vast
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number of English as second language speakers who have to use the language but need to
know that the target language is appropriate to their religious and cultural values.
Washima et al. [54] highlighted the need to actively promote materials related to the
home culture of the learners. This is an effort to minimise the negative effect of ELT
materials that could include unwelcome and contradictory values. With the incorporation of
local cultures, it encourages both students and teachers to be aware of potential conflicts, to
discuss and to critically reflect on how they might respond appropriately.
In selecting reading materials, teachers of Muslim learners need to exercise discretion in
the choice of reading texts. In those classes where the learners have a reasonable degree of
maturity, the teacher will need to develop the skill of critical reading with particular
reference to how easily the unsuspecting reader can be misled into accepting values and
norms which are incongruous with the Islamic way of life.
More recently, Alshammari [7] argued that “the existing ESL content lack[s] the diverse
nature of English of today and conflict[s] with the Islamic discourses and values” (p. 369).
Similarly, Ahmar Mahboob and Tariq Elyas [8] argued that historically, English in Saudi
Arabia has been nativised to reflect local cultural practices.
Even though Casewit [14], Washima et al. [54], Haja Mohideen [23] Sugirin et al. [48],
Abbas [1], Hermawan [27], Dweikat and Shbeitah [17], Syahri and Susanti [49] and many
others have provided critical appraisal of ELT materials in L2 language teaching and
learning, there is a need to include empirical evidence based on data collected from ELT
materials. More importantly, there is a lack of empirical evidence on the analysis of the
content of ELT textbooks which are considered culturally inappropriate to Muslim learners.
Considering this inadequacy and in view of the fact that learners are the most important
clients of an education institution, it is imperative to study this concern systematically to
ensure that the needs of the learners and the institution are accurately met.
The main purpose of the study is to analyze the socio-cultural and religious content of
ELT textbooks used in the English Language Programme at the International Islamic
University Malaysia. Based on a content analysis, this study also seeks to find out how the
materials were being portrayed according to an adaptation of Byram's (1993) Cultural
Content Checklist with specific reference to neutral, positive and negative contents.
Specifically, this research will address the questions below:
1. Are there contents that relate to Islam or Muslims in the textbooks?
2. How are the contents portrayed?
2 Material and Methods
Data for this study was collected through three major steps; document search, conceptual
content analysis and content categorisation based on an adaptation of Byram's (1993)
cultural content checklist.
5 textbooks were analysed for the purpose of this study.
1. Interactions 1: Listening and Speaking (T1)
2. Interactions 2: Listening and Speaking (T2)
3. Interactions 2-Reading (T3)
4. Consider the Issue: Listening and Critical Thinking Skills 3rd Ed. (T4)
5. Engaging Writing-Paragraphs and Essays. (T5)
The first step in the data analysis was deciding which data would be analysed throughout
the study; which in this case, the chosen textbooks. The concepts covered were the cultural
elements of western culture which relate to Islam and the Muslims. At the same time the
researcher investigated whether there were western culture elements that were not in
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harmony with Islam. The selected textbooks were also evaluated to find out how Islam and
Muslims were portrayed and depicted.
The content analysis applied in this study was utilised as a method of inquiry to explore the
cultural content focusing on the different features of western culture which is not in
harmony with Islam. References to cultural content of Islam and the Muslim culture
mentioned in the textbooks were also identified throughout the materials and were extracted
word for word and then coded according to the four elements of Byram’s (1993) cultural
content checklist as listed below:
• belief and behaviour
• socialisation and life cycle
• stereotypes and national identity
• social and political institution
3 Results
Content analysis of the 5 textbooks chosen could be summarised as:
• T1:1 neutral cultural content
• T2:2 neutral cultural contents and 1 positive cultural content.
• T3; 11 neutral cultural contents and 6 negative cultural contents.
• T4: no positive, neutral or negative contents were found
• T5: 2 negative cultural contents
In total there were 23 contents identified, with 14 neutral cultural contents, 1 positive
cultural content and 8 negative cultural contents.
Neutral Contents: Based on the analysis, there were thirteen contents that had a neutral
portrayal of Islam and Muslims. Some examples are listed below:
• Nabil and the pet: cat.
• Hip-hop in Istanbul.
• Water.
• Islamic Wedding – Bedouin and Henna.
• Bedouin Culture- Henna.
• Mehndi-Islamic cultures.
• United Arab Emirate-unmarried Emeriti men to marry Emeriti women.
• Churches, mosques and palace-structures.
• Arabesques- exquisite design.
• Mosques-Islamic religious worship
• Christianity- religion- Islam.
• Spread of Islam to the East.
• The Middle east-Reality TV show-The Big Brother.
• Banking in the United Arab Emirate.
According to Byram’s [11] cultural content checklist, 5 relates to belief and behaviour,
another 5 to socialisation and life cycles, 3 to stereotypes and national identity and only one
relates to social and political institution.
Positive Contents: There was one positive portrayal of Islam and Muslims found in T2
under the category of stereotypes and national identity. The content was regarding the
numeral symbol. According to Byram’s [11] cultural content checklist, this falls under
stereotypes and national identity.
Negative Contents: Based on the analysis, it was found that there are seven contents that
had negative portrayals of Islam and Muslims. Three could be categorised under Byram’s
[11] category of belief and behaviour, four under socialisation and life cycles and the last
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remaining one under the category of social and political institution. The following
examples can be found:
• Islam and Buddhist Art.
• Term: Holy Place.
• Emeriti Wedding.
• Bedouin wedding involves money.
• Emeriti wedding are too lavish.
• Kamal Ataturk.
• Arab’s Hospitality.
• The Quran and Hadith
Under Byram’s [11] cultural content checklist, these contents relate to belief and behaviour
(3), socialisation and life cycles (4) and one to Social and political institution.
4 Discussions
The findings of this study support Risager’s [43] contention that it is extremely difficult for
teaching materials to be socio-culturally neutral because they have to express a social order
and value system, implicitly or explicitly. One of the significant findings which emerged
from this study is that the contents of the five textbooks seem to portray the social order and
value system of the Judeo-Christian. However, it is interesting to note that while the Judeo-
Christian social order and value system were being portrayed positively, contents related to
Islam and Muslims were presented in a negative manner.
In view of the fact that these textbooks are intended for an international audience, it
can be assumed that the writers not only had very limited knowledge of Islam and the
Muslim culture, but also projected a negative representation of Islam and Muslims. As a
result of the negative representation, Muslim learners might feel frustrated or demotivated
in their effort to acquire English. A prolonged exposure to negative representations of Islam
and Muslims in ELT textbooks, without proper guidance of experienced teachers, may
corrode their worldview and Aqidah.
The study shows that 23 contents mentioned Islam and Muslims. Of the 23 contents,
69.5% were presented in a neutral way; and 30.4% were presented in a negative manner. It
is assumed that this is done unintentionally due to a lack of understanding of different
cultural values.
The findings of this research support the assumption that students’ motivation may be
negatively affected if the materials that they are dealing with are offensive or are not in
harmony with their personal worldview. Similarly, teachers may be put in a difficult
situation if students strongly voice their objection when these materials are used in the
classroom. These findings are in line with Dweikat and Shbeitah’s content analysis [17]
where they too found that:
the most frequent cultural values were related the American culture which indicated an
obvious bias towards the foreign cultural values in general and the American cultural values
in particular at the expense of the Arab–Islamic culture as no unit talked about Arabs or
Muslims except the mentioning of the word “Arab” which was mentioned only once in the
textbook and in a way that even displeases the Arabs. (p.564)
It is also important to realise that if the content relates to universal values like
honesty, accountability, social justice, beauty and marriage; the author has to use extreme
caution because the comparison that is made in the textbooks is substantial when two
cultures are compared with each other. For example, in T5, there are short articles that talk
about celebrations in different countries. An article about Fiji presents a celebration as
follows;
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Awards are presented to young people for the annual essay competition, and there is a
singing contest between church choirs….sometimes winners playfully teases the losers, but
there is no serious competition. After the games, players stay to chat with their friends.
Finally, at home a big celebration is underway. Friends and, relatives arrive early to
help make palusami-a mixture of chicken, onion and tomato, wrapped in a taro leaf and
cooked in coconut milk. The head of the household makes the traditional drink, yaqona, in
a large bowl and offers it to the guest in coconut shells. After the yaqona drinking,
everyone eats palusami, rice and salad. Fiji Day is our most popular celebration because it
incorporates all the things Fijians love most: our national heritage, sports, food and drink,
and socializing with family and friends. (p.84)
The portrayal ends in a positive manner. However, the following is used to describe a
celebration in Islamic culture;
Another important aspect of Arab culture is hospitality. In Arab countries from Morocco to
Iraq, visitors are very warmly welcomed. Relatives, friends, and even strangers are always
offered coffee or tea and perhaps some bread or sweets, and if they happen to arrive at
mealtime, they are urged to stay and eat. Guests cannot refuse these offers without
offending their host. This tradition of hospitality dates back thousands of years. To survive
in the desert, nomadic tribesman had to depend on one another, so it became a matter of
honour to give and receive hospitality. The Quran and the books known as the Hadith have
helped preserve this tradition of hospitality by urging people to practice kindness. But the
holy books do not say that kindness and hospitality must be given without limit. Guest must
know when to leave, and hospitality must be returned. Hospitality can strengthen the bonds
between the members of society only when its rules are followed well. (p.98)
Quite often it might seem as if the depiction of a certain culture is neutral and
harmless. However, upon scrutiny, we will see that they are often suggestive in the sense
that one culture is cast in positive light while another is depicted negatively. Whereas the
presentation of some cultures or regions shows both the positive and the negative sides and
is therefore seen as neutral, for other cultures or countries only the good side is presented.
In general, the findings of this study suggest that the evaluated textbooks are loaded
with features of the western culture, which affirms Risager’s [43] observation that it is
rather challenging for ELT materials to be socio-culturally neutral. In the context of this
study, it is at the expense of Islam and Muslims. To a certain extent, the findings are
coherent with those of Shatawani [46] that there is a clear religious and cultural bias in ELT
materials. For example, when the authors make reference to the concept of water (in T2),
they make an assumption that both Muslims and Christians have the same perception of
water. This could stem from the publisher’s lack of awareness of the way water is used as
prescribed by the teachings of Islam.
The analysis of the textbooks revealed that there is a noticeable partiality towards
foreign cultural values in general and this is at the expense of the Islamic culture.
5 Conclusion
There were contents that relate to Muslims and Islam in the textbooks chosen for this
research. In term of Byram’s [11] cultural content checklist, a majority of the contents that
are related to Islam and Muslims are related to the category of socialisation and life cycles.
It is recommended that publishers consult experts on the cultures depicted in their textbooks
so that they can be suitable and do not come across as offensive to certain groups of
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readers. Another option that these particular publishers should consider, and many today
have done so, is to publish local editions of their textbooks in order to make the contents
more culturally responsive to students’ needs.
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MUCET 2017

57. Yamada, M., The representation of race and ethnic relations in Japanese junior
high school English language textbooks from 1987 to 2002. Ph.D. dissertation,
Western Michigan University, United States -- Michigan. Retrieved June 17, 2008,
from Dissertations and Theses: Full Text database. (Publication No. AAT
3221660), (2006)
Tables
Table 1: The portrayal of Islam and Muslims in English language textbooks.
Neutral Positive Negative Total
Interactions 1: Listening/ Speaking 1 0 0 1
Interactions 2: Listening/Speaking 2 1 0 3
Interactions 2-Reading 11 0 6 17
Engaging Writing: Paragraphs and
Essays
0 0 2 2
Consider the Issue: Listening and
Critical Thinking Skills 3rd ed.
0 0 0 0
TOTAL 14 1 8 23
Table 2: The category based on Byram’s (1993) cultural content checklist.
No. Category Contents
1. Belief and behaviour 8
2. Socialisation and life cycles 9
3. Stereotypes and national identity 4
4. Social and political institution 2
Total 23
Table 3: The portrayal of Islam and Muslims as Neutral in English language textbooks.
No
.
Content Category Textbook
1. Nabil and the pet: cat Belief and behaviour Interactions 1: Listening
Speaking
2. Hip-hop in Istanbul Belief and behaviour Interactions 2:
Listening/Speaking
3. Water Belief and behaviour Interactions 2:
Listening/Speaking
4. Islamic Wedding – Bedouin
and Henna
Socialisation and life
cycles
Interactions 2-Reading
5. Bedouin Culture- Henna Socialisation and life
cycles
Interactions 2-Reading
6. Mehndi-Islamic cultures Socialisation and life
cycles
Interactions 2-Reading
10
MATEC Web of Conferences 150, 05076 (2018) https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/201815005076
MUCET 2017

7. United Arab Emirate-
unmarried Emeriti men to
marry Emeriti women
Socialisation and life
cycles
Interactions 2-Reading
8. Churches, mosques and
palace-structures
Stereotypes and
national identity
Interactions 2-Reading
9. Arabesques-exquisite
design
Stereotypes and
national identity
Interactions 2-Reading
10. Mosques-Islamic religious
worship
Stereotypes and
national identity
Interactions 2-Reading
11. Christianity- religion- Islam Belief and behaviour Interactions 2-Reading
12. Spread of Islam to the East Belief and behaviour Interactions 2-Reading
13. The Middle east-Reality
TV show-The Big Brother
Socialisation and life
cycles
Interactions 2-Reading
14. Banking in The United
Arab Emirate
Social and political
institution
Interactions 2-Reading
Table 4: The category for Neutral contents based on Byram’s (1993) cultural content
checklist
No. Category Contents
1. Belief and behaviour 5
2. Socialisation and life cycles 5
3. Stereotypes and national identity 3
4. Social and political institution 1
Total 14
Table 5: The portrayal of Islam and Muslims as Positive in English language textbooks.
No. Content Category Textbook
1. Numeral Symbol Stereotypes and national
identity
Interactions 2:
Listening/Speaking
Table 6: The category for Positive contents based on Byram’s (1993) cultural content
checklist
No. Category Contents
1. Belief and behaviour 0
2. Socialisation and life cycles 0
11
MATEC Web of Conferences 150, 05076 (2018) https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/201815005076
MUCET 2017

3. Stereotypes and national identity 1
4. Social and political institution 0
Total 1
Table 7: The portrayal of Islam and Muslims as Negative in English language textbooks.
No
.
Content Category Textbook
1. Islam and Buddhist Art Belief and behaviour Interactions 2-
Reading
2. Term: Holy Place Belief and behaviour Interactions 2-
Reading
3. Emeriti Wedding Socialisation and life
cycles
Interactions 2-
Reading
4. Bedouin wedding involves
money
Socialisation and life
cycles
Interactions 2-
Reading
5. Emeriti wedding are too
lavish
Socialisation and life
cycles
Interactions 2-
Reading
6. Kamal Ataturk Social and political
institution
Interactions 2-
Reading
7. Arab’s Hospitality Socialisation and life
cycles
Engaging Writing
8. The Quran and Hadith Belief and behaviour Engaging Writing
Table 8: The category for Negative contents based on Byram’s (1993) cultural content
checklist
No. Category Contents
1. Belief and behaviour 3
2. Socialisation and life cycles 4
3. Stereotypes and national identity 0
4. Social and political institution 1
Total 8
12
MATEC Web of Conferences 150, 05076 (2018) https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/201815005076
MUCET 2017