Nguyen Thi Nhan and Sudsuang Yutdhana
Pertanika Journal of Tropical Agricultural Science, Volume 27, Issue 3, September 2019
Keywords: Cultural contents, English as an international language, textbook analysis
Published on: 13 September 2019
The increasing frequency of international and intercultural communication has made English a top priority foreign language taught in Vietnam. Given that culture is inseparable from English language teaching, especially in the landscape of English as an international language (EIL), English teaching materials should integrate and reflect culture teaching perspectives under the EIL paradigm. The present study aimed at examining the extent to which the cultural contents in six English textbooks for the upper secondary level in Vietnam correspond with the EIL paradigm. A content analysis of these textbooks was conducted. The findings reveal signs of EIL paradigm influence in the set of investigated English textbooks. Firstly, the source culture and the international target culture appeared more frequently than the target culture. Secondly, the international target culture covered a diversity of cultures in the world with a noticeable emphasis on ASEAN countries. The interactional culture which is used to examine the reflection of source culture on other cultures is also found in a relatively large number of units. Finally, the global culture is presented throughout the set of textbooks as topics of units.
ISSN 1511-3701
e-ISSN 2231-8542