The aim of this essay is to study how cultures are presented in English textbooks for A-level students in Sweden. The aim is divided into three research questions, what does culture in English teaching mean, how is the English-speaking world presented in the textbooks and is the image that is presented stereotyped or does it try to challenge it?The study comprises of four textbooks from 1998-2008. The theoretical frame used in the essay is Edward Said’s Orientalism. Results show that much of the focus is on countries from the inner circle of the English-speaking world and that foreign cultures are mostly represented in topics such as racism and ethnicity. People from minority cultures also appear in a context, where they are presented as unique since they do not fit in the average stereotype image connected with their culture. Hence minorities come to symbolize “the other”. The exercises in the textbooks focus to some extent on reflection about culture and comparisons between different countries, and their habits. The majority of the texts focus on the Western world, that is the US and Great Britain either because of the geographical location of the texts or because of the author.

The research aims to investigate the responses of teachers and learners in a particular rural context to a chapter from a South African English First Additional Language textbook which is currently being developed for commercial publication. The activities and content of the chapter aim to encourage learners to think critically about power relations in teenage relationships. The material was used in two classes of Grade 11 English learners by two English teachers from the same school. Data from classroom observations, from learners’ writing and from interviews with teachers and learners was analysed in order to respond to a series of questions which focus on teachers’ and learners’ responses to a theme which was assumed to be a sensitive and controversial one and responses to the design features of the material. Firstly, the theme appeared not to be considered sensitive or controversial by either teachers or learners. Secondly, the teachers ignored almost completely the pedagogic design of the materials and in doing so negatively affected opportunities for learners to learn. Possible explanations for both findings are discussed.

The thesis deals with the issues connected to learning exercises in educational English students' textbooks. The main focus is based on the occurrence of the educational exercises analysis in these textbooks. In general, learning exercises develop two main branches - the language itself (specifically grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation) and language skills (speaking, listening comprehension, reading comprehension and writing). The attention is paid to what types of learning exercises usually appear and what exactly they develop in students' cognition and their language skills. The educational enrichment coming from these activities is very important for the students' cognitive development. At first, the theoretical part of each sub-branch is discussed. Afterwards, the emphasis is placed on the learning exercises themselves as these are essential components of the students' textbooks. The theoretical part is relatively extensive. It takes the fundamental proportion of the thesis and contains detailed descriptions. The explorative section is based on analysis of several English textbooks intended for students of the English language. It focuses on the proportion of language itself and the proportion of language skills. The thesis outcomes may contribute to the English learning exercises issues. In...

The purposes of this study were to understand the opinions of English teachers in junior high school in Kaohsiung City on the selection criteria and the influence factors for English textbooks, and to offer a few concrete suggestions for the improvement of junior high schools textbook selection according to the results. The research adopted questionnaire survey method. The questionnaire was designed and distributed to 400 English teachers from 45 junior high schools in Kaohsiung City as the subjects. As a result, 305 were valid responded corresponding with a 76% of return rate. Descriptive statistics, t-test, one-way ANOVA, and Scheffe method were conducted for data analysis and finally come to the following results: 1. The teachers generally agree to the importance of the textbook selection criteria, in which they emphasize the most on ¡§context-related properties,¡¨ and the less on ¡§physical properties.¡¨ 2. On the whole, the teachers agree to the influence factors on textbook selection, and the ¡§internal factors¡¨ have more influence than the ¡§external factors.¡¨ 3. English teachers are the main participants in selecting English textbooks in junior high school, and the final results are determined in the meeting of textbook selection. 4. There are significant different opinions on the importance of the textbook selection criteria due to the ¡§school sizes,¡¨ ¡§genders,¡¨ ¡§years of teaching experience,¡¨ and the ¡§experiences of textbook selection.¡¨ 5. There are significant different opinions on the influence factors on textbook selection because of the ¡§locations of school,¡¨ ¡§educational qualifications,¡¨ ¡§years of teaching experience,¡¨ and the ¡§experiences of textbook selection.¡¨ Based on the results of the study, some suggestions are proposed to the educational authorities, schools, teachers and publishers, as well as future studies.

The purpose of this study is to find out whether and to what extent there has been a change in how boys/men and girls/women are represented in textbooks which are used for teaching English in the third grade of primary school. The study compares six textbooks published between the years 2002 and 2017 to investigate the purpose of this study. The theoretical framework of the study is Hirdman’s (1988) two gender principles (separation and hierarchy) and terms such as equality, male and female. The study uses a quantitative research method to analyze texts and images in the textbooks. To fulfill the purpose of this study, the following questions are investigated: - Are girls/women and boys/men represented to the same extent in the texts and images in the textbooks used for teaching English in the third grade? Has this changed over time? - What characteristics are associated with girls/women and boys/men in the texts and images in the textbooks used for teaching English in the third grade? Has this changed over time? The results of the study show that men are represented more often in text and images overall, especially in the books that are published in 2017. However, in one of the books, which was published in 2003, men and women are represented equally frequently (50% men and 50% women) in the images. For the categories active and passive, men are more often portrayed as active and women are more often as passive both in the text and in the images. However, in the books from 2002 and 2003, men and women are portrayed as active almost equally often in the text and the images. Furthermore, while the frequencies are relatively low, the results show that men are often portrayed as being strong. Nevertheless, in three of the six analyzed books, the same number of men and women are portrayed as being strong. For the category beautiful, only men are portrayed as beautiful and no woman is portrayed as beautiful in the six analyzed books. The last category that is analyzed is sport. The results show that the number of men shown to be doing some sport activity is higher than for women. One general conclusion that can be drawn regarding whether the representation of men and women has changed over time is that the most recent books show gender inequality when subjected to closer scrutiny.

Detta examensarbete undersöker representationen av kön och könsroller i engelska läroböcker. Målet är att få en bild av hur kvinnor och män beskrivs i böckerna, och i vilken utsträckning de visar jämställdhet mellan könen. Studien innefattar en undersökning av sex läroböcker, av vilka två publicerades under 1970-talet. För att ge en tydligare bild av vår undersökning är tidigare forskning angående könsrelaterade problem och läromedel integrerad i texten. Resultaten visar att det finns en obalans mellan antalet kvinnliga och manliga protagonister, att manliga författare är överrepresenterade och att de kvinnliga karaktärerna oftast har ett stereotypisk yrke eller inget alls. Detta examensarbete kommer att visa att de utvalda engelska läroböckerna inte lever upp till de kraven som ställs i styrdokumenten. Avslutningsvis innehåller detta examensarbete några praktiska idéer om hur man kan arbeta med könsrelaterade problem i klassrummet. / This dissertation investigates the representation of gender and gender roles in English textbooks. The aim is to see how women and men are described and to what extent the textbooks show equality between the sexes. The study comprises the examination of six textbooks, two of which were published in the 1970s. Previous research concerning gender issues and textbooks is integrated to give a clearer picture of our investigation. The results show that there is an imbalance in the number of female protagonists, an over-representation of male authors and that occupations for female characters are mainly stereotypical or non-existent. This dissertation will show that the textbooks selected do not live up to the requirements in the policy documents. Finally, the dissertation contains some practical ideas on how to work with gender issues in the classroom.

The aim of this study is to examine if English textbooks offer a cultural perspective of the English-speaking world in accordance with Swedish ordinances and recent research. The research question is: How is the English-speaking world culturally represented in English textbooks for Swedish upper secondary school course A in terms of ethnicity and national identity? The study comprises four textbooks from 2000 or later. The analysis is carried out within the framework of post-colonial theory. Four aspects are focused on: the ideological point of view, the representation of ethnicity, the representation of national identity and how these issues correspond to the ordinances. The results display that the books contain almost no biased stereotypes and that they fulfil several, if not always all, of the requirements of the English syllabus. All books include texts that provide balanced information about the ways of living, the cultural traditions and the historical conditions of a few selected countries. There are also exercises and activities that encourage intercultural understanding. However, the focus is mainly on the West and the view of culture is remarkably often based on national and monolithic assumptions. In particular, the positive values of cultural and ethnic diversity are still not fully acknowledged. In order to develop international solidarity and greater understanding and tolerance of other people, a higher degree of post-colonial and diasporic writing is needed. Above all, cultural issues have to be allowed to imbue the entire material.

溝通式語言教學(CLT)的原則和特色自從1995年就被帶進台灣高中英文教科書的編纂。在溝通能力的四個構成要素之中，社會語言能力是成功溝通的關鍵而且能夠經由語言行為的使用被展現出來。因此，本研究旨在探測語言行為教學在台灣英文教科書中是如何被呈現的。首先，五個最常被使用及研究的語言行為─恭維、請求、道歉、抱怨以及拒絕─在台灣最受歡迎的兩套高中英文教科書─遠東和三民─之對話中出現的次數被統計。然後，對話中主要運用到的觀點，美國的或中國的，以及教科書和教師手冊中的跨文化對照跟比較被檢視。最後，以跨文化的角度分析常和語言行為一起出現的支持性話語以及閒聊，同時，教科書和教師手冊是否有相關的解釋也被探索。 研究結果顯示，五種語言行為當中的大多數在兩套教科書中並沒有被平均地分佈，而以該五種語言行為的呈現手法來看，遠東版教科書在比例上運用較多的中國式觀點，然而三民版教科書在比例上則運用較多的美國式觀點。但是，無論兩套教科書較偏向哪一種觀點，在教科書以及其對應的教師手冊中幾乎沒有跨文化的對照和比較。至於支持性話語和閒聊的呈現方式，研究結果顯示遠東版教科書在恭維、請求和抱怨這三種語言行為的支持性話語和閒聊的呈現並不多，而三民版教科書在請求和抱怨這兩種語言行為的支持性話語和閒聊的呈現也不多，無法提供學生充足的練習機會，同時，就算有支持性話語和閒聊出現在語言行為中，在教科書跟其對應的教師手冊中仍然沒有進一步的解釋以指出美國人跟中國人在使用上的文化差異。基於本研究的研究結果，獲得之教學啟示如後。首先，雖然台灣的高中英文教科書，至少遠東版跟三民版，還沒如此地嚴肅看待語言行為教學，但對於老師來說，向學生介紹語言行為的知識卻是相當重要的，因為如此一來，方能使他們學習如何更有效地與人溝通。再者，身為一位台灣的英文老師，既然語言行為以及伴隨的支持性話語和閒聊在教科書或教師手冊當中，幾乎沒有或很少有跨文化差異性的解釋存在，增加我們語言行為教學的知識就變成了一項不可或缺的事。此外，台灣教科書的出版者應該反省教科書中對話部份的適當呈現方式，使老師能經由語言行為教學的實施改善同學的社會語言能力。最後，本研究當中被用來分析語言行為呈現所運用的主要的觀點(美國的或中國的)之分類系統，不僅對於未來針對台灣其它版本教科書做類似研究的研究者有幫助，也提供第一線教師評判教科書中對話結構呈現適當與否之標準，同時也將語言行為教學的背景知識灌輸給第一線教師。 / The principles and characteristics of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) have been brought into senior high school English textbooks editing in Taiwan since 1995. Among the four components of communicative competence, sociolinguistic competence is the key to successful communication and can be shown through the use of speech acts. This study, therefore, intended to probe into how speech act teaching is carried out in senior high school English textbooks in Taiwan. Firstly, the frequency of the five much used and explored speech acts—compliment, request, apology, complaint, and refusal—in the conversation part of two sets of the most popular senior high school English textbooks in Taiwan—Textbook F and Textbook S—was counted. Then, the preference, American or Chinese, as well as cross-cultural comparisons and contrasts in both the textbooks and teachers’ manuals, were examined. Lastly, the common co-occurring phenomenon of supportive moves and small talk in speech acts was analyzed cross-culturally and related explanations in both the textbooks and teachers’ manuals were investigated as well. The results showed that most of the five speech acts were not appropriately distributed in both sets of the textbooks, and that Textbook F offered much more Chinese preference than American one, while Textbook S provided proportionately more American preference than Chinese one, in presenting the five speech acts. However, no matter which preference both sets of textbooks favored, there were almost no cross-cultural comparisons and contrasts made in the textbooks or their corresponding teachers’ manuals. As to the presentation of supportive moves and small talk, the findings showed that Textbook F did not present enough supportive moves and small talk in the speech acts of compliment, request, and complaint, and that Textbook S did not display enough supportive moves and small talk in the speech acts of request and complaint for students to learn from, and if supportive moves or small talk were presented, there were still no further explanations in the textbooks or their corresponding teachers’ manuals to point out cultural differences between American and Chinese usage. With regard to the findings in this study, some pedagogical implications are provided. Firstly, although the senior high school English textbooks in Taiwan, at least Textbook F and Textbook S, have not taken speech act teaching so seriously, it is quite important for teachers to introduce the knowledge of speech acts to make students learn how to communicate more effectively. Secondly, as an English teacher in Taiwan, increasing our knowledge of speech act teaching becomes a ‘must’ since there are no or few explanations of cross-cultural differences of speech acts and their supportive moves or small talk in the textbooks or teachers’ manuals. Thirdly, textbook publishers in Taiwan should reflect upon the appropriate way to present the conversation part in textbooks to improve students’ sociolinguistic competence through speech act teaching. Last but not least, the coding scheme used for analyzing the preference, American or Chinese one, in this research, can not only be helpful to future researchers conducting similar studies on other sets of textbooks in Taiwan, but also offer teachers criteria to make judgments on the organization of the conversation part in textbooks and provide them the background knowledge of speech act teaching at the same time.

Teachers employ traditional readability measurements to estimate text difficulty when assigning textbooks to meet the students’ current proficiency level. The purpose of this study was to see if modern textbooks published by five major publishing companies in Sweden were more difficult to read according to traditional readability formula compared to textbooks published in the 90’s. This study also aims to investigate whether readability in textbooks was similar among the five publishers. The readability formula Flesch Reading Ease in Coh-Metrix was utilized to calculate text difficulty in textbooks intended for Swedish grade 7. The primary material used for this study consisted of 70 texts selected from textbooks from three different time periods and five different publishers. The results from the formula indicated that the modern textbooks, published in between 2012-2016, were more difficult to read compared with the older ones. In addition, the results indicated that readability was similar among the different publishers. However, the study showed that modern textbooks published by Liber were easier to read in comparison with the older ones of this particular publisher. That modern textbooks have longer sentence structures and more complex syntax suggests increased expectations of 7th graders’ reading abilities.

論文提要內容： 本研究旨在分析及探討遠東及龍騰出版社2006年9月所出版之高中英文教科書(第一冊至第三冊)的文化內涵，所使用的評量依據有二個。一為Moran的cultural knowings framework，其中評量的項目包含了文化內容、文化活動及文化學習結果。除此之外，普通高級中學必修科目「英文」課程綱要(2004年8月31日頒布)中的文化涵養與世界觀之基本能力和進階能力亦為另一評量依據。 本研究的結果總結如下: (1)這兩套教科書所提到的文化以英美文化居多，此種偏向某特定地區文化(culture-specific)的教學，並不符合當今外語教學界所盛行的culture-general教學或 transcultural教學。(2)這兩套教科書中，大部份的文化教學只是「事實呈現」(facts-only) ，幾乎沒有觸及文化觀點及自我文化覺醒。(3)在這兩套教科書中，只有不到12%的活動與文化學習有關。此外，大部份的文化活動目的為收集資料及發展某些文化技能，幾乎沒有論及到發現原因和自我文化覺醒。(4)根據前三項結果，推論出只研讀這兩套教科書的學生可能並沒有成功的文化學習經驗。(5) 這二套英文教科書達到普通高級中學必修科目「英文」課程綱要之大部份文化指標。 根據研究結果，研究者對英文教師、師資培育機構、教科書編輯及出版社提出數點建議。 / Abstract This study first analyzes the cultural load of New Far East and Lungteng sets of English textbooks (from volume 1 to volume 3) based on Moran’s (2001) cultural knowings framework—content, activities, and learning outcomes. In addition, each lesson in both sets is examined with the cultural objectives in English Curriculum Guidelines for Senior High Schools issued in 2004 to see if each lesson in both sets achieves all of the cultural objectives. The results of the study are summarized as follows. (1) The foreign cultures mentioned in both New Far East and Lungteng sets of textbooks focus on American and British cultures. This kind of culture-specific information does not follow the current trend of culture-general understanding or the transcultural approach in the world. (2) Most of the cultural content in both sets is just “facts-only” information, hardly touching the concepts of cultural practices, cultural perspectives, and self-awareness. (3) Less than 12% of the activities in both sets are related to cultural instruction. Additionally, the cultural activities center on gathering information and developing skills, rarely on discovering explanations and self-reflection. (4) According to the previous results, it seems that students solely using the two sets of English textbooks are not likely to have a successful cultural learning experience. (5) New Far East and Lungteng sets of English textbooks (from volume 1 to volume 3) achieve most of the cultural objectives in English Curriculum Guidelines for Senior High Schools. Finally, some suggestions are provided on the basis of the findings in this study.