English language textbooks in Swedish upper secondary education play a significant role in students' perception of culture. The cultural representation within these textbooks is vital to analyze due to the Swedish National Agency for Education (2022a, 2022b)guidelines regarding students' exposure to the English-speaking world. The study aimed to analyze how two Swedish ELT (English Language Teaching) textbooks present cultural representations in accordance with Kachru’s (1992) Concentric Three-Circle Model. The study also aimed to investigate Swedish students’ multicultural exposure to English-speaking countries through ELT textbooks. The study primarily implements a qualitative research methodology through document analysis of two Swedish ELTtextbooks for upper secondary school; however, the study also contains a quantitative aspect to clarify the cultural representations found in the textbooks per Kachru’s (1992)framework. Moreover, the study employs Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to analyze power relations embedded in the language and cultural representations found in two textbooks. The textbooks include examples from all circles of Kachru’s (1992)model but focus heavily on Inner Circle countries. Both textbooks provide insight into multicultural understanding and provide cultural norms, some of which are being challenged and problematized. The study's findings indicate a cultural bias and power imbalance in the cultural representations of the ELT textbooks, as the Inner Circle countries are presented as superior and normative. In contrast, the Outer- and Expanding Circle countries are marginalized despite being represented with a degree of critical cultural reflection. Further research could explore students' attitudes when working with other aspects, such as gender representation.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:mau-68906 |
| Date | January 2024 |
| Creators | Lindgren, Sebastian, Lindkvist, Oscar |
| Publisher | Malmö universitet, Institutionen för kultur, språk och medier (KSM) |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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