Exploring Culture in Locally Published English Textbooks for Primary Education in Turkey
Keywords:
Cultural representations, Culture, EFL/ESL, International target culture, Source culture, Target culture, Textbooks
Abstract
Since language and culture are closely interwoven, the integration of culture into textbooks used for teaching English as a second/foreign language has become a widely accepted phenomenon. This study investigates the cultural elements in locally published English textbooks used for Turkish primary schools following two major curriculum innovations in ELT. A total of 18 textbooks, of which 8 were published after the 1997 curriculum innovation and 10 after the curriculum innovation introduced in 2005, were investigated to find out the extent to which textbooks contain references to the source (Turkish) culture, the target (British/American) culture and the international target culture. A quantitative analysis of the cultural elements demonstrated that while references to the source and target cultures included in textbooks published between 1997 and 2005 outnumber international target cultural components, a different trend was obtained in the cultural analysis of books published after the 2005 curriculum innovation. The study reveals that representations of the source culture, the target culture and the international target culture are favoured in locally produced ELT textbooks in a fairly balanced way.
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References
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DoÄŸan Publishers.
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Walker, M. (1994). Success - Communicating in English. Addison Wesley Publishing
Company.
Wenying, J. (2000). The Relationship between Culture and Language. ELT Journal, 54(4),
328-334.
Yalçınkaya, L. (2000). Easy English. Grade 7. Student’s Book. (2nd ed.). Ankara: Semih
Publishers.
Yalçınkaya, L., Keser, S., Boztepe, N., Akın, N., & Atabay, S. (2005). Let’s Speak English.
Grade 7. Student’s Book. (2nd ed.). İstanbul: Devlet kitapları müdürlüğü.
Yalçınkaya, L., Keser, S., Boztepe, N., Akın, N., & Atabay, S. (2005). Let’s Speak English.
Grade 8. Student’s Book. (2nd ed.). İstanbul: Devlet kitapları müdürlüğü.
Istanbul: Ders Kitapları Anonim Şirketi.
Akdikmen, R. (2002). A Modern English Course for Turks. Grade 7. Student’s Book.
Istanbul: Ders Kitapları Anonim Şirketi.
Allwright, D., & Bailey, K. M. (1991). Focus on the Language Classroom: An Introduction to
Classroom Research for Language Teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Alptekin, C. (1993). Target Language Culture in ELT Materials. ELT Journal, 47(2), 136–43.
Alptekin, C. (2002). Towards Intercultural Communicative Competence in ELT. ELT
Journal, 56(1), 57–64.
Brown, H. D. (2001). Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. Beijing: Foreign
Language Teaching and Research Press.
Byram, M. (1989). Cultural Studies in Foreign Language Education. Clevedon: Multilingual
Matters.
Curtain, H., & Pesola, C. A. B. (1994). Language and Children: Making the Match. (2nd ed.).
London: Longman.
Cortazzi, M., & Jin, L. (1999). Cultural Mirrors: Materials and Methods in the EFL
Classroom. In E. Hinkel (Ed.), Culture in Second Language Teaching and Learning (pp.
196-220). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,.
Erin, Y. (2006). Build Up Your English for Grade 6. Student’s Book. Istanbul: Cemre
Publishers.
Ersöz, A., Çakır, A., Cephe, P., Peker, G., Özkan, N., & Demir, G. (2008). Time for English.
Grade 4. Student’s Book. (2nd ed.). Ankara: MEB.
Ersöz, A., Çakır, A., Cephe, P., Peker, G., Özkan, N., & Demir, G. (2007). Time for English.
Grade 5. Student’s Book. Ankara: MEB.
Genç, H., Şeremet, C., & Oruç, N. (2004). Quick Step. Grade 6. Student’s Book. Ankara:
Ä°maj Publishers.
Jourdini, M. (2007). The Fifth Skill: Culture as a Language Learning Motivator. Retreived
from http://www.stoa.org.
Kılıckaya, F. (2004). Authentic Materials and Cultural Content in EFL Classrooms. The
Internet TESL Journal, 10(7). Retreived from http://iteslj.org/.
Kırkgöz, Y. (2005). English Language Teaching in Turkey: Challenges Towards the 21st
Century. In G. Braine (Ed.), Teaching English to the World History, Curriculum and
Practice (pp.159-169). London: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Kırkgöz, Y. (2007). English Language Teaching in Turkey: Policy Changes and their
Implementations. RELC Journal, 38(2), 216-228.
Kırkgöz, Y. (2010). Teaching English at Primary Education: From Policy Planning to
Practice. In B. Haznedar, & H. H. Uysal (Eds.), Handbook for Teaching Foreign Languages
to Young Learners in Primary Schools (pp. 23-41). Ankara: Anı Publications.
Kocaman, A., Tataroğlu, N., & Özgüler, Ü. (2000). Spring. Student’s Book. Grade 4.
Ankara: Özgün Publishers.
Kramsch, C. (1998). Language and Culture. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Kurt, C. B., Burdur, P. Ü., Çoban, Ö., Norşenli, F., Sarandal, M., Tekir, S., & Sayıner, İ.
(2008). Spot On. Grade 6. Student’s book. İstanbul: Milsan Publishers.
Kurt, C. B., Burdur, P. Ü., Çoban, Ö., Norşenli, F., Sarandal, M., Tekir, S., & Sayıner, İ.
(2008). Spot On. Grade 7. Student’s book. İstanbul: Rotamat Publishers.
Kurt, C. B., Burdur, P. Ü., Çoban, Ö., Norşenli, F., Sarandal, M., Tekir, S., & Sayıner, İ.
(2008). Spot On. Grade 8. Student’s book. İstanbul: Feza Publishers.
McKay, S. L. (2000). Teaching English as an International Language: Implications for
Cultural Materials in the Classroom. TESOL Journal, 9(4), 7-11.
Nida, E. A. (2003). Language and Culture. In S. Mejri (Ed.), Traduire la Langue, Traduire
la Culture (p. 193). Paris: Maisonneuve and Larose.
O’Neil, D. (2006). Language and Thought Process. Retreived from http://anthro.palomar.
edu/language/language5.htm.
Oztürk, S. A. (2007). Trip. Student’s book. Ankara: Anıttepe Publishers.
Pakkan, G. (2007). Texture English. Grade 4. Student’s book. Ankara: Doku Publishers.
Peterson, E., & Coltrane, B. (2003). Culture in Second Language Teaching. Eric Digest
EDO-FL-03-09. Center for Applied Linguistics.
Phillipson, R. (2010). Realities and Myths of Linguistic Imperialism. Journal of
Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 17(6), 485–96.
Scott, C. S. (1980). Some First Impressions of EFL Teaching in China. TESOL Newsletter,
14/6(11), 13-43.
Sönmez, A., & Yitim, B. (2004). Enjoy English. Grade 4. Student’s Book. (2nd ed.). İstanbul:
DoÄŸan Publishers.
Sönmez, A., & Yitim, B. (2004). Enjoy English. Grade 5. Student’s book. (3rd ed.). İstanbul:
DoÄŸan Publishers.
Tarlakazan, İ. (2004). English Today. Grade 5. Student’s Book. Ankara: Tuna Publishers.
Tylor, E. (1920) [1871]. Primitive Culture. New York: J. P. Putnam’s Sons.
Walker, M. (1994). Success - Communicating in English. Addison Wesley Publishing
Company.
Wenying, J. (2000). The Relationship between Culture and Language. ELT Journal, 54(4),
328-334.
Yalçınkaya, L. (2000). Easy English. Grade 7. Student’s Book. (2nd ed.). Ankara: Semih
Publishers.
Yalçınkaya, L., Keser, S., Boztepe, N., Akın, N., & Atabay, S. (2005). Let’s Speak English.
Grade 7. Student’s Book. (2nd ed.). İstanbul: Devlet kitapları müdürlüğü.
Yalçınkaya, L., Keser, S., Boztepe, N., Akın, N., & Atabay, S. (2005). Let’s Speak English.
Grade 8. Student’s Book. (2nd ed.). İstanbul: Devlet kitapları müdürlüğü.
Published
2011-03-31
How to Cite
Kirkgöz, Y., & Ağçam, R. (2011). Exploring Culture in Locally Published English Textbooks for Primary Education in Turkey. Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal, 1(1), 153–167. https://doi.org/10.26529/cepsj.445
Section
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