The DOI matches its Crossref record; 53 of the 54 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Exploring the hidden agenda in the representation of culture in international and localised ELT textbooks
Abstract
The rise of English as an international language (EIL) has challenged the focus on native-speaker culture in second language teaching and learning. Exposing learners to a single culture is no longer considered sufficient as intercultural language teaching and understanding gains momentum. The aim of this study was to investigate the representation of culture in dialogues and reading passages in international and localised textbooks used in Iran where localisation is favoured by language education policymakers in their macro-planning. The categorisations proposed by Cortazzi and Jin and Adaskou, Britten and Fahsi were used to conduct a content analysis to see which ‘cultures’ – those associated with the first language, those associated with the target language (TL), or other cultures – and which aspects of each culture (sociological or aesthetic) were addressed in these textbooks. The analysis revealed that most of the cultural elements embodied in the localised textbooks were culturally neutral in that they did not clearly refer to any particular culture and only a few were based on the TL and other cultures. Furthermore, in the localised textbook corpus, first language/local culture did not feature at all, while sociological values were highlighted more than the aesthetic aspects of culture. In contrast, the main focus in the international textbooks was on intercultural elements, two-thirds of which were in the aesthetic category. TL cultural elements were comparatively more evident in the international textbooks while very few representations were culturally neutral.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“Language in a textbook is not simply a linguistic system but contains and expresses aspects of culture - the same agenda, but with a cultural focus, may be pursued in ELT materials.”
From The Global ELT coursebook: A case of Cinderella's slipper? (2022) · cites this paper as Tajeddin & Teimournezhad, 2015
Citations
Cites
Fundamental Considerations in Language Testing
Spolsky, B., & Bachman, L. F. (1991) · Modern Language Journal · doi:10.2307/329499 · Cited by 4,359
Teaching and assessing intercultural communicative competence
Byram, M. (2020) · doi:10.21832/byram0244 · Cited by 3,286
Context and Culture in Language Teaching
Knowles, M., & Kramsch, C. (1995) · Modern Language Journal · doi:10.2307/330013 · Cited by 2,719
Context and culture in language teaching
Gibson, R. (1995) · System · doi:10.1016/0346-251x(95)90016-2 · Cited by 1,769
English Teaching, Practice and Critique
Burn, A., & Nixon, H. (2005) · Cited by 1,326
Cameron, D. (2001) · Cited by 1,290
(1995) · Cited by 1,150
Widdowson, H. G. (1994) · TESOL Quarterly · doi:10.2307/3587438 · Cited by 1,140
Closing A Conceptual Gap: The Case For A Description Of English As A Lingua Franca
Seidlhofer, B. (2001) · International Journal of Applied Linguistics · doi:10.1111/1473-4192.00011 · Cited by 1,028
From Foreign Language Education to Education for Intercultural Citizenship
Byram, M. (2008) · Multilingual Matters eBooks · doi:10.21832/9781847690807 · Cited by 976
Research works printed but not linked: 11
- Alcón E., 2000, Segundas Lenguas: Adquisición en el Aula, 259
- Aliakbari M, 2004, The Linguistic Journal, 1, 1
- Baleghizadeh S., 2010, The Journal of Teaching Language Skills (JTLS), 2, 1
- Iran Language Institute, 2004, The ILI English Series: Intermediate
- Kachru Y., 2011, Handbook of Research in Second Language Teaching and Learning: Vol. II, 155
- Kilickaya F, 2004, The Internet TESL Journal, 10
- Lange D., 2003, Culture as the Core: Perspectives in Second Language Education
- McKay S.L., 2003, TESOL Matters, 13, 1
- Ojeda J.R.G., 2005, Proceedings of the Second Online Conference on Second and Foreign Language Teaching and Research, September 16–18, 2005: Initiative, Innovation, and Inspiration, 1
- Sercu L., 2004, Porta Linguarum, 1, 85
- Usó-Juan E., 2008, Revista Alicantina de Estudios Ingleses, 21, 157, 10.14198/raei.2008.21.09 · DOI
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 101–184 of 184
Research Implications for GELT
Rose, H., & Galloway, N. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316678343.006
Ulum, Ö. G., & Köksal, D. (2019) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-35809-9_6
Ulum, Ö. G., & Köksal, D. (2019) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-35809-9_2
Rose, H., & Galloway, N. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316678343.001
Rose, H., & Galloway, N. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316678343.010
Rose, H., & Galloway, N. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316678343.011
Ulum, Ö. G., & Köksal, D. (2019) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-35809-9_1
Language Acquisition Concerning Intercultural and International Dialogue
Alshahrani, A. (2023) · Journal of Arts, Literature, Humanities and Social Sciences · doi:10.33193/jalhss.89.2023.805
Incorporating Aesthetic Education within EFL Classrooms: Contemporary Insights and Future Directions
(2023) · Journal of Educational Research and Policies · doi:10.53469/jerp.2023.05(06).05
Mualimin, M., Fathiyakan, F., & Rahayu, S. M. (2023) · Educative Jurnal Ilmiah Pendidikan · doi:10.37985/educative.v1i2.77
Indonesian Junior High School EFL Textbook: Intercultural Pragmatic Perspective
Sersanawawi, L., & Daulay, S. H. (2023) · Journal of English Language Teaching Linguistics and Literature Studies · doi:10.30984/jeltis.v3i1.2315
Intercultural Language Teaching
Tajeddin, Z., & Khanlarzadeh, N. (2023) · Language policy · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-38754-8_6
Self-citation"INTERCONNECTION OF LANGUAGE AND CULTURE: A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS OF EFL TEXTBOOKS "
Boribayev, S. M., Kuzembayeva, G., & Анесова, А. Ж. (2023) · Bulletin of Toraighyrov University Philology series · doi:10.48081/clml7686
Framing Culture in EFL Textbooks: A Critical Discourse Analysis at Islamic School
Putri, F. D., Djatmika, D., & Putra, K. A. (2023) · AL-ISHLAH Jurnal Pendidikan · doi:10.35445/alishlah.v15i3.4417 · Cited by 4
Wacławik, P., & Gozdawa-Gołębiowski, R. (2023) · Polish Cartographical Review · doi:10.2478/pcr-2023-0002 · Cited by 1
Cultural representation in the ELT textbook “Work in Progress”
Alfaya, A. F., Rochsantiningsih, D., & Sumardi, S. (2023) · Diksi · doi:10.21831/diksi.v31i2.65026
Attitude of Qatari Students towards the Cultural Content of Q: Skills for Success Textbooks
Badawi, M. (2024) · International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences · doi:10.6007/ijarbss/v14-i2/20784
Common Trends in Frameworks for Analyzing Intercultural Content in Language Teaching Course Books
Hoa, C. T. H., & Viên, T. (2024) · Advances in educational technologies and instructional design book series · doi:10.4018/979-8-3693-5365-3.ch006
刘, 莹. (2024) · Advances in Education · doi:10.12677/ae.2024.144489
A Review of Studies Between 2017-2022
İnal, D. (2024) · doi:10.5152/6104
Bozyiğit, E., Kıray, G., Antunes, J., Cavalheiro, L., Eloi, L., Guerra, L., Işıkıgil, N. C., Cihan, N., Pereira, R., Anselm, S., et al. (2024) · doi:10.5152/6100
Findings of ECRs’ research-related needs analysis
Guerra, L., & Eloi, L. (2024) · doi:10.5152/6109
Research Design and Implementation
Işıkıgil, N. C. (2024) · doi:10.5152/6106
Kıray, G. (2024) · doi:10.5152/6107
Background, Research Design and Procedures of the Literature Review
Cihan, N., Anselm, S., & Schuhmacher, S. (2024) · doi:10.5152/6102
Bozyiğit, E. (2024) · doi:10.5152/6105
Oral, Y. (2024) · doi:10.5152/6101
Background, Research Design, and Implementation of ECRs’ Research-Related Needs
Antunes, J., Cavalheiro, L., & Pereira, R. (2024) · doi:10.5152/6108
A Review of Studies between 2012-2016
Oral, Y. (2024) · doi:10.5152/6103
A study of cultural representation in Hokkien (Southern Min) textbooks
Huang, Y., & Song, H. (2024) · Frontiers in Education · doi:10.3389/feduc.2024.1387377
Jalili, S. (2023) · Majmū’ah-i musavvabāt-i majlis-i showrā-yi millī. · doi:10.61186/scds.12.1.54
Analysis of Foreign Culture Representation in the 10th Grade English Compulsory Textbook
Prayudha.S, J., Azwandi, A., & Syafryadin, S. (2024) · Journal of Language Intelligence and Culture · doi:10.35719/jlic.v6i2.138
Intercultural Communication, and Cognitive Development: Exploring Interactions
Muthyala, U. (2024) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-981-97-9354-9_2 · Cited by 1
Monfared, A. (2025) · Asian Englishes · doi:10.1080/13488678.2024.2448377 · Cited by 1
Rappresentare la Cultura Target: l’Italia nei manuali d’italiano in Cina
Cai, S., Ru, G., & Sanviti, I. (2025) · Forum Italicum A Journal of Italian Studies · doi:10.1177/00145858241298676
Women’s Beauty and Body Image as Culturally Conceptualized in Global ELT Textbooks
Tajeddin, Z., & Mansouri, A. (2025) · Cultural linguistics · doi:10.1007/978-981-96-7726-9_10
Self-citationKarakaş, A., & Arslan, S. (2025) · Moderna Språk · doi:10.58221/mosp.v119i2.22564
Politics, Religion, and the Empiring of Languages in Brazil, Colombia, and Ukraine
Goodman, B. A., Ortega, Y., & Barros, S. R. (2025) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192869203.013.36
The Representation of Minority People in Kazakhstan School Textbooks
Smagulova, J., & Narymbetova, K. (2025) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192869203.013.40
Understanding Linguistic Prejudice through Linguistic Landscapes
Izadi, D. (2025) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192869203.013.24
Language, Religious Determinism, and Prejudice in Digital Spaces
Sultana, S. (2025) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192869203.013.26
The Symbolic Power of Written Language in the Andes
Godenzzi, J. C. (2025) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192869203.013.31
Paterson, L. L. (2025) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192869203.013.38
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Language Learners in the Australian Education System
Steele, C., Oliver, R., & Holzberger, N. (2025) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192869203.013.14
Language, (De)colonization, and the Curriculum
Bauler, C. V., & Cushing, I. R. (2025) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192869203.013.30
Language Guidelines as the Frontier of Anti-Prejudicial Prescriptivism
Malory, B. (2025) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192869203.013.39
Combatting Inequalities of Multilingualism Online
Tupas, R. (2025) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192869203.013.32 · Cited by 1
Twitter as an Online Counter-Pedagogy to Linguistic Prejudice
Ramjattan, V. A. (2025) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192869203.013.34
Social Status and Linguistic Prejudice in Brazil
Massini-Cagliari, G. (2025) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192869203.013.20
Demystifying Linguistic Prejudice and Discrimination in Standard Language Ideology
Xu, Y., & Fang, F. (2025) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192869203.013.29
Language Prejudice and Discrimination on Social Media Platforms in Southern Africa
Set, B., Mpofu, P., & Chari, T. J. (2025) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192869203.013.22
Linguistic Prejudice in Academia
Soler, J., & Morales‐Gálvez, S. (2025) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192869203.013.35
Examining Discrimination and Prejudice as Emerging Constructs in Health Communication Scholarship
Dillon, P., Siegenthaler, B., & Basu, A. (2025) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192869203.013.23
Sauntson, H. (2025) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192869203.013.4
(2025) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192869203.002.0006
Voice Quality, Pitch, and Gender Discrimination
Pearce, J., Setter, J. E., & Arvaniti, A. (2025) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192869203.013.5
Incredible Language and Refugee Legal Processes
Smith‐Khan, L. (2025) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192869203.013.25
Samuelsson, C., Müller, N., & Hydén, L. (2025) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192869203.013.9
Linguistic Prejudice and Discrimination against Autistic People
Aydos, V., Magnani, L. H., & Rückert, G. H. (2025) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192869203.013.8
(De)Valuing Heritage Languages across Time and Space
Korne, H. D., Purkarthofer, J., & Obojska, M. A. (2025) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192869203.013.12
Singh, J. N. (2025) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192869203.013.2
Watt, D. J. L. (2025) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192869203.013.17
(2025) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192869203.002.0004
‘Racial Blindness’ and ‘Racial Ignorance’ in the Sociolinguistic Arena
Milak, E., & Tankosić, A. (2025) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192869203.013.11
Cultural Stigmatization and Linguistic Prejudice in Deaf Education in Ghana
Akanlig-Pare, G., & Edward, M. I. (2025) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192869203.013.6
Language and Discursive Production of Blind Subjects
Maheshwari, Z. (2025) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192869203.013.7
Faloppa, F. (2025) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192869203.013.15 · Cited by 1
Yu, T. (2025) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192869203.013.1
The Oxford Handbook of Language and Prejudice
Ramjattan, V. A., Yu, T., Singh, J. N., Tudisco, J. J., Sauntson, H., Pearce, J., Setter, J., Arvaniti, A., Akanlig-Pare, G., (24095564), M. E., et al. (2025) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192869203.001.0001 · Cited by 1
The Role of Metaphor and Indexicality in the Reinforcement of Social Meanings of Disability
Hermeston, R. (2025) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192869203.013.10
Tabrizi, H. H., & Chalak, A. (2025) · Cultural linguistics · doi:10.1007/978-981-96-7726-9_7
Stankić, D. P. (2025) · Cultural linguistics · doi:10.1007/978-981-96-7726-9_9
Derakhshan, A., & Mehdizadeh, M. (2026) · International perspectives on English language teaching · doi:10.1007/978-3-032-11272-9_6
Local English textbooks: a systematic review of research trends and constructions of ‘the local’
Tian, L., & Weninger, C. (2026) · Language Culture and Curriculum · doi:10.1080/07908318.2026.2644175
Cultural Identity in L2 Teacher Education
Meihami, H. (2026) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-032-19563-0_3
Salem, N. M. N. (2026) · Southern Semiotic Review · doi:10.33234/ssr.23/11
徐, 秋. (2026) · Creative Education Studies · doi:10.12677/ces.2026.146412
Bridging text and perception: Chinese cultural representation in multilingual textbooks corpora
Wang, X., & He, Y. (2026) · Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development · doi:10.1080/01434632.2026.2661900
A Global Perspective on the Evaluation of English Coursebooks
Kırkgöz, Y. (2026) · Uludağ Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi · doi:10.19171/uefad.1740472
Ko, S., & McConachy, T. (2026) · Language Culture and Curriculum · doi:10.1080/07908318.2026.2713050
Liu, Y., & Xie, Y. (2026) · Emerald Group Publishing Limited eBooks · doi:10.1108/978-1-80686-777-620261009
I Am Everything They Say I Am Not
(2026) · Emerald Group Publishing Limited eBooks · doi:10.1108/978-1-80686-777-620261014
Cultural diversity in 9th grade English language textbook in Turkish educational context
Altınsoy, E., & Boyraz, S. (2026) · Interdisciplinary Journal of Diversity Research · doi:10.51986/ijdr-2026.vol1.06
Cultural Representation in ELT: A Comparative Analysis of Global and National Coursebooks
Yavuz, C., Ölmez, G. N., Efeoğlu, G. N., & Altay, İ. F. (2026) · Research on Education and Psychology · doi:10.54535/rep.1978414
Metadata
- Authors
- Tajeddin, Z., & Teimournezhad, S.
- Affiliations
- Allameh Tabataba'i University (IR)
- Sharif University of Technology (IR)
- Corresponding author
- Tajeddin, Zia
- ORCID
- Tajeddin, Zia
- Venue
- The Language Learning Journal
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2014-01-22
- Volume
- 43
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 180-193
- ISSN
- 0957-1736 (ISSN-L)
- 1753-2167
- OpenAlex
- W2095307261
- Cited by
- 185
- References
- 54
- Citations by year
- 2026: 12 · 2025: 50 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 24 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 26 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 1
- FWCI
- 18.82
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Language Learning Journal (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › Linguistic Education and Pedagogy
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › Linguistics and Language Analysis
- Keywords
- cultural representation, English as a global language, intercultural language teaching, English textbooks, Iran, target culture, cultural neutrality, socio-cultural values, aesthetic value, hidden agendas, textbook analysis
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review