Abstract

The study aims at exploring the role of culture in EFL textbooks. It discusses various definitions of culture, the significance of including culture in EFL textbooks, the importance of textbooks in the process of teaching EFL, the various guidelines that experts in the field recommend in textbook evaluation, the weight of culture that these checklists suggest and finally a summary of conclusions that the writer of this paper arrives at based on some theoretical literature in the field and two studies conducted by two reasearchers in Jordan who assessed two major EFL textbook series .

Introduction

       English is the language which is used across the globe and is adopted widely for communication among speakers whose native languages are different. In some countries, English is the language of the mass media. i.e. newspapers , radio and television ; the language of official institutions , of law , courts , local and central governments , and the language of large commercial and industrial organisations (Broughton et al 1980 : 6 ) . It is also the partial or universal medium of instruction for other subjects in the curriculum . ( Murica and Mc Intosh 1978 : 14 ) . In some other regions like the Arab World , other subjects are taught in Arabic . In this sense , English is typically taught as a foreign language . However , whether English is taught as a first language , a second language or a foreign language , cultural components are inevitable, for language teaching is also culture teaching ( Clouston , 1997 ) As a matter of fact , it is almost impossible to teach a language without teaching culture . There has been a unanimous agreement of the close interrelation between language and culture (Pulverness , 2003 , Byram 1989 , Kransch 1993 , Brown 1986 Dweik,1986 , Berns 1990 ) It is clear that language and culture have intimate relationship and that one cannot learn a language without learning culture .

Why should culture be tauaght ?

      Kitao ( 2000 ) gave reference to several authors and listed some of the benefits of teaching culture as follows ;

1- Studying culture gives students a reason to study the target language as well as rendering the study of L2 meaningful ( Stainer , 1971 ) .

2- From the perspective of learners , one of the major problems in language teaching is conceiving the native speakers of the  target language as real persons . Although grammar books give so called genuine examples from real life , without background knowledge those real situations may be considered fictive by the learners .In addition, providing access into cultural aspects of language , learning culture would help learners relate the abstract sounds and forms of a language to real people and places
( Chastain , 1971 )

3- Learning culture motivates learners who usually like culturally based activities such as singing , dancing , role playing , learning about countries and peoples . The study of culture increases not only curiosity about target countries but also their motivations. (Gardner and Lambert, 1972 )

4- Studying culture gives learners a liking for the native speakers of the target language . Studying culture also plays a useful role in general education ; studying culture means learning about the geography , history , beliefs , values , society , etc of the target culture .

5- Culture influences language teaching . It influences the choice of the language materials because cultural content of the language materials and the cultural basis of the teaching methodology are to be taken into consideration while deciding upon the language materials . For example , while some textbooks provide examples from the target culture , some others use source culture materials ( Mckay , 2003 )

6- Learning culture helps learners observe similarities and differences among various cultural groups . It helps learners understand and tolerate the other people , and ultimately helps in narrowing the gap between the two cultures and overcome ethnocentric views due to being culture bound . Being culture bound means rejecting or ignoring the new culture . ( Kramsch 2001 )

7- Lack of cultural competence in the target language would surely lead to transfer from the native language to the target language . Consequently , learners would express utterances leading to inappropriate utterances eventhough the grammatical structures may be appropriate . ( Lado , 1957 ; Dweik ,2000 )

8- Learning culture helps better communication because culture not only dictates who talks to whom , about what , and how the communication proceeds , it also helps determine how people encode messages , the meanings they have for messages , and the conditions and circumstances under which various messages may or may not be sent , noticed , or interpreted .Culture is the foundation of communication .( Samovar, Porter , and Jain , 1981 )

9- Learning culture helps understand non-verbal communication .i.e. kinesics , proximics . Each language employs gestures , and body movements which convey meaning . Understanding the elements of non-verbal communication in the target culture , would facilitate communication and improve mutual understanding among interlocuters . ( Dunnet et al in cited in Barker , 2003 )

What is culture ?

  It is not easy to define culture since it has over three hundred definitions ( Kroeber and Kluckhorn , 1954 ) However , since what concerns us is the relevence of culture to textbook materials and language learning , the following definitions are considered :

Lado , ( 1957 ) refers to culture as " the ways of a people " . This perspective incorporates both material manifestations of culture that are easily seen and non material ones that are more difficult to observe ( Saville- Troike, 1975 ) . Thus we refer to American culture when we speak of the way of life in America which means referring to the people , society and communication means in America .

Adaskou , Britten and Fahsi , ( 1990 ) definesculture on a more specific level by outlining four meanings of culture . Their aesthetic sense including cinema , literature, music and media , while their sociological one refers to the organisation and nature of family , interpersonal relations , customs , material conditions , and so on . Their semantic sense encompasses the whole conceptualization system which conditions perceptions and thought processes and their pragmatic or sociolinguistic sense refers to the background knowledge , social and paralinguistic skills and language code which are necessary for successful communication . While not necessarily all inclusive , these aspects of culture provide more substance to the general definition above and reflect culture's many dimensions .

Robinson ( 1988 ) recommends a symbolic definition which sees culture as a dynamic “system of symbols and meanings" . This definition reflects the dynamic nature of culture . It is constantly changing .

Stern ( 1983 , 1992 ) recognizes that the context for language , culture and communication is society and thus emphasizes the social sciences as a foundation . In addition , it also states a clear frame of reference , a region , a country , or a number of countries . There is a need to focus on a clear society .

Tomalin and Stempleski ( 1993 ) talk about three main categories of culture” product” such as literature , folklore , art , music ,” ideas “such as beliefs , values , institutions and” behaviors” such as customs , habits , dress, food , leisure .

Dweik ( 2000 ) believes that culture is about what people share and about their differences with others . Being a member of the same cultural group does not mean that they share everything . People survive with all their differences ; maybe because they share more than they differ . Differences are a potential main source of conflict when one culture enters into contact with another . Differences are due to many factors such as age , race , gender , social class , generation , life experiences and conversational styles . With all these differences , communication would not be possible unless people try to find some sort of understanding .

Why Evaluating EFL Material ( textbooks):

  It is necessary that teachers , administrators , policy makers evaluate EFL materials before embarking on teaching because inappropriate choices may waste funds and time and may have demotivating effects on students and teachers alike .

    Cunningsworth ( 1984 ) suggests that there are very few teachers who do not use published course materials at some stage in their teaching careers . Whether textbooks are produced by publishers in the open-market situations or by Ministries of Education or some similar bodies, many teachers find that it is something that needs to be done regularly in their professional lives. In the first mentioned situation above teachers may have a large amount of choice in the materials they select . In the second mentioned situation where teachers are handed materials by a Ministry of Education , teachers get very limited choice or perhaps no choice at all . In both situations , teachers have to think about different ways of making use of such materials . Writing their own materials can be time consuming and not necessarily cost effective ; hence the need to be able to discriminate effectively between all the coursebooks on the market .

     Because there is a wealth of EFL material available , with literarily hundreds of new commercially available titles appearing every year in the English speaking countries , the need for selecting and evaluating a textbook is necessary . Even for teachers working with materials given to them by a Ministry of Education , they probably need to resort to adapting these materials as best they can to suit the needs of their students, and to meet the goals and objectives set for their teaching . Even though such teachers will not have to evaluate to adopt materials , they may will be interested in evaluation as a useful process in its own right , giving insight into the organizational principles of the materials and helping them to keep up with developments in the field . This in turn can help the teacher to focus on realistic way of adapting the materials to a particular group of learners where pertinent . ( Mc Donough , 2003 )

    Textbook evaluation is necessary because no textbook or set of materials is likely to be perfect . Coursebook evaluation is a subjective activity and no neat formula , grid or system will ever provide definite yardstick . Nevertheless , experts in the field have designed and suggested different guidelines to evaluate EFL textbooks and materials . These guidelines as Tomlinson ( 1999 ) suggests must be determined by the reasons , objectives ,and circumstances of the evaluation .

How to Evaluate EFL Textbooks and Materials :

   Daoud, Celce - Murcia ( 1978 ) in their article titled Selecting and Evaluating a Textbook called for obtaining three data before evaluation takes place . First, getting background information about the students ( their age range , proficiency level in English , sex distribution , level of general education , background languages and reasons for studying English ). Second, institutional data which include class size , hours allocated to the study of English, audio visual equipment , preferred dialect of English , institutional or national objectives for English instruction , nature of examinations . Third , course syllabus ( i.e. relative emphasis given to each skill , tasks that each skill needs , emphasis to each language area ( grammar , vocabulary , pronunciation and the use to which language material will be put .) Once this background information is spelled out , Daoud and Celce-Murica recommend that teachers follow three stages :

Survey , analysis and judging . In the survey stage , teachers are recommended to find a number of textbooks , and examine their organisation , method of presentation , as well as the range and kind of materials that the book includes . Texts that agree with the preliminary requirements should be set aside for further consideration .

     The second step requires analyzing the textbook and the teacher's manual . They suggested a checklist which include the following : (1)Subject matter(topics ,contexts)
(2) Vocabulary (3) Exercises (4) Illustrations(5) Physical make up (cover , size , binding ...etc ) For the teacher's manual they suggested to following criteria : (1)Useful index with references (2) Rational and Objectives for the textbook (3) Answers supplied for all textbook exercises (4) Type and Amount of supplementary exercises (5) Methodological / Pedagogical guidance in the presentation of lessons / exercises and the use of aids (6) Linguistic background ( information from contrastive analysis and error analysis ....)

    The third step ends in selecting a textbook based on the checklist which contains many questions related to the subject matter , vocabulary and structures , exercises , illustrations , physical make up , the cost of the textbook .

    It is clear that the checklist gives importance to the topics that meet the learner's needs , and the various language skills ( listening , speaking , reading and writing ) and language features i.e. pronunciation , grammar , vocabulary and the kinds of exercises in relation to the four language skills and features .

    It is noteworthy mentioning here that Daoud and Celce-Murcia do not give emphasis to the cultural dimensions of the textbook . They mentioned culture when they quoted Chastain ( 1976 ) who advocates selecting a text which includes the people , as well as the language and a textbook that emphasizes daily homework .

     Kennth Chastain , in his article titled ' Selecting A Basic Text : A Subjective Evaluation ', does not advocate using objective lists . To time , evaluation is a subjective process . He gives reasons for abandoning current guidelines for use in textbook selection . Many guidelines and checklists , as Chastain sees them are biased toward a certain method of language teaching i.e. Chastain gives certain assumptions upon which he would base his criteria for selecting a textbook . In assumption No.(7) he states that a student wants to know about the people of the country , real places and events .

     Chastain offeres the following criteria for selecting a textbook :

(1) Pay attention to vocabulary and content of the dialogue of reading materials .
(2) Take into consideration steps involved in language acquisition .
(3) Focus on the four language skills and culture . He says that text needs to give the students more information concerning the people about which they are studying . Preferably this should be presented in short , simple sections in the language as soon as the students' vocabulary is sufficiently developed .
(5) Pay attention to the sequence of developing the language skills .
(6) Emphasize homework for the next class meetings , and choose a text which can be personalized to the student's interests .

    Many other experts in the field of textbook evaluation have built upon Chastain and Daoud and Celce-Murcia guidelines . Among them Cre McDonough 2003 , Ur 1999 , Harmer , Shldon 1988 , Hartley 1994 , Cunngworth 1984 and many others .

   On the other hand , very few scholars have given the cultural dimension of EFL full coverage . One of these scholars is Ferit Kilickaya who has published a paper in the Internet TESL titled " Guidelines to evaluate Cultural Content in Textbooks " . In this paper he attracts the reader's attention to the factors involved in cultural content i.e. socio-cultural , learners' needs , teachers' role , the nature of materials with emphasis on hidden curriculum , stereotypes and generalizations .

   The fifteen items which Kilackaya has included in the guidelines stress the following :

A) The textbook itself :
   - Does it give instructions to the teacher about how to use it , and how to handle the cultural content?
   - Does it address specific learners?
   - Does it suggest any role to the teachers ?
B) The cultural information presented in the book :
   - Does it include a variety of cultures or just specific one i.e. British or American culture ?
   - Is it taken from the author's own ideas or different sources ?
   - Is the reality of the target culture represented ? or Does it represent the author's view ?
   - Is it culturally suitable for the learners in class ?
   - What cultural and social groups are represented ?
   - Is there a variety of people or just limited to a chosen group ?
   - Are there any stereotypes ?
   - Are there generalizations about the target culture ? 
   - Is the cultural information presented with comments such as good or bad ?
   - Is it free from such comment ?
C) Illustrations :
    - Are there illustrations ?
    - Are they appropriate to the learner's native culture ?
    - Are the illustrations clear or do they need additional information ?
D) Activities :
    - What are the activities asked of the learners ?
    - Are the activities familiar to the learners ?
    - Are the activities familiar to the teacher ? or Would the teachers using this book and its activities need specialized training ?
    - Is there enough information given to the teacher as how to use such activities ?
    - Are the learners asked to be aware of the cultural information presented in the activities , for better understanding of the target culture or using it actively ?

    It is clear that Kiaya's guidelines are shared with many other experts in the field such as Penny Ur , Kenneth Chastain , Dawn Garinger . Many other researchers in the Arab World in general and in Jordan in particular have suggested similar guidelines and have examined thoroughly the cultural dimensions of EFL textbooks . Time and space allow us to focus on two major works done by Naim Al-Momany and Muhammad Al-Shatanawi who examined the cultural contents of two major textbook series used in Jordan . Al-Momany ( 1998 ) has conducted evaluation of AMRA EFL Series , a national textbook series advocated by the Ministry of Education in Jordan and paid attention to the students' , Teachers' and supervisors' perspectives . On the other hand , Shatanawi ( 2005 ) has investigated thoroughly the cultural dimension in the Cutting Edge Series . He analyzed the cultural aspects of the pre- intermediate level , the intermediate level and the upper intermediate level of this series . He also explored the attitudes of students and instructors toward English culture as manifested in Cutting Edge textbooks .

Finding and Conclusions of both studies:

   Results reported by Al-Momany indicate space that the Amra-textbook series are relevant to students' needs and interests and that the listening and speaking skills are relevant to students' backgrounds . Results also indicate that the rationale of the textbooks which aim to gaining insight into other people's culture are not realized . However , results indicate that the home culture is emphasized and that the content of the books are relevant to Jordanian society and the learners' needs . Teachers have expressed the need for their involvement in writing the objectives and rational of the textbooks . They would like to see more active role given to them and to the supervisors of English in designing the curriculum .

   Results reported by Shatanawi concerning the Cutting Edge Series indicate the following :

   The cultural aspects that are implied in the Cutting Edge textbooks are diverse and inclusive . The series textbooks are located with items that reflect the following cultural aspects ; historical , economical , geographical , literary , political , religious , social , man-woman relationship , habits , customs, traditions and the way of life in the West .The textbooks are rich with items that talk about habits, custom; traditions, social life , geographical and historical features , man-woman relationship and the way of living . However , aspects related to politics are the least covered in the textbooks . Next to politics is religious and economical features. In the workbooks , the highest aspects of western culture covered are habits , customs , traditions ,social, man-woman relationship and religious aspects .

   Shatanawi reported the students and teachers attitudes toward the English Culture as manifested in the Cutting Edge Series . The respondents feel that it is important to use authentic English Culture materials and that more they know about the English Culture , the better they will learn the English language . On the other hand , the participants feel uncomfortable toward the dominance of the English Culture in these texts and the lack of representation of their Arabic and Islamic Culture . Analysis conducted by Shatanawi shows that the Cutting Edge Series is loaded with western culture at the expense of the Arab Culture . He suggests that the series be mentioned to go with the Arab- Islamic Cultures . He reports that very scanty references are made to the home culture .Shatanawi claims that the authors give negative impressions about Islam and the Islamic habits in general by showing for example, that the call for prayers as reported in unit 2 of the workbook of the upper- intermediate level is annoying and take place in unsuitable times when people are asleep .
  The text says :
      " The problem is that my flat's opposite a mosque and when I wake up at 2.a.m , every morning because of the call to prayer . I don't think I'll ever be able to sleep through the night "
Such remarks , according to Shatawani carry negative attitudes toward Islam and Muslims . He interprets it as a ' clear religious and cultural bias ' . He thinks that the series reflect cultural and racial bias .

Conclusions related to the student's attitudes toward learning English language and Culture are as follows :

(1) Learning English makes it easier for them to understand the Culture of the English speaking countries .
(2) Learning English will help in visiting English speaking countries .
(3) They believe that may be the teachers are unable sometimes to express the function of the English Culture well .
(4) Learning English and its culture will enhance the quality of their professional life .

Conclusions related to the inclusion of Arab-Islamic Culture in the curriculum of EFL are summarized as follows :

(1) Teachers and students believe that cultural items in the textbooks should be mentioned to suit Arab-Islamic culture . Students feel that cultural dimension , as reported in the textbooks are not acceptable to them .
(2) Students believe that the Cutting Edge textbooks have familiarized them with the Western Culture on the expense of their own culture .
    
Conclusions related to the students and teachers' preference of the content of EFL books .
   Both students and teachers preferred a combination of Western Culture that goes in line with the Arab-Islamic Culture .
   

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