An analysis of cultural elements in an Algerian middle school English language textbook

Abstract

There has been a growing interest in the cultural dimension of foreign language learning and teaching in Algeria. The research aims to recognise and evaluate the cultural representation in the 4th Year textbook in middle school and discover the impact of the culture on learners’ speaking in the classroom. The study explored cultural representations in the English textbook (the 4th Year textbook) used at public middle schools in Algeria and investigates the opinions and attitudes of Algerian teachers of English on the effects of these cultural elements on learners’ speaking in the classroom. The research begins by looking at the way culture has been framed in an EFL textbook in general and its representations in the textbook, followed by interviews with teachers about the influence of these cultural representations on learning English in the classroom. In this study, the researcher used the qualitative method (case study). Data were collected from the 4th Year textbook analysis and the interview with two EFL teachers. The findings of this study showed that there was deference in culture types such as the cultural items’ distributions and dimensions. Moreover, the teachers were generally aware of their students’ learning of lessons containing some cultural features and asserted that cultures whether local or foreign help students to learn English as a foreign language.