A Comparative Analysis of Multimodal Native Cultural Content in English-Language Textbooks in China and Mongolia

Abstract

This article examines the multimodal native cultural content in two sets of English-language textbooks widely used in public junior high schools in China and Mongolia. A pre-existing analytical framework was adapted for this analysis. Through this adapted framework, this paper aims to analyze and compare the distribution of multimodal native cultural content in the chosen textbooks. The results reveal that the two sets of books contain diverse multimodal native cultural content, despite the significant imbalance between Big “C” and Small “c” categories in each set. The two sets of textbooks also have different emphases on representing these elements. We argue that previous studies overgeneralized language textbooks’ native cultural content. Learners’ intercultural communicative competence development may be impacted by the overemphasis and shortage of some cultural categories in the chosen books. This article concludes with implications for textbook design and classroom teaching and calls for further studies of teachers’ and learners’ perceptions of multimodal native cultural content.