El mundo según los libros de texto: Análisis Crítico del Discurso aplicado a materiales de español LE/L2

Abstract

We study the representation of seven variables (social class; ethnic and racial diversity; social roles; cultural practices; gender roles and LGTBIQ+ identities; age; disability) from the perspective of Critical Discourse Analysis and Critical Pedagogy in five Spanish as a Second Language textbooks widely used in Spain. We use an inductive-deductive methodology to study a corpus of multimedia materials (texts, audio recordings, images and videos) and design an observation grid with 19 sub-categories and 38 variables. This analysis reveals an idealised portrayal of Spanish society and highlights important pedagogical, economic and political implications. We show that linguistic uses and socio-cultural values offered to learners are set in a context of cultural stereotypes, presented with a neoliberal bias, that hide controversial elements of Spanish society.