Representation of Culture in EFL Textbooks: A Linguistic and Content Analysis of My Book of English

Abstract

This study explores the representation of culture in My Book of English, a second-generation English-language book for the first-year middle school in Algeria. Based on both content and a linguistic analysis method, our objective was to demonstrate the cultural significance of some representational choices. The notion of ideology was exploited in this study to examine the part that language takes in perpetuating ideas about culture, multiculturality, diversity, nationalism, and identity. According to the findings, cultural and social representations capture both the tendencies of cultural heritage preservation and the promotion of innovation and change. The analysis demonstrates that My Book of English acknowledges, to a certain extent, the role that English plays in the processes of internationalization and globalism. However, as a foreign language material, the book exaggeratedly highlights the source culture, making it difficult for the learners to transcend national boundaries.