Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development

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Representation of cultures in national English

textbooks in China: a synchronic content analysis

Hong Zhang, Xiaonan Li & Wenzhe Chang

To cite this article: Hong Zhang, Xiaonan Li & Wenzhe Chang (13 Jul 2022): Representation
of cultures in national English textbooks in China: a synchronic content analysis, Journal of
Multilingual and Multicultural Development, DOI: 10.1080/01434632.2022.2099406

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JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUAL AND MULTICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2022.2099406

Representation of cultures in national English textbooks in China:

a synchronic content analysis
Hong Zhanga, Xiaonan Lib and Wenzhe Changc
a
National Research Centre for Foreign Language Education/National Research Center for State Language Capacity,
Beijing Foreign Studies University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; bForeign Language Teaching Department,
Shenyang Agricultural University, Liaoning, People’s Republic of China; cDesheng Middle School, Beijing, People’s
Republic of China

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

This study examines the representation of cultures across three sets of Received 9 February 2022
national English textbooks currently used in China by conducting a Accepted 2 July 2022
synchronic content analysis to explore what and how cultures are
KEYWORDS
represented in the textbooks. Data analysis was conducted based on a Cultural representation;
newly constructed framework focusing on the content (countries and synchronic content analysis;
categories) and forms of cultural representation. Our findings mainly English as a lingua franca;
indicated that American and British culture dominated in the culture English language textbooks
of inner circle countries and international culture was represented the
least in all three textbooks, while Chinese culture was represented
more than the cultures of inner circle countries in two sets of
textbooks. As for cultural categories, the representation of cultural
products was the most, and cultural perspectives and cultural
communities were represented the least in all three sets of textbooks.
Regarding the form of cultural representation, the cultural
representation in implicit forms was, to varying degrees, more than
that in explicit forms. Based on the findings, suggestions for English as
a foreign language (EFL) textbook writers, EFL teachers and textbook
researchers are provided.

Introduction
The global spread of English is increasing due to political, economic, and technology-related fac-
tors with non-native speakers of English (L2) noticeably outnumbering native speakers. These L2
speakers of English, who come from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds, now use English
to negotiate and make decisions (Bayyurt and Dewey 2020). English has thus been conceptual-
ised as ‘English as a lingua franca’ (ELF), which means ‘any use of English among speakers of
different first languages for whom English is the communicative medium of choice, and often
the only option’ (Seidlhofer 2011, 7). The status of ELF seems ‘indisputable’ (Si 2020, 156;
Siqueira 2015, 252). Prompted by this role of English, many scholars have challenged and pro-
blematised the predominance of native speaker norms that have been penetrating various aspects
of English language teaching (ELT) (e.g. Alptekin 2002; Jenkins 2012), and have made calls for an
ELF-informed pedagogy, which means that teachers need to be ‘properly informed about ELF
and trained regarding how to incorporate such information in their teaching practices’
(Dewey 2015, 165). This pedagogy is a ‘more socioculturally informed pedagogy’ (Dewey and

CONTACT Hong Zhang [email protected] National Research Centre for Foreign Language Education/National
Research Center for State Language Capacity, Beijing Foreign Studies University, No. 19 Xisanhuan North Road, Haidian District,
Beijing 100089, China
© 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
2 H. ZHANG ET AL.

Pineda 2020, 429), focusing on promoting the application of an ELF way of thinking about
language and communication, which prepares learners as future global users of English to rise
to the plurality and linguacultural complexity of the present globalised era (Sifakis 2019).
Accordingly, ELT needs to highlight cultural diversity (Galloway 2017), and produce young
people with good intercultural communicative abilities, especially in countries and regions
where English is learned in the classroom, such as East Asian countries (Suzuki 2021). Presently,
a significant number of interactions in English occur among non-native speakers of the language
in a lingua franca context (Seidlhofer 2011), and ‘there is a blatant mismatch between the pur-
pose for which English is most learnt in the world, namely ELF use, and what is focused on in
SLA, namely ESL/EFL’ (Seidlhofer 2011, 11). As Baker (2012, 69) postulates, ‘the use of English
as the global lingua franca highlights the need for an understanding of cultural contexts and
communicative practices to successfully communicate across diverse cultures’. This makes the
field of English teaching and learning a logical place to begin an enquiry about the incorporation
of ELF in ELT materials (Si 2020). However, ‘this special status of English has had virtually no
effect (so far) on how language is formulated as a subject in syllabuses and teaching materials’
(Seidlhofer 2011, 9). For example, Siqueira (2015, 241) raised several questions about ELT
materials under an ELF perspective: ‘If English is in the world, where is the world in ELT
materials?’; ‘What world has been depicted in global ELT materials over the years?’; ‘When
will local voices have a say in the content of English coursebooks?’ These are just a few of
the many challenges the ELT industry needs to resolve by producing materials with the goal
of developing learners as successful ELF users.
To respond to these challenges, Risager (2021b) proposed a dual focus in language textbooks:
one is language and language learning, and the other is culture, society and the world, and inter-
cultural learning. She also stated that textbooks should use language to translate and mediate
between cultures, and that national studies approach to textbook analysis should include inter-
cultural competence that focuses on ‘knowledge about one or more target language countries
and their (internally diverse) cultures’ (Risager 2021b, 247). From an ELF perspective, ELT text-
books oriented towards target language cultures have been regarded as ‘monolithic’ (Si 2020, 157)
revealing the need to infuse ELF-informed textbooks with native English speakers’ cultures
(NESCs), learners’ home culture and other non-native English speakers’ cultures (NNESCs) (Si
2020). In so doing, learners’ awareness of cultural diversity can be raised, thus enabling them
to critically approach diversity and broaden their horizons while reflecting on their own cultures,
which is important for successful communication in ELF contexts (Cortazzi and Jin 1999; Wen
2016).
ELF researchers have advocated a move from using English as a native language (ENL)- to
ELF-informed materials (Galloway 2017). However, research on ELT textbooks from an ELF per-
spective, especially studies investigating the cultures represented in textbooks, is quite limited
(Kiczkowiak 2021). For instance, Si (2020) analysed a series of business English coursebooks pub-
lished and used in China from four aspects: language ownership, language exposure, language
activities, and cultural representations. These address four key issues in the debate over the prac-
ticality of ELF-informed materials. The findings showed an orientation towards native English
speakers as representatives of English users, a dominance of native-speaker norms, a lack of
ELF exposure and ELF-informed activities, and a limited representation of Chinese culture. Si
concluded that the coursebooks merely introduced ELF as a cultural and linguistic phenomenon.
Building on earlier research, the present study analyses the cultural representation in three main-
stream series of English textbooks published and used in China where the newly issued curricu-
lum standards state that English should be taught as a lingua franca (Ministry of Education
[MOE hereafter] 2020a). By using the Framework for Analysing the Representation of Cultures
in English Textbooks (FARCET hereafter) (Zhang and Li 2022), the study investigates whether
the textbooks designed based on the newly published curriculum standards are ELF- or ENL-
informed.
 JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUAL AND MULTICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT 3

Literature review
ELF-informed teaching and materials
With the concept of ELF spreading, there is disagreement in the field of EFL education over whether
EFL teachers and learners need to conform to native-speaker standards (Jenkins 2012). Alptekin
(2002) challenged the use of native-speaker norms and called for a new model of English teaching
that appreciates ELF. Thus, the connection between EFL education and ELF can be considered as a
transformation from native-speaker norms towards a more realistic model that recognises the com-
municative changes that have transpired globally. Specifically, ELF-informed teaching should help
learners communicate in English in the contexts that involve people from different lingua-cultural
backgrounds rather than require learners to follow native speaker norms. Instead of being limited to
native-speaker norms and its associated culture, ELF-informed teaching highlights cultural diver-
sity (Galloway 2017).
One of the most important aspects in ELF-informed teaching is the teaching of culture. Never-
theless, it seems that the debate over ELF-informed teaching has not generated any changes in prac-
tice. As Walker (2019) claims, although there is usually a lag between the appearance of new
concepts and their use, the lag in the field of ELF has developed into a ‘huge vacuum created by
the wealth of ELF research findings and the dearth of teaching materials’ (483). Thus, teaching
materials or textbooks play an important role in linking EFL education and ELF in practice. To pre-
pare learners to use English in ELF contexts, the cultural content in EFL textbooks should expose
learners to different cultures including native English speakers’ cultures (NESCs), ELF learner’s
home culture and other ELF learners’ cultures (Bayyurt and Dewey 2020; Wen 2016).

Cultural representation in English textbooks

Language textbooks are regarded as ‘highly wrought cultural artefact[s]’ (Gray 2010, 37) and ‘cur-
riculum artefacts’ (Gray 2013, 2). Curdt-Christiansen and Weninger (2015) regard textbooks as
sociocultural materials, which are the ‘products of complex selective processes reflecting political
decisions, educational beliefs and priorities, cultural realities and language policies’ (1). In EFL
learning contexts, language textbooks are used to facilitate language learning and they also serve
as windows through which learners can understand the values of other cultures (Risager 2021a).
Research on analysing textbooks to uncover hidden aspects provides objective and verifiable
descriptions, especially cultural representations (Littlejohn 2011). How culture, i.e. cultural content
and activities that promote cultural awareness, is incorporated into textbooks has been intensively
researched in recent years (Weninger and Kiss 2015, 50) as cultural inclusion and exclusion entail
both implicit and explicit ideological connotations (Curdt-Christiansen and Weninger 2015).
Methodologically, studies on cultural representation can be divided into three strands. The first
one is the semiotic-analytical approach which probes into cultural meaning potential (Weninger
and Kiss 2013), or the extent to which textbooks invite conversations and discussions on culture
(Johannessen 2015). The second one is critical discourse analysis (CDA), which has been widely
used in studies that examine cultural and moral values (Xiong and Qian 2012), and the manifes-
tation of internationalisation and nationalisation (Vinall and Shin 2019). The third approach is con-
tent analysis, which investigates the diversity of cultures in language textbooks by counting how
often pieces of content are mentioned, measuring how much space each of them takes, and analys-
ing the content to establish meanings and relationships (e.g. Keles and Yazan 2020).
Specifically, most of the research using content analysis to analyse cultural representation has
been conducted from the perspective of nationality/country, cultural themes, or cultural categories
(e.g. Davidson and Liu 2020; Juybari and Bozorgian 2020; Yamada 2010). For instance, Davidson
and Liu’s analysis (2020) of the cultural content of the English textbook, Hi, friends!, used in Japan,
found that there was an abundance of Japanese culture and low exposure to non-Japanese cultures,
4 H. ZHANG ET AL.

with cultural products and persons represented more often than cultural practices and perspectives.
By comparison, the dominance of the cultures of native English speakers seems to be a universal
phenomenon in language learning textbooks. For another example, Keles and Yazan (2020), who
conducted a diachronic content analysis of five editions of New Headway, found that there was a
higher frequency of the culture of inner circle countries, and that European cultures in the Expand-
ing Circle and Western cultures were in the foreground, while non-European cultures and cultures
of Outer Circle countries were in the background.
The above studies have brought to light cultural representation in English textbooks from differ-
ent angles, and provided possible reasons, impact, or implications for teachers and publishers.
However, most of the studies have focused only on which cultures are included (Xiong and Peng
2021). Although there are a few studies in the literature examining forms of culture such as images,
texts, and the rest of modes altogether (e.g. Johannessen 2015; Weninger and Kiss 2013), most of
them merely count the frequencies of occurrence of countries or continents in the textbooks, while
disregarding whether the cultural content was embodied in images, fully introduced throughout a
reading text, or included in an exercise. This approach to coding oversimplifies the representation
of cultures, while ignoring the different functions of cultures represented in different forms. To
mitigate these drawbacks, this study adopts FARCET, which comprises two dimensions (content
and form) and assigns different ‘weight’ (content analysis terminology) (Gray 2010, 41) to different
forms to analyse cultural representation in three sets of textbooks in China. The research questions
are as follows:

(1) Which countries are represented in the three sets of English textbooks?
(2) What cultural categories are represented in the textbooks?
(3) How do the textbooks represent cultures?

Methodology
Research context and the selected textbooks
Although English textbooks remain heavily ethnocentric and oriented towards cultures of English-
speaking countries at the exclusion of all others, newly produced English textbooks for high school
students in China, at least officially, appear to have become much more broadly inclusive of global
cultures, which may have resulted from China’s policy advocating cultural inclusivity. In China,
English is perceived as a lingua franca that connects Chinese to the world, and learning English
is viewed as having great significance for understanding diverse cultures and enhancing cultural
exchange between China and other countries (MOE 2020a). To achieve this goal and promote Chi-
nese culture globally, the MOE (2020b, 2021) has issued a series of initiatives that foreground the
inclusion of Chinese culture into English textbooks.
Three series of senior high school English textbooks currently used in China were selected (Table
1). The latest versions were released in 2019 and 2020 by three major Chinese publishers. The text-
books were selected mainly for two reasons. First, the previous editions of these textbooks have a
long history of being widely used in China and they are representative of the textbooks adopted by
Chinese senior high schools, with over 90% of high school students in China (nearly 25 million)
currently using them. Second, they have certain features in common. In keeping with the require-
ments proposed in the curriculum standards (MOE 2020a), the three series of textbooks aim at
developing learners’ core competencies of English language ability, cultural awareness, thinking
capacity, and learning ability. The prefaces state that the textbooks will help learners absorb both
Chinese culture and versatile foreign cultures so that they can identify with their own culture,
strengthen cultural confidence, and promote their understanding of the similarities and differences
of different cultures.
 JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUAL AND MULTICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT 5

Table 1. The selected textbooks.

Original production
Title Publisher Year year Books analysed in the study
Ying Yu Beijing Normal University Publishing 2019 2004 Book 1,2,3 (Used for Required
(T1) Group 2020 Courses)
Book 4,5,6,7 (Used for Required
Elective Courses)
English People’s Education Press 2019 1995 Book 1,2,3 (Used for Required
(T2) 2020 Courses)
Book 4,5,6,7 (Used for Required
Elective Courses)
English Foreign Language Teaching and 2019 2006 Book 1,2,3 (Used for Required
(New Research Press 2020 Courses)
Standard) Book 4,5,6,7 (Used for Required
(T3) Elective Courses)

To ensure data consistency, each series of the textbooks selected for analysis consisted of seven
textbooks used in required courses and required elective courses (see Table 1). For clarity, the three
series of textbooks – Ying Yu, English, New Standard English, are referred to as T1, T2, T3 respect-
ively throughout the study.

Data analysis using FARCET

To improve upon the approaches for analysing cultural representation adopted by previous studies,
the present study used FARCET (Zhang and Li 2022), which was developed based on a pilot study
on cultural representation in four series of English textbooks for college students and three series of
English textbooks for senior high school students in China (released by four publishers from 2014
to 2019). The procedures for developing this framework were as follows. First, because of the lack of
attention given to how culture is represented, the framework covers both content and form of cul-
tural representation. Second, the framework was initially established by combining different categ-
orisations of culture proposed by previous research (Cortazzi and Jin 1999; Kachru and Nelson
1996; Moran 2009) and then identifying and extracting what appeared in the seven series of text-
books, e.g. countries, categories, and forms of cultures. In this process, different weights were
assigned to various forms of representation from the perspectives of textbook writers, publishers,
researchers and users. Differences among the various forms of representation were thus distin-
guished so that more reliable findings about the proportion of different cultures could be yielded
and the actual roles of cultures represented in different forms could be underscored. FARCET
has been applied to investigate cultures represented in language textbooks targeted at Chinese lear-
ners of English, French, and German, which reflected and validated the construct and rationality of
the framework (Zhang and Li 2022). The content of cultural representation involved two dimen-
sions – category of country and cultural category (Table 2).
Regarding the category of country, to illustrate the global situation of English, we adapted
Kachru and Nelson’s (1996) circles model of World Englishes: the ‘Inner Circle’, the ‘Outer Circle’,
and the ‘Expanding Circle’, and Cortazzi and Jin’s (1999) categorisation of ‘Target culture’, ‘Source

Table 2. Dimensions of content of cultural representation.

Category of country Cultural category
Culture of inner circle countries Cultural products
Chinese culture Fine traditional culture Cultural practices
Revolutionary culture Cultural perspectives
Socialist culture Cultural communities
International culture Cultural persons
Area-not-specific culture
6 H. ZHANG ET AL.

Culture’ and ‘International Culture’. For the present study, cultural content has been divided into
four types regarding category of countries: (1) the culture of inner circle countries (the United
States, Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland); (2) Chinese culture, which includes
fine traditional culture, revolutionary culture and socialist culture. Fine traditional Chinese culture
refers to ancient Chinese culture, which has been nurtured and inherited for over more than 5,000
years. It was born out of the splendid Chinese civilisation, has been shaped by factors including
natural environment, economic, political and social systems in China before May 4th Movement
of 1919, and it still exerts its due influence on Chinese modern society (Li 2014). Revolutionary cul-
ture was developed over the course of China’s revolution endeavoured by the Chinese people led by
the Chinese Communist Party, which set revolution as its core value (Zhu 2019, January 9). Socialist
culture is guided by socialism with Chinese characteristics in modern times in the process of devel-
opment. It has developed under the influence of the current lifestyle and level of technology (Li and
Chen 2015). (3) international culture, which incorporates cultures of all countries excluding inner
circle countries and China; and (4) area-not-specific culture, which accounts for cultural content
that cannot be attributed to any single country.
Regarding the cultural category, we drew upon Moran’s view of culture (2009) which identifies
cultural products, practices, perspectives, communities, and persons. Cultural products are the arti-
facts produced or adopted by members of a culture (e.g. Great Expectations). Cultural practices
comprise the actions and interactions that the members of the culture carry out (e.g. green living).
Cultural perspectives represent the perceptions, beliefs, values, and attitudes that underlie the pro-
ducts and guide the practices (e.g. Benjamin Franklin’s opinion about celebrations). Cultural com-
munities include the specific social contexts ranging from national culture to narrowly defined
groupings (e.g. African Americans). Cultural persons constitute the individual members who
embody the culture and its communities in unique ways. In the present study, this category has
been restricted to famous individuals (e.g. Stephen Hawking).
The form of cultural representation, i.e. how cultural content is represented, mainly involves
both explicit and implicit representations (Table 3). We defined the following two types as explicit
forms of representation: (1) texts that are clearly culturally themed as input material, including ver-
bal, written, and other multimodal articles, and the pictures or quotations accompanying the texts;
and (2) Cultural Knowledge, i.e. sections that specifically represent cultural knowledge. Cultural
content in implicit forms are represented in exercises or tasks.
With a codebook of the framework in place, the three researchers independently coded the text-
books and re-examined the codes for consistency from page to page, identifying the cultural content
represented in the textbooks and entered them into Excel according to the framework (see the coding
example in Table 4). Overall, cultures represented through different semiotic resources in the text-
books were analysed, including material in the form of text, ‘Cultural Knowledge’ sections, visual
and audio materials, and all the exercises or tasks. In the present study, ‘frequency’ did not refer to
the frequency of appearance of the terms of a certain cultural content, but rather the frequency of
the representation of the content. For example, ‘Peking Opera’, which was fully introduced through-
out one reading text, was counted as one occurrence, although ‘Peking Opera’ was mentioned many
times in the text. We used ‘gross cultural representation’ to indicate the level or the extent to which
culture was represented. The cultural representation was calculated by ‘weight times frequency’. Thus,
the formula was ‘Weight (W) x Frequency (F) = Gross Cultural Representation (GCR)’.

Researcher positionality
One of the first author’s main research interests is materials analysis of cultural representation. She
wondered whether the newly produced English textbooks reflected the requirements of the curri-
culum standards on cultural representation and how the textbooks represent cultures. The second
and third authors once used the previous editions of T2 and T3 when they were senior high school
students; thus, they could integrate their own learners’ identities into the analysis.
 JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUAL AND MULTICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT 7

Table 3. Forms of cultural representation.

Form Weight Explanation
Explicit representation
The only cultural item fully discussed in a text 10 The text centres on the theme of one cultural item, which is fully
discussed throughout the text.
Main cultural item in a text 9 The cultural item takes up a large proportion of the text that
involves several cultural items.
Evenly-distributed cultural items in a text 8 Cultural items in a text are equally discussed.
Minor cultural item in a text 7 The cultural item is subordinate to other cultural items.
The only cultural item in the ‘Cultural Knowledge’ 6 The ‘Cultural Knowledge’ section only introduces one cultural
section item.
Main cultural item in the ‘Cultural Knowledge’ 5 The cultural item takes up a larger proportion of the ‘Cultural
section Knowledge’ section than other cultural items.
Evenly-distributed cultural items in the ‘Cultural 4 The cultural items discussed in the ‘Cultural Knowledge’ section
Knowledge’ section are equally discussed.
Minor cultural item in the ‘Cultural Knowledge’ 3 The cultural item is subordinate to others in the ‘Cultural
section Knowledge’ section.
Cultural items in pictures or quotations 2 The pictures and quotations as input materials involve cultural
content.
Background cultural information 1 The cultural items serve as background information in the input
material mentioned above.
Implicit representation
The only cultural item fully discussed in a text in 5 In the Tasks, there is only one cultural item, which is fully
‘Task’ sections discussed throughout the text.
Main cultural item in a text in ‘Task’ sections 4 The cultural item takes up the largest proportion of the text
presented in ‘Task’ sections.
The only cultural item in exercises that entail 4 Tasks that require learners to introduce one cultural item to
expression of cultures others.
(introducing cultures) E.g. Introduce Beijing Opera to a group of foreign learners.
Evenly-distributed cultural items in exercises that 3 Tasks that require learners to introduce several cultural items to
entail expression of cultures others.
(introducing cultures)
Evenly-distributed cultural items in a text in ‘Task’ 3 The cultural items in Tasks are distributed equally.
sections
Minor cultural items in a text in ‘Task’ sections 2 The cultural item in Tasks is subordinate to other items.
Cultural items in exercises that entail 2 Activities that check learners’ understanding of cultural items.
understanding of cultures E.g. Which part of the story about Beethoven impressed you
(understanding cultures) most? Why?
Cultural items in pictures or quotations in ‘Task’ 2 The pictures and quotations that involve cultural content are
sections presented in ‘Task’ sections.
Background cultural information in ‘Task’ sections 1 The cultural items serve as background information in ‘Task’
sections.
Cultural items in language exercises 1 The cultural items appear in language exercises (vocabulary/
grammar/translation exercise).
Note: Texts include listening, viewing, and reading texts. Productive activities involving cultural expression are mainly in the
forms of speaking and writing. Language exercises refer to those examining learners’ vocabulary, grammar, and translation.

Table 4. Coding example.

Category of Cultural Gross Cultural
Content Country Country Category Page Form Form Weight Frequency Representation
the Inner circle Australia Products p7 Implicit Picture 2 1 2
Sydney countries
Opera
House
Tu Youyou Socialist China Persons p52 Implicit Speaking 4 1 4
Chinese
culture
the International France Products p72 Explicit Reading 10 1 10
Necklace culture p73
IT Area-not- Products p7 Implicit Writing 4 1 4
specific
culture
8 H. ZHANG ET AL.

The first author led the work of constructing FARCET and the second author participated in the
framework construction. The three authors co-coded one unit of T1 as a pilot exercise to check the
consistency of coding. To ensure the accuracy and inter-coder reliability, each author fully dis-
cussed and understood the framework before coding the textbooks. Next, the second author inde-
pendently analysed a whole series of T1 and four books of T2; the third author undertook the
analysis of T3 and three books of T2. We independently conducted the analysis, then we carried
out a blind double coding of each other’s work. During this process, when there was any uncertainty
or disagreement, we had a discussion until the three authors agreed with one another. For rating
purposes, a textbook publisher from a publishing house coded 30% of the data. Our inter-rater
reliability percentage was 95% with differences being resolved via discussion.

Findings
Categories of countries
The cultural representation of different categories of countries in the three sets of textbooks is illus-
trated in Figure 1. Although the category of countries with the highest level of cultural represen-
tation is different (culture of inner circle countries in T1, area-not-specific culture in T2,
Chinese culture in T3), international culture was represented the least in all three textbooks.
American and British culture dominated in the culture of inner circle countries in all three text-
books, as shown in Figure 2 (1734 in T1, 1317 in T2, 1353 in T3). The culture of other inner-circle
countries was represented at the highest gross cultural representation in T2, which included the cul-
ture of Canada (178), Australia (149), New Zealand (37), and Ireland (21).
Regarding Chinese culture, socialist culture was represented the most in all three textbooks, fol-
lowed by fine traditional culture and revolutionary culture (Figure 3).
Although international culture was represented the least in all three textbooks, the top six
countries that were represented varied considerably, as shown in Table 5. The most represented
international culture contained only developed European countries in T1 and T3, while there
were developing countries from other continents in T2, such as Peru (South America), Brazil
(South America), and Egypt (Africa).
There were three common features regarding cultural representation in the three sets of text-
books. First, the coverage of different categories of countries in each textbook appeared to be

Figure 1. Categories of countries.

 JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUAL AND MULTICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT 9

Figure 2. Culture of inner circle countries.

relatively balanced without any category of countries being dominant. Second, learners’ home cul-
ture (Chinese culture) was included to a great extent. Third, international culture was represented
the least.

Cultural categories
As for the cultural categories, cultural representation varied among the five different categories, as
shown in Figure 4.
The GCR of cultural products was the highest in all three textbooks. The ranking of other cul-
tural categories from high to low was the same in T1 and T3: cultural persons (1203 in T1 and 1151
in T3), cultural practices (1165 in T1 and 1160 in T3), cultural perspectives (280 in T1 and 307 in
T3), and cultural communities (116 in T1 and 120 in T3). In T2, the GCR of cultural products was
followed by that of cultural practices, cultural persons, cultural communities, and cultural
perspectives.

Figure 3. Chinese culture.

10 H. ZHANG ET AL.

Table 5. Most represented international culture.

T1 T2 T3
Gross Cultural Gross Cultural Gross Cultural
Country Representation Country Representation Country Representation
Germany 169 Peru 106 France 215
France 149 Germany 95 Germany 67
Netherlands 105 France 68 Italy 59
Italy 89 Russia 55 Belgium 49
Norway 48 Brazil 48 Netherlands 40
Belgium 34 Egypt 38 Poland 40
Japan 38

Cultural products
The GCR of cultural products in T2 (3175) was more than that of cultural products in T3 (2653) and
T1 (2557). Specifically, the cultural products represented in the three textbooks included famous cities
and towns, tourist attractions, literary works, art forms and artistic works, famous organisations,
scientific inventions, and typical kinds of food. Famous cities and towns included Cambridge,
Xishuangbanna, Vienna in T1, London, Hangzhou, and Paris in T2, and Montreal, Beidaihe, and Pra-
gue in T3. Tourist attractions included Baker Street, Hollywood, and the Lake District in T1, Trafalgar
Square, Jiuzhaigou, and the Eiffel Tower in T2, and the Great Barrier Reef, the Palace Museum, and
the Louvre in T3. Literary works included Oliver Twist, Daode Jing, and Around the World in Eighty
Days in T1, The Million Pound Note, Journey to the West, and The Little Mermaid in T2, and After
Twenty Years, Shiji, and Father and Son in T3. Art forms and artistic works included Beijing
Opera in all three textbooks, Chinese paper cuts, Racing Horse, and The Starry Night in T1, Chinese
calligraphy in T2, and Chinese paintings and Sunflowers in T3. Famous organisations included the
United Nations in all three textbooks, Microsoft and the British Broadcasting Corporation in T1,
and UNICEF in T2. Animals included the panda in all three textbooks, American graffiti, and dino-
saurs in T1, the south China tiger in T2, and the Chinese bee and the North American monarch but-
terfly in T3. Scientific inventions included the steam engine, Shenzhou-11, and the Four Great
Inventions of ancient China in T1, Voyager 1, Apollo 11, Tianzhou 1, and the Sputunik 1 satellite
in T2, and Alpha Go and the FAST telescope in T3. Typical kinds of food included British tea culture,
hotpot, and Chinese dumplings in T1, gumbo and nachos, Laba Porridge, and Mexican corn chips in
T2, and maple syrup, fish and chips, and Beijing duck in T3.

Figure 4. Cultural categories.

 JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUAL AND MULTICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT 11

Cultural practices
The GCR of cultural practices in T1 (1165) almost equaled the GCR of cultural practices in T3
(1160), while the GCR of cultural practices was the highest in T2 (1727). Cultural practices included
lifestyles, festivals, sports, explorations, environmental and wildlife protection, and some historical
events. The lifestyle of different countries included the introduction of the ideal lifestyle in China
(T1), English table manners and differences between southern China and northern China (T3), and
online activities in all three textbooks. T2 provided learners with the opportunity to compare cul-
tural practices of different countries, such as body language and gestures in China, Japan, France,
Germany, and Brazil. Festivals included Chinese Spring Festival and Christmas in all three text-
books, Mid-autumn Festival (T1 and T2), Dragon Boat Festival (T1 and T3), Thanksgiving (T2
and T3), World Food Day (T2), and International Day of Families (T3). Furthermore, some festivals
of ethnic minority groups were represented in T2, including Naadam Festival and Zhuang People’s
Folk Song Festival. There were also sports such as the Australian Open in T1, Beijing International
Marathon Day and Karst climbing in T2, the Superbowl and the National Games for People with
Disabilities in China in T3, and the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in all three textbooks. Explora-
tions included China’s Antarctica expedition and the Shenzhou V mission in T1, and space explora-
tions of China, America, and Russia in T2 and T3. Environmental and wildlife protection included
bike-sharing in China in T1 and T3, the ‘white bikes’ programme in the Netherlands in T1, protec-
tion of Mount Tai, Mogao Caves and Aswan Dam in T2, protection of rhinos in T1, and protection
of pandas, African elephants, and the Tibetan antelope in T2. Some critical historical events
included the Industrial Revolution in T1, the Gold Rush in T2, and China’s Reform and Open-
ing-up Policy in T3.

Cultural persons
The GCR of cultural persons in T1 (1203) was close to the GCR of cultural persons in T3 (1151),
while cultural persons were fewer in T2 (847). Famous people with great contributions to their com-
munities were also represented, including writers, poets, scientists, philosophers, educators, poli-
body part
ticians, entrepreneurs, artists, musicians, actors, athletes, and astronauts (see Table 6).
appearance
In a passage in T3 about two famous writers, Mark Twain and Lin Yutang, the differences and
similarities of their writing style and attitudes towards humour were introduced. There were two
Cultural Knowledge sections under the writers’ photos (see Figure 5), which provided a brief intro-
duction to the two writers.

Cultural communities
The GCR of cultural communities in T2 (420) was three times greater than the GCR of cultural
communities in T1 (116) and T3 (120). Cultural communities in the three textbooks included
sports teams, ethnic groups, and armies. Sports teams included the Charlotte Hornets (T1),
Golden State Warriors (T3) in the National Basketball Association, Manchester United (T1)
and Liverpool (T1) in the Premier League, and China’s women’s volleyball team in all three text-
books. Armies included the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in T1 and the Chinese Red Army
in T3. Ethnic groups were represented from a more holistic perspective in T2, including the
Anglo-Saxons, African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanics, the Sami people, and the Zhuang
and Miao people in China.

Cultural perspectives
The GCR of cultural perspectives in T1 (280) was close to the GCR of cultural perspectives in T3
(307), and greater than the GCR of cultural perspectives in T2 (173). The representation of cultural
perspectives was mostly in the form of famous people’s quotes, supplemented by a few passages. For
instance, there were passages about Montessori education in T1, sportsmanship in T2, and values
about money and beauty in T3.
12 H. ZHANG ET AL.

Table 6. Cultural persons (excerpts).

T1 T2 T3
Writers and poets Francis Bacon Francis Bacon J. K. Rowling
J. K. Rowling J. K. Rowling William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare O Henry Mark Twain
Mark Twain William Wordsworth Lin Yutang
Wang Anshi Xin Qiji Mo Yan
Lu Xun Leo Tolstoy
Scientists Thomas A. Edison Thomas A. Edison Stephen Hawking
Stephen Hawking Stephen Hawking Tu Youyou
James Watt Tu Youyou Guo Shoujing
Tu Youyou Qian Xuesen Qian Xuesen
Albert Einstein Albert Einstein Albert Einstein
Philosophers John Dewey Laozi Confucius
Confucius Confucius Zengzi
Laozi Mencius Laozi
Karl Marx Zigong
Educators Huang Danian Pierre de Coubertin Pierre de Coubertin
Huang Danian
Politicians Benjamin Franklin Isaac Newton Benjamin Franklin
Martin Luther King Emperor Qinshihuang Nelson Mendela
Mahatma Gandhi Mao Zedong Abraham Lincoln
Nelson Mandela Mao Zedong
Entrepreneurs Steve Jobs Steve Jobs Steve Jobs
Bill Gates Bill Gates
Ma Yun Ma Yun
Artists Xu Beihong Vincent van Gogh Xu Beihong
Zhang Daqian Zhang Daqian
Pablo Picasso Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh Leonardo da Vinci
Pablo Picasso
Musicians Beethoven Mozart
Beethoven
Actors Charlie Chaplin Mei Lanfang Charlie Chaplin
Athletes LeBron James Michael Jordan LeBron James
Li Na Lang Ping Stephen Curry
Liu Xiang Yao Ming Li Na
Novak Djokovic Yao Ming
Usain Bolt
Astronauts Neil Armstrong Neil Armstrong
Yang Liwei
Yuri Gagarin

In general, cultural products, which were the visible dimension of culture, were represented most
among all cultural categories. However, deeper dimensions of culture were represented the least,
evidenced by little coverage of cultural communities and cultural perspectives.

Forms of representation
The GCR of T1, T2 and T3 was 5321, 6342, and 5391 respectively (Table 7).
The GCR of culture represented in implicit forms in the three sets of textbooks was higher than
the GCR of culture represented in explicit forms. However, the ratio of explicit and implicit rep-
resentation in T1 was more balanced, while T2 and T3 focused more on implicit forms of cultural
representation.
As for the different forms of cultural representation, there were marked differences among the
three sets of textbooks.

Cultural representation in explicit forms

Among the three sets of textbooks, the GCR of culture represented in explicit texts in T1 and T2 was
1371 and 1351 respectively, with T3 having the lowest GCR of culture represented in explicit texts
(1109) (Figure 6)1.
 JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUAL AND MULTICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT 13

Figure 5. Book4 of T3: Unit 1 Laugh out Loud!.

Table 7. Gross cultural representation of forms .

Explicit representation Implicit representation Ratio(E/I)
T1 2341 2980 0.79:1
T2 2383 3959 0.60:1
T3 2101 3290 0.64:1

Regarding the Cultural Knowledge sections, T3 had the highest GCR (335), followed by T2 (166)
and T1 (96). One possible reason is that each unit of T3 included ‘Did You Know’ in the ‘Using
Language’ section to expand learners’ knowledge of certain cultural content (see Figure 7).
The GCR of culture represented in the form of explicit pictures in T2 was the highest (316), fol-
lowed by T1 (200) and T3 (192). In other words, T2 integrated more pictures in the explicit texts
and Cultural Knowledge sections to facilitate learners’ understanding of different cultures.

Figure 6. Cultural representation in explicit forms.

14 H. ZHANG ET AL.

Figure 7. Book6 of T3: Unit3 War and Peace.

Regarding the form of explicit quotations, the GCR of T2 and T3 was 86 and 70 respectively. The
GCR in T1 ranked first (176), because T1 involved ‘Quote … Unquote’ in a section called, ‘Topic
Talk’, of each unit (see Figure 8). As for background cultural information, the GCR from most
to least frequent was T1 (498), T2 (464), and T3 (395).

Cultural representation in implicit forms

Regarding implicit forms, the GCR of culture represented in implicit texts in T3 and T2 was 579 and
542 respectively, and lowest in T1 (322) (Figure 9). This shows that T3 and T2 incorporated more
texts in the task sections. As for the exercises requiring learners to introduce culture in oral or writ-
ten forms, T2 had the highest GCR (510), with T1 ranking second (478) and T3 was the lowest
(241), which can be attributed to the GCR of the exercises that involved expressions of area-not-
specific culture in T3 (29) being far fewer than that of T1 (223) and T2 (279). Regarding the category
of countries, the exercises that required learners to introduce the cultures of inner circle countries
were relatively few (179), with the GCR being much lower than that of the exercises that required
learners to introduce area-not-specific culture (531) and Chinese culture (434). For example, T1

Figure 8. Book1 of T1: Unit1 Life Choices.

 JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUAL AND MULTICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT 15

Figure 9. Cultural representation in implicit forms.

had a variety of activities that encouraged learners to introduce Chinese culture to foreigners, such
as ‘Introduce Beijing Opera to a group of students from another country’. Regarding exercises
requiring learners to showcase their understanding of culture, the GCR in T2 was the highest
(1730), followed by T3 (1662) and T2 (1456). However, the exercises that asked learners to voice
their understanding of the culture of inner circle countries (1520) exceeded the exercises examining
learners’ understanding of other cultures.
The GCR of culture represented in the form of implicit pictures in T2 was the highest (510), fol-
lowed by T3 (466) and T1 (250). Thus, T2 and T3 included more pictures in task sections. There
were few cultural contents represented in the form of implicit quotations with the GCR in T1, T2,
and T3 being 12, 6, and 32 respectively. The GCR of culture represented as background cultural
information from high to low was T2 (420), T1 (291), and T3 (274). The GCR of culture represented
in language exercises from most to least frequent was T2 (241), T1 (171), and T3 (36).
In sum, texts and background cultural information were the two most represented explicit forms
in the textbooks, while exercises entailing understanding of cultures was the most represented
implicit form.

Discussion
FARCET and the role of simplification in cultural representation and analysis
According to Risager (2021b), there are two views of culture – essentialist and non-essentialist.
From the essentialist viewpoint, culture can be described as norms and values, and products and
practices. From the non-essentialist viewpoint, culture is constructed in discourse. FARCET rests
on an essentialist understanding of culture because culture in the textbooks currently used in
China is mainly represented based on an essentialist view. It’s undeniable that FARCET may be
not suitable for the studies that explore cultural representation from the non-essentialist
perspective.
16 H. ZHANG ET AL.

Representations of culture are, by definition, complex phenomena which relate to the social
mechanism through which we comprehend – in a summarised and highly organised manner –
the abstract phenomena and complex social world around us (Canale 2016). Textbooks, as pedago-
gical discourse, are generally associated with simplification strategies. Moscovici and Hewstone
(1993; cited in Canale 2016) defined simplification as homogenisation processes through which
social phenomena are represented in a more domesticated manner. These simplifications ‘serve a
didactic purpose’ (Canale 2016, 232). Many studies on cultural representation in language text-
books have been conducted to explore different cultural categories (Keles and Yazan 2020; Yuen
2011). One of the most widely used frameworks is Kachru and Nelson’s (1996) model categorising
countries. As they mentioned, ‘for purposes of rational analysis, descriptive characterisations of
language provide the most positive opportunities for cogent insights into the way language actually
works’ (Kachru and Nelson 1996, 77). Canale (2016) also argued that foreign language research
focuses on the representation of foreign and native cultures.
Regarding other conceptualisations of culture, Moran’s (2009) classification is also widely used
in language textbook analysis (e.g. Yuen 2011). Moran classified cultures into ‘products’, ‘practices’,
‘perspectives’, ‘persons’ and ‘communities’. These categories of culture are not theoretical con-
structs but practical means of establishing order within a very complex image. On the one hand,
Moran’s model conceptualises culture in a ‘highly homogeneous manner’ (Canale 2016, 233). It
represents the five categories as a set of abstract elements that are shared, distributed, and experi-
enced equally by all members of a given group (Canale 2016). Such a characterisation has been
widely debated by post-structuralist researchers (Duranti 1997, 44) for whom culture should be
defined in terms of dynamic tensions in wider social, political, and economic scales (Canale
2016). On the other hand, simplification is necessary when describing cultural representation in
language textbooks to provide a holistic view of the ways in which different categories of culture
are represented. Exploring these trends may help teachers and learners become more active in con-
structing a classroom environment of social responsibility and achieving critical citizenship among
students (Weninger and Kiss 2013). Also, simplification is usually the first step when describing and
analysing cultural representation. However, oversimplification and homogenisation cannot be
relied upon when analysing the representation of culture in language textbooks. We agree with
Canale’s (2016) claim that it is important to create classroom environments where learners can
understand ‘textbook discourse as a genre which operates socially, historically and ideologically,
and not as the accumulation of uncontestable factual (verbal and visual) evidence about language
and culture’ (240).

ELF and the representation of countries in ELT materials

Previous studies regarding the representation of cultures have demonstrated that both globally or
locally produced ELT textbooks are predominantly ENL-informed (e.g. Keles and Yazan 2020).
This indicates that cultural references have almost always resorted to the practice of mirroring
the daily life of native speakers, spreading and incorporating their beliefs, different types of behav-
iour, values, and ways of life (Siqueira 2015). As Souza (2011, cited in Siqueira 2015) observes, the
overall references in instructional materials are those of native speakers of the target language. Our
textbook analysis, however, showed a more inclusive representation of culture.
Regarding categories of countries, the findings revealed that Chinese culture was represented
more than the cultures of inner circle countries in T2 and T3, and that international culture was
represented the least in all three sets of textbooks. With English as the target language, the cultures
of inner circle countries have been represented the most in many EFL textbooks (Keles and Yazan
2020). This was also the case for T1, where the GCR of culture for inner circle countries was the
highest (1835). However, the GCR of Chinese culture was more frequent than that of the inner cir-
cle countries in T2 and T3, which is in line with the MOE’s requirement (2020b, 2021) to include
Chinese culture in textbooks. American culture and British culture were featured prominently in
 JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUAL AND MULTICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT 17

the culture of inner circle countries in all three textbooks, respectively accounting for 94.5%, 77.4%,
and 88.3% in T1, T2, and T3. In Risager’s study (2021a), American culture and British culture were
also represented the most in a set of EFL textbooks called, A Piece of Cake, targeting learners at the
lấy ý cho intermediate level. There are two possible reasons for the dominance of British and American cul-
RQ3 ture being representative of inner circle countries. First, historical momentum from an earlier colo-
nial era has continued to influence ELT textbooks suggesting there is a need to update outdated
notions of English language culture. Second, textbook writers have ignored ELF perspectives with-
out trying to integrate the multiple target cultures to facilitate learners’ ‘intercultural competence’
(Shin, Eslami, and Chen 2011). However, too much focus on American and British culture may pre-
vent learners from understanding the diversity of other inner circle countries (Keles and Yazan
2020), as the multi-ethnicity and multi-culturalism of other inner circle countries is increasing.
International culture was represented the least in all three textbooks; the countries with the highest
GCR were all developed European countries in T1 and T3, while only a few developing countries,
such as Peru, Brazil, and Egypt, were mentioned in T2. As for the cultures of other continents apart
from Europe, T2 displayed a more holistic view of international culture, which may help learners
understand the culture of developing countries.
Considering the importance of integrating native English speakers’ cultures, learner’s home cul-
ture, and other cultures against the background of ELF (Baker 2009), we contend that cultures of
different categories of countries should be represented in a more balanced manner in EFL text-
books. For example, the cultures of other inner circle countries, such as Australia, Canada, and
New Zealand and learners’ home culture should not be neglected. The cultures of developing
countries in Asia and Africa should also be integrated into the international culture in textbooks
to avoid the dominance of European culture.
Notably, cultural representation in China’s ELT textbooks is strongly influenced by the govern-
ment’s policies which advocate integrating Chinese culture (MOE 2020b, 2021), and by ELF-
informed pedagogy. Chinese English language textbook publishers, teachers, and learners, as
ELF users, are ‘equally privileged ‘shapers’ of the global language, and, for this fact, we need to
assume such a position and claim our representativeness in material productions’ (Siqueira 2015,
253). As Le Breton (2005, 21) argues, ‘the geopolitics of English is less and less geographic, less con-
nected with the economic success of the United States and Britain’. ELF-aware pedagogy also
attaches great importance to the local context and learners with a communicative purpose when
selecting teaching content (Sifakis 2019). Textbook writers may have also realised the importance
of integrating Chinese culture. Including more Chinese culture can help learners better understand
other cultures because ‘learners can benefit from using local cultural knowledge as a bridge to relate
to unfamiliar, foreign material, thereby promoting ‘exploration into global understandings’’ (For-
man 2014, 86). Learners’ language skills can also be improved if they are exposed to more Chinese
culture and have more opportunity to express their own culture in the target language (Alptekin
2002).

Representation of cultural categories

Regarding cultural categories, the GCR of cultural products was the highest in all three textbooks.
This aligns with Yuen’s study (2011) of EFL textbooks used in Hong Kong. However, when cultural
products are directly recognised and taught (Moran 2009), it can lead to excessive concern about
them. On the other hand, cultural perspectives and cultural communities were represented the
least in all three textbooks. Cultural perspectives belong to the ‘hidden level of culture’ (Gu
2002, 8–9), which includes values about human rights, labour, morality, and law. Compared
with cultural products, these hidden aspects of culture are more important (Hall 1959), especially
for senior high school students. It is understandable that EFL textbooks for younger learners with
little cultural knowledge tend to concentrate on culture aspects that are easily taught and under-
stood, such as cultural products and persons. However, senior high students with more knowledge
18 H. ZHANG ET AL.

about history, literature, nature, and other aspects can understand the hidden aspects of culture and
explore deep ideas of different cultures. Thus, EFL textbooks for older students should incorporate
more cultural perspectives to cultivate their cultural awareness. For instance, in Unit 2 Morals and
Virtues from Book 3 of T2, Confucian thought is represented in various forms, including videos,
background cultural information, language exercises, and exercises that require the understanding
of culture. In this way, students can understand Confucius thought more deeply, which prepares
them to express cultural perspectives. However, representation of cultural perspectives in all
three textbooks only took the form of quotes, most of which are prone to be ignored. On the
other hand, compared with T1 and T3, T2 focused more on cultural communities. For instance,
in T2, there were passages about Native Americans and Asian Americans. The incorporation of cul-
tural communities reflected the requirements of the MOE (2020a), which regards English as a lin-
gua franca and emphasises the importance of understanding cultures of various countries.

Forms of cultural representation

Regarding the form of cultural representation in the textbooks, the GCR of implicit forms was, to
varying degrees, higher than that of explicit forms. Although it is still unclear whether explicit or
implicit representation of cultures is more conducive to cultivating learners’ cross-cultural compe-
tence (Zhang and Yu 2020), different forms of representation can play various roles in teaching and
learning contexts. The GCR of culture represented in explicit texts was also far above 1000
instances, indicating that the textbooks attached importance to the input of different cultures,
exposing learners to more cultural knowledge. Further, the weight of exercises that required the
learners’ understanding of different cultures was only 2, but the GCR of this type of exercise was
even higher than the GCR of culture represented in explicit texts (the weight was rated from 7
to 10). The textbooks, thus, have clearly taken into consideration the importance of fostering lear-
ners’ understanding of different cultures (Forman 2014). However, the textbooks paid more atten-
tion to understanding inner circle countries. Overall, the textbooks focused more on Chinese
culture than other cultures, which conforms to the requirements of the MOE (2020a), which
state that learning Chinese culture should be highlighted and promoted in all phases of study.
To a certain degree, the three sets of textbooks gave almost equal attention to global cultures by
representing them in various forms rather than emphasising one culture over another. One reason
for this is that the textbook writers considered the status of English as a lingua franca, viewing Eng-
lish as an indispensable communication tool for international exchanges and cooperation. Another
factor is the localisation of Chinese ELT textbooks, which refers to ‘the modification of textbooks to
specifically reflect local issues and contents’ (Richards 2014, 33). In the context of China, the general
senior high school English curriculum aims to help learners develop a sense of community with a
shared future for mankind and multicultural awareness, while deepening their understanding of
their home culture and enhancing patriotism and cultural confidence (MOE 2020a).

Conclusion
Focusing on the similarities and differences among the three series of textbooks, we hope to con-
tribute to the understanding of cultural representation in textbooks in the context of ELF and pro-
vide implications for textbook researchers, textbook writers and English language teachers in other
educational contexts where English is also used or taught as a lingua franca.
Textbook researchers may further studies in this field. Future research can be conducted to
explore the following aspects: first, FARCET can be used to analyse how culture is presented in text-
books of different publishers, editions, levels, and languages. Meanwhile, the categories, weights,
sub-dimensions of the content, and form of the cultural presentation in FARCET can be adjusted
according to the characteristics of the investigated textbooks. Second, through classroom obser-
vations, interviews, and other methods, textbook researchers can dig deeply into how teachers
 JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUAL AND MULTICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT 19

and learners perceive the cultural content in textbooks, and how they use them in actual teaching
and learning.
As for textbook writers, the following points appear pertinent. First, considering the background
of ELF, cultures from a wide variety of countries should be incorporated in a balanced manner. In
this way, the cultures of inner circle countries, traditionally dominated by American culture and
British culture, should be supplemented with cultures of other inner circle countries. Additionally,
the whole notion of ‘inner circle’ is outdated and needs to be revisited and revised so that countries
like South Africa and most of the Caribbean where English is spoken exclusively as a first language
are included. We also argue that the learners’ home culture should account for about 30% of GCR of
category of countries in language textbooks, and more cultures of countries in Asia and Africa
should be included under the category of international culture. Second, cultural representation
should not only concern cultural products and cultural persons, but also cultural perspectives
and cultural communities which can help learners understand the thoughts and ideas of different
cultures. Third, comparisons and interactions among local culture, target culture, and international
culture should be incorporated so that learners can focus on cultural differences and similarities. In
this way, learners can use their own cultural knowledge to analyse, compare and express themselves
while appreciating, comparing, and learning about different cultures. Fourth, textbook writers
should be conscious of different functions or effects of various forms of cultural representation
before choosing texts or designing activities about different categories of culture.
Finally, teachers of English ought to realise that English has become a lingua franca that is no
longer the language of inner circle countries and therefore concentrate on cultivating learners’ cul-
tural awareness in the context of ELF. Teachers are also advised to scrutinise cultural represen-
tations in textbooks, create cross-cultural communication situations that are as authentic as
possible, design meaningful teaching activities, and make adaptations if necessary.

Note
1. Considering brevity and clarity of the figures, explicit forms of representation listed in Table 3 were merged
into five forms: Texts (including the only cultural item fully discussed in a text, main cultural item in a text,
evenly-distributed cultural item in a text, minor cultural item in a text); Cultural Knowledge sections (includ-
ing the only cultural item in a Cultural Knowledge section, main cultural item in a Cultural Knowledge sec-
tion, evenly-distributed cultural items in a Cultural Knowledge section, minor cultural item in a Cultural
Knowledge section); Pictures; Quotations; Background cultural information.

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Funding
This work was funded by the National Social Science Fund of China 2021 “A comparative study on cultural represen-
tation in primary andsecondary foreign language textbooks of different countries” [Grant Number 21BYY122].

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