English foreign language learners’ perceptions of cultural elements in Chinese EFL textbooks

Shasha Qi; Ali Derakhshan

doi:10.30827/portalin.vi42.28407

Authors

Shasha Qi School of Foreign Languages, Inner Mongolia University of Finance and Economics, People’s Republic of China
Ali Derakhshan Golestan University, Gorgan, Iran (Corresponding author) https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6639-9339

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30827/portalin.vi42.28407

Keywords:

culture, English as a foreign language, learners’ perception, textbook evaluation

Abstract

Our study aims to culturally analyze the textbook series in the context of China using a questionnaire taken from Kilickaya (2004). To this end, 635 EFL students participated and filled out a questionnaire. In addition, 31 students were randomly selected for a semi-structured interview. The results of the study indicated that students’ perceptions of the meaning and purpose of textbooks were found to be positive. As for materials on culture, it is argued that textbooks should include both macro and micro-cultures. The findings showed that the teaching contributions did a good job of presenting various perceptions from the students' points of view. Students felt that the textbooks represented diverse societies and were relevant to their home culture, but they felt that the manuals were less effective in presenting the values of social groups. The results demonstrated that the same location of images and text in textbooks is usually the display index. EFL textbooks for language learners in China are mainly composed of index relationships between texts, pictures, and tasks, showing a focus on descriptive meaning. Ultimately, the outcomes of this inquiry provide practical implications for EFL stakeholders.

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Author Biographies

Shasha Qi, School of Foreign Languages, Inner Mongolia University of Finance and Economics, People’s Republic of China

Associate Professor in Applied Linguistics, School of Foreign Languages, Inner Mongolia University of Finance and Economics, People’s Republic of China

Ali Derakhshan, Golestan University, Gorgan, Iran (Corresponding author)

Professor of Applied Linguistics, Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Golestan University, Gorgan, Iran a.derakhshan@gu.ac.ir

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FUNDING INFORMATION

The current study was supported by the Philosophy and Social Sciences Program of the Henan Provincial Government (Grant Number: 2021BXW007). The article was also supported by Inner Mongolia University of Finance and Economics, People’s Republic of China. The authors are also grateful for the insightful comments suggested by the editor and the anonymous reviewers.