Intercultural Competence in Lower Secondary School English Textbooks of Türkiye and Iraq

Abstract

The growing requirement for present-day English language learners to use English as a lingua franca in the twenty-first century of globalization has necessitated the development of not only communicative competence but also intercultural communicative competence (ICC). English language textbooks, which are considered indispensable didactic tools in English language teaching and learning, can fulfil this requirement. However, to see whether an English language course book develops its audiences’ intercultural communicative competence needs validating or justifying through research. Therefore, the current study examined the extent to which English language textbooks at lower secondary schools contain learning tasks aimed at developing intercultural competence (IC), which is a key component of Byram’s (1997) ICC model. This was done by comparing two different contexts, Türkiye and Iraq, and using Äijälä’s (2009) checklist that is based on Byram’s (1997) model of ICC. The study also looked at the dimensions of intercultural competence and the objectives of those dimensions. The findings showed that the lower secondary school English language textbooks used in Türkiye and Iraq contain IC learning tasks to a limited extent, with the majority of them addressing the “knowledge of cultures” dimension and some but not all objectives.

Keywords

• English as a lingua franca
• intercultural communicative competence
• intercultural competence
• textbook analysis
• comparative analysis.

References

1. Äijälä, H. (2009). Acquiring intercultural competence from coursebooks: Analysis of learning tasks in the Finnish Upper Secondary School Coursebook Series In Touch. (Second Subject Thesis). University of Tampere, Finland.
2. Ajideh, P., & Panahi, M. (2016). An analysis of culture-related content in English textbooks for Iranian students entitled ‘prospect’ and ‘vision’ series. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 3(6), 87-93.
3. AL-Obaidi, L. A. (2015). The cultural aspects in the English textbook “Iraq Opportuinties” for Intermediate Stages. (Master’s Thesis). Middle East University, Jordan.
4. Alptekin, C. (1993). Target-language culture in EFL materials. ELT Journal, 47, 136- 143.
5. Alptekin, C. (2002). Towards intercultural communicative competence in ELT. ELT Journal, 56, 57- 64.
6. Arslan, S. (2016). An analysis of two Turkish EFL books in terms of cultural aspects. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 232, 217-225.
7. Bay Halil, V. (2019). The representation of cultural elements in elt coursebooks at secondary schools in Turkey: A comparative study. (Master’s Thesis). Bursa Uludağ University Institute of Educational Sciences, Bursa.
8. Bennett, M. J. (1986). A developmental approach to training for intercultural sensitivity. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 10, 179–196.

9. Bon, S. (2022). Developing Cambodian secondary school students’ intercultural competence: Strategies and challenges. Issues in Educational Research, 32(3), 887–905. https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.654142054397945
10. Byram, M. (1997). Teaching and assessing intercultural communicative competence. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
11. Byram, M., & Morgan, C. (1994). Teaching-and-learning language-and-culture. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. (with contributions from additional authors)
12. Cortazzi, M., & Jin, L. X. (1999). Cultural mirrors: Materials and methods in the EFL classroom. In E. Hinkel (Ed.), Culture in second language teaching and learning (pp. 196-219). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
13. Creswell, J. W. (2013). Steps in conducting a scholarly mixed methods study. DBER Speaker series. University of Nebraska Discipline-Based Education Research Group.
14. Çalışkan, S. (2022). Presentation of culture in Turkish and global EFL textbooks used in turkish public secondary schools [Master’s Thesis]. İstanbul Sabahattin Zaim University, Türkiye.
15. Çelik, S., & Erbay, Ş. (2013). Cultural perspectives of Turkish ELT coursebooks: Do standardized teaching texts incorporate intercultural features? Education and Science, 38(167), 336- 351.
16. Çetin Köroğlu, Z. (2016). An investigation on intercultural communicative competence’s integration into textbooks; Language instructors’ perspectives. Kastamonu Education Journal, 24(2), 619-632.
17. Deardorff, D. K. (2004). The identification and assessment of intercultural competence as a student outcome of international education at institutions of higher education in the United States [Unpublished dissertation], North Carolina State University, Raleigh.
18. Deardorff, D. K. (2006). Identification and assessment of intercultural competence as a student outcome of internationalization. Journal of Studies in International Education, 10, 241-266. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315306287002
19. Deardorff, D. K. (2011). Assessing intercultural competence. New Directions for Institutional Research, 149, 65-79.
20. Erdem, A. A., Balcı, T., & Özdil, K. D. (2018). Let’s Learn English-Student’s Book. Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı Yayınları. Fantini, A. (2009). Assessing intercultural competence: Issues and tools. In D. K. Deardorff (Ed.), The SAGE handbook of intercultural competence (pp. 456-476). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
21. Ghasedi, P., & Azizi, A. (2020). Intercultural communicative competence in ELT textbooks: The case of Iranian high schools. International Journal of Comparative Literature & Translation Studies, 8(4), 14-20. https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijclts.v.8n.4p.14
22. Gedik Bal, N. (2020). Students' and instructors' evaluation of a foreign language textbook from an intercultural perspective. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 16(4), 2023-2038. https://doi.org/10.17263/jlls.851032
23. Göktaş, Y. (2013). Place of multiculturalism in “English Unlimited” used at university Preparatory classes in Turkey [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Hacettepe University, Ankara.
24. Hammer, M. R., Wiseman, R. L., Rasmussen, J. L., & Bruschke, J. C. (1998). A test of anxiety/ uncertainty management theory: The intercultural adaptation context. Communication Quarterly, 46, 309–326.
25. Hsieh, H. F., & Shannon, S. E. (2005). Three Approaches to Qualitative Content Analysis. Qualitative Health Research, 15, 1277-1288. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1049732305276687
26. İlter, B., İzgi, İ., Özdemir, E. Ç., Yeter, A. T., & Yünlü, Z. T. Ç. (2018). Mastermind-student’s book. Ankara: Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı Yayınları.
27. Kachru, B. (1992). Introduction: The other side of English and the 1990s. In B. Kachru (Ed.), The other tongue: English across cultures (pp. 11-15). Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
28. Kırkgöz, Y., & Ağçam, R. (2011). Exploring culture in locally published English textbooks for primary education in Turkey. C.E.P.S Journal, 1(1), 153-167.
29. Lyman, F. T. (1981). The responsive classroom discussion: The inclusion of all students. In A. Anderson (Ed.), Mainstreaming Digest (pp. 109-113). College Park: University of Maryland Press.
30. Mathi, M. B. (2020). Cultural aspects in English for Iraq, book 6. Talent Development & Excellence, 12(2), 2539- 2550.
31. Maghsoudi, M. (2020). Intercultural communicative competence in high school English textbooks of Iran and India: A Comparative Analysis. Iranian Journal of Comparative Education, 3(4), 874-892. https://doi.org/10.22034/ijce.2020.250406.1220
32. Moghaddam, M. M., & Tirnaz, M. H. (2023). Representation of intercultural communicative competence in ELT textbooks: global vs. local values. Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, 52(2), 191–215. https://doi.org/10.1080/17475759.2022.2152076
33. Navas, M., García, M. C., Sánchez, J., Rojas, A. J., Pumares, P., & Fernández, J. S. (2005). Relative acculturation extended model (RAEM): New contributions with regard to the study of acculturation. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 29, 21–37.
34. Obaid, A. A., Ismail, L., Razali, A. B. M., Mansor, N. S., Othman, M., & Aralas, D. (2019a). A descriptive analysis of cultural content of “English for Iraq” textbooks used in the intermediate schools in Iraq. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, 8(4), 88-99. pp.89, 9.
35. Obaid, A. A., Ismail, L., Razali, A. B., & Mansor, N. S. (2019b). A descriptive analysis of intercultural content of the EFL textbooks used in the intermediate schools in Iraq. International Journal of Academic Research in Progressive Education and Development, 8(4), 738–756. https://doi.org/10.6007/ijarped/v8-i4/6697
36. O’Neill, T., & Snow, P. (2017). English for Iraq-Intermediate Student’s Book Series. Garnet publishing Ltd.Uk.
37. Østrem, I. M. (2021). Analysis of EFL textbooks for lower secondary school: How effectively do new EFL textbooks in lower secondary schools facilitate intercultural competence and accommodate LK20 guidelines about intercultural competence? [Master’s Thesis]. Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Norway.
38. Pasand, P., & Ghasemi, A. (2018). An intercultural analysis of English language textbooks in Iran: The case of English Prospect Series. Apples - Journal of Applied Language Studies, 12(1), 55–70. https://doi.org/10.17011/apples/urn.201804172107
39. Prihatiningsih, F. I. (2020). EFL coursebooks: A path to reach intercultural communicative competence, Lingua, Jurnal Bahasa & Sastra, 20(2), 165-172.
40. Richards, J. C. (2001). Curriculum development in language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
41. Rosyidi, A., & Purwati, O. (2017). Revealing intercultural communicative competence in an EFL high school textbook. In Proceedings of Social Sciences, Humanities and Economics Conference (SoSHEC 2017) (pp. 65-69). Atlantis Press. https://doi.org/10.2991/soshec-17.2018.13
42. Sándorová, Z. (2016). The intercultural component in an EFL course-book package. Journal of Language and Cultural Education, 4(3), 178–203. https://doi.org/10.1515/jolace-2016-0031
43. Sarıçoban, A., & Kırmızı, Ö. (2020). An analysis of Turkish EFL coursebooks in terms of intercultural communicative elements. International Journal of Curriculum and Instruction, 12(2), 226-244.
44. Sattarpour, S., Janebi Enayat, M., & Poorebrahim, F. (2024). Culture and gender representation in ELT textbooks: A comparative analysis of Iranian and Turkish series. Teaching English Language, 18(2), 221-256. https://doi.org/10.22132/tel.[phone]
45. Shreeb, M. A. (2017). An analysis of cultural content of Iraqi EFL textbooks. Journal University of Kerbala, 15(1), 1-19.
46. Spitzberg, B. H., & Changnon, G. (2009). Conceptualizing intercultural competence. In D. K. Deardorff (Ed.), The SAGE handbook of intercultural competence (pp. 2–52). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publication Ltd.
47. Szuba, A. (2016). The intercultural communicative competence of young children in a bilingual education setting [Master Thesis]. Radboud University, Nijmegen.
48. Tergujeff, E. (2014). Good servants but poor masters: On the important role of textbooks in teaching English pronunciation. In E. Waniek-Klimczak & M. Pawlak (Eds.), Teaching and researching the pronunciation of English (pp 107–117). Springer International Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-11092-9_6
49. Uğurlu, M., & Taş, S. (2020). The representation of cultures in English language textbooks: A comparison of three textbooks used in Turkey. Ahi Evran Akademi, 1(2), 54-67.
50. van Ek, J. A. (1986). Objectives for foreign language learning (Vol. 1): Scope. Strasbourg: Council of Europe.
51. Yılmaz, A. (2024). An investigation of cultural elements in reading and writing texts in a local English language coursebook for use at Turkish secondary schools. Humanising Language Teaching, 26 (5).
52. Yu, X. (2024). Differences in language communication between Chinese and American cultures. In the Proceedings of 3rd International Conference on Interdisciplinary Humanities and Communication Studies. https://doi.org/10.54254/2753-7064/39/20242179
53. Zorba, M. G., & Cakir, A. (2019). A case study on intercultural awareness of lower secondary school students in Turkey. Notivas-ROYAL, 13(1), 62–83.