Culture of language learning: A comparative study of English language textbooks used in Pakistan

Abstract

This study is concerned with the evaluation of two English language teaching (ELT) textbooks from the point of view of hidden curriculum i.e. the invisible or implicit ideological assumptions hidden in the content of these textbooks and the culture of language learning and teaching they promote. Both the textbooks (selected for the present study) are used for ELT in two different systems of education in Pakistan. One is used in the government owned schools; the other in private system of education which follows the Cambridge system of education. The research framework includes the detailed analysis of the selected units from the two textbooks. Firstly, the text of the units was analyzed by focusing on genre, contents and hidden curriculum the contents may embody. The second part of the framework is the analysis of the culture of language learning and teaching these books promote. For this purpose the focus was on the rubrics and questions/activities of grammar, vocabulary and four language skills given in the exercises at the end of each unit. The results reveal a clear-cut difference in the two textbooks from the point of view of hidden curriculum and the culture of language learning and teaching they espouse.

Keywords

• Culture; textbooks; language learning; English language teaching; hidden curriculum

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