A CDA and CIA of Ideology and Power Relations in the English Textbook Got It ۱

ELT textbooks play an essential role in EFL classrooms, where they present ideologies and power relations which influence learners. In an attempt to uncover such ideologies and power relations, the discourse and images of an internationally developed English language teaching textbook (i.e., Got It ۱) were analyzed. This study also aimed to investigate the L۲ learners' awareness of the research findings. In order to achieve the goals of this study, multiple samples and images of the textbook Got It ۱ were analyzed. Finally, the L۲ learners' awareness of ideology and power relations in the textbook were examined by questionnaires and the data were statistically analyzed by SPSS. Findings showed that Got It ۱ tends to represent a particular ideology (i.e., the U.S. centrism), mainly through the language and images and it shows the U.S. in the position of high power, whereas lower subaltern status is attributed to other countries. Participants were not aware of the findings and they did not often think critically, although they believed that critical thinking is essential. Findings add to the growing body of literature about ideology and the existence of unequal power relations in ELT textbooks.

Keywords:

Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) , Critical Image Analysis (CIA) , Ideology , Power Relations , Got It ۱