Visual Representation of Culture in a Locally Developed EFL Series

The purpose of the current study was to investigate culture representation in ACT series, a recently developed EFL textbook by Iran Language Institute, with a focus on the visuals. Two models were taken into account for content analysis: Cortazzi and Jin (۱۹۹۰) to investigate the type of culture (i.e., source, target, & international) and Adaskou, Britten, and Fahsi (۱۹۹۹) to investigate the dimension of culture (aesthetic & sociological). Analysis of ۱۵۸۱ visuals indicated that textbook developers have placed a high value on presenting international and source cultures while target culture has received comparatively little attention to fulfill the mission for which the series was developed.  Additionally, as of the two dimensions of culture, visuals representing the sociological dimension of culture outnumbered those manifesting the aesthetic dimension. To conclude, it can be claimed that ACT series can be beneficial in promoting intercultural awareness among its audience and providing the learners with an opportunity to communicate their cultural and national identity with other bilingual speakers of English. The study ends with some future lines of research for the interested researcher.

Keywords:

ACT series , culture , Intercultural communicative competence , Materials analysis , Visuals