World Englishes and Cultures in ELT textbooks : A Textbook Analysis of Two ELT Textbook Series Used in Finland and China

Abstract

This thesis investigates both different English varieties and presentation of cultural aspects in ELT textbooks used in Finland and China’s lower secondary education. The purpose of the thesis is to research which English variety dominates the ELT textbooks and what kinds of cultural elements are most frequently presented. In addition, a comparison between the two set of ELT textbooks is made based on the findings and research data. The study is both qualitative and quantitative, as the emergences of the cultural aspects and origins of the English varieties are first examined throughout the eight ELT textbooks. Then the findings are categorised and listed into tables and figures. Next, a textbook analysis is taken to examine the origins of the English cultures in the textbooks and how the cultural elements of each circle are manifested. After that, the motivation behind the choices of the ELT textbook compilers is analysed regarding the two countries’ English teaching curricula as well as the dissimilarity between students’ first languages, such as writing systems. This study also investigates the ways in which the two textbooks presenting their own cul-tures and how they connect their own cultures to that of the world. The results suggest that Finnish textbooks boost Finnish culture through compassion, traveling and student ex-change. Interestingly, however, the Chinese counterpart achieves the goal by introducing Chinese culture to so-called foreigners living/studying in China, or with a foreigners’ descrip-tion of his cultural experience in china either through learning the Chinese language or travel-ing in China. The results of my textbook analysis suggest that the native-speaker approach is still preva-lent among the two set of ELT textbooks and the Inner Circle cultures, especially the Ameri-can and British cultures dominate in both series. Regarding the four aspects of cultures, the search for products yields much more occurrences than the other three aspects by means of food and tourist attractions, which is believed to be the most adopted method of presenting a culture. Interestingly, nothing else related to Russia is found from the three Finnish ELT textbooks, except for the word “Russia” (as a country) and “Russian” (as a word for nationality), even though Russia is one of Finland’s close neighbours in geographic location. It is also interesting to find out that “persons” compose quite a big percentage in the Chinese ELT textbooks due to one of the requirements from Goal of Cultural Awareness in the Chinese curriculum for Teaching English as a Foreign Language. According to which, Chinese students are supposed to “understand and distinguish common names and familiar names of different genders in English” in their English courses. As regards the comparison of the two ELT textbooks, it is surprising to find out that Finnish ELT textbooks are comparably much demanding than the Chinese equivalent, although both are designated for lower secondary English education, when students in both countries have finished four to six years of English learning. However, this finding cannot be engaged to pose a judgment on the textbooks’ applicability or appropriateness, nevertheless. Moreo-ver, it is inspiring to find out the motivation behind diverse choices on the contents of ELT textbooks. Comparing and analysing ELT textbooks from different cultural backgrounds ben-efits English language teaching.