Abstract :

English textbooks are regarded as the “tangible heart” of any ELT program, so effective communication may require learners to develop intercultural understanding. This study aims to explore the way cultural elements are represented through different aspects in the textbook Business Plus 1 (Helliwell, 2014). A detailed analysis of the cultural content was conducted based on the theoretical framework of Cortazzi & Jin (1999), while also being examined through Kachru’s (1992) model. The findings indicate that international culture appears most frequently – particularly Asian culture – followed by target culture, and least of all, learners’ source culture. Furthermore, countries in the Expanding Circle dominate the textbook, conveying the message that local culture is not given primacy, unlike the tradition of many foreign language teaching (FLT) materials.

---

Keywords :

Cultural element, English language teaching, English textbook, Intercultural communicative competence.

---

References :

1. Baker, W. (2020). English as a Lingua Franca and Transcultural Communication: Rethinking Competences and Pedagogy for ELT. https://doi.org/1017/9781108685153.013
2. Brdarić, H. (2016). The importance of teaching culture in the foreign language classroom(Doctoral dissertation, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek. Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. Department of English Language and Literature).
3. Byram, M. (1997). Teaching and assessing intercultural communicative competence. Multilingual Matters.
4. Byram, M. (2021). Teaching and Assessing Intercultural Communicative Competence: Revisited (2nd ed). Bristol, Blue Ridge Summit: Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781800410251
5. Canagarajah, A. S. (2013). Translingual practice: Global Englishes and cosmopolitan relations. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
6. Che, H., & Fatah, F. A. (2024). Cultural content in high school English textbooks in China: Analysis of types, themes, and students’ attitudes. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 14(8), 392-404.
7. Cortazzi, M., & Jin, L. (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 University Press.
8. Helliwell, M. (2014). Business Plus 1: Student’s Book. Cambridge University Press.
9. Hinkel, E. (Ed.). (1999). Culture in second language teaching and learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
10. Kachru, B. B. (1992). Teaching World Englishes. In: B. B. Kachru (Ed.), The Other Tongue: English Across Cultures (pp. 355–366). University of Illinois Press.
11. Karakuş, E. (2021). A systematic review of the representation of cultural elements in English as a foreign language textbooks. Language Teaching and Educational Research, 4(1), 13–29.
12. Kilickaya, F. (2004). Guidelines to Evaluate Cultural Content in Textbooks. The Internet TESL Journal, 10(12), 1–5.
13. Louhiala-Salminen, L, & Kankaanranta, A. (2011). Professional communication in a global business context: The notion of global communicative competence. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, Special issue on Professional Communication in Global Contexts, 54, 244-262.
14. Pullin, Patricia (2015). Culture, curriculum design, syllabus and course development in the light of BELF. Journal of English as a Lingua Franca, 4(1), 31-53.
15. Rose, H., & Galloway, N. (2019). Global Englishes for language teaching. Cambridge University Press.
16. Shin, Jeeyoung, Eslami, Zohreh R., & Chen, Wen-Chun (2011). Presentation of local and international culture in current international English-language teaching textbooks. Language, Culture, and Curriculum, 24(3), 253-268.
17. Syrbe, M. & Rose, H. (2018). An evaluation of the global orientation of English textbooks in Germany. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 12(2), 152–163. DOI: 10.1080/17501229.2015.1120736
18. Tajeddin, Z., & Pakzadian, M. (2020). Representation of inner, outer and expanding circle varieties and cultures in global ELT textbooks. Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education, 5(1), 10.
19. Teo, A., & Kaewsakul, W. (2016). Cultural contents in fundamental English coursebooks. NIDA Journal of Language and Communication, 21(27), 1–17. https://so04.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/NJLC/article/view/54551
20. Thumvichit, A. (2018). Cultural presentation in Thai secondary school ELT coursebooks: An analysis from intercultural perspectives. Journal of Education and Training Studies, 6(11), 99–112. https://doi.org/10.11114/jets.v6i11.3533
21. Wakhidah, N. J. I., & Adityarini, H. (2021). The Representation of World Englishes and Cultural Themes in Senior High School English Textbooks in Indonesia. In Thirteenth Conference on Applied Linguistics (CONAPLIN 2020)(pp. 393-400). Atlantis Press.
22. Yuen, K.M. (2011). The representation of foreign cultures in English textbooks. ELT Journal, 65(4), 458-466. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccq089
23. Zhang, H., & Nordin, N. R. M. (2025). Cultural Representation in Chinese University English Language Teaching Textbooks. Education Sciences, 15(5), 601.