Abstract

BASABE, Enrique Alejandro. From De-Anglicization to Internationalisation: Cultural Representations of the UKand the USA in Global, Adapted and Local ELT Textbooks in Argentina¹. profile [online]. 2006, n.7, pp.59-76. ISSN 1657-0790.

It is generally acknowledged that the culture of English-speaking countries has abandoned its central role in recent ELT materials. However, this study suggests that representations of the Anglo-American culture are still favoured in ELT textbooks but that, in most cases, they have been transformed into “international” attitudes. This idea is tested by the compilation of lists of cultural references for four series of textbooks in use in Argentina, and by the application of the procedures of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to a selection of reading passages from them. The findings provide an answer as to what representations of English-speaking cultures are in current textbooks and open to debate the apparent fairness of English as an International Language (EIL).

Keywords : Cultural representations; culture of English-speaking countries; materials design; English as an international language; critical discourse analysis.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in English     · English ( pdf )