Through Byram's Five Savoirs:
An ICC-based Content Analysis of K-12 Language and Literature Textbook
Mary Eugenie Joy C. Orozco
University of the Philippines Cebu
Master of Education EDL 201
I. INTRODUCTION
Textbooks play an essential role in the field of teaching and
learning. Even though, according to Wu (2010), it sometimes
fall short on covering everything, it stays as the chief supplier
for the contents in teaching. However, Cunningsworth (1995)
and Straková, (2001) reveals that a convincing quantity of
specialists argue that textbook selection is one of the crucial
complications of today´s EFL (English as a Foreign Language)
teaching and one of the most demanding tasks at the same time.
Also, an "organized and wide-ranging textbook may assist the
culture input noticeably, while an inflexible textbook may
place no room for teaching culture, , so the evaluation of
textbooks are necessary in FLE (Foreign Language
Education)", " says Wu (2010).
As what Hutchinson (1987) emphasized, materials
exemplify an epithet of the aims, values, and methods of the
specific teaching learning state (as cited in Rubdy, 2003;
Matsuda, 2012). Furthermore, Littlejohn (2012) stated in his
study Language Teaching Materials and the (Very) Big Picture
that aside from their scholastic value, materials are cultural
relics, no less rooted in a certain time and culture than any
other occurrence of human endeavors, and, as such, are molded
by the context wherein they take place.
Analyzing this material was propelled by the assertion of
Byram (1997) that cultural content was taken from learning
resources more often than necessary conferring to what Stern
(1992) stressed that the cultural factor has remained
challenging to contain in practice. The research of Guerrettaz
& Johnston (2013) has exposed that textbook often plays a
noteworthy function in shaping the ELT (English Language
Teaching) curriculum. Hinkel (2005) furthermore asserts that
textbooks are effective instruments for the scholastic practice
and it can manifest senses and values for every person and
nation.
Since, according to Byram (1997) and Guilherme
(2002), the definitive aim of an intercultural approach to
linguistic education do not deal so much in ‘native speaker
competence’ but on ‘intercultural communicative
competence’ instead, involving ICC is essential in teaching
the learners in order to let them delve into the cultural
contexts of language and of linguistic learning (Byram, 1997).
Through urging them to be keen interpreters and analysts of
culture (as well as their own), we assist them down the path to
self-regulating intercultural interpretation and analysis in a
variety of circumstances where they can have a tendency to
otherwise be at a loss, and where influential supervision is
inaccessible. In addition, Valdes (1986) stresses that the
moment people . . . acknowledge that they are, actually,
products of their own cultures, they are more equipped and
are more eager to survey at the behavior of people from other
cultures and take them non-judgmentally.
The aim of this paper is to analyze the K to 12 Edition
of the textbook Language in Literature 10: World Literature
where the ICC framework of Corbett is being used.
Emphasizing on the ultimate goal of language education
which is to generate a ‘bicultural’ learner, that is, someone
who obtains ‘a universal sociocultural competence . . .
specified sociocultural skills, or... definite socioculturally
fitting behavior’ (Stern, 1992), we can use the knowledge that
can be gathered from this analysis to cultivate a more
objective viewpoint of not just the learners' own customs and
means of thinking. (DES, 1990, cited in Byram et al., 1994)
but also the school and stakeholders in general.
II. THE LANGUAGE MATERIAL
A. About the Language Material
The book being analyzed is Language in Literature 10:
World Literature (K to 12 Edition) that was published last
2014. Its authors were Ma. Theresa A. Abarabar, Michael Ian
Benedict P. Estipona, Nicolas M. Galvez, Virna-Angelly D.
Magbitang, Lourdes M. Ribo, and Leopoldo A. Rojas under the
publisher, Vibal Group, Inc. It contains 590 pages with 16
lessons and every lesson has 7 macro skills and knowledge
(reading/literature, vocabulary, listening/viewing, speaking,
study and research, grammar, and writing/performance). The
material has been used by the researcher for two years already.
The lessons to be analyzed were decided through a random
sampling technique by using Fishbowl Method (Sevilla, 1993).
The researcher wrote the numbers of the lessons on pieces of
paper then the papers are rolled up and shuffled in a box. Two
papers were drawn to reveal which lessons will be used. Only
the vocabulary and grammar skills in every lesson are included
in the analysis.
B. Framework of Analysis.
The notion of ICC is so multifaceted that there is no
unanimity on the terms (Deardorff, 2006; Spencer-Oatey &
Franklin, 2009; Chao, 2016). In order to have a definite basis
of the analysis, the five savoirs of Byram (1997) has been used.
In this model, he has generated what is thus far the highly
worked-out description of intercultural competence, that is,
five formulations of the kinds of skills and knowledge required
to mediate amongst cultures (Corbett, 2003). Conferring to
what Chao (2016) said, Byram highlighted an interconnected
link between communicative competence of the foreign/target
language (i.e., linguistic, sociolinguistic and discourse) and
intercultural competence (i.e., attitudes, knowledge, skills of
interpretation and relating, skills of discovering and interacting,
and critical cultural awareness) These are specified as follows:
(1) Knowledge of self and other; of how interaction occurs; of
the relationship of the individual to society; (2) Knowing how
to interpret and relate information; (3) Knowing how to engage
with the political consequences of education; being critically
aware of cultural behaviours; (4) Knowing how to discover
cultural information; and (5) Knowing how to be: how to
relativise oneself and value the attitudes and beliefs of the
other.
These savoirs are believed to help in ICC through
incorporating and transforming the goals of communicative
curricula thus, expecting the learners to develop ethnographic
perspective, a critical stance, and liberal morality. Moreso,
fostering intercultural competence does not mean doing away
with the disparity in information or related activities, but rather
developing them.
C. Results and Discussion
Table 1. Frequency of Savoirs Found in Lesson 3-
Vocabulary and Grammar Skills
Savoirs Frequency
(1) Knowledge of self and other; of I Savoirs
how interaction occurs; of the
relationship of the individual to
society.
(2) Knowing how to interpret and II
relate information.
(3) Knowing how to engage with the I relate information.
political consequences of education;
being critically aware of cultural
behaviours.
(4) Knowing how to discover cultural III
information.
(5) Knowing how to be: how to III
relativise oneself and value the
attitudes and beliefs of the other.
Total 10
The first savoir only appeared once in this lesson. Learners
were at first told of the landmarks and terminologies that has
Greek origins and then the learners are tasked to use
expressions that are from Greek and Roman legends. With this,
they are acquainted with how the popular expressions are
formulated and being able to understand the given sentences in
Exercise A.
The second savoir appeared twice in the whole lesson. It
first appeared when the learners are to look for the meanings of
the given expressions and use them in constructing sentences.
Next, it appeared in the third Grammar exercise when an article
entitled "Man's fascination with flying is as old as time". This
article contains information about the histories and first events
of humankind in relation to flying thus, letting the students
interpret the given information and interpret with what the
aviation field are achieving nowadays.
The third savoir appeared only once when the given
sentences in the first and second Grammar exercises were
derived from Greek practices and behaviors.
The fourth savoir appeared when the learners are assigned
to recognize and use expressions from Greek and Roman
legends and when the sentences and exercises in Grammar
skills part were derived from the culture of the people from
Rome and Greece.
The fifth savoir can be found in the parts where the
students are tasked to use given expressions in sentences. With
this, they are taught how to immerse themselves in the culture
of Rome and Greece with their kingdoms and everything else
that goes along with it. By immersing themselves in the
mentioned culture, they can better understand why and how the
people in the place practice and/or believe in certain
happenings.
Table 2. Frequency of Savoirs Found in Lesson 10-
Vocabulary and Grammar Skills
Frequency
(1) Knowledge of self and other; of I
how interaction occurs; of the
relationship of the individual to
society.
(2) Knowing how to interpret and I
(3) Knowing how to engage with the
political consequences of education;
being critically aware of cultural
behaviours.
(4) Knowing how to discover cultural II
information.
(5) Knowing how to be: how to I
relativise oneself and value the
attitudes and beliefs of the other.
Total 5
In this lesson, the first savoir can be found in the part
where the learners are tasked to create a word web with the
connotations and in explaining why they have the connotations.
The second savior can be found in the first and second
exercises of the vocabulary skills where the learners are
assigned to search for the denotative meaning of the given
words or phrases and then they are to provide their connotative
meaning.
The third savoir cannot be possibly found in this specific
lesson. Meanwhile, the fourth savoir can be found in the
sentence examples of the Grammar skills part where an Asian
country is being mentioned which is China.
The fourth savior together with the fifth savoir also
appeared on the second exercise of the vocabulary skills part
because the given article provides the learners the information
about the music and advertising industry. Although the learners
are not familiar with the mentioned industries, they will be able
to value the beliefs and practices that are being lived by the
people working in the industry.
The textbook that was being analyzed promotes ICC.
Given the total score of 10 and 5 when counting its frequency
in relevance to the number of times the savoirs appeared in the
lessons. With every Vocabulary and Grammar skills part from
the third lesson to the tenth lesson, promoting the ICC are
evident.
III. CONCLUSION
After a thorough analysis of the chosen material
which is a textbook, it can be concluded that the lessons
promote ICC. Given the fact that the book is dealing with
lessons and stories gathered from around the world. The
authors are considerate enough to always provide introductions
in context to the part of the learners. The lessons promotes ICC
as well in a way that the learners get to know about the
differing cultures, beliefs, and behaviors of the people even
during the Ancient times until the Contemporary periods.
An ICC-based material helps the learners not only in
preparing them to be negotiators of the borders of language and
culture in many dimensions as globalization further, but also in
enhancing their capabilities to adapt and be flexible in this
world that constantly changes.
On the basis of this analysis, the following
recommendations are hereby given: (1) ICC-based materials
should not only dwell with using textbooks. In this age of
digital literacy, there is a wide array of resources and materials
that can aid in inculcating ICC in the classroom; (2) Although
ICC has already been introduced to some schools, it can never
be denied that it is still foreign to most of the schools. It is then
necessary to educate the teachers with the definite intercultural-
based concepts at the same time promoting its significance to
the masses; and (3). Although the textbook that was analyzed is
said to promote ICC. However, textbooks are not perfect and
they always need to be updated in order to adjust with how the
varied cultures and human perceptions change over time.
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