International & Intercultural Issues

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International and intercultural issues in English teaching
textbooks: the case of Spain
María del Carmen Méndez García
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intercultural issues in English teaching textbooks: the case of Spain', Intercultural
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International and intercultural issues in

English teaching textbooks: the case of
Spain
María del Carmen Méndez García*
Universidad de Jaén, Spain
10Departamento
María
00000March
Intercultural 2005
10.1080/14675980500061831
CEJI106166.sgm
1467-5986
Original
Taylor
2005
16 delCarmen
&
and
Articlede Filologia
Francis Méndez
(print)/1469-8439
Francis
Education
Ltd
Ltd García
InglesaFacultad
(online) de Humanidades y Ciencias de la EducacionUniversidad de JaenParaje las Lagunillas s/n23071 JaenEspanacmendez@ujaen.es
The sociocultural content of foreign language textbooks has become a concern of scholars and
practitioners owing to the fact that the traditional emphasis on purely linguistic issues has been
expanded to embrace a language in context approach. This paper studies the English-speaking
communities that are described in English language teaching textbooks marketed in Spain. It
examines to what extent an international and/or intercultural approach is a constituent element in
their design.
Introduction
During the second half of the twentieth century, the contextualisation of foreign
language teaching gained in importance. A society’s use of language has clearly
developed over time to meet diverse needs and, in this process, it has become a
highly socioculturally determined system. Therefore, we need to include societal
contexts when we teach languages. The relevance of acquainting the foreign
language learner with the target culture has been stressed for purposes such as:
● enhancing students’ knowledge of the world and their knowledge of foreign
communities;
● familiarising them with the most salient behavioural patterns of the target societies;
● promoting attitudes of respect and tolerance;
● fostering reflection upon one’s own culture; and
● emphasising the relative role of one’s cultural assumptions or developing real
intercultural communication in an intercultural world.
*Departamento de Filología Inglesa, Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educación,

Universidad de Jaén, Paraje las Lagunillas s/n, 23071 Jaén, Spain. Email: cmendez@ujaen.es,
cmendez@supercable.es
ISSN 1467-5986 (print)/ISSN 1469-8439 (online)/05/010057–12

© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group Ltd
DOI: 10.1080/14636310500061831
58 M. del Carmen Méndez García
From a pragmatic perspective, having access to critical sociocultural issues associ-

ated with target countries is of utmost importance for more effective language learn-
ing. One can ask whether the content in English language teaching textbooks should
be culture specific?
The cultural content of English language teaching textbooks may become one of
the best tools for introducing learners to otherness. However, the societal contextu-
alisation of English comes with controversy due to the specific status of English as an
international language or as a lingua franca. This implies that English language
teaching does not have to be necessarily limited to culture-specific factors. Indeed,
English can, and is, used by and with non-native speakers of English and in ‘neutral’
environments, those where the culture-specific elements of English-speaking coun-
tries are irrelevant. Additionally, English language teaching may be conducted in a
‘neutral’ way. For instance, certain Arab nations use the Arab world as their only
setting and make no reference to English-speaking nations or even to Western soci-
eties (Byram, 2003). In contrast, in societies which do not hold strong prejudices
towards English-speaking nations, it appears that English-language teaching tends to
be more complete and comprehensive when language and culture go hand in hand.
Language is the most sophisticated communicative means created and adapted to
satisfy a society’s constantly changing needs and, in this process, language invariably
carries with it a heavily sociocultural hue. Hence, English-language teaching text-
books which aim to promote intercultural analysis and reflection would benefit from
an explicit focus—principally, although not necessarily exclusively—on the culture
of English-speaking communities.
Cultural content of foreign language textbooks

Fierce criticism has been levelled at the cultural content of foreign language text-
books which originate in the design of materials. For a long time, foreign language
textbooks have been branded as materialistic. Starkey (1991, p. 214) plainly
expresses that European textbooks tend to incorporate an evident dose of material-
ism and consumerism, for they seem to be designed for tourist purposes. This is said
to rest, to a large extent, on the Council of Europe’s guidelines to promote the
teaching of what an imaginary European traveller would need in his/her prospective
transactions. Consequently, the prevailing foreign language textbook, according to
Callaghan (1998) and Starkey (2003), views the learner as a consumer and a
prospective tourist, a child in the familiar environment and a pupil at school, all of
which has given rise to a boring and unattractive generation of books.
These prospective tourist transactions seem to explain the presence of an incom-
plete and extremely positive picture of foreign reality. In the case of English
language teaching, the idyllic representation of England has been referred to as
‘merry-old-England’. The existence of stereotypes in English as a foreign language
(EFL) materials has been a recurrent theme in the literature. Scollon & Scollon
(1995, pp. 154–163) remind us that stereotypes can be either positive (those that
attribute the other group excessively favourable characteristics) or negative; the
Intercultural issues in English teaching textbooks 59
latter are considered to be the most dangerous type, an obstacle for interpersonal
communication because they sometimes derive from a ‘grain of truth’ which is

interpreted on the basis of partial and biased knowledge of otherness and which is
made extensive to each and every one of the members of the foreign community.
Clarke & Clarke (1990, pp. 31–44) add that EFL materials also insist on stereo-
types when they omit, consciously or unconsciously, important defining aspects of a
society, that is to say, a particular book would be promoting racial stereotyping if
none or only a few of the characters belong to ethnic minorities.
Therefore, one of the most criticized issues of EFL material is their superficial and
biased representation of reality (Byram, 1990, p. 85). Schewe (1998, p. 205) insists
that we are still in need of textbooks that help students cope with otherness:
If what we are trying to do in our foreign language classroom is to further an under-
standing of foreign culture and give students an insight into it, we need to develop tech-
niques, exercises and materials that involve them in imaginative reflection and make
them ‘see’.
Assisting students in understanding a foreign culture can be done through different

means. Textbooks are paramount in the sense that they are the most commonly used
teaching tool at the pre-university level. Their cultural content becomes a clearly
determining element, since it marks the type and extent of the cultural knowledge
students are likely to gain in the classroom. Textbook design has to be understood as
a product of massive international marketing and, consequently, is prone to incorpo-
rate elements that make the product attractive rather than focusing on sociocultural
issues that promote cultural analysis and intercultural reflection. In brief, either due
to a tourist, stereotyped or restricted perspective of the foreign community/ies, the
prevailing FL textbook has not, for a long time, succeeded in reflecting social reality
(Byram, 1990, p. 85).
An investigation of international and intercultural aspects of English

language teaching textbooks in Spain
International and intercultural aspects of textbooks are an essential source of infor-
mation for foreign language learners because they contribute to the analysis of the
target country/ies not as isolated entities, but in their relation with the rest of the
world.
In modern Western societies, in which intercultural and international contact and
exchange are everyday occurrences, students need to reflect upon what intercultural-
ity implies, knowing the dangers of misunderstanding the implicit in international
contacts and the enriching experience that can be derived from successful intercul-
tural exchanges. An in-depth analysis of the cultural content of EFL textbooks goes
beyond the limits of this paper. The main issue that we would like to focus on here
relates to the positive features associated with the sociocultural content of EFL text-
books, features that seem to be largely neglected in spite of the fact that they clearly
contribute to the imaginative reflection Schewe defends. We wish to pay particular
attention to the international and intercultural issues in ELT textbooks, examining

the representation of the English-speaking world in connection with other countries

and especially with Spain, because the establishment of links between the foreign
and the native communities may contribute to ‘bridge the gap’ between cultural
systems in students’ minds.
Contextual clues
Contextual research clues: the international sphere and the intercultural approach
In her study of the cultural content of textbooks used in Scandinavia, whose results
she affirms apply to EFL European textbooks, Risager (1991, pp. 182–191) uses
four complementary perspectives: the ‘microlevel’ (life and activities of the charac-
ters), the ‘macrolevel’ (social, political and historic events), international and inter-
cultural issues, and the author’s style and point of view.
Robinson (1985, p. 52) argues that research has shown that the degree of under-
standing of other cultures depends to a large extent on the mental links students can
establish between their own culture and the foreign one/s. Those links seem to rest
upon the perception of analogous aspects. Since the learner’s perception of the world
is determined by the patterns encountered in his or her culture, new ways of under-
standing reality have to be assimilated into the existent categories in his or her mind.
A privileged way of helping students bridge the gap, researchers and practitioners
agree, is through comparison and contrast. The key here is whether the comparison
should take place according to similarities or according to contrastive views.
Robinson (1985, p. 72) asserts that comparison should be based on similarities in
order to make students see that all cultures share common elements, whereas
Damen (1987, p. 281) contends that a systematic analysis of contrastive qualities
should be carried out so as to develop cultural awareness. Consequently, whether
one subscribes to an approach looking for common ground or divergent cultural
factors, scholars and teachers agree on the necessity to bring foreign cultures closer
to the learner’s experience in his or her own culture. This is one reason why interna-
tional and intercultural issues are deemed to be so important nowadays.
Contextual educational clues: Bachillerato

Bachillerato is a non-compulsory two-year pre-university cycle for 17–18-year-old
students in Spain. The recently released official curriculum for Bachillerato in Spain
stipulates that foreign languages at this level aim to promote communicative skills,
linguistic reflection and sociocultural aspects. These sociocultural aspects, mainly
defined in terms of culture-specific familiarisation with and analysis of the cultures
associated with the foreign language, are explicitly regarded as a vehicle for interna-
tional understanding. The international and intercultural components have acquired
a manifest relevance in the curriculum, which explicitly states that the sociocultural
issues dealt with in this cycle should give learners the opportunity to establish a
‘contrast between students’ own and the foreign cultural aspects concerning every
day life’ and promote reflection on ‘similarities and differences’ between cultures,
with the ultimate aim of ‘valuing the foreign language as a means of eliminating
barriers which hinder the understanding and communication among peoples’
(Boletín Oficial del Estado, 2004, pp. 7596–7597).
Research design
Research questions
The goal of this research was to examine the representation of international and
intercultural issues in EFL Bachillerato textbooks. The first question we wanted to
answer was:
● Is the English-speaking world depicted in its international and intercultural rela-
tionships with other nations?
Additionally, we adopted a culture-specific analysis which attempted to answer the
following questions:
● Its there a relationship between English-speaking countries, that is to say, is the
intercultural and international relationship among English-speaking nations
explicitly stated?
● Is the double-perspective of the target and native nations presented—in this case
the English-speaking nations and Spain?
● What other communities (apart from the English-speaking nations and Spain) are
considered in connection with English-speaking societies?
● Is an international and intercultural approach a constituent element of the general
design of these pedagogical materials?
Sample
The findings presented here derive from a study of EFL Bachillerato textbooks. The
sample consisted of 14 first and second course Bachillerato textbooks from seven
different publishing houses. A total of 174 units were scrutinized. For the purpose of
this study, a large number of publishing houses operating in Spain were contacted
and those who market EFL textbooks for Bachillerato were informed of the research
that was going to be carried out. Those textbooks available to the public at the time
were included in the survey. If a publishing house offered more than one edition of a
textbook, the most recent one was selected.
Data collection and data analysis

The data analysed came exclusively from the ‘reading’ and/or ‘listening’ sections of
each unit because they constituted the sections that presented cultural content. The
data were collected in a ‘cultural analysis table’, specially designed for this purpose.
The table was divided into four groups: cultural objectives, cultural contents, the
methodology of the cultural component and assessing culture. Each of these, in

turn, was subdivided into further subfields.
Research findings: international and intercultural aspects in English language teaching

textbooks
If the sociocultural content in EFL textbooks is assessed in general, only 20 out of
the 174 units dealt explicitly with international and intercultural issues. Even more
interesting is that only 10 of the 14 textbooks examined incorporated texts in which
an English-speaking nation is seen in the light of other cultures and in connection
with them. For instance, Language in Use Pre-Intermediate, Pre-Select, Select and
Vision 1 do not seem to display passages in which explicit intercultural relationships
are established. Indeed, this does not mean that certain international aspects do
not—though sporadically—appear, but that they are not analysed explicitly. The
intercultural comparison can be inferred, for instance, in a unit in Pre-Select, whose
text on natural disasters in the USA, tornados, is complemented in another section
of the unit with a similar sketch on natural disasters in Spain, forest fires.
Our analysis reveals, on the one hand, that a large majority of the texts that carry a
heavy sociocultural load are exclusively focused on one English-speaking community
in isolation, particularly the UK (predominantly) or the US. Consequently, the aver-
age textbook in Spain does not, as an integral constituent, facilitate a cross-cultural
and contrastive approach.
The close scrutiny of the sample reveals, on the other hand, that certain units and/
or materials are more prone to the incorporation of the intercultural approach than
others.
Connection of English-speaking communities with nations all over the world other than
English-speaking communities and Spain exclusively
The first tendency discovered, very infrequently though, is the presentation of an
English-speaking country in a more or less overt connection with nations around
the globe. Almost exclusive in this group is the focus on the UK (the unique
exceptions being Ireland and the US once), with only nine units in six textbooks
linking it with other nations apart from English-speaking communities themselves
and Spain.
Broadly speaking, large-scale international comparisons and contrasts rarely
appear. International cooperation is illustrated in a project on technological develop-
ment between the US and Europe for the construction of a permanent space station
in orbit. A further illustrative example of a similar general nature is the comparative
study of the money spent on alcohol and tobacco as well as the number of crimes
committed in different European countries such as Belgium, Denmark, Germany,
Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Holland, Portugal and the UK. The two
English-speaking nations in the chart, Ireland and the UK, are reported to be the
countries that spent the most money on alcohol and tobacco, and the second and
third (after Denmark) in the number of crimes committed.

Somewhat more restricted is the examination of the psychological process of
culture shock. One of the texts that makes reference to culture shock focuses on
behaviour and other cultural patterns which are likely to cause surprise in outsiders
in five societies—the UK, Spain, Singapore, Thailand and Western Africa. The texts
provide the reader with culture-specific ‘survival tips’. Examples are the tip that
greeting does not usually imply touching or kissing in the UK, that it is impolite to
ask people how much they earn unless you know them well, that shops and bus stops
require queuing, that punctuality is important and that it is not common to start a
conversation with the person sitting next to you on trains. Conversely, Spanish
culture is defined as warmer regarding issues such as greeting (kissing on both
cheeks), inviting friends for a drink on your birthday, evening activities that start
late, the presence of children with their parents in restaurants and the special mean-
ing that Spanish people attach to home privacy.
A further instance, still more limited in its scope, is the depiction of the UK and
its culture from the point of view of people from Japan, France and the US, who
compare and contrast their own societies with Britain. Interestingly, the complexity
of intercultural contact and the culture-specific orientation underlying individuals’
perception of themselves and others in this process are made clear, since people
from different nationalities underline different sociocultural issues. The French
speaker emphasizes the limited time the British devote to eating and enjoying food as
well as the more disciplined and politer character of the British (for instance, they do
not park in forbidden places); the American stresses the feeling of loneliness that
American people have in Britain vs the friendlier attitude towards strangers in the
US, the exciting facet of American life and the feeling of safety one has in Britain.
The Japanese interlocutor notes the amount of space one finds in houses or public
premises and parks in the UK and the greater degree of safety in Japan.
In an illuminating sketch, the effect of culture shock is now reversed. Now it is not
the foreigner who has difficulties when entering the UK, but British people who have
problems when travelling abroad. Evident examples of misunderstandings occur in
diverse contexts. First, when a left-handed Brit goes to Saudi Arabia, where eating
or drinking with your left hand is considered unclean; second, in Singapore, where
one must not point with one’s finger (understood as an insult) but with your thumb;
thirdly, acceptable personal space, closer in Argentina than in England. Misunder-
standings are likely to embarrass people from these cultures in face-to-face interac-
tions.
A noteworthy finding is the examination of a key international trend in some
English-speaking nations—the flow of international students of English who pay
short visits to, for example, the UK every year or who settle in this country in order
to improve their command of English. Thousands of foreign students go to Britain
in the summer to study and practise English, and the text that depicts the experi-
ences of three French, Italian and Spanish students in a summer school illustrates
this key international movement in Europe. Additionally, the stay can be expanded
and may require that the foreign student settles in the target community after, for
instance, finding a temporary job in the UK (a Greek boy and a Swedish girl who
work as au-pairs and a Dutch boy who works in a restaurant) with the pragmatic aim
of improving their English, which will allow them to opt for better job positions
upon their return home.
Relationship between English-speaking countries

This relationship between English speaking nations was rarely discussed (4 out of
174 units). This specific type of international approach seems to be extremely
important for learners of English in the sense that recent studies carried out in
Europe focusing on the sociocultural and intercultural elements that can be found in
foreign language classrooms (Sercu et al., forthcoming) reveal that teachers report
their students have very limited sociocultural knowledge of English-speaking
communities. They tend to view them as an undifferentiated whole or, at the very
best, they are only able to make broad distinctions between the US and the UK.
Despite the obvious lack of an intercultural approach in the textbooks’ presenta-
tion of English-speaking countries, the mere fact that comparisons between the US
and the UK are made at all can be regarded as a positive element. In three cases, the
implicit assumption of cultural specificity is evident. Indeed, misunderstandings are
likely to occur, on the one hand, due to cultural differences such as the more open
character of the Americans or the feeling of many Americans that their lifestyle is
more alluring. Misunderstandings also emerge due to terminological differences
when English speakers from these two nations communicate. The many subtle
differences between British English and American English sometimes leave those
communicating wondering whether they ‘speak the same language’ (e.g. words like
‘vest’, ‘pissed’ or ‘boot’).
Cultural divergences alone, in spite of being real, are not to be underscored.
Cultural similarities also exist, and they make intercultural communication easier
between Americans and Brits. Both nationalities are said to share an evident sense of
humour and an individualist character. A not so positive joint feature resides in their
attitude towards foreign languages: Americans and British seem to be bad at learning
other languages.
Finally, the link between Australia and the UK is examined on an anecdotal basis.
In one case an Australian girl who works as a nanny in England makes general
remarks such as life in the UK and Australia is different and that in Australia people
go swimming a lot and play a lot of tennis. No real international relations or true
insights can be extracted from this particular text.
Connection of English-speaking communities with Spain

Finally, another tendency must be reported. It concerns the relationship between
English-speaking countries and Spain. This is interesting, given the context in which
this study was carried out and the prospective buyers of ELT Bachillerato textbooks,
Spanish students. Such issues were only present in eight units out of a total of four
books. As stated in the previous section, only the data concerning exclusively the
English-speaking sphere and Spain are commented on, even though previously (unit
13 in Language in Use Intermediate, unit 9 in Solutions for Bachillerato 1 and unit 5 in
Front Line 2) this relationship was viewed in a wider spectrum. A restricted pattern
emerges in this particular intercultural approach: Spain is solely linked to the UK,
no other English-speaking nation is mentioned.
A first example of intercultural and international ties appears in a well-written
passage in which the author presents Galicia as an attractive land for tourists, though
far removed from the stereotypical views of Spain which prevailed in textbooks some
years ago. The author’s main aim is to identify commonalities between this north-
west part of Spain and the UK by referring to a shared history. The Celtic past of
Galicia and the UK, as well as some similarities in terms of weather, landscape and
further cultural issues, contribute to a perceived feeling of common identity that
makes intercultural contact easier and more successful.
A common past, however, is not always synonymous with smooth relations, as the
passage on ‘The Spanish Armada’ reveals. The author’s viewpoint is clearly British,
as his/her praise to the Queen’s strong character as a key element in the resolution of
this international conflict shows. The only ‘neutral’ idea in the sketch is that the
English had a stroke of luck and were helped by the stormy weather which destroyed
part of the Spanish fleet.
Migration from the UK to Spain takes either a diachronic or a synchronic perspec-
tive. The axis of diachrony is present three times. The perspective of the tourist is
seen in the text Memories, with a middle-aged and married Englishman living in
London as the protagonist. When he looks at the marmalade he has for breakfast, he
remembers his journey to Seville in April 1974—while London was cloudy, Sevilla
was full of light. Typical icons of Sevilla such as orange trees, Guadalquivir, La
Giralda, Barrio de Santa Cruz, Triana, fiesta and feria, bars that never close, etc. are
listed, together with a critique of non-civic behaviour (cars double parked, cars
jumping the lights, etc.). The idyllic and stereotypical representation of Seville is
obvious in this sketch.
Additionally, the more informed view of the resident, also in the diachronic view-
point, appears in two passages. The text Homage to Catalonia expresses the author’s
experience as an Englishman in the Spanish militia, where it was easy to make
Spanish friends owing to the openness of the Spanish character. Another passage
deals with British expatriates who left England forever to live in the tiny Majorcan
village of Deià. British expatriates, attracted by the benign Mediterranean climate
and cultural associations, found it difficult to get used to living there, because living
conditions were primitive at the time. Now, they are very pleased to live on the
Balearic Islands.
Finally, the arrival of British people in Spain for language teaching or learning
purposes is mentioned on various occasions. A teacher’s perspective appears in a
text, for instance, in which an English teacher has settled in Oviedo and expresses
her being at ease living in Spain. There are other references to students going to
Spain to study Spanish. No doubt, this experience portrays an important intercul-

tural type of contact between the UK and Spain.

The foregoing tendency has to be contrasted with only two mentions of Spanish
residents in the UK in the 174 units, undoubtedly an insufficient number of texts to
help Spanish students reflect on what moving to another community implies and the
cultural and personal readjustment it demands. Both passages deal with culture
shock. ‘First impressions’, a text in an e-mail format which speaks about a Spanish
girl’s first impressions of England and the English family she is staying with, reveals
that the foreigner is more likely to have problems with the culture than with the
language. She describes what life in a British house is like, the fact that it gets dark
very early in winter, shops close at 5.30 or 6.00 and people have dinner at 6.30. Her
ethnocentric views are evident in the question she asks the addressee: ‘Is this normal,
Julie?’ and in her critique of washing dishes (she has discovered that in England they
dry the soap and water with a tea towel without removing the soap with water). The
second passage, in which a Spaniard who has moved to London discusses life there,
is less ethnocentric. The Spanish boy expresses his opinions about life in England and
tries to fight against the stereotypes that the Spanish have of Britain. He denies that
British people are cold by stating that they just take longer to get to know, asserts that
British food is not as bad as the Spaniards say and expresses the many things one can
do to enjoy him/herself in England. First impressions are very important in that
(Robinson, 1985) they are lasting and difficult to change. It is regrettable, though,
that this first phase of ‘culture shock’ is not completed with the following steps in
which a gradual understanding of the foreign culture is achieved.
Discussion and conclusion

From the foregoing paragraphs, some elements can be inferred that are relevant for
English language teaching. The data presented here are valuable for English language
teaching practitioners because, far from being only applicable to the Spanish context,
they can, on the whole, be valid in most Western countries, since the vast majority of
the textbooks marketed in Spain are produced by international publishing houses
(such as Oxford University Press) and are sold (sometimes with slight modifications)
elsewhere.
The examination of the international component has cast light on some of the
most defining current relations between English-speaking countries and other societ-
ies, such as technological development, the flow of foreign language learners to the
target community, or the culture shock such intercultural contact generally
provokes. These texts seem to be successful in themselves because they help
students reflect upon culture shock and cultural relativity. In other words, the fact
that intercultural contact creates a personal conflict which stems from the realization
that one’s own lifestyle, behaviour and values, until then taken for granted and
perceived as universal, are culturally bound.
As to English-speaking nations and their interrelations, it is made clear that
English is used differently by native English-speaking people in different places.
There is, hence, an intrinsic educative value in revealing both a linguistic and a
cultural divergence among English-speaking nations. Furthermore, the scrutiny of

both divergences and similarities promotes a realistic and complete intercultural
analysis, because all nations are different from each other, but all share commonali-
ties. Both commonalities and differences are worth emphasising for the complemen-
tary light they shed on any intercultural issue.
The texts which focus on intercultural and international relations between
English-speaking countries and Spain can help to bridge the gap between both
cultures. First, the historical perspective becomes all-important in this study. Similar
aspects that stem from a shared past are valuable if students’ foreign cultural
patterns are to be assimilated into their own cultural assumptions. Factors relating to
conflict and international wars can be better explored if taken as a basis to examine
how misunderstandings often occur in intercultural contacts and how they can be
resolved in the future. Secondly, the decision that some British have taken to live in
Spain presents an instance where one culture is chosen over another. Examination of
such choices, without showing reverse migration, can promote stereotypes and
nationalist thinking.
On the whole, it is regrettable that the UK constitutes the main focus of attention,
leaving other English-speaking communities out of the picture.
Need for an explicit international and intercultural approach

In general, international and intercultural relations, in spite of their intrinsic educa-
tional value, are scarcely present in EFL textbooks in Spain. There is a strong
tendency to present English-speaking countries as isolated entities with few interna-
tional contacts, which is not of course the case in real life. This implies that the
comparative and contrastive view, supported by both experts on intercultural
communication and the Spanish curriculum, is difficult to achieve if students have
to work with the content of existing reading and listening texts. Consequently, in
order to incorporate this approach, either a battery of comparative and contrastive
tasks needs to be used to supplement such texts (though outside the scope of this
paper, it is worth noting that some of these activities are indeed included in certain
textbooks—though infrequently) or the teacher has to take the initiative to find other
resources.
With respect to international and intercultural issues, Kramsch (1993) proposes a
‘double perspective of the respective societies’ as a solution in textbook design.
However, textbook designers need to be aware that one of the most tricky issues in
presenting an intercultural and international approach with explicit comparison and
contrast elements is that stereotyping can easily take place. Avoiding stereotypical
descriptions is truly a challenge for textbook writers.
María del Carmen Méndez García, PhD, is a lecturer and researcher at the
Departamento de Filología Inglesa, Universidad de Jaén. She has conducted
research relating to the cultural and intercultural component of EFL material.
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la ordenación y se establece el currículo de Bachillerato.
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International and intercultural issues in

*Departamento de Filología Inglesa, Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educación,

ISSN 1467-5986 (print)/ISSN 1469-8439 (online)/05/010057–12

From a pragmatic perspective, having access to critical sociocultural issues associ-

Cultural content of foreign language textbooks

communication because they sometimes derive from a ‘grain of truth’ which is

Assisting students in understanding a foreign culture can be done through different

An investigation of international and intercultural aspects of English

attention to the international and intercultural issues in ELT textbooks, examining

the representation of the English-speaking world in connection with other countries

Contextual educational clues: Bachillerato

Data collection and data analysis

methodology of the cultural component and assessing culture. Each of these, in

Research findings: international and intercultural aspects in English language teaching

third (after Denmark) in the number of crimes committed.

Relationship between English-speaking countries

Connection of English-speaking communities with Spain

Spain to study Spanish. No doubt, this experience portrays an important intercul-

tural type of contact between the UK and Spain.

Discussion and conclusion

cultural divergence among English-speaking nations. Furthermore, the scrutiny of

Need for an explicit international and intercultural approach

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