Pedagogy, Culture & Society

ISSN: 1468-1366 (Print) 1747-5104 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rpcs20

Cultural representation in English language

textbooks: a comparison of textbooks used in
mainland China and Hong Kong

Jackie F. K. Lee & Xinghong Li

To cite this article: Jackie F. K. Lee & Xinghong Li (2019): Cultural representation in English
language textbooks: a comparison of textbooks used in mainland China and Hong Kong,
Pedagogy, Culture & Society, DOI: 10.1080/14681366.2019.1681495

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/14681366.2019.1681495

Published online: 17 Oct 2019.

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PEDAGOGY, CULTURE & SOCIETY
https://doi.org/10.1080/14681366.2019.1681495

Cultural representation in English language textbooks: a

comparison of textbooks used in mainland China and Hong
Kong
Jackie F. K. Lee and Xinghong Li
Department of Linguistics and Modern Language Studies, The Education University of Hong Kong, Tai Po,
Hong Kong

ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
The English language curricula in Hong Kong and mainland China China; culture; Hong Kong;
place emphasis on ‘culture learning’. This study seeks to examine English language teaching;
cultural depictions in two series of primary English language text- intercultural communicative
books published in mainland China and Hong Kong. The study competence; textbooks
adopted Kachru’s three-circle model and Moran’s 4P framework
(referring to products, practices, perspectives and persons) to inves-
tigate the breadth and depth of cultural presentation. The findings
indicate that both series encompass content on the local culture as
well as on foreign cultures. While the mainland textbooks focus on
British culture in the inner circle through the cultural aspects of
products and persons, insufficient attention is paid to other foreign
cultures and the cultural aspect of perspectives. In contrast,
Hong Kong textbooks include a wider range of foreign cultures
and a more balanced presentation of various cultural aspects.
However, both series contain mainly static and congratulatory cul-
tural topics, and neglect the underlying value orientations.

Introduction
With the growing demand for globally aware and communicatively competent citizens,
English learning is not limited to linguistic forms but has been expanded to the develop-
ment of the four skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking in meaningful socio-
cultural contexts. Culture has become an important element in English language learning,
and some researchers have included it as a fifth language skill (Lai 2013).
Traditionally, the target-language culture of English speakers refers to British and
American cultures. However, according to Kachru’s (1985) three concentric circles of
world Englishes, the ‘inner circle’ countries, where English is the primary language,
include not only the UK and the US but also other countries such as Australia,
Canada and New Zealand. Moreover, with the increasingly important status of
English as an international language and a lingua franca, ownership of English is
not restricted to the inner circle countries. There are many more English users in the
‘outer circle’ (e.g., Singapore, the Philippines, Hong Kong) and in the ‘expanding

CONTACT Jackie F. K. Lee jfklee@eduhk.hk Department of Linguistics and Modern Language Studies, The
Education University of Hong Kong, 10 Lo Ping Road, Tai Po, Hong Kong
© 2019 Pedagogy, Culture & Society
2 J. F. K. LEE AND X. LI

circle’ (e.g., China, Japan, Korea). Given the role of English as an international
language for transcultural communication, there are three issues which arise in
relation to culture teaching in the English language classroom: (1) To what extent
are the local and foreign cultures presented in English language textbooks?; (2) Are
the different cultural aspects of products, practices, perspectives and persons pre-
sented evenly in the textbooks?; and (3) To what extent is intercultural communica-
tive competence promoted in the textbooks? The present study aims to answer these
questions by examining cultural representation in selected English language text-
books published in mainland China and Hong Kong.
In the following, we first provide an overview of the conceptual framework for ‘culture
learning’ (Moran 2001) and teaching. We then discuss the pressing need for culture
learning in mainland China and Hong Kong. This is followed by an examination of the
role of English language teaching (ELT) textbooks pertaining to culture teaching, before
we present the current study.

Conceptual framework for culture learning and teaching

One of the most important factors in determining effective communication with speakers
from the target culture is one’s ability to speak the language. Language skills are therefore
important for engagement in intercultural interactions and for establishment of inter-
personal relationships. However, language fluency alone is not enough for effective
intercultural interchanges (Erfani 2012). As shown in Masgoret and Ward’s (2006) inter-
active model (Figure 1), language learning is a combination of foreign-language profi-
ciency, communication competence, effective intercultural interaction and sociocultural
adaptation. To achieve this, we need to understand what culture means.
We can view ‘culture’ from different perspectives. ‘Culture’ is the product of civilisation.
According to Moran (2001), culture can be defined in terms of four Ps: products, practices,
perspectives and persons.1 ‘Products’, both tangible and intangible, are the artefacts
produced or adopted by the members of a culture, including plants, animals, clothing,
buildings, music, economy and religion. ‘Practices’ refer to the actions and interactions
that the members of a culture carry out. These practices include forms of communication,
use of products, interpretations of time and space, and notions of appropriateness.
‘Perspectives’ refer to the beliefs, values and attitudes that underlie the products and
practices of the members of a culture. ‘Persons’ are the individual members that consti-
tute the culture, including well-known icons such as Nelson Mandela in South Africa and
Prince Charles in the UK.
Culture is also viewed in terms of intercultural communication, which is perceived as
the ability to communicate effectively and appropriately, accomplish tasks, and build and
maintain relationships with people from other cultures in a foreign language rather than
in one’s own language (Byram 1997, 71). To develop intercultural communicative com-
petence, people need to go through the processes of thinking, feeling and doing, which
involve considering their own and the other person’s needs and viewpoints. Therefore,
culture can be viewed as a dynamic, living process, rather than merely a fixed body of
knowledge, which is constantly evolving and being constructed through intracultural and
intercultural communication between people. Culture learning in this sense emphasises
the significance of social skills and social interaction, beginning with the identification of
 PEDAGOGY, CULTURE & SOCIETY 3

Socio-cultural adaptation

Effective intercultural interaction

Foreign language proficiency

and
communication competence

Figure 1. Interactive model of foreign-language proficiency, communication competence, effective

intercultural interaction and sociocultural adaptation.
(source: Masgoret and Ward 2006, 61).

cross-cultural differences in rules, norms, conventions and practices, as well as verbal and
nonverbal communication. Culture learning also includes learning ways to minimise
confusing and uncomfortable encounters through sociocultural adaptation for accultura-
tion (Masgoret and Ward 2006).
Another way to perceive culture is based on Edward T. Hall’s (1976) Iceberg
Theory, contrasting surface/conscious (observable and static) elements (e.g., tourist
attractions, festivals, food, famous people) with deep/unconscious (invisible) ele-
ments of culture (e.g., perceptions, beliefs, values) (Gómez Rodríguez 2015; Hinkel
2001; Shaules 2007). The focus on surface culture in English teaching materials is
criticised because the accumulation of general fixed information will not enable
learners to understand the target culture and to be engaged in sociocultural inter-
actions with people from different backgrounds (Gómez Rodríguez 2015). Oftentimes
it is the hidden elements of deep culture which influence the way we interact with
others, and which are responsible for culture shock, misunderstanding, stereotyping
or even prejudice (López-Rocha 2016).
These deep forms of culture do not necessarily reflect traditional social norms.
For example, traditional Chinese culture valued extended families, while contem-
porary society in Hong Kong is dominated by nuclear families. This transformation
is partly due to the restricted living space in today’s Hong Kong, as well as the
4 J. F. K. LEE AND X. LI

change of ideology that values independence and privacy in modern society. This
implies that culture is not static, and that there should be no generalisation that all
the people of a culture follow the same fixed sociocultural norms, values and
lifestyles with homogeneous compliance (Gómez Rodríguez 2015; Greenblatt
1995; Levy 2007).
One challenge for textbook authors and language teachers is whether they should
merely provide general cultural knowledge in the hope that learners will somehow
develop intercultural communicative competence, or whether they should create condi-
tions in which learners can build their skills and competence (López-Rocha 2016). Moran
(2001) proposes a cultural knowings framework for culture learning, which consists of four
interconnected learning interactions – ‘knowing about’, ‘knowing how’, ‘knowing why’
and ‘knowing oneself’. ‘Knowing about’ refers to the activities related to collecting and
demonstrating the acquisition of cultural information about products, persons, practices
and perspectives of the culture. ‘Knowing how’ involves acquiring cultural practices that
require direct or simulated participation in the daily life of the target culture, according to
their traditions and customs. ‘Knowing why’ refers to the development of an under-
standing of cultural perspectives – the beliefs, values and attitudes underlying all
aspects of the culture, which require an analysis and explanation of cultural phenomena,
as well as comparing the target culture with one’s own culture. ‘Knowing oneself’ deals
with self-awareness about one’s own values, opinions, thoughts, ideas, and the values of
the home culture, so as to determine the extent to which individuals accept, engage in or
become part of the target culture. According to Moran (2001), teaching culture involves
orchestrating and implementing these four cultural knowings in a purposeful and sys-
tematic manner.

Need for culture learning in Hong Kong and mainland China

In Hong Kong there has been an increasing need to cultivate people’s cultural tolerance and
respect because of rapid social changes in recent decades. Statistics show that over 1.5 million
new Hong Kong citizens, accounting for 20% of the population, have come from mainland
China since Hong Kong’s handover from Britain to China in 1997 (O’Neill 2017). Added to this is
the large number of cross-border students coming to Hong Kong daily from the mainland,
because of a rise in the number of cross-border marriages between Hong Kong people and
mainlanders, and the large number of mainland children who were born in Hong Kong but live
in China. Another 8% of the Hong Kong population are non-Chinese ethnic minorities,
including an increasing number of foreign domestic helpers (mainly Filipinos and
Indonesians), South Asians, Whites, and people of mixed descent (Census and Statistics
Department 2017). Among the 584,383 ethnic minority residents in Hong Kong in 2016,
over 80,000 were locally-born people of South Asian descent, who form an increasingly visible
part of the Hong Kong population in school, at work and in the neighbourhood (Erni and
Leung 2014). Nonetheless, many Hong Kong natives see these minority groups as a liability
rather than an asset, and racial discrimination against them is not uncommon (Crabtree and
Wong 2013; Kapai 2015; Ng et al. 2015). The increasing number of newcomers and South Asian
ethnic minorities in Hong Kong has generated resentment among some local people; in
addition to the language barrier, stereotyping, cultural differences and different core values
are causes of tension.
 PEDAGOGY, CULTURE & SOCIETY 5

China’s travel relaxation, economic boom and political liberalisation over the
past few decades have spawned a significant increase in the numbers of outbound
Chinese visitors to different countries across the world, as well as inbound foreign
visitors to China. Cultural learning and understanding has thus become more
important than ever. This is especially so in view of the misbehaviour of some first-
time Chinese travellers, who are often seen as pushy, loud, impolite and unruly,
causing a national image problem (Phillips 2013). Moufakkir and Reisinger (2016)
studied Chinese restaurant employees’ perceptions of their nationals and British
patrons in London, finding that the Chinese restaurant employees were negative
towards the Chinese patrons despite cultural proximity. The Chinese guests were
described as impolite, loud, messy and demanding. Different lifestyles, cultural
differences and lack of cultural awareness are some of the factors identified in
the negative images of Chinese travellers (China Tourism Academy and China Radio
International 2015).
It is considered insufficient to merely publish a guidebook for civilised tourism to raise
Chinese people’s cultural awareness and understanding (Phillips 2013). Based on Masgoret
and Ward’s (2006) interactive model (Figure 1), culture education in school, particularly in
English classes, is of primary importance. This is because English plays an important role as
a ‘global lingua franca’, and multicultural materials can be added to the instructional
materials to allow learners to be engaged in culturally laden English-learning tasks for the
development of effective intercultural interaction skills (Setyono and Widodo 2019).

ELT textbooks and culture learning

Textbooks are ideologically laden (Baleghizadeh and Motahed 2010; Huang 2011), as
they provide ‘instruction about nation, culture, tradition, customs, history, ethics, citi-
zens, minorities, foreigners, cities, countryside, family, etc.’ (Heinrich 2005, 214–215).
Textbooks contain texts, exercises and tasks selected or produced by the authors, which
are partly based on the authors’ own ideologies, interests and agendas, and partly
based on the ideology expressed in the curriculum (Setyono and Widodo 2019) both of
which shape learners’ identities (Awayed-Bishara 2015; Setyono and Widodo 2019). In
mainland China, the latest English language curriculum aims at developing the learners’
capacity to use English for communicative purposes (Ministry of Education 2011). It
identifies five domains as learning targets, culture being one of them with the aim of
broadening students’ global perspectives. This encompasses the development of
motherland awareness, cultural knowledge, cultural understanding and cross-cultural
communication skills. In a similar vein, the English language curriculum of Hong Kong
also embodies culture as one of the targets (Curriculum Development Council 2017). It
highlights the importance of providing students with a wide range of learning experi-
ences to enhance their cultural understanding and global competitiveness. However,
the important role that is now given to culture learning in English classes raises
questions about whose culture needs to be addressed and how culture is presented
to students in ELT materials – is it presented as a fixed body of knowledge about
selected cultures, or is it presented in such a way as to help learners develop another
mode of behaviour and enter another way of life through the acquisition of a foreign
language?
6 J. F. K. LEE AND X. LI

Setyono and Widodo (2019) argue that, based on the concept of pluralistic ideology,
it is important to promote multicultural values in ELT materials for learners to recog-
nise and appreciate the existence of cultural differences between people from different
religious, geographic, ethnic, and socio-economic backgrounds. However, many pre-
vious textbook studies have shown that not enough attention has been given to
multiculturality by textbook writers. Findings have revealed an unbalanced representa-
tion of Kachru’s (1985) three concentric circles of world Englishes, with the cultures of
the inner circle countries, particularly American and British cultures, being prevalent in
ELT materials (e.g., Ilieva 2000; Ndura 2004). This may contribute to the promotion of
cultural imperialism – the creation and maintenance of unequal relationships between
nations. Shin, Eslami, and Chen’s (2011) analysis of seven series of internationally
distributed ELT textbooks revealed the dominance of inner circle cultural content
and the superficiality of the cultural presentation at the knowledge-oriented level,
rather than engaging learners in deep learning through reflection and cultural com-
parison. Similarly, Ahmed and Narcy-Combes (2011) found that exposure to the target
language culture in Pakistani EFL textbooks was more dominant than the depiction of
the home culture. Yuen’s (2011) study of Hong Kong secondary school textbooks also
noted an obvious imbalance in the foreign cultures represented; coverage of the
cultures of English-speaking countries was much greater than that of Asian and
African cultures.
With regard to the presentation of the four cultural dimensions in textbooks, Yuen
(2011) found that products were the most frequently depicted cultural aspect and
perspectives the least common. Gómez Rodríguez’s (2015) examination of three commu-
nicative EFL textbooks indicated that the writers included only static and congratulatory
topics of surface culture and ignored complex and transformative forms of culture. Some
educational scholars (e.g., Erfani 2012; Gómez Rodríguez 2015; Rashidi and Safari 2011)
have challenged the content of ELT materials, which encompass harmless, neutral or
congratulatory cultural topics (such as travel, food and famous people) rather than deal-
ing with controversial global issues such as poverty, ethnic conflict, debates about
euthanasia, migrant intake, social inequality, and so on.

The present study

Given the drastic changes in the sociocultural contexts in mainland China and Hong Kong
in the last two decades, it is considered timely to conduct a comparative study to examine
how culture is situated in the ELT textbooks used in these two regions. This comparative
study will allow us to examine the similarities between the two places on the one hand,
and their differences on the other. In connection with similarities, as noted above, the new
curriculum standards in Hong Kong and mainland China emphasise the fostering of
cultural knowledge, strategies and affective experience in student learning (Curriculum
Development Council 2017; Ministry of Education 2011; Pan 2015). It is therefore timely to
explore how culture education is delivered in the locally produced textbooks in these two
regions. As for differences, Hong Kong is a former British colony and English has been
a compulsory school subject at all levels of education for decades. It is worth examining
the extent to which the British legacy continues in contemporary Hong Kong ELT text-
books. The inquiry-driven research questions to be addressed are:
 PEDAGOGY, CULTURE & SOCIETY 7

(1) To what extent are the local and foreign cultures presented in the textbooks
examined?
(2) Are the four cultural aspects of products, practices, perspectives and persons
presented evenly in the textbooks?
(3) To what extent do the textbooks provide learners with opportunities to enhance
intercultural communicative competence for effective intercultural interaction?

Methodology
Two popular series of primary ELT textbooks published in mainland China and Hong Kong
were selected for analysis. The Chinese series was英語（一年級起點） [New Standard
English (Starting from Primary 1)] (NSE), co-authored by a mainland Chinese speaker and
a native English speaker. It was jointly published by the Foreign Language Teaching and
Research Press and Macmillan Publishers (China) Ltd. As for the Hong Kong books, Primary
Longman Express (LE) was chosen. This series was co-authored by two native English
speakers and published by Pearson. Both series were locally developed following the
mandated curriculum standards, and were approved for school use by the respective
education authorities. These two series were chosen because they were widely adopted in
local schools and were published by leading publishers. The first edition of NSE was
published in 2000, and was the first series of English language textbooks produced for
both primary and secondary levels in mainland China. The series was revised in response
to the publication of the new curriculum standard in 2011. LE was first published in 2005,
and the series examined in the present study was the second edition, which followed the
framework of the original series but with completely new content. The long history of
these two textbook series indicates that they are popular among local schools.
Additionally, both publications start from Primary 1 level,2 which makes this comparative
study viable.
Both NSE and LE consist of six levels for Primary 1 to 6, and each level has two volumes,
Books A and B. The present study investigated the books for Primary 1, 3 and 5, including
a total of six books for each series. The books were published in similar periods: 1A and 1B
of NSE were published in 2012 and the others in 2014; the LE series was published in 2015.
The study covered only students’ books. This is because unlike LE, NSE does not have
accompanying books (e.g., workbooks, grammar books, listening and speaking books,
reading books).
The study adopted the method of content analysis based on the methods described by
Krippendorf (2013) to address the three research questions. One advantage of using
content analysis is that the textual and visual data from the textbooks selected are
permanent, verifiable and replicable. Unlike anecdotal analysis which is subject to the
researchers’ impressions and retrospection, the content analysis in this study involved
categorising, coding and counting the written and pictorial texts. The qualitative data
collected was analysed systematically and converted into quantitative data so that valid
inferences could be made.
To answer research question 1 about the extent to which the local and foreign cultures
are depicted, Kachru’s (1985) three-circle model with modification was adopted. When
there was a textual or visual mention of products, practices, persons or perspectives from
8 J. F. K. LEE AND X. LI

the home region, it was classified as ‘local culture’. If the cultural element was foreign and
the origin was identifiable, it was categorised into ‘the inner circle’, ‘the outer circle’ or ‘the
expanding circle’ according to the three-circle framework. As mainland China and
Hong Kong share some traditional Chinese customs (e.g., the celebration of Chinese
New Year, colour symbolism), any mention of this kind was coded as ‘local culture’ in
NSE or LE. As for cultural elements originating from each specific locale, such as celebrities
and places, they were classified as ‘local culture’ and ‘foreign culture’ accordingly. For
example, Andy Lau Tak-wah, an artist from Hong Kong, was classified as ‘local culture’ in
LE and ‘foreign culture’ (outer circle) in NSE; on the other hand, the Great Wall in Beijing
was coded as ‘local culture’ in NSE and ‘foreign culture’ (expanding circle) in LE.
Countries/regions were also noted and their frequency counted in order to gauge the
breadth of cultures represented in the textbooks. NSE portrays four main characters and
their families in different modules throughout the series. To avoid double counting, they
were counted only once for each book. One limitation of the study is that although many
drawings in the books depicted local and foreign people, these were not analysed to
address research question 1 because it was sometimes difficult to identify the nationality
of each character. Only those pictures that showed real people or characters whose
nationality was specified were counted.
In contrast with earlier work, this study also investigated the names of local people to
examine the incorporation of local and foreign cultures in ELT textbooks. The English
written forms of the names of Hong Kong people are different from those of mainland
Chinese. Pinyin, the official Romanisation system for Standard Chinese, is used in main-
land China to represent Mandarin Chinese pronunciation (Odinye 2015). In Hong Kong
the government uses a system of Cantonese Romanisation for place names and people’s
names (Cowles 1986). By examining the people’s Chinese names in English, we could
identify whether the characters described in the textbooks were mainland Chinese (e.g.,
陈小明Chen Xiaoming) or Hong Kong Chinese (e.g., 陳小明Chan Siu Ming). Another
observation was based on the use of English names by local people in the two series. It
was expected that because of the British influence during the colonial period, Hong Kong
people’s names may be supplemented or replaced by English names.
To measure the depth of the culture and address research question 2, Moran’s (2001)
4P framework was used, with cultural aspects being divided into products, practices,
persons, and perspectives. As an example, an Italian children’s birthday celebration was
coded as ‘expanding circle’ and ‘practices’, because Italy is a country where English is
learnt as a foreign language (expanding circle) and a birthday celebration represents
a custom (practices). The same item repeatedly mentioned in the same unit was counted
only once to avoid double counting. If an item appeared in two different units, it was
coded once in each of the units. Coding examples are given in Table 1.
To address the third research question on the development of intercultural commu-
nicative competence, we examined whether the textbooks merely provided general
cultural information or whether conditions were created for learners to develop skills
for intercultural interactions. This examination included: (1) whether cultural comparisons
were incorporated in the reading texts and in the language activities, based on the
assumption that cultural comparison may enhance students’ understanding of different
cultures and contribute to better cross-cultural communication skills; and (2) whether
 PEDAGOGY, CULTURE & SOCIETY 9

Table 1. Coding examples (Hong Kong textbooks).

Country/ Cultural
Book Unit Page Section Region Category aspect Example
1B 2 10 Reading Britain Inner circle Practices Boys wearing skirts in Scotland.
11 Reading HK Local culture Practices My mother and I are wearing Chinese
clothes.
Perspectives Red is a good colour.
3A 3 26 Practice HK Local culture Products Tai Tam Country Park
2 Shek O Beach
5A 1 2 Reading France Expanding Practices Kissing each other on the cheek when they
circle first meet.
5 43 Reading Britain Inner circle Products Buckingham Palace
7 62 Reading HK Local culture Persons Joseph Jao Yiu Sung

there was any follow-up activity that encouraged learners to communicate meaningfully
with people from different cultures in simulated contexts.
The books were examined by one investigator and cross-checked by the other inves-
tigator. Any discrepancy found was discussed and resolved together. Chi-square analyses
(χ2) were conducted to test whether significant differences were present between the two
series of books.

Findings and discussion

Representation of local and foreign cultures
A close examination of the distribution of the local and foreign cultures in the two textbook
series reveals that NSE gave more attention to the presentation of the local culture and the
inner circle culture (see Table 2). Within the inner circle, Britain was mentioned or depicted
most often. This is because each book in the NSE series portrays four main characters
coming from China and Britain. The book covers in the series also show these characters.
Regarding the outer circle and the expanding circle, NSE yielded only four items for the
former and five items for the latter, which means that the cultures of these countries are
very often omitted despite the fact that many Chinese tourists travel to countries in these
two circles, such as Singapore, Japan and Korea. These results echo the findings of many
previous studies (e.g., Ilieva 2000; Ndura 2004; Yuen 2011) that some textbook writers have
skewed their focus in favour of the cultures of traditional English-speaking countries.
Chinese ELT textbooks tend to present the target language through dialogues, songs
and chants. The sentences are usually short and repetitive, often without meaningful
context. For example, the following shows how the writers use contrived, meaningless
sentences to teach present and past tenses and the existential clause:
Two years ago: This was the pig’s house. There was a big mouse.

Now: This is the cat’s house. There isn’t a mouse. (NSE, 5A, 2)

Even when cultures are embedded through the four main characters from China and
Britain, the material presented is inauthentic, as shown in the following dialogue:
Lingling is in London with Sam and Amy.

Lingling: You were in China for two years. Does London look different now?
10 J. F. K. LEE AND X. LI

Table 2. Countries/regions presented.

Mainland textbooks Hong Kong textbooks
Circle Country/Region Freq. Country/Region Freq.
Local culture China 57 Hong Kong 58
Inner circle Britain 65 Britain 21
America 3 America 19
Australia 2 Australia 8
Canada - Canada 4
New Zealand - New Zealand 2
Subtotal 70 54
Outer circle Hong Kong 3 Singapore 3
India 1 India 2
Malaysia 2
Philippines 2
Masai 1
Subtotal 4 10
Expanding circle France 2 China 15
Germany 1 Japan 12
Russia 1 Italy 6
Thailand 1 Greece 5
Mexico 4
Germany 3
Russia 3
Denmark 2
Macau 2
Others 7
Subtotal 5 59
Total 79 123
(Foreign culture)

Amy: Yes, it does. This park is different. There weren’t any benches here before.

Sam: There was a house.

Sam: Look! There’s a clock. There wasn’t a clock here before.

Lingling: There is one now. There are birds, too. (NSE, 5A, 2–3)

Although ‘London’ is presented as the background to this dialogue between the three
fictional characters, no real aspects of British cultural life are mentioned to enhance
learners’ cultural knowledge. The mere inclusion of place names, as well as Chinese and
British fictional characters, means that students are limited to experiencing the local and
foreign cultures at a very superficial level. These surface forms of culture are not sufficient
for learners to develop cultural knowledge.
Similar to the NSE series, local culture plays an important part in the LE series (see Table 2).
There are units about the places where Hong Kong families go at the weekend (3A), the
festivals that Hong Kong people celebrate (3B), and the hand signs used by Hong Kong
people (5A). Regarding foreign cultures, LE has a more equitable depiction of the inner circle
countries: British and American cultures are equally presented, followed by Australia, and then
Canada and New Zealand. With regard to the outer and expanding circles, a range of cultures
are included, with China and Japan mentioned most often in the expanding circle. The book
covers for different grade levels also show different cultures – Britain for 1A and 1B, Canada for
3A and 3B, and Singapore for 5A and 5B. While a comparison of the local and foreign cultures
represented in the two textbook series found no significant difference (χ2 = 3.271, df = 1,
 PEDAGOGY, CULTURE & SOCIETY 11

p > .05), significant differences were found in terms of the inner circle representation and the
outer and expanding circle representation (χ2 = 40.559, df = 1, p < .01). These results indicate
that the Hong Kong series incorporates a wider range of foreign cultures than the mainland
series.
However, mainland migrants and cross-border students are omitted from the LE series.
There is only one mention of a student from mainland China, who has a pinyin name, ‘Li
Ying’, and is described as good at Putonghua (3B, 43). The many South and South-east
Asians living in Hong Kong are also ignored. There are only two mentions each of India
and the Philippines in LE. If textbook writers do not encompass ethnic minorities in their
instructional materials, this may contribute to isolation and failure to integrate into the
wider community. In the long run, it is not beneficial for the creation of an inclusive
society that values respect and equality in different areas of life.
With regard to naming methods, the two series show marked differences. In NSE the
Chinese characters usually do not have English names. Pinyin is used to transcribe their
Chinese names and nicknames (e.g., Daming, Xiaohong, Lingling, Baobao). The word order
follows the Chinese naming conventions – that is, the family name before the given name
(e.g., Zhang Jie, Wang Peng). On the other hand, the naming methods of Hong Kong
characters in LE are diverse, indicating a mix of the traditional Chinese culture and the
Western culture in Hong Kong. Some characters are addressed by English names only
(e.g., Amy, Alan, Ken, Lily), or with surnames placed after their English names, following the
word order of Western names (e.g., Andy Lau). Some other characters in LE are addressed
by their Chinese names in Cantonese Romanisation, with or without the family name at
the beginning (e.g., Chun Hei, Lau Chun Hei, So Wa Wai) or sometimes with the family
name last (e.g., Joseph Jao Yiu Sung).
To conclude this section about the breadth of cultures, the local culture is an important
component in both series. As for the foreign cultures represented, the Hong Kong text-
books incorporate a much wider range than the mainland textbooks. Hong Kong books
depict cultures other than the traditional English-speaking cultures of Britain and America
by including those in the inner circle, expanding circle and outer circle, which signifies the
role of English as an international language for intercultural communication. The
Hong Kong books also show a fusion of east and west in their naming methods, reflecting
the territory’s mix of Chinese roots with Western culture, a legacy of its time as a British
colony. Nevertheless, in order to create a more inclusive society, the textbook writers need
to take more heed of their insufficient portrayal of new arrivals from the mainland, as well
as the South and South-east Asian minorities living in Hong Kong.

Presentation of the 4Ps

Table 3 shows the frequency of occurrence of the 4Ps in the two series of textbooks. In line
with Yuen’s (2011) study of Hong Kong secondary school textbooks, the findings reveal an
imbalance in the cultural aspects: products are the most frequently depicted aspect, and
perspectives the least. Examples of the products mentioned include sightseeing places,
buildings, food, native animals (e.g., koala and kangaroo for Australia, panda for China),
and children’s stories (e.g., the Chinese legend The Ten Brothers in LE). As remarked by
Paige and associates (2003), textbook writers tend to present culture from a tourist’s
perspective
12 J. F. K. LEE AND X. LI

Table 3. Presentation of 4Ps.

Mainland textbooks Hong Kong textbooks
Products Persons Practices Perspectives Products Persons Practices Perspectives
Local culture 28 20 9 – 20 21 14 3
Inner circle 22 32 16 – 26 12 16 –
Outer circle 4 – – 5 2 3 –
Expanding circle 3 2 – – 25 11 20 3
Total 57 54 25 0 76 46 53 6

because products such as food and sightseeing places are the most tangible cultural
symbols when a tourist visits a country. In other words, textbook writers tend to focus on
the learning stage of ‘knowing about’, emphasising cultural information.
‘Persons’ was also frequently depicted as a cultural aspect in both series. However,
significant differences were apparent: while the entire NSE series is dominated by four
main fictional characters from China and Britain, LE includes descriptions of real people.
For example, in Unit 7 of 5A learners are introduced to some famous people from around
the world, including the British writer J. K. Rowling and the American director Steven
Spielberg; Unit 4 of 5B is about some Hong Kong students who won awards in the Asian
Young Inventors Exhibition. It is apparent that while mainland textbooks tend to use
imagined, remote materials that will barely advance learners’ cultural knowledge and
understanding, the cultural presentation in LE is closer to real society and will enable
learners to acquire cultural information, which corresponds to Moran’s (2001) ‘knowing
about’ among the four kinds of cultural knowings. However, Gómez Rodríguez (2015) is
critical of this kind of surface culture learning, as knowledge about famous people’s
achievements only entails the accumulation of static information and learners are not
provided with opportunities to engage in sociocultural interactions.
With regard to practices, the coverage in NSE is confined to the traditional festivals,
daily lives, and customs of local people and people in the inner circle countries (e.g., the
use of chopsticks among the Chinese, school life in China and Britain). On the other hand,
the presentation of practices in the Hong Kong series is more diversified, including festival
celebrations, school life, good manners, birthday customs, reading habits (e.g., reading
manga in Japan), and sports (e.g., skiing in Canada, snorkelling in the Philippines) in
a wider range of countries. Notwithstanding the wider coverage, however, the Hong Kong
series generally focuses on fixed, easily observable cultural information, which confines
learners to the culture learning stage of ‘knowing about’.
Perspectives, which refer to people’s values, beliefs, and the attitudes that underlie
cultural products and guide their practices, are mentioned the least in both series: six
occurrences in LE, and none in NSE. Examples of perspectives in the Hong Kong series
include such myths as pulling children’s ears on their birthdays for luck in Italy, and red
being a lucky colour in Hong Kong. Ethnic minorities living in Hong Kong are rarely
mentioned in LE. Even when they appear, there is no attempt by the textbook writers to
foster students’ deeper cultural understanding of these ethnic minorities’ values and
beliefs. The few examples that include them are a mention of a girl from the Philippines
whose hobby is ‘snorkelling’ (Unit 4 of 3A), an Indian boy studying in Hong Kong (Unit 6 of
3B), and the introduction of some Indian customs such as bowing with hands together
when meeting others (Unit 1 of 5A). The omission of minorities, especially in terms of
 PEDAGOGY, CULTURE & SOCIETY 13

perspectives (e.g., belief in Islam, religious restrictions on the consumption of pork or

beef), would leave an incomplete impression about the multicultural society in which the
students live.

Promotion of intercultural communicative competence

The English language curricula of both mainland China and Hong Kong have included
cultural understanding and intercultural communication as learning targets. It is believed
that presenting cultural information about other countries as a fixed body of knowledge
may enrich cultural knowledge, but have a limited impact on cross-cultural understanding
or intercultural communicative competence. As suggested by Kramsch (1993), it is impor-
tant to establish a sphere of interculturality to empower students to consider their own
culture in relation to other cultures. However, as discussed above, the present study
reveals that the two textbook series under study focused on the fixed body of cultural
knowledge – the culture learning of ‘knowing about’, particularly on products and
persons, including topics such as food, tourist spots, famous people’s achievements,
and so on – without giving sufficient attention to the cultural element of perspectives,
which refer to the attitudes, values, beliefs, assumptions, expectations and sociocultural
norms that influence behaviours (Gómez Rodríguez 2015).
The findings show that interculturality is not emphasised and cultural comparisons
rarely appear in the two series of textbooks. The very few examples of cultural differences
that were presented include different languages, eating utensils and eating habits in
China and the UK in Module 1 of NSE 3A, the differences between British and Chinese
primary schools in Module 8 of NSE 5A, and what people do in different countries to be
polite in Unit 1 of LE 5A. Added to the limited coverage of cultural comparison in the
reading texts is the lack of follow-up activities for learners to explore and reflect on
cultural differences, the cultural values adopted by different peoples, and the reasons
behind them. For example, in NSE 3A, the following are presented in the Listen and Say
section and the Practice section on pages 4–5:

A: Do you use chopsticks in the UK?

B: No, we don’t. We use a knife and fork.

Do you want … ? (rice/noodles)

Do you use … ? (chopsticks/a knife and fork)

A: What are you eating?

B: I’m eating hamburgers and chips. They’re fast food.

A: I like noodles. They’re Chinese fast food. Oh, you are not using a knife and fork.

B: No, I’m using my hands.

Obviously, the above language presentation and practice focus on the easily visible
cultural differences, but such kind of culture learning will hardly deepen learners’ cultural
understanding and empower their intercultural communicative competence. To help
learners acquire effective intercultural interaction skills, follow-up activities such as
14 J. F. K. LEE AND X. LI

encouraging learners to discover more differences between Eastern and Western eating
habits (e.g., cooking techniques, seating and table configuration, sharing versus individual
dishes), the reasons behind the differences, and any contemporary changes could be
designed to improve learners’ understanding that culture is transformative, and that
many of the differences in conventions and rules are associated with variations in cultural
values, especially power distance and individualism-collectivism (Hofstede 1980;
Masgoret and Ward 2006).
The two textbook series also fail to provide opportunities for learners to apply their
culture learning to real contexts. For example, in Unit 4 of LE 3A, after presenting a reading
text about the hobbies of people from different countries, there could be a post-reading
survey on popular leisure activities among the domestic helpers and South Asians living in
Hong Kong, and how they are different from the students’ own. The lack of student-
centred activities to explore culture would impede the development of the learners’
cultural understanding and intercultural competence skills.
Further, as suggested by Gómez Rodríguez (2015), culture is contentious, not
congratulatory. However, the present study found that the two textbook series
centred on neutral or congratulatory aspects such as tourist attractions, celebrities’
achievements and the hobbies of people from different cultures, giving the impres-
sion that all people in the local and foreign cultures coexist happily with mutual
respect and tolerance. However, the unfortunate reality is that cross-cultural conflicts
are seen almost every day between Hong Kong residents and mainlanders/ethnic
minorities, as well as between mainland tourists and native people of different
cultures (Kapai 2015; Phillips 2013). According to Graff (1992) and Hames-Garcia
(2003), one-sided celebratory discourses do not allow students to learn about con-
flicting realities, and hence self-congratulatory or neutral approaches to culture
should be avoided. Instead, educators should promote a critical literacy approach
through debates and ‘models of controversy and conflict’ in multicultural education
(Hames-Garcia 2003, 32). In other words, culture could be taught in English lessons
from a ‘contentious’ and ‘controversial’ perspective, which would allow learners to
critically explore deep and complex cultural elements. This in turn will heighten their
awareness of the need to rectify injustice, bias, oppression, and the marginalisation of
minority groups (Gómez Rodríguez 2015). Examples of controversial topics might
include ‘Should the American fast-food shop Kentucky list rice on its Chinese
menu?’, ‘Is Hong Kong accepting too many immigrants from the mainland?’, and
‘What can we do to construct an inclusive society so that all individuals can enjoy
equality and respect?’

Conclusion and implications

The findings of the present study show that in this increasingly globalised world, textbook
writers and educators need to pay more attention to how culture is presented in ELT
textbooks for the enhancement of learners’ intercultural communicative competence. In
terms of the breadth of the local and foreign cultures represented in the textbooks
examined, an obvious imbalance was found, especially in the mainland series. If the
cultural element is present at all, NSE largely focuses on the local culture and British
culture, while other countries in the inner circle, outer circle and expanding circle are
 PEDAGOGY, CULTURE & SOCIETY 15

significantly underrepresented. The conservative stance of the mainland textbook writers,

who tend to favour the British culture, may help to promote cultural imperialism.
Compared with the mainland textbooks, the LE series used in Hong Kong shows a more
balanced representation of the local culture and the cultures of the three concentric
circles. However, the ethnic minority groups who account for 8% of the total population in
Hong Kong are rarely depicted. Similarly, the many new migrants and cross-border
students from the mainland are not given any attention. It may be concluded that the
Hong Kong SAR Government's (2017) attempt to embrace social inclusion in recent years
is not reflected in the locally produced ELT textbooks.
The lack of depth in cultural materials is another concern. The data in the present study
show an imbalance among the 4P cultural aspects in both textbook series. Products are
the most frequently depicted cultural aspect, and perspectives the least. The data reveal
a ‘tourist’s perspective’ in textbooks, and illustrate a lack of depth in cultural materials. In
terms of persons, although the NSE series included four main characters from China and
Britain in each volume, the teaching materials are mostly confined to artificial dialogues
between them, with inauthentic examples expressed in short and repetitive sentences.
The mere presence of foreign people in the written texts and in visual images without
a meaningful context and authentic content will not enrich learners’ cultural knowledge.
With regard to the development of intercultural communicative competence, both
series have overlooked the importance of providing opportunities for learners to go
through the processes of thinking, feeling and doing, and to make comparisons between
different cultures. They focus on the static cultural elements, mostly dealing with neutral
or congratulatory topics such as travel, food, festivals, clothing or famous people, instead
of dealing with cultural elements pertaining to values and global issues and their resolu-
tions, such as poverty, ethnic conflict and assimilation, or social equality. In terms of
Moran’s (2001) four cultural knowings, the textbook writers of LE and NSE have made
some attempts to help learners acquire cultural information (knowing about), but have
failed to provide sufficient opportunities for learners to develop cultural behaviours
(knowing how), discover cultural explanations (knowing why), and provide personal
responses to what they are learning (knowing oneself). These findings support Hall’s
(1976) Iceberg Cultural Model – textbook writers tend to concentrate on the visible tip of
the iceberg above the waterline and ignore the large invisible parts of the iceberg below
the waterline, which could lead to learners’ cultural misunderstandings and failure to
conduct effective intercultural interactions.
In relation to pedagogical implications, culture needs to be embedded into the
language learning context to make language learning more meaningful to learners
(Nault 2006). With the spread of English around the world as a lingua franca, textbook
writers should extend culture learning beyond British and American cultures, and include
cultures from all three of the concentric circles. Bringing learners’ own culture into the
English lesson and giving them opportunities to reflect on the positive and negative
features of their own culture as well as other cultures through communicative language
activities and problem-solving activities is equally important, as this can contribute to
changes in society (Akbari 2008).
We cannot consider English teaching successful if our students, however fluent, are not
able to build relationships with people from other cultures or are ignorant of cultural
issues, have no social conscience, or use their communication skills for cultural
16 J. F. K. LEE AND X. LI

exploitation and oppression (Erfani 2012). Critical pedagogy in language teaching, which
places sociopolitical considerations in a position of importance in language education,
supports the teaching and learning of languages that promotes social justice for the
interests of ethnic minorities as well as underprivileged and marginalised people (Crookes
2013; Pennycook 1990). Critical pedagogy in language teaching is about empowering
teachers and students to eliminate racism, sexism and classism. It supports shifts from
teacher- to student-centred classes, from passive to active learning, and from language as
form to language as function for communication about the world (Erfani 2012). In this
regard, textbooks should include a good balance of the cultural aspects of products,
persons, practices, and perspectives from cultures in the three concentric circles, as well as
the iterative cycle of the four cultural knowings (knowing about, knowing how, knowing
why, and knowing oneself). In addition, ELT textbooks should contain instructional
materials that provoke discussion and debate so as to encourage students to challenge
issues of power and domination, as well as contentious topics related to cultural conflict
and social inequalities, so as to enable them to become caring citizens and agents of
social change. Teacher education programmes should be contextualised so that preser-
vice and inservice teachers can become critically aware of the relationship between
language, culture and pedagogy, and will be able to introduce critical pedagogy into
ELT classrooms (Badger and MacDonald 2007).

Notes
1. Moran (2001) includes ‘communities’ as the fifth dimension of culture. They include the
specific social contexts, groups and circumstances in which cultural practices are carried
out (e.g., national culture, gender, age group, socioeconomic class, religion, a sports team).
2. In Hong Kong the English language has long been a compulsory subject from Primary 1. In
China English has been a mandatory subject from Primary 3 since 2003, and is being
introduced into the curriculum in earlier grades in many schools. Some textbook series in
China start from Primary 3 and some from Primary 1 to cater for different learner needs.

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Funding
This study was funded by the Education University of Hong Kong for the conference presentation at
the Asian Conference on Language Learning 2018 in Kobe, Japan.

Mainland textbooks
Chen, L., and P. Ellis. 2012. New Standard English (Starting from Primary 1), 1A and 1B [英語（一年級
起點）一年級上/下冊]. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press and
Macmillan Publishers (China) Ltd.
Chen, L., and P. Ellis. 2014. New Standard English (Starting from Primary 1), 3A, 3B, 5A and 5B [英語
（一年級起點）三年級上/下冊及五年級上/下冊]. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and
Research Press and Macmillan Publishers (China) Ltd.
 PEDAGOGY, CULTURE & SOCIETY 17

Hong Kong textbooks

Chris, G. and R. Jones. 2015. Primary Longman Express. 1A, 1B, 3A, 3B, 5A, 5B. Hong Kong: Pearson
Education Asia Ltd.

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