Preliminary communication
https://doi.org/10.22210/strjez/54-1/3
A Cultural Content Analysis of Four EFL Textbooks for Younger Learners in Croatia
Draženka Molnar
orcid.org/0000-0002-4512-7270
; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, J. J. Strossmayer University of Osijek, Croatia
Abstract
In light of the importance of the present National Curriculum in Croatia, this paper provides an analysis of the cultural content in four English textbooks for young learners used in Croatian EFL classrooms. The theoretical part of the paper provides a brief overview of the basic concepts of culture, such as cultural awareness, cultural sensitivity, and cultural diversity, and gives reasons for introducing intercultural communicative competence into foreign language learning. The analytical part presents the findings of a combined quantitative and qualitative analysis of the representations of culture in terms of the presented topics, images, audio material, perspectives, values, and activities through which cultural terms are represented. The textbook materials are examined against Amanda Hilliard’s analytic kit for cultural content. In line with previous studies, the results of the analysis confirm a limited scope of topics and preferred accents, uneven distribution of cultures and countries addressed, under-representation of minority groups, and overly positive viewpoints of the target culture. The article concludes with some practical suggestions for EFL teachers who seek to avoid superficial representation of cultural information by promoting intercultural skills and attitudes such as open-mindedness, tolerance for ambiguity, inquisitiveness, a sense of discovery, and sensitivity towards other cultures.
Keywords
English as a Foreign Language (EFL); culture teaching; textbook analysis; intercultural communicative competence (ICC); younger learners
Hrčak ID:
341738
URI
Publication date:
28.11.2025.
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