An investigation on the perceptions of high school ELT teachers about the cultural integration in a 9th-grade EFL textbook

Abstract

Culture is a complex mix of Language, identity, and knowledge, intertwining our global community. Culturally integrated textbooks promote empathy, respect, and cultural understanding in our varied society. This qualitative study investigated the level of cultural integration present in the 9th-grade high school textbook "Uplift." It examined how ELT teachers in high schools evaluated cultural integration in the "Uplift" textbook and analyzed it through a checklist. Sixteen experienced 9th-grade ELT teachers from İstanbul, İzmir and Nevşehir high schools were interviewed semi-structured to provide comments, observations, and critiques on the cultural integration of the EFL textbook. In addition to this, Byram's (1993) social integration criteria were used to evaluate "Uplift"'s efficacy. Trends emerged from the textbook and semi-structured interview insights through thematic and document analysis. According to the researchers' analysis of the textbook, the Uplift textbook is adequate in terms of cultural integration and, in line with this, the findings from the semi-structured interviews show that teachers praised the extensive and authentic cultural material, multimedia tools and cultural integration success of the textbook. They also recommended that sensitive cultural concerns be clarified and that cultural themes, especially underrepresented cultures, be included more in the textbook.