Discussion of the second research question

(What type of culture is represented in the 6th grade commercial coursebook: source, target, or international?)

The researcher has aimed to understand the type of culture in World Quest as it is stated in research question 2; the qualitative results that have been presented in Chapter 4 can guide us towards finding answers to this question.

In World Quest 6 (CB B), a commercial coursebook, the main emphasis is on the international (65) and target cultures (65), and there is only one reference to the source

findings regarding World Quest are also similar to the findings of Hamiloğlu and Mendi’s (2010) study. In both studies, the coursebooks analyzed have international cultural elements in varying degrees. Unlike the MoNE-published coursebook, World Quest contains a lot of cultural elements from Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa etc.

In the Ortaokul İngilizce Ders Kitabı 6 and World Quest, the source, target and intercultural elements are not represented in a well-proportioned way. A number of scholars emphasize the integration of source culture values as well as international ones into ELT as a result of the current status of ELF. As Kılıçkaya (2004, p.15) suggests, “in language learning, intercultural language learning is a new trend, and intercultural learning is an attempt to raise students’ awareness of their own culture and help them to interpret and understand other cultures. In this method, no specific culture has been paid attention, but a variety of cultures has been included in the curriculum”.

In ELT classes and materials, the focus should not be on only the target culture.

Alptekin (2002) asserts that it could create some misunderstanding among language learners if they regard native speakers as their role model, due to the feeling of considering their own local culture to be in an inferior position. Due to the fact that providing learners with

opportunities to understand the value of their native culture is extremely important, therefore, learners’ own culture can also be included in language education (Alptekin, 2002).

Also, coursebooks which mostly emphasize the source culture are not evaluated appropriately for teaching intercultural competence because content like this harms students’

ability of “curiosity and “novelty” (Bao, 2008).

Teaching materials that contain only international culture do not enhance learners’

intercultural competence even though this is important for promoting learners’ awareness of other cultures (Çakır, 2010). In this respect, Kachru (1986), Byram (1994), Alptekin (2002) and McKay (2003) suggest that cultural components about students’ own culture should also

be introduced along with international cultures so that students can develop their perspectives, negotiate and communicate tolerantly and sympathetically with people from other cultures.

Baker (2012) claims that an effective cultural attitude consists of a bridge between local and global contexts. Integration of source culture elements as well as international culture elements makes it possible to appreciate other cultures and make cross-cultural analyses.

Thus, as English is considered and used as an international language, source, target and international cultural elements should be integrated equally in ELT teaching materials. As a result, although the MoNE-approved coursebook lacks target culture elements but contains source and international cultural elements, it may not be wrong to say that the coursebook reflects the current status of ELF, and in addition, that learners are exposed to cultures of diverse nations and thus, they can also make cross-cultural analyses. World Quest lacks source cultural elements, but it is rich in terms of covering diverse cultural elements from all over the world. The reason for not integrating source cultural elements in this coursebook may stem from its being published by a foreign publisher (Oxford University Press), and from the author’s worldviews and national identity. However, in the literature there are examples of coursebooks not published by local publishers or written by local writers, that contain Turkish culture, such as Panorama (Potter, 1990, as cited in Cortazzi and Jin, 1990).

5.2.2.1. Discussion of Cultural Contents Across Different English-Speaking Countries. In Ortaokul İngilizce Ders Kitabı 6, the largest proportion of cultural elements belongs to the UK (4 elements) and the USA (4 elements), followed by Australia (2

elements), and Canada and New Zealand (0 elements each). Similarly, in World Quest 6, 31 elements belong to the UK and equally, 31 elements belong to the USA. Australia follows the UK and the USA with 5 elements. Canada is not represented and New Zealand is represented only once. This finding is similar to Lund’s (2006) and Toprak and Aksoyalp’s (2014) studies. Similarly, they revealed that the cultural representation of the UK and the USA

maintained its prominence while Canada, Australia, and New Zealand remained relatively underrepresented. As Crystal (1997) and Graddol (1997) state, it might be said that there is not even an approximate distribution of cultural content within inner circle countries, in spite of the increasing spread of English outside the inner circle to the outer and expanding circles.

This can be clearly seen in the case of Canada, Australia, and New Zealand being

underrepresented in the Ortaokul İngilizce Ders Kitabı 6 and World Quest 6. This situation can be traced back to the role of the UK and the USA as the representatives of English language and culture. Toprak and Aksoyalp (2014) explain this situation as follows:

Since World War II, the increasing power of the USA in economy, commerce, technology, and politics, increasing number of overseas students in the UK and the USA, the rise in pop culture and its transmission via the world-wide-web, media, and finally the origins of most publishing companies (mostly British or American) may have considerable impact on these two countries gaining prominence over the others.

The main aim of foreign language teaching should be to make language learners become

‘interculturally competent’ and ‘culturally literate’, since English has become the lingua franca in the world and it is used in outer and expanding circle countries. Learning about the target culture (specifically the UK and the USA) is vital for them because of the inseparable nature of culture and language. However, cultural knowledge of the underrepresented parts of the inner circle (Australia, Canada, and New Zealand), and of outer and expanding circle countries should also be presented in coursebooks. McKay (2003) also draws attention to English as an International Language (EIL) curriculum development by emphasizing the fact that English no longer belongs to any one culture and, hence there is a need to be culturally sensitive to the diversity of contexts in which English is taught and used. Therefore, the cultural elements of Australia, Canada and New Zealand should be represented in the

Ortaokul İngilizce Ders Kitabı 6 and the World Quest 6 in order for learners to become

‘interculturally competent’ and ‘culturally literate’.