Cultural representation in primary ELT textbooks. An approach of multimodal discourse analysis.

Autor/inn/en	Tang, Yaping; Liu, Li
Titel	Cultural representation in primary ELT textbooks. An approach of multimodal discourse analysis.
Quelle	In: Discourse : studies in the cultural politics of education, 47 (2026) 1, S. 54-67Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Link als defekt meldenVerfügbarkeit
Beigaben	Literaturangaben S. 64-67
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1469-3739
DOI	10.1080/01596306.2025.2484349
Schlagwörter	Kultur; Bildungswesen; Grundschule; Schulbuch; Englischunterricht; China
Abstract	This study examines the content and form of cultural representation across a set of primary-school English textbooks widely used in China. Adopting a multimodal discourse analysis, it investigates the depth and diversity of cultural content based on Moran's and Cortazzi and Jin's classification of culture, as well as the image-viewer relationship drawing on Kress and van Leeuwen's visual grammar. The findings reveal that culture was represented as simplified, conflict-free and implicit facts with dominant homogenized persons and products. In addition, there was also an imbalanced distribution regarding cultural diversity. Target culture predominated in the textbooks and source culture was highlighted while international culture was marginalized. As for representation patterns, the connection between viewers and the portrayed culture was equal but impersonal. The findings suggest that the textbooks prioritize reducing cognitive load and presenting role models over showcasing the authentic, complex aspects of culture or stimulating learners' reflection on cultural phenomena.
Erfasst von	Leibniz-Institut für Bildungsmedien \| Georg-Eckert-Institut (GEI), Braunschweig
Update	2026/3