The evaluation of culture in EFL textbook for middle school in Algeria

Abstract

Learning a foreign language entails more than just memorising words. What matters is that you are familiar with the foreign values, norms, way of life, history, and social background. Hence, it is essential to remember that language is not distinct from culture and the social order. What language learners require in terms of education is an understanding of how language and culture are intertwined to operate communicatively in a land of diverse cultures. To effectually communicate using languages, it is necessary to comprehend culturally varying patterns of interaction as well as perspectives and views of people. This study examines how cultural content is represented in My Book of English, a fourth-level English textbook for middle school. The findings indicate that aesthetic sense dominates the frequency of cultural matter in My Book of English, followed by sociological and semantic reasons. Notably, the pragmatic sense was missing entirely. The existence of source culture has the topmost percentage, followed by international culture, while target culture has the lowest rate. Furthermore, the findings revealed that My Book of English does not assist learners in enhancing their cultural knowledge or communicating in circumstances of intercultural communication. The observations of this research are designed to aid in teaching and to learn English by providing beneficial, helpful action to people responsible for selecting relevant cultural material for schools.