Examensarbete
Ämneslärarutbildning (gymnasieskolan) - svenska och engelska 300 hp
Representation and cultural bias
A study focused on three Swedish ESL-textbooks
Engelska 15 hp
Vetlanda 2021-03-17
Sofia Sandberg
Representation and cultural bias: A study focused on three Swedish ESL- textbooks
Sofia Sandberg
Abstract
In the following essay, a study on three textbooks used for educating pupils in Swedish second- ary schools in the subject of English is presented. One aim of the study was to investigate how the selection of texts, both fiction and non-fiction, used for reading and listening comprehension purposes and their respective author representations in three Swedish EFL-textbooks could be considered to represent a broad perspective of the English-speaking world. The categories used to find evidence are based on Kachru’s model of Three Circles of English. Furthermore, an additional aim was to uncover evidence of invisibility- and imbalance and selectivity-biases within each textbook’s content. These biases are originally part of the Sadker et al. framework Seven Forms of Bias. The study results indicate that even though all textbooks provide some examples of the English-language from a global perspective, none manage to present a fully balanced and indiscriminate picture of such. Furthermore, the findings suggest that none of the textbooks succeed in providing learners with an evenly distributed array of texts transpiring in, and authors originating from, countries belonging to Kachru’s inner-, as -and- and expanding circle. Instead, it was found that a majority of texts transpire in, and authors originate from, countries within the inner-circle, which further seem to reinforce the perception of a standard English springing from what is by Kachru referred to as the inner, norm-providing circle. There- fore, based on the findings in this study, it is suggested that further research be carried out. In particular, a more substantial number of textbooks should be analysed in order to ensure that the content of EFL-textbooks used in the Swedish educational system agrees with the standards of the core curriculum for English 5.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction ... 1
1.1 Purpose and Questions ... 2
2. Previous research ... 2
3. Theory ... 4
3.1 Three Circles of English ... 4
3.2 Seven Forms of Bias ... 7
3.2.1 Invisibility ... 8
3.2.2 Imbalance and Selectivity ... 9
4. Materials ... 9
4.1 Solid Gold ... 9
4.2 The English Handbook ... 10
4.3 Viewpoints ... 10
5. Method ... 11
5.1 Selection and Limitations ... 11
5.2 Categorisation ... 13
5.3 Qualitative analysis ... 17
6. Results and Analysis ... 17
6.1 Solid Gold ... 18
6.2 The English Handbook ... 20
6.3 Viewpoints ... 22
6.4 Summary of quantitative data ... 23
8. Discussion ... 26
8.1 The biases of invisibility, imbalance and selectivity ... 27
8.2 The textbooks in relation to the English-speaking world ... 31
8.4 Limitations ... 34
9. Conclusion ... 35
Appendix 1 ... 37
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1. Introduction
In this essay, the findings of a study focusing on textbooks for teaching English in a Swedish educational context are presented. The study aims to detect cultural representation and evaluate whether any of the textbooks convey cultural biases by examining any fiction or non-fiction texts in each textbook. The detection of cultural biases in the textbooks is conducted by exam- ining the number of references to a geographical context in relation to a fiction or non-fiction text, as well as to each respective authors’ origin. These references are then categorised as be- longing to any of Braj B. Kachru’s Three Circles of English (1985). Furthermore, the ratio of references to an inner-, outer- or expanding text or author origin in each textbook is then dis- cussed and compared in relation to the Invisibility and Imbalance and selectivity biases of the Sadker et al. framework Seven Forms of Bias (2010), to determine whether there is evidence of cultural bias in any of the three textbooks.
The reason behind this study is that the National Agency for Education in Sweden states that Swedish students in upper-secondary school should be provided with the opportunity to learn about cultures in the world where people speak English, as well as the language’s influence and position in the world:
Living conditions, attitudes, values and traditions, as well as social, political and cultural conditions in different contexts and parts of the world where English is used. The spread of English and its position in the world. (Skolverket, 2017)
Thus, this suggests that by examining cultural representativeness in textbooks, teachers and students can become aware of whether a textbook matches one of the central aims of English education in Swedish schools and, therefore, determine its value in a teaching context.
Furthermore, previous research on textbooks for teaching English as a second language in other countries suggests that by being exposed to different varieties of English, students de- velop an ability to accept forms of English that sometimes differ from the norm-providing inner-circle versions of English.
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1.1 Purpose and Questions
The purpose of this study is to investigate cultural bias in fiction or non-fiction texts discovered in three textbooks, which have been adapted for teaching English in a Swedish educational setting. The aim is to identify whether the texts in any of the three textbooks convey inequalities regarding the representation of users originating from countries belonging to outer and expand- ing circle countries, or if any such users or uses are made invisible. Thus, the study is focused on the following research questions:
- How has each textbook’s content been divided between presenting fiction or non-fiction texts taking place in and including authors originating from, the inner, outer and expanding circle and how do the findings relate to the biases of invisibility and imbalance and selec- tivity?
- To what extent do each textbook’s contents produce a balanced and indiscriminate perspec- tive on users and uses of the English language?
2. Previous research
In this paragraph, an overview of previous research conducted in the field of textbook studies is provided. As mentioned in the introductory section, studies focusing on cultural bias have been carried out in various geographical contexts prior to the present study. These studies have focused on researching textbooks used to teach English in Sweden, Japan, China and Finland, to determine if the textbooks portray any signs of presenting a biased perspective on the Eng- lish-speaking world. (Aya Matsuda, 2002; Elavie Ndura, 2004; John Eric Sherman, 2010; Anne Kopperoinen, 2011; David Rakic & Maja Zdrnja, 2011). Among the above mentioned previous researchers (ibid), a common conclusion which they have all reached is that the status and spread of the English language in modern-day is not always reflected in textbooks used to teach English as a second language (ESL)1 nor English as a foreign language (EFL)2. Therefore, even though the English language is used in several settings worldwide, previous research suggests that textbooks adapted for teaching English still focus on the use of English in inner-circle countries.
1 Generally referred to as taught in an English-speaking country.
2 Generally referred to as taught in countries in which English is not the native tongue.
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For example, Matsuda finds that textbooks adapted for teaching EFL- students in Japan ap- pear to reflect a hegemonic perspective on who uses English and how it is used. Matsuda con- cludes that interaction in English mainly occurs between native speakers of the inner-circle, or between native and non-native speakers (2002). Matsuda found no examples of interactions between non-native speakers in her research material: “Exposure to outer circle and expanding circle countries other than Japan through the representation of English use and users in those countries would help students understand that English use is not limited to the inner-circle.”
(2002:196). Thus, she concludes that the researched textbooks do not reflect an awareness of their influence on Japanese students’ perception of who uses the English language. Thus, Matsuda problematises the view on English users and uses, since this view conflicts with how the English language is used between non-native speakers from outer and expanding circle countries.
This conclusion of hers could be said to chime with Sherman’s (2010). He finds that out of four textbooks studied, only one of them included equal representation of non-native and native speakers in its model dialogues. Therefore, Sherman concluded that the results indicated that both non-native and native speakers of English were presented in biased manners in the re- searched textbooks: “Only Person to Person 2 shows non-native and native speakers in both expert and non-expert roles3. World Link 2 and Interchange 2 fail to show any non-native speak- ers in expert roles while Top Notch 2 fails to show native speakers in such roles.” (2010:41).
A year after Sherman had published these results, Kopperoinen (2011) reported the results from her research, which certainly could be considered to relate to those previously presented by Matsuda and Sherman. Kopperoinen examined textbooks adapted to Finnish English as a lingua franca-perspective. She reported that the textbooks mainly focused on the use of English in inner-circle countries, as with a Eurocentric focus, where non-native users of English were marginalised in favour of native speakers.
The study conducted in Sweden by Rakic and Zdrnja (2011) is a thesis project that investi- gated the EFL-textbook series Wings Mini, as well as a textbook series for teaching Swedish as a second language. The authors utilised the Sadker et al. framework (2010) to investigate evi- dence of biases in the textbooks. Based on their findings, Rakic and Zdrnja concluded that the EFL-textbooks contained a biased and Eurocentric view on the English-speaking world: “Both textbook series make the new world economic order almost invisible by generally presenting
3 By expert and non-expert roles, Sherman refers to the use of the language either in an expert, occupational setting or a non-expert, personal setting.
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countries in Asia, Africa and South- and Central America in only a rural perspective focused on poverty” (2011:2).
The previous studies presented above have been of great importance for the present study, due to the way which Ndura (2002), Matsuda (2004), Sherman (2010) and Rakic and Zdrnja (2011) utilise the Seven Forms of Bias framework constructed by Sadker et al., (2010) to detect cultural bias in ESL- and EFL-textbooks. For example, Sherman adapted the framework to in- vestigate native and non-native speakers in model dialogues in four textbooks adapted to teach- ing ESL in South Korea. In contrast, Matsuda used it to portray which forms of bias were evi- dent in the textbooks which she studied. Furthermore, Ndura’s approach to studying cultural bias by implementing the framework Seven Forms of Bias has also been vital for this study, mainly her approach of applying this framework to educational materials and uncover biases which else might be challenging to identify, such as whether textbooks present a selective per- spective on the English-speaking world.
3. Theory
In this section, both the Three circles of English and Seven Forms of Bias frameworks are re- viewed. The aim is to provide an overview of the quantitative collection of data and the quali- tative analysis of the quantitative results.
3.1 Three Circles of English
In Three Circles of English (1985), Indian linguist Braj Bihari Kachru describes how the Eng- lish language has become widely spread across the globe. According to him, it is used both intranationally and internationally (1985:13). The difference between these two variants is that in the former, the language is used between speakers of the same nationality, while the latter refers to when English is used between speakers of different nationalities to communicate, com- monly referred to as English as a lingua franca.
While the Kachru framework has been useful in this study, any single standard use of English is difficult to define. The previous researchers mentioned above have suggested that such an approach could cause a hegemonic perception of the language. Furthermore, according to Ka- chru, English speakers do not necessarily have to originate from the inner-circle, including The United Kingdom, The United States of America, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. Instead, he suggests that because the English language is cross-culturally spread, the language has been incorporated within the culture in which it is spoken. It has been influenced by, as well as in- fluenced, the culture where it is used.
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However, Kachru also states that the inner-circle countries function as norm-providing, while the outer circle is norm-developing, while the expanding circle is regarded as norm-de- pendent (1985:12-17). According to him, the norm-developing countries are characterised as areas where English has become institutionalised, meaning both that the language is “[…] one of two or more codes in the linguistic repertoire […]” and “[…] has acquired an important status in the language policies […]” (1985:12). Countries in this circle are regarded as belonging to the outer circle. Hence, countries in which English is not necessarily institutionalised but is still widely used are labelled as part of the expanding circle.
In the expanding circle, Kachru explains that English must be recognised as an international language to understand the function of the language in this circle, considering that the function of the language in the expanding circle promotes English as an international language (1985:13). In this circle, the language is not a lasting inheritance from when the country was colonised by inner-circle countries, which differs between countries in the outer and expanding circles. Other than that, the outer and the expanding circles, as Kachru explains (1985:14) are not strictly separate from each other. Therefore, as Kachru mentions, issues regarding attitudes towards variations of how the language is used have generated questions about the teaching of the language in countries belonging to these two circles.
A critical perspective on Kachru’s framework might suggest an issue with labelling the in- ner-circle countries as norm-providing, outer circle countries as norm-developing and expand- ing circle countries as norm-dependent, as there may well be countries in the world in which the English language is widely used, even though they are not in close contact with the English- speaking world of inner-circle countries. Furthermore, Kachru’s perspective also suggests that the English language types spoken in the inner-circle are unchangeable since they are labelled as norm-providing, thus unaffected by varieties of the language spoken in the outer or expand- ing circle countries. In this study, it is assumed that language development can only occur in countries belonging to the inner- or outer circle. However, to preserve a nuanced perspective on the power relationship between the circles, countries belonging to the expanding circle may also influence the language used in the norm-providing countries.
Considering that the English language has developed in the past and considering that the language is widely spread across the globe and used in several contexts and by a large number of people, it is in this study suggested that the inner-circle countries cannot have remained un- affected by this. Thus, the power relationship between norm-providing, norm-developing and
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norm-dependent countries may have shifted in the past and may shift in the future, which in turn may affect the varieties of English taught in an ESL- and EFL-context.
The present study takes its inspiration from the model proposed by Kachru since teaching variations of English would assumedly develop students’ tolerance towards different dialects, accents, and language uses of English. As earlier mentioned above, this should prepare non- native speakers for interacting with the world of English speakers in outer and expanding circle countries, instead of mainly with native speakers. However, whether this is mirrored or not in textbooks used to teach English is what this study examines. Therefore, Kachru’s approach, in regarding countries as divided into three circles, has yielded a perspective on to what extent the studied textbooks exhibit adaption towards teaching global English.
However, in the conduction of this study, issues with dividing countries between the three circles arise, since the categorisation of countries belonging to any circle can be considered to have transformed since Kachru first proposed Three Circles of English in 1985. The definition of which countries belong to a norm-providing, norm-developing or norm-dependant language context is arguable since it can be claimed that norm-providing language changes could origi- nate from countries of either the outer or expanding circle. Furthermore, languages are always changing and evolving depending on current social and political movements in a country – thus the status of the English language in any country might change over time. Even so, Figure 1 represents an adaption of Kachru’s framework, and places a brief selection of countries within the three circles:
Figure 1. Model of the three circles of English based on my own interpretation of Kachru’s description
Expanding (norm- dependent) China, Russia,
Europe
Outer (norm- developing) India, Nigeria,
Pakistan
Inner (norm- providing) The United Kingdom, the United States of America, Australia,
New Zealand, Canada
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As shown in Figure 1, the inner-circle consists of The United Kingdom, The United States of America, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. These are regarded as norm-providing coun- tries, which means that the native tongue in these is English. Most of these countries are also inhabited by one or more indigenous groups, who also might speak another native tongue than English. However, these countries are still regarded as norm-providing because the official language of these countries is English. Furthermore, the outer, norm-developing circle consists of countries such as India, Nigeria and Pakistan. These are countries in which the English lan- guage serves an important role, such as that is used in governmental or educational contexts, most of which also has a colonial history. According to Kachru, in these countries, the English- language is used as a second language, and its speakers challenge the language norms provided by the inner-circle countries.
Finally, the expanding circle consists of countries and continents such as China, Russia and Europe (apart from the United Kingdom), in which the language is taught in the school system as EFL, to serve speakers in future communicative situations abroad. The English language in these countries is regarded by Kachru as norm-dependent, which means that these speakers depend on language norms provided by the inner-circle countries.
As discussed above, the terms norm-providing, -developing and -dependant may be consid- ered problematic. However, in this study, these categories were considered important to unveil any biases regarding whether the textbooks present a balanced and indiscriminate perspective of the English-speaking world. That is since this study examines EFL-textbooks used in a Swe- dish educational context. Sweden has, according to Kachru’s model, a norm-dependent rela- tionship with the English-speaking world. Thus, based on Kachru’s framework, it is hypothe- sised that the Swedish EFL-textbooks may display an inner-circle centred perspective on the English-speaking world.
3.2 Seven Forms of Bias
According to Sadker et al. (2010), there are Seven Forms of Bias which can be detected in textbooks. In this subsection, the Invisibility and Imbalance and Selectivity biases of the Seven Forms of Bias are explained. Not all forms of biases were examined in the textbooks because conclusions from an initial pilot study suggested that the research questions would be answered by solely investigating evidence of the invisibility and imbalance and selectivity biases in the
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textbooks. Furthermore, the study was intended to examine the representation of English-speak- ing cultures by investigating the cultural and geographical contexts of fictional and non-fic- tional texts in the textbooks.
In this study, the preselected parts of the Seven Forms of Bias were applied to explore the extent to which the three examined textbooks seem to present a diverse perspective of the Eng- lish-speaking world, as their respective publishers have claimed. Thus, conclusions regarding whether any specific parts of the English-speaking world are invisible in the fictional and non- fictional texts within the textbooks could be drawn. Bias regarding imbalance and selectivity was used to determine whether the textbooks present a nuanced view on where and by whom the English language is spoken in a global perspective.
According to Sadker et al. (2010), when initially constructed, the Seven Forms of Bias-frame- work was created to detect gender bias in textbooks. However, the authors state that the frame- work can be applied to investigate other forms of bias as well, such as “race, ethnicity, the elderly, people with disabilities, non-English speakers, gays and lesbians and limited-English speakers.” (2010, p 144). Thus, as mentioned above, previous researchers have used the frame- work to detect other forms of bias. At least one other study has been conducted in Sweden regarding ethnic bias in textbooks using this framework, which was carried out by Racic and Zdrnja (2011). Therefore, only select parts of this framework were considered applicable for the present study and are, therefore, introduced below. The reason for not conducting a study which implements all forms of bias is since, in order to explore bias regarding the representation of countries from all circles of the Three Circles of English, the two biases presented below were deemed as most fitting, considering that the invisibility bias would be helpful in order to interpret the findings of the present study concerning the representation of a wide variety of texts and author origins, and highlight whether any textbook presented an imbalanced and se- lective perspective on the English-speaking world.
3.2.1 Invisibility
In the framework, invisibility is described as part of the null curriculum by the authors (2010:144). It represents any content that the students are not taught explicitly due to their teacher deliberately choosing not to work with it. By detecting what uses and which users are not mentioned in the material, invisibility could be discovered in the examined textbooks. Even where there is evidence of variety in uses and users of English in textbooks, descriptions of any difference within an English-speaking culture can also be ignored.
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3.2.2 Imbalance and Selectivity
It could be considered that the previously mentioned bias connects with this next form - imbal- ance and selectivity. According to Sadker et al. (2010), the bias of imbalance and selectivity occurs when textbooks do not provide a nuanced perspective to an issue. Thus, this could, for example, be detected in how the studied textbooks describe how the English language was spread during the colonisation period, as well as how it was and still can be used as a political instrument to both support and suppress cultures – as described by Kachru (1985:12-13). Ac- cording to Sadker et al. textbooks can, therefore, be criticised for providing an embellished view on where, how and by whom the English language is used (2010:145). For the present study, this was important to detect, since texts describing stereotypical uses and users of English can be considered norm-providing, therefore affecting learner’s perceptions regarding by who, where and why English is used in a global perspective.
4. Materials
In this section, the material examined in this study is presented to provide an overview of each textbooks’ construction. Each textbook is presented under separate headings. In some cases, the textbooks differ from each other. For example, while Solid Gold and Viewpoints contain ex- tracts from fictional novels, The English Handbook mainly consists of examples of each text type which the student encounters while working with this textbook. However, the three text- books are all issued by publishing companies which are members of Läromedelsföretagen, a cooperative collection of established publishers whose learning materials are utilised in the Swedish school system.
4.1 Solid Gold
We hope that Solid Gold will help you move ahead in your English studies, improving your communication skills and broadening your knowledge and understanding of the world where English is used. (2014:3).
The above quote is the concluding statement in the introduction to the textbook issued by Stu- dentlitteratur. In the quote, the authors state that their textbook is supposedly a guiding tool for learning about the English-speaking world. Furthermore, it is stated that by using Solid Gold, students will be supported in the process of fulfilling the National Education Agency’s course requirements for the course English 5 (Skolverket, 2017), which is usually included as
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part of a Swedish learner’s secondary school education. To achieve this, the textbook’s foun- dation consists of texts of different genres, combined with author introductions and illustrative pictures, all in all, divided into nine chapters. As a supplement, the textbook offers exercises to the text, and under the headline, WSM (Want some more?) additional texts are presented. Fur- thermore, in the chapter Some Names Worth Knowing, the textbook presents “a number of well- known people from the 19th century to the present /…/” (2014:4). Following this section, re- sources aiming to improve language skill, such as a vocabulary bank, a grammar guide and word lists can be found.
4.2 The English Handbook
Issued by Natur & Kultur, the textbook The English Handbook is divided into four sections based on the four language skills: speaking, listening, writing and reading. Within these sec- tions, learners are introduced to various situations where language proficiency can be consid- ered central. In the first section, informal and formal speech situations are presented and what could be regarded as useful knowledge for such situations, such as rhetoric; the working process of writing a speech; guidelines for interactive situations, speeches, and presentations. A section focusing on strategies for listening follows the speech section. Subsequently, the practice of writing is introduced, subcategorised as The Working Process, Guidelines for Texts, Working on Structure, Working on Language, Process Writing, and Working with Sources. A section focusing on reading is then introduced, divided between the reading and analysing factual and fictional texts. The section is followed by a part focusing on grammar, consisting of the sub- headings Building Your Language, Homophones, False Friends and Grammar Top-5. In con- clusion, the textbook presents the process of producing language for a specific purpose and aims to provide necessary tools to fulfil this purpose. Furthermore, the textbook is, similarly to Solid Gold, stated to be adapted especially for Swedish learners of English, in that it emphasises typical mistakes made by that group of learners.
4.3 Viewpoints
Finally, in Viewpoints, the focus in each of the five separate parts is separated between speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Gleerups, another member of Läromedelsföretagen published this 2017 textbook. In the introduction, it is stated that the textbook presents a selection of authentic texts which are said to be adapted for today’s learners. Each chapter in the textbook is based on one fiction or non-fiction text. These create the foundation for each chapter - thus the language skill of reading comprehension is included in each chapter. There are 21 chapters
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in total, divided into five parts, as well as an additional two parts, which singularly focus on grammar and model texts.
5. Method
In this section, the method behind the conduction of the study is described.
5.1 Selection and Limitations
The three textbooks used in the present study, Solid Gold (2014) issued by Studentlitteratur AB;
Viewpoints (2017) issued by Gleerups AB, and The English Handbook (2013) issued by Natur
& Kultur AB, were selected for specific reasons. First, the publishers who distribute the text- books are all members of Läromedelsföretagen, which is an organisation representing an as- sembly of publishers. From my own experience of teaching in the Swedish school system in a variety of locations, I have noticed that the course books published by members of the organi- sation are consistently used by teachers in all grades and subjects. Second, the publishers whose course books are investigated in this study, Studentlitteratur and Gleerups can within Läromedelsföretagen be considered to have predominant influence over the industry. That is because the chairman of Läromedelsföretagen Stefan Persson is also the vice-president of Stu- dentlitteratur AB, while the vice-chairman of Läromedelsföretagen Åsa Steholt Vernerson is also the vice-president of Gleerups Utbildning AB. Additionally, a member of the board of Läromedelsföretagens is Helena Holmström, who is the publishing manager of Natur & Kultur AB (Läromedelsföretagen, 2020). Thus, when it comes to publishers used by schools within Sweden’s educational system, the members of this organisation can be considered to have in- fluence over the publishing industry of learning materials in Sweden.
Furthermore, during the spring of 2020, the chairman of Läromedelsföretagen, Stefan Persson was quoted in an article by Fredrik Wallin (2020), after the organisation had published the result of a study which concluded that the Swedish school system spends the least money on course books in all of Scandinavia: “Stefan Persson, ordförande för Läromedelsföretagen, ser bekymmersamt på statistiken.” (2020). The fact that the organisation was quoted based on their findings suggests that products published by Läromedelsföretagen are credible as a source of research material.
Lastly, in November of 2020, Läromedelsföretagen published a news article in which it is stated that their course material is quality assured and therefore the best option for teachers who are in need of course materials: “Läromedelsföretagen har antagit en ny kvalitetspolicy för läro- medel samt tagit fram ett särskilt stöd vid val av läromedel.” (2020).
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The reason that the three specific textbooks Solid Gold (2014), Viewpoints (2017), and The English Handbook (2013), were selected as research material in this study is that the paratext of each suggests that the content of the textbooks had been adapted to the standards set by the curricular core content of the course English 5 (Skolverket, 2017). Based on these quotes, it could be assumed that the textbooks examined in this study provide a broad perspective on the English-speaking world, and also include examples of users and uses of English from every part of its global population:
In the revised version of Viewpoints, a course material for English 5, there is a new selection of authentic texts which are well adapted to today’s society and students. There is also a greater variety of text genres, which provides an increased breadth in both form, content, and perspective. (Gustafsson & Wivast, 2017:3, author’s translation)
The handbook is written for Swedish students and with Gy 2011 as its focus. (Fredriksson, 2013: back cover, author’s translation)
Solid Gold will improve your English in a variety of ways and first and foremost help you meet the course requirements for English 5. /…/ Solid Gold covers the core content of English 5. The focus in the nine units is mainly on living conditions, social issues and cultural features of the English- speaking world. (Hedencrona et al., 2014:3)
A limitation of this study is that not all textbooks available for teaching English 5 are included in the study. However, a further study could investigate a more substantial amount of such. As noted earlier, this study only focuses on fictional and non-fictional texts within the textbooks, while instructional texts and grammatical exercises are excluded. Similarly, texts that were not considered part of the main content, such as paratexts and legal texts, were also excluded.
Additionally, prefaces and epilogues are also excluded, which, in turn, might have an impact on the final result. However, this study’s focus is to investigate texts that students using the materials would encounter while using the textbook, which have been selected as appropriate material for students to reach the curriculum’s learning goals. Finally, the study applies a qual- itative analysis method which aims to detect cultural bias within the textbooks; the coding and categorisation of collected data are based on the Three Circles of English (Kachru, 1985), a model which was developed during the latter half of the 20th century. Therefore, it might not be representative of today’s English-speaking world. However, it can be claimed that the model
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is regarded as a recognised framework within its research field; it is also used by most research- ers mentioned in this study’s literature review.
Furthermore, of the Sadker et al. framework (2010), not all categories were applied in this study. Instead, categories which were deemed the most interesting regarding discovering invis- ibility and imbalance and selectivity were selected. The categories that were excluded are ste- reotyping, fragmentation, unreality, and cosmetic and linguistic bias. These were excluded based on conclusions of an initial pilot study, which investigated two chapters in each of the three textbooks to identify any examples of such. Instead, the pilot study’s findings suggested that by examining the bias of invisibility and imbalance and selectivity this would yield the most interesting results to answer the two research questions. Thus, the results of the present study might have appeared differently if all seven biases would have been included.
5.2 Categorisation
In this study, the above-introduced framework developed by Kachru is used to determine whether texts take place in, or whether authors originate from, an inner - norm-providing; an outer - norm-developing; or expanding - norm-dependent context. The categories used to label the texts, as well as authors’ origins, are inner-, outer- or expanding-circle, and indefinable.
The indefinable category was added to ensure that all texts would be categorised since the previously mentioned pilot study suggested that it in some cases would be problematic to de- termine any specific location of a text or author origin. Thus, as an attempt to maintain a valid and reliable data collection, the indefinable category was added.
As can be noted, in this study, the outer and expanding circles are merged into one category.
The reason for this is that while the selection of countries included in the inner-circle of the English-speaking world could be considered static, the selection of countries belonging to the outer and expanding circles could be considered more unstable and changing over time. That is since the use and status of the English language in countries belonging to these two circles can be influenced by language politics and social and cultural development. Since this study examines the inclusion of a global perspective on the English-speaking world, it was consid- ered that the combination of these two circles would not negatively impact the results’ relia- bility. However, if the two would not have been combined, the results may have been affected as well.
In this study, categorising the geographical context of texts was conducted by identifying any clues in the texts suggesting certain locations in which the texts play out. If no such clues
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could be identified, the next step was to decide whether the texts could be considered autobio- graphical, in which case, the author’s origin could provide an estimated geographical context.
However, if no such clues existed and if the author was not provided, or if the content within the texts could be considered universal, such texts were categorised as indefinable. An example of such is the lyrics to the song A Big Bad Wolf, in Viewpoints (2017:155). Although it can be argued to be Eurocentric, this text does not provide any explicit geographical context and is therefore categorised as indefinable (see Table 1, appendix 1).
In this study, the collection and categorisation of data began with identifying every fic- tional or non-fictional text in each textbook. During a second reading of all texts, every refer- ence to any use or user of English belonging to any of The Three Circles of English were marked. For example, in Viewpoints, there is an extract from an autobiography written by Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani, female-rights activist who in 2009 began arguing for the rights of women’s education in her blog.
Malala Yousafzai was born on 12 July 1997 and grew up in Mingora, which is the largest city in the Swat valley in Pakistan. /…/ In 2009 Malala began blogging anonymously, describing in her writ- ings how it was to live under the rule of the Taliban. (Viewpoints, 2017:19)
Since it is clear, based on the information provided in the above extract, that Yousafzai is a user of English born in Pakistan, it was categorised as an example of a context in which English is used in an outer circle context.
An additional example, regarded as a text transpiring in an inner-circle context, could be found in The English Handbook. In the text An Eye for an Eye (2013:91), capital punishment is discussed from an American perspective. Therefore, An Eye for an Eye is regarded as an exam- ple of when English is used in an inner-circle context.
Since the first execution in 1608 of Captain George Kendall, charged with espionage for the Spanish, 15.269 lives have been terminated by the authorities in the US (www.wikipedia.com/capitalpunish- ment). This is referred to as capital punishment. It is a heated issue which divides the US population in two camps: those who are against, and those who are in favour (www.capitalpunishment.com).
Further in the text An Eye for an Eye (2013:91), the author reveals his or herself as a Swedish citizen, and it could be argued that the text should be categorised as transpiring in an expanding circle context. However, in this study, it was decided that since this text mainly focuses on discussing the death penalty in the United States of America, the text was to be categorised as transpiring in an inner-circle context.
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Furthermore, any reference to an author’s origin, which could be interpreted as belonging to an outer or expanding circle context was listed as such. For example, if an author’s origin was mentioned in an introduction to an extract from one of the author’s novels, this information was used to categorise the author origin. For example, in Solid Gold, the author of Instant Million- aire is introduced as an Indian writer – thus the author origin is categorised as outer circle: “In 2005, Vikas Swarup, an Indian writer and diplomat, published his debut novel Q&A about a penniless waiter from Mumbai who makes a fortune from winning a quiz show.” (2014:56).
In another text in Solid Gold – If My Dad Were Still Here (2014), the author’s origin is not introduced – however, it can be interpreted based on the contextual clues visible in the following quote that the author’s origin is the United States of America:
I was 10 years old on 9/11, when the towers fell and I lost my father. Here’s what Osama bin Laden’s death means to me. […] My dad worked on the 103rd floor of the first tower. He was the director of global infrastructure at Cantor Fitzgerald. The day before he died, I remember, we had a really good night. (2014:71-73)
Based on clues provided in the above extract, this author is determined as originating from the inner circle. If no information about the author is provided in relation to an extract, and the author’s origin cannot be interpreted as clear from the extract’s content, this was categorised as indefinable.
For example, in the text OCD in Solid Gold (2014:32-34), this occurs. It provides no infor- mation about the author of the text – thus the author origin was categorised as indefinable. On the other hand, the non-fictional text OCD was categorised as transpiring in an inner-circle context, due to its references to celebrities from the United Kingdom and the United States of America, and which includes the British football player David Beckham: “The ritual may sound very strange to you, but it isn’t for the world’s most famous football player – David Beckham.
He suffers from a psychological condition called Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).”
(2014:32-34), as well as American actress Cameron Diaz and a psychiatrist at the University of Arizona.
During the process of extracting contexts, it was sometimes difficult to distinguish the text’s geographical context. When there was no apparent reference to any cultural or geographical context, such texts were regarded as indefinable. Such texts which were difficult to define as transpiring in any of the three circles were often evident in The English Handbook. For example, a text in The English Handbook (2013) describing a five-paragraph speech, focusing on a sales
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pitch for a robot cleaner, was deemed as indefinable due to its unclear reference to any particular setting in the English-speaking world:
I trust that you, just like me, strongly dislike having to clean up at home? Doing the dishes, vacuum cleaning the floors and dusting all those places impossible to reach? Relax, I have the solution for you: the Robomatic housekeeper. It’s revolution: it cleans, it takes no breaks, and it charges itself!
(2013:23)
It could be argued that a five-paragraph speech about robot cleaners places the text in a Euro- centric or western world-context. However, as this is not stated in the specific text, the context was categorised as indefinable.
Furthermore, in several cases issues arose with placing certain countries inside the circles.
Such was the case with two of Solid Gold’s fiction and non-fiction texts, which both take place in Ireland, in Dublin. Since Ireland is an independent nation, which does not belong to the United Kingdom, this was categorised as an outer circle country – even if it could be argued that the English language may influence the population of Ireland.
Finally, once all fictional and non-fictional contexts and author origins had been categorised, as can be observed in Table 8, the two parameters fictional or non-fictional context and author origin were re-defined into the following categories:
• (I:I) - Author originating from inner-circle country writes about an inner context
• (I:O/E) - Author originating from inner-circle country writes about an outer or expanding context
• (I:In) - Author originating from inner-circle country writes about an indefinable context
• (O/E:I) - Author originating from outer or expanding circle country writes about an inner context,
• (O/E:O/E) - Author originating from outer or expanding circle country writes about an outer or expanding context
• (O/E:In) - Author originating from outer or expanding circle country writes about an indefinable context
• (In:I) Indefinable author writes about an inner-circle context
• (In:O/E) Indefinable author writes about an outer or expanding circle context
• (In:In) Indefinable author writes about an indefinable context
This second coding aimed to highlight the relationship between author origins and contexts in each of the three textbooks. These results could be analysed by applying the Sadker et al. frame- work, and by this accentuate the importance of remaining mindful when selecting texts to be used in learning materials.
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5.3 Qualitative analysis
The second part of the study, which followed the process of extracting and categorising con- texts, consisted of a qualitative analysis of the quantified result. In this part, categorising con- texts and author origins as inner, outer or expanding circle or indefinable, was combined with the Sadker et al. framework. The Kachru and Sadker models’ alignment resulted in an exami- nation of the distribution of the texts and author origins between the circles, and the indefinable category in Table 8. In the case of the invisibility bias, the percentual ratios of texts transpiring in, or authors originating from, inner and outer or expanding circle countries were compared, as well as the percentual ratio of indefinable contexts in each textbook. If it was concluded that any of the textbooks contain a larger percentage of texts transpiring in an inner-circle context than in an outer or expanding circle context, this was considered to suggest that the textbook’s focus is mainly on the inner-circle countries of the English-speaking world. Furthermore, if an examination of the results in Table 8 concluded that any of the textbooks contained a larger percentage of indefinable fictional or non-fictional contexts or author origins than contexts that could be defined as inner or outer or expanding, this was also suggested as an example of invisible-making bias.
Thus, it could be suggested that a particular textbook presents an imbalanced and selective perspective on the English-speaking world and conceals outer or expanding circle countries. In this study, it is considered possible to include a wide perspective on the English-speaking world in textbooks. It is also considered that novel extracts and author representation in textbooks are key elements to creating awareness in students regarding the spread of the English language globally.
6. Results and Analysis
In Table 10 (Appendix 1), each text within the three textbooks has been listed and marked as belonging to either an inner-, outer or expanding-, as well as indefinable context. The result of Table 1 is summarised in subchapter 6.4, which also features a Figure which suggests the con- gruence between author origin and geographical location of each text. The following subchap- ters 6.1 to 6.3 introduces the individual results from each textbook.
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6.1 Solid Gold
In Table 1, the number of contexts found in Solid Gold are listed, and in Table 3, author origins of the texts identified in the textbook can be observed.
Table 1: References to cultural representation within inner-, outer-, expanding-circle, and indefinable contexts in Solid Gold
Inner
% (Frequency)
Outer or expanding
% (Frequency)
Indefinable
% (Frequency)
Number of references / total
number of texts 70 (25 / 36) 19 (7 / 36) 11 (4 / 36)
In Solid Gold, texts and authors from both inner and outer or expanding circle countries were identified. In a total of 36 texts, seven were identified transpiring in an outer or expanding circle context, while four were categorised as indefinable and 25 as transpiring in an inner-circle con- text. The 19 percent of the texts which were categorised as transpiring in an outer or expanding circle context include texts taking place in:
(1) Italy, “I’ve already been in Rome a week” (2014:10).
(2) Zimbabwe, “Petina Gappah is a Zimbabwean writer” (2014:30).
(3) India, “In 2005, Vikas Swarup, an Indian writer and diplomat” (2014:56).
(4) Ireland, “Gareth Eoin Storey was born in Dublin” (2014:78).
(5) China, “As I far away from China, I asking me why I coming to West. Why I must to study English like parents wish? Why I must get diploma from West?” (2014:43)
In example 1 to 5, a selection of outer or expanding circle texts are placed in a specific geo- graphical context. Furthermore, an estimated 70 percent of the texts in Solid Gold were identi- fied as belonging to an inner-circle context. For example:
(6) The United States of America, “She /…/ has a communication degree from the University of South- ern California’s Annenberg School” (2014:16).
(7) The United Kingdom, “Rose Tremain was born in 1943 in London /…/” (2014:40).
(8) Australia, “The name of the zoo was the Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park” (2014:25).
In the above quotes (6), (7), and (8), examples of texts which in this study were categorised as transpiring in an inner-circle context are provided. In the example sentences (6) and (7), the omitted parts in the quotes contain additional information about the person who is introduced in each paragraph. Furthermore, the remaining eleven percent, or four of the texts, were cate- gorised as transpiring in an indefinable context, such as the example below:
(9) Indefinable, “Imagine there’s no heaven. It’s easy if you try.” (2014:94).
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The above example (9) was categorised as transpiring in an indefinable context since the text is the lyrics to the song “Imagine”, by John Lennon. Since the song is not placed in any certain context, it was considered that the text transpires in a universal context. In the adjoining Table 2, a summary of the origins of authors whose works are included in the textbook is presented.
Table 2: Origins of authors in Solid Gold
Inner
% (Frequency)
Outer or expanding
% (Frequency)
Indefinable
% (Frequency)
Author origin / total num-
ber of texts 53 (19 / 36) 22 (8 / 36) 25 (9 / 36)
In Solid Gold, 53 percent of the authors were categorised as originating from an inner-circle country, while 22 percent were categorised as from an outer or expanding circle country and 25 percent as indefinable author origins. For example, two authors who were presented in the textbook as originating from the United States and Australia were in this study categorised as having an inner-circle origin:
(10) The United States of America “Joyce Carol Oates is a highly productive American author who has published more than fifty novels.” (2014:35).
(11) The United Kingdom, “My story begins in earnest a long way from Liverpool, or Macclesfield, where I was born on 30 January 1981 /…/” (2014:44).
The quotes (10) and (11) are both extracted from texts which are interpreted introducing au- thors originating from the inner-circle, in which the former is a third-person introduction of the American author Joyce Carol Oates. Simultaneously, the latter is a first-person introduction of an author originating from the United Kingdom named Peter Crouch. The omitted part of the second quote presents a further elaboration of Peter Crouch’s origin.
Furthermore, three out of eight authors who were categorised as originating from the outer or expanding circle were described as originating from former British colonies such as Zimba- bwe and India (examples 12 and13), as well as an expanding circle country such as China (14), while the remaining nine authors categorised as indefinable.
(12) Zimbabwe, “Petina Gappah is a Zimbabwean writer who has law degrees from Cambridge Univer- sity, Graz University and the University of Zimbabwe.” (2014:31).
(13) India, “In 2005, Vikas Swarup, an Indian writer and diplomat, published his debut novel Q&A about a penniless waiter from Mumbai who makes a fortune from winning a quiz show.” (2014:56).
(14) China, “Xiaolu Guo was born in a fishing village in south China in 1973. /…/ Beijing to London is an extract from A Concise Chinese English Dictionary for Lovers […]”. (2014:42).
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The omitted part of the quote in example (14) is a further description of the author’s life and education and her future career in writing and filmmaking.
6.2 The English Handbook
In Table 3, the result from the examination of The English Handbook is presented and in Table 4, a summary of the origin of authors, whose works are presented in The English Handbook, is presented.
Table 3: References to cultural representation within inner-, outer-, expanding-circle, and indefinable contexts in The English Handbook
Inner
% (Frequency)
Outer or expanding
% (Frequency)
Indefinable
% (Frequency)
Number of references / total
number of texts 18 (4 / 22) 23 (5 / 22) 59 (13 / 22)
Similar to the findings in Solid Gold, in The English Handbook, 59 percent of the texts were found to transpire in indefinable contexts. The rest of the textbook’s texts were nearly evenly divided between an inner or outer or expanding circle context, 18 to 23 percent. In The English Handbook, five texts were categorised as transpiring in an outer or expanding circle context, of which three are provided as examples below:
(15) Sweden, “On Tuesday morning, a team of geologists from the University of Uppsala, Sweden, an- nounced that volcanic activity had been discovered in the region of Dalarna, right in the heart of the Swedish countryside.” (2013:84).
(16) Scotland, “From the movie ‘Braveheart’, 1995” (2013:51).
(17) Borneo, “Last Tuesday, a team of researchers from the University of Cambridge, UK, were amazed when they literally stumbled across a seemingly insignificant piece of rock, deep in the jungle of remote Borneo.” (2013:143).
In examples (15) to (17) above, the fictional or non-fictional contexts are placed in an outer or expanding geographical setting, while two examples of inner-circle geographical settings in the textbook are:
(18) The United States of America, “Ms. Margaret Stanley /…/ Business Court. NY 32576” (2013:97).
(19) The United Kingdom, “Mr John Potemkin /…/ UNITED KINGDOM” (2013:99).
Furthermore, 59 percent of The English Handbook texts were categorised as transpiring in an indefinable context, as demonstrated in the below examples.
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(20) “I was tired. Or knackered, to be more precise, and I just could not wait for the liquid in my glass to make its way down to my belly and relieve my tattered soul.” (2013:105).
(21) “I can’t stand books, I don’t read books and I don’t wanna read books.” (2013:107).
Examples (20) and (21) were categorised as texts transpiring in an indefinable context since no information of their geographical context are provided in, or in close relation to, the texts - neither was any authors of any of these texts acknowledged.
Table 4: Origins of authors in The English Handbook
Inner
% (Frequency)
Outer or expanding
% (Frequency)
Indefinable
% (Frequency)
Author origin / total num-
ber of texts 27 (5 / 22) 5 (1 / 22) 68 (16 / 22)
In The English Handbook, 72 percent of the authors were categorised as indefinable, while 27 percent of the texts could be distinguished as belonging to authors originating from the inner circle, of which below is an example of such:
(22) The United Kingdom, “A Haunted House /…/ by: Virginia Woolf” (2013:161).
Based on the information provided in the quote (22), the origin of the author was categorised as inner circle, since Virginia Woolf was a British author. Furthermore, one author was catego- rised as originating from Sweden, which stands for the remaining five percent in Table 4:
(23) “As a Swedish citizen, it is hard to relate to these issues since we do not share the same cultural history.” (2013:91).
The above quote (23) is from the text An Eye for An Eye, in which the topic of the death penalty in the United States is discussed in a paper, written by a Swedish EFL-student. This means that even though the text was categorised as transpiring in an inner-circle context, the author origin was categorised as outer or expanding. Furthermore, as can be studied in the above Table 4, most author origins were deemed indefinable in The English Handbook - there are in connec- tion to the majority of texts in the textbook no author information provided at all. Thus, this explains the lack of examples of indefinable authors in this section, and why there are not more than one example provided of an inner or an outer or expanding author’s origin.
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6.3 Viewpoints
In Table 5, the result from the examination of Viewpoints is presented, and in Table 6, author origins of the texts identified in the textbook can be observed.
Table 5: References to cultural representation within inner-, outer-, expanding-circle, and indefinable contexts in Viewpoints
Inner
% (Frequency)
Outer or expanding
% (Frequency)
Indefinable
% (Frequency)
Number of references / total
number of texts 43 (9 / 21) 14 (3 / 21) 43 (9 / 21)
In Viewpoints, nine texts were found to transpire in an inner-circle context, which makes out 43 percent of the total amount of texts. A few selected examples are:
(24) The United States, “Matt Donaghy had not been arrested by Rocky River Police.” (2017:5) (25) The United Kingdom, “Stuart Gray is a London paramedic and author of his very own Paramedics
Diary, in which he describes a year in his working life on the streets of London.” (2017:163).
Texts transpiring in outer or expanding circle contexts were identified in 14 percent of the texts, and a few examples are presented below:
(26) Pakistan, “Malala Yousafzai was born on 12 July 1997 and grew up in Mingora, which is the largest city in the Swat valley in Pakistan.” (2017:19).
(27) Sengharia, “17-year-old Charlie is a privileged white boy who lives in an imaginary West African country (Sengharia)” (2017:112).
(28) Colombia, “Shorty and Alberto live in the South American city of Medellin, in Colombia”
(2017:145).
In conclusion, nine of the texts in Viewpoints were deemed transpiring in an indefinable context, which stands for 43 percent of the total number of texts. The adjacent Table presents a summary of the origins of authors whose works are included in the textbook.
Table 7: Origins of authors in Viewpoints
Inner
% (Frequency)
Outer or expanding
% (Frequency)
Indefinable
% (Frequency)
Author origin / total num-
ber of texts 90 (19 / 21) 5 (1 / 21) 5 (1 / 21)
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As can be observed in the above Table, 90 percent of authors, whose works are included as extracts in Viewpoints, originate from countries within the inner circle:
(29) The United Kingdom, “Elizabeth Barret Browning was born in 1806 in England /…/” (2017:65).
(30) Australia, “The following article from the Australian Sydney Morning Herald attempts to shed light on why first love can be particularly painful.” (2017:83).
In example (29), the omitted part of the quote provides additional information regarding the author. An author originating from the outer or expanding circle has written one of the texts in Viewpoints (31), while indefinable author origins represent the remaining five percent.
(31) Pakistan, “In this extract from her autobiography, we find out how Malala first came to the attention of the outside world – and the Taliban.” (2017:19)
6.4 Summary of quantitative data
In Table 7, the percentual ratio and numerical amount in parentheses, of texts transpiring in an inner, outer or expanding and indefinable context are compared between the textbooks. Also, the result from the categorisation of author origins is presented in the Table.
Table 7: References to texts and authors transpiring in and originating from inner-, outer-, expanding-circle, and indefinable contexts in all three textbooks
Texts Inner
% (Frequency)
Outer or expanding
% (Frequency)
Indefinable
% (Frequency)
Solid Gold 70 (25/36) 19 (7/36) 11 (4/36)
The English Handbook 18 (4/22) 23 (5/22) 59 (13/22)
Viewpoints 43 (9/21) 14 (3/21) 43 (9/21)
Authors
Solid Gold 53 (19/36) 22 (8/36) 25 (9/36)
The English Handbook 23 (5/22) 5 (1/22) 72 (16/22)
Viewpoints 90 (19/21) 5 (1/21) 5 (1/21)
As shown in Table 7, Solid Gold stands out as the textbook containing the greatest percentual and numerical amount of inner-circle contexts in its text texts. However, it also contains the least indefinable contexts. The English Handbook contains the least percentual and numeric amount of inner-circle fictional or non-fictional contexts, and the greatest percentual and nu- merical quantity of indefinable contexts. On the other hand, the texts in Viewpoints are equally balanced between transpiring in inner-circle and indefinable contexts, while outer or expand- ing circle contexts are fewer in this textbook than in Solid Gold and The English Handbook.
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Viewpoints also contain the largest percentage of inner-circle authors, 90 percent, while 56 percent of the authors featured in Solid Gold originate from an inner-circle country. However, Solid Gold contains the largest numerical amount of inner-circle authors, 20 to Viewpoints’ 19.
The English Handbook contains the least number of outer or expanding circle authors. In con- trast, it contains the largest numerical and percentual quantity of indefinable authors – 72 per- cent and 16 occurrences out of 22 texts - significantly more than in Viewpoints and twice as many as in Solid Gold. In Solid Gold, the amount of outer or expanding circle authors were as many as those deemed indefinable. In Viewpoints, percentually and numerically, there were as many authors originating from an outer or expanding circle as authors of an indefinable origin.
Finally, Viewpoints and The English Handbook was in this study found to contain the same percentual amount, and a number of, outer or expanding circle authors. Examples of occur- rences in each textbook can be observed in subsections 6.1-6.3.
In the subsequent Table, an overview of the distribution between author origins and contexts in which their texts transpire can be observed. In Figure 2, the identical data presented in Table 8 is illustrated in a bar chart, to highlight differentiation between the textbooks regarding the nexus between author origin and context. The abbreviations used in the figure are explained in 5.4.
Table 8: Distribution of texts written by authors originating from, and transpiring in, an inner-, outer- or expanding-circle or indefinable context
Author origin: Fictional or non-fictional context
Solid Gold
% (Frequency)
The English Handbook
% (Frequency)
Viewpoints
% (Frequency)
I:I 42 (15/36) 9 (2/22) 43 (9/21)
I:O/E 5 (2/36) 4,5 (1/22) 9,5 (2/21)
I:In 5 (2/36) 14,5 (3/22) 38 (8/21)
O/E:I 11 (4/36) 4,5 (1/22) 0 (0/21)
O/E:O/E 11 (4/36) 0 (0/22) 4,8 (1/21)
O/E:In 0 (0/36) 0 (0/22) 0 (0/21)
In:I 17 (6/36) 4,5 (1/22) 0 (0/21)
In:O/E 3 (1/36) 18 (4/22) 0 (0/21)
In:In 5 (2/36) 45 (10/22) 4,8 (1/21)
