A critical analysis of intercultural representation in EFL textbooks

The purpose of this study was to investigate the intercultural representation and its links to cultural problems and intercultural awareness in the dialogues of the two specially chosen English as a Foreign Language textbooks, World English I used at Ubon Ratchathani University, Thailand and English for Lao Government Officials used in Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Data were collected and analyzed quantitatively by frequency count and qualitatively based on the cultural framework of Hofstede, Hofstede and Minkov (2010). The focus of the analysis fell into two cultural models, individualism and collectivism (Hofstede, Hofstede & Minkov, 2010). Results of the study revealed that the cultural values attached to individualism were mostly found in both selected textbooks under the different dimensions of characteristics. Moreover, findings revealed gender bias related to occupations and social roles in both textbooks.