Incorporation and portrayal of cultures in pedagogic discourse in Pakistan: a study of teachers’ perspectives

Teachers’ views regarding the portrayal of cultures in English textbooksthey teach are of paramount importance. Nevertheless, there is a lack of research studies on this area worldwide, and more specifically, in Pakistani contexts. The present study aimed to get the views of English teachers reg...

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Main Authors: Habib, Azhar, Muhammad Yousaf, Masroor, Farzana, Ali Khan, Ijaz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2021
Online Access:http://journalarticle.ukm.my/17312/1/43056-159422-1-PB.pdf
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author Habib, Azhar
Muhammad Yousaf,
Masroor, Farzana
Ali Khan, Ijaz
author_facet Habib, Azhar
Muhammad Yousaf,
Masroor, Farzana
Ali Khan, Ijaz
author_sort Habib, Azhar
collection UKM
description Teachers’ views regarding the portrayal of cultures in English textbooksthey teach are of paramount importance. Nevertheless, there is a lack of research studies on this area worldwide, and more specifically, in Pakistani contexts. The present study aimed to get the views of English teachers regarding the incorporation and portrayal of various cultures in the reading passages of English textbooks used for teaching at secondary level in the government schools of Sindh. The study is purely quantitative whereby a questionnaire was developed using the framework of Cortazzi and Jin (2013) to get the opinions of teachers on ten cultural variables of source, target and international target cultures. Each variable has two parts- the first was to gain information about a particular variable in the textbooks; the second was to know about its representation. The data were analysed using SPSS. Moreover, a t-test was also applied to determine whether the findings are statistically valid. The study's findings show that the prescribed textbooks provide sufficient and realistic information about different cultural variables of source culture(s). In contrast, the textbooks do not provide sufficient and realistic information about different cultural variables of international culture(s) except that the textbooks realistically depict men and women. As to target culture(s), the textbooks provide sufficient and realistic information about some of the variables: history, interaction patterns of people with one another, social identities/classes, customs and traditions, and equal representation of both men and women. However, the textbooks do not provide sufficient and realistic information about some of the variables. These include geography, social/political institutions, religions, art and artefacts, and the everyday life of the people. In view of the results, it is suggested that a balanced approach should be adopted regarding the incorporation and portrayal of various culturesin the textbooks. The research is significant as it provides guidelines to policymakers, textbooks writers and researchers by underlining the importance of incorporating varied cultures in academic discourse.
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spelling ukm.eprints-173122021-08-13T02:53:42Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/17312/ Incorporation and portrayal of cultures in pedagogic discourse in Pakistan: a study of teachers’ perspectives Habib, Azhar Muhammad Yousaf, Masroor, Farzana Ali Khan, Ijaz Teachers’ views regarding the portrayal of cultures in English textbooksthey teach are of paramount importance. Nevertheless, there is a lack of research studies on this area worldwide, and more specifically, in Pakistani contexts. The present study aimed to get the views of English teachers regarding the incorporation and portrayal of various cultures in the reading passages of English textbooks used for teaching at secondary level in the government schools of Sindh. The study is purely quantitative whereby a questionnaire was developed using the framework of Cortazzi and Jin (2013) to get the opinions of teachers on ten cultural variables of source, target and international target cultures. Each variable has two parts- the first was to gain information about a particular variable in the textbooks; the second was to know about its representation. The data were analysed using SPSS. Moreover, a t-test was also applied to determine whether the findings are statistically valid. The study's findings show that the prescribed textbooks provide sufficient and realistic information about different cultural variables of source culture(s). In contrast, the textbooks do not provide sufficient and realistic information about different cultural variables of international culture(s) except that the textbooks realistically depict men and women. As to target culture(s), the textbooks provide sufficient and realistic information about some of the variables: history, interaction patterns of people with one another, social identities/classes, customs and traditions, and equal representation of both men and women. However, the textbooks do not provide sufficient and realistic information about some of the variables. These include geography, social/political institutions, religions, art and artefacts, and the everyday life of the people. In view of the results, it is suggested that a balanced approach should be adopted regarding the incorporation and portrayal of various culturesin the textbooks. The research is significant as it provides guidelines to policymakers, textbooks writers and researchers by underlining the importance of incorporating varied cultures in academic discourse. Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2021-06 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/17312/1/43056-159422-1-PB.pdf Habib, Azhar and Muhammad Yousaf, and Masroor, Farzana and Ali Khan, Ijaz (2021) Incorporation and portrayal of cultures in pedagogic discourse in Pakistan: a study of teachers’ perspectives. 3L; Language,Linguistics and Literature,The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies., 27 (2). pp. 101-115. ISSN 0128-5157 https://ejournal.ukm.my/3l/issue/view/1407
spellingShingle Habib, Azhar
Muhammad Yousaf,
Masroor, Farzana
Ali Khan, Ijaz
Incorporation and portrayal of cultures in pedagogic discourse in Pakistan: a study of teachers’ perspectives
title Incorporation and portrayal of cultures in pedagogic discourse in Pakistan: a study of teachers’ perspectives
title_full Incorporation and portrayal of cultures in pedagogic discourse in Pakistan: a study of teachers’ perspectives
title_fullStr Incorporation and portrayal of cultures in pedagogic discourse in Pakistan: a study of teachers’ perspectives
title_full_unstemmed Incorporation and portrayal of cultures in pedagogic discourse in Pakistan: a study of teachers’ perspectives
title_short Incorporation and portrayal of cultures in pedagogic discourse in Pakistan: a study of teachers’ perspectives
title_sort incorporation and portrayal of cultures in pedagogic discourse in pakistan a study of teachers perspectives
url http://journalarticle.ukm.my/17312/1/43056-159422-1-PB.pdf
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AT masroorfarzana incorporationandportrayalofculturesinpedagogicdiscourseinpakistanastudyofteachersperspectives
AT alikhanijaz incorporationandportrayalofculturesinpedagogicdiscourseinpakistanastudyofteachersperspectives