Authenticating ‘Cover to Cover’ Reader Series vis-à-vis Cultural Norms for the Iranian community

Abstract

This research study was an attempt to explore hidden cultural components in an ELT textbook from Oxford University Press (OUP) titled 'Cover to Cover'. Two research methodologies were relied on to unveil the western ideologies in this series: Firstly, a qualitative review over its reading textbooks was undertaken for authenticating the hidden western values for Iranian contexts. At this stage, analyses over randomly chosen units of the three-volume CTC book were managed via qualitative content analysis using inductive category formation techniques. In a second stage, a focus group including English language teachers indulged in teaching this series were interviewed to enrich the data with lived experiences. Overall, the findings revealed that the hidden values in the sampled texts might transmit some counter-local perspectives against Iranian leaners' local culture. Pedagogical suggestions as to improving critical cultural awareness practices for non-native students in the light of material development practices for EFL settings were discussed at the end.

Keywords

• authenticity
• material development
• Islamic values
• L2 culture
• cultural awareness