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The power of language in textbooks: shaping futures, shaping identities
Abstract
This article examines secondary school textbooks used in one province of Pakistan to explore how particular political and religious beliefs are embedded in the texts used to teach the English language. The article shows how the authors of these textbooks change the discursive practices of global English to suit their own purposes. In particular, the article discusses how the authors appropriate the genre structure of biographical texts and adapt lexico-grammatical resources for identity management. An appropriation of the language in the textbooks, the article argues, curtails students’ access to the linguistic or semiotic tools that are needed to read and engage with other globally oriented texts. This may impact students’ views of the world as well as limit their ability to understand and appreciate alternative perspectives.
... In Pakistan, ELT as a state-directed top-down project has been influenced by national education policies that adhere to the ideology of the country (see Rahman, 1996). It has been shown in studies related to textbooks that this goal is achieved by promoting specific learner consciousness, for example creating docile subjectivities in the classroom (Channa, Daniel, Channa, & Manan, 2017;Mahboob, 2017;Lashari et al., n.d.). However, teachers' perspectives, their experiences, and how they respond to textbooks and learners' multiple identities are understudied. ...
... This study focuses on the interaction dimension to examine how teachers interact with teaching materials i.e., textbooks in relation to its dominant representations and diverse learners in classrooms. In Pakistan as the context of the present study, most studies have examined dominant representations in textbooks (see Mahboob, 2017;Qazi, 2021;Rahman, 1996). To what extent and how teachers exercise agency remains unaddressed. ...
... In Pakistan, religion plays a significant role in education, including English language textbooks. Thus, teachers' conceptualization of their profession is heavily influenced by institutionalized and cultural discourses on religion embedded in educational curricula and textbooks (see also Mahboob, 2017;Rahman, 1996). According to Foucault, this phenomenon is explained by disciplinary power controlling activities through surveillance, examination, and hierarchical arrangements in a closed space, such as barracks or factories (Foucault, 1975, pp. ...
The present study examines English language pedagogy as a Janus-faced phenomenon based on interviews with 40 English language teachers in one province of Pakistan. The study draws on Foucault's writings on power relations and agency. The findings suggest that besides disciplinary techniques of surveillance and examination, states of domination maintained through officially sanctioned discourses and apparatuses, teachers also seem to exercise their agency by engaging in struggles against the institutionalized discourses that underpin the very existential question, e.g., 'who are we?'. Such a question facilitates learning experience of diverse learners in classrooms and help them negotiate their identities. The study has implications for the similar global contexts where state-led ELT education is often studied in terms of the dominant ideologies obscuring the fact that they are also sites of contestation. English classes thus can be viewed as fields of force relations where teachers exist in a strategic relation with textbook content and diversity of learners subject to the states of domination as well as capable of countering such dominations and social hegemonies.
... Another study investigated the effects of textbooks on students. Mahboob (2017) examined secondary school textbooks used in Pakistan to explore how political and religious beliefs were embedded in the text. The paper demonstrated how English textbooks used in Pakistan appropriated language to promote particular beliefs and carried out identity management, and argued that the control of access could have influences on students' opportunities in life. ...
... The findings from the study also support the claims made by previous studies that the prepared knowledge from textbooks have the influence on how students will perform academically (cf. Mahboob, 2017), and that the textbook selection should be based on the areas of language considered as needed, not the level identified by the publishers (To, 2015). This study is limited in its areas of investigation. ...
The preparation for English language teaching materials in Thai secondary schools rely primarily on the use of western-published textbooks. Reasons are given by teachers that the books have assured the accuracy of the language (Ulla, 2019), and they provide proper models of language use (Tomlinson, 2008; Ulla, 2019). By using these textbooks, one of the ultimate goals for every school is to prepare students for the Ordinary National Educational Test (O-NET) in the final year of their secondary education (Grade 12). It is therefore interesting to examine whether or not the textbook series equip students with the knowledge and skills of language which align with the secondary school final year assessment. The preliminary investigation of this study (Sritrakarn, 2021) found that the English O-NET test items designed during the years 2016-2019 were partially aligned with the learning domains of the basic education core curriculum. This present study examined further the alignments of the O-NET tests and the school’s equipped knowledge through textbook series. Taking the lens of Systemic Functional Linguistic (SFL) genre-based approach, the texts and discourses used in the textbook series of one school were compared with those found in the O-NET test items. This paper discusses the findings and the implications of how to prepare the sources of input knowledge for the national assessment.
... Prof. Dr.Amrin Saragih Makalah ini diilhami oleh pendekatan LSF dalam mengurai identitas pada teks atau wacana (Mahboob, 2015(Mahboob, , 2017. Identitas, dalam perspektif LSF, dianggap sebagai proses dan produk dari konstruksi wacana/teks yang direalisasikan oleh bahasa (atau sumber semiotika lainnya) (Martin, 2010;Tann, 2013Tann, , 2017 Lebih jauh lagi, Martin and Rose (2008) juga berpendapat bahwa teks-teks sejarah berpotensi untuk disisipi oleh penyesuaian fitur-fitur kebahasaan di mana peristiwa sejarah dan orangorang yang terkait dengan peristiwa tersebut dievaluasi selaras dengan nilai-nilai sosiokultural yang ingin dibagikan oleh para sejarawan. ...
... Teks ini dipilih mengingat adanya kecenderungan representasi gender yang asimetris di dalam buku teks, seperti yang telah dipaparkan pada studi terdahulu (misalnya Damayanti, 2014;Emilia et al., 2017). Selain itu, mengingat teks biografi termasuk ke dalam genre sejarah, terdapat potensi akan adanya manipulasi dan evaluasi terkait peristiwa di masa lampau dan aktor sosial (Martin, 2006;Martin & Rose, 2008 (Mahboob, 2015(Mahboob, , 2017. Terkait contesting identities, teks menyangkal gagasan atas minimnya peran serta wanita di masyarakat. ...
Makalah ini bertujuan untuk menelaah proyeksi nilai-nilai sosiokultural dan identitas pada
sebuah teks biografi yang digunakan sebagai materi ajar dalam Buku Sekolah Elektronik (BSE) Bahasa Inggris untuk Kelas X. Analisis teks menggunakan kerangka analisis semantik wacana dalam lingkup teori Linguistik Sistemik Fungsional (LSF), terutama konsep Ideation dan Appraisal, serta Transitivity digunakan untuk menguak bagaimana fitur-fitur kebahasaan memproyeksikan nilai-nilai sosiokultural dan identitas pada teks tersebut. Makalah ini membahas bahwa fitur-fitur kebahasaan, baik dari tingkat semantik wacana dan lexicogrammar, berkontribusi kepada pembentukan contesting dan conforming identities. Dari sisi semantik wacana, teks menyangkal gagasan terkait peranan yang kurang signifikan dari para wanita di dalam masyarakat, seperti memberikan penilaian-penilaian positif terhadap kegiatan yang dilakukan oleh tokoh pada masa perjuangan Indonesia. Dari sisi lexicogrammar, agentive dan participant roles mengurai representasi dua tokoh utama di dalam teks. Penyesuaian fitur lexicogrammar juga dilakukan dengan menggunakan konstruksi kalimat pasif untuk mengurangi dampak dari melakukan kegiatan-kegiatan yang bersinggungan dengan aspek ideologi/politik. Dengan demikian, teks tersebut dapat dikatakan berusaha untuk menyelaraskan solidaritas peserta didik dengan nilai-nilai nasional kolektif terkait wanita, kepahlawanan, dan kolonialisme.
... Less frequently, mathematics textbooks are approached as socio-political artefacts. In general, school textbooks around the globe have been found to serve as tools through which specific dominant ideologies, normalised social and cultural expectations, political views, and religious beliefs are promoted (Mahboob, 2017;Smestad, 2018;Wang et al., 2023). Despite common misconceptions of school mathematics being devoid of social, cultural, and political matter, mathematics textbooks constitute no exception in being used for ideology maintenance and reproduction, especially regarding heteronormativity and socially acceptable gender behaviours (Guichot-Reina & De la Torre-Sierra, 2023;Ott, 2015;Parise, 2021). ...
Several studies indicate that gender is often portrayed stereotypically in mathematics textbooks worldwide. Based on the premise that such representations need to be examined with particular attention to the cultural context within which they exist, this study focuses on the upper-primary mathematics textbooks of the Republic of Cyprus, which are nationally produced and mandatory for all public schools. Specifically, the eight individual parts of grades 5 and 6 (four for each grade) were examined. By approaching both written and visual references from a critical discourse analysis perspective, the findings highlight that (a) gender is represented within the binary system, and (b) there are essential differences in depictions of men and women across three dimensions: professional status, everyday activities, and references to real people. These differences allude to stereotypical performative aspects of gender in this specific sociocultural context. In closing, I make recommendations for future research directions in this area.
... Furthermore, the language used in the textbooks, either verbal or visual, influences the knowledge and worldview of the learners. Thus, language carries the potential to influence and empower learners because it communicates certain ideologies among the learners (Mahboob, 2017). ...
This investigation aims to decode the implicit ideologies in the chosen images and their function to support the process of getting an education in the Primary English Textbook (SNC2020) of grades (1-3) from the academic year (2021-22). This is qualitative research, data collected from the Primary English Textbook (SNC-2020) of grades (1-3). The latent qualitative content analysis under Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis (MCDA) by (Machin & Mayer, 2012) decodes the illustrations. The findings reveal various Pakistani Cultural and Ethical themes and ideologies such as Studious Attitude at Home and Culture, Sharing and Creative Art, Assisting Elders with a Good Attitude, Pakistani Family Culture, Good and Bad Manners, Intellectual Mother and Ethical Education of a Child, Conversation Manner and Costume Culture, Home Culture and Intellectual Activities and Scheduled Routine of a Child. Moreover, the children are displayed in a proper posture while studying, and this teaches them the manner to sit and study. The children are involved in the creative art of making the card, and they write on it. This gives them the idea to enjoy along with studying. Thus, the socio-linguistic assessment is used to design an instructor’s training program and aid curriculum designers in improving the shortcomings in the textbooks.
... ages [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. In his study on the appropriation of language in textbooks, Mahboob (2017) believes that students' access to linguistic or semiotic skills is essential for them to read and engage with other internationally 130 The Asian ESP Journal Research Articles. Vol. 17 Issue No. 6.1 October 2021 focused works. ...
Language and gender scholars across the world usually use story books and other language learning materials as primary data sources. Their works allow us to examine societal conventions and how gender roles are presented. On the other hand, the present study aims to investigate how gender interacts in content disciplines such as Science and Math using textbooks. Thus, this paper investigates the various gender representations in Grade Five science and mathematics textbooks in both public and private schools. Its goal is to discover how language and images are utilized in the classroom to convey gender portrayal. This paper is anchored on Critical Discourse Analysis framework of van Dijk's (2008b) discourse levels: macro-level and micro-level, and Fairclough's (1989) three-dimensional model: description, interpretation, and explanation. In analyzing the data, a content/textual analysis is utilized and divided in two parts. The first part used quasi statistics to determine the quantity, visibility, and firstness per gender. The second section uses the Critical Image Study tool to qualitatively analyze lexical features and images. The results of the analysis indicate that males are dominant among the characters found in the textbooks and females are less visible in the learning materials. It is also evident that the images and lexical features connote stereotypical gender roles. In the end, the study presents some pedagogical implications and recommendations on how to use gender fair language and equal representations in language teaching and in preparing learning materials in the classroom.
... This viewpoint is also shared by Tabouret-Keller (1997), Omoniyi (2006) and Mahboob (2017); the first defined identity as a 'dynamic process shaped by social action' (p.12), while the second theorized that identity is continuously created and re-created depending on the individual's social, historical, economic and institutional circumstances. He further elaborated in this notion of the individuals' renewal of identity as it becomes influenced their "social interactions, encounters and wishes" (p. ...
Much of social research in language learning in the past twenty years has been devoted to explore issues of identity construction and its sociological implications in terms of mobility and inclusiveness. There are a large number of studies on the areas of culture and identity, and how they relate to the investment and empowerment of language learners (Dörnyei, 2005; Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2011; Norton, 1997, 2000, 2013, 2015; Norton & Davin, 2015; Ushioda, 2011). Some of these have been pivotal in the development of identity research for the past two decades and have laid the foundation upon which further research has been done: Norton (1995) proposed her Classroom-Based Social Research, in which learners become ethnographers of sorts under the encouragement of teachers; Brunton and Jeffrey (2014) examined some of the factors that might lead to empowerment with foreign students in New Zealand (2013), Diaz, Cochran, and Karlin (2016) conducted a study in American classrooms to investigate the impact of teachers’ behavior and communication strategies on students’ achievement and feeling of empowerment, and more recently Howard (2018) investigated the impact of teachers’ attitudes in the construction of socio-cultural identities in African-American students. Such research has provided a wealth of insight and suggested practices, but in this researcher’s opinion they have come short in providing any definite answers as to how to implement them or the outcomes they might yield. The purpose of this paper is to shed new light on how the aforementioned dimensions of identity construction, empowerment and investment can result in greater social inclusion for second-language learners. The paper analyzes each dimension separately, provides a theoretical background that links them to language learning, and then discusses some possible implications for teachers and researchers on how to further recruit students’ investment and enhance their sense of empowerment and inclusion.
Using literature, more specifically poetry in English as F/L2 has grown over time. However, scholars disagree as to whether it makes any difference to language learning or what functions it serves. The purpose of this study is to examine what discourses poetry embodies, what identities it shapes, and whether it can confront dominant ideologies in English language textbooks in Pakistan. Based on Fairclough's dialectical-relational approach and Bakhtin's ideas on dialogism and heteroglossia, we analysed 12 Pakistani English language textbooks. Findings suggest poetry texts embody a variety of ideological themes, including linguistic sexism, nationalistic sentiments, and religious and spiritual ethos. These discourses tend to shape learners' identities. In addition, we also found references to poems that offer learners alternative perspectives and ways of being. In certain poems, for instance, curiosity, questioning, struggle, and recognising truth as a multifaceted entity are evident, allowing spaces for heteroglossia. Using these insights, teachers, curriculum developers and textbook writers will be able to better reflect on their pedagogical approaches and content embedded in textbooks to ensure justice, equality, and inclusion for students from a variety of socioeconomic, ethnic, and religious backgrounds. ARTICLE HISTORY
A recent surge in textbooks studies has revealed a closer link with neoliberalism and the way they construct neoliberal subjects. This paper uses Foucauldian governmentality as the conceptual lens to analyze the neoliberal discourses in EFL textbooks used in English Access Microscholarship (EAM)—one of the US‐aided global ELT programs in Pakistan. English language learners' views on course outcomes and textbooks were also examined. The study shows that among others, English as a neoliberal life skill, celebrity culture, consumerism, entrepreneurship, and individual and corporate social responsibility dominate textbooks. It is thus found that textbooks play an important role in neoliberalizing learners. Moreover, English language learners perceive English as a key to economic success. They also value consumerism, branding, and personal responsibility. In light of the study findings, we suggest a decolonial option, reflective activism, and post‐method pedagogy as possible alternatives at the micro‐, meso‐, and macro‐levels to resist the discourses of neoliberalism and colonial power patterns entrenched in a postcolonial society like Pakistan.
"Il y a eu une telle fertilisation réciproque des idées de la sémiotique de Saussure, centrée sur le code et le langage, et de la sémiotique inspirée par Peirce, qui est pragmatique et interprétative, qu'il est difficile de trouver aujourd'hui un sémioticien qui ne croit pas à la nécessité de développer une socio-sémiotique, interprétative et pragmatique ».
S'il fallait donner l'illustration de cette conception ouverte des avancées en sémiotique, l'ouvrage de Gunther Kress et Théo van Leeuwen : Reading Images - The Grammar of Visual Design, en serait
la meilleure preuve.
This book will be of interest to a broad readership, regardless of whether they have a background in sociolinguistics, functional linguistics or genre theories. It presents an accessible "meta-language" (i.e. a language for talking about language) that is workable and usable for teachers and researchers from both language and content backgrounds, thus facilitating collaboration across content and language subject panels. Chapters 1 to 3 lay the theoretical foundation of this common meta-language by critically reviewing, systematically presenting and integrating key theoretical resources for teachers and researchers in this field. In turn, Chapters 4 to 7 focus on issues in pedagogy and assessment, and on school-based approaches to LAC and CLIL, drawing on both research studies and the experiences of front-line teachers and school administrators. Chapter 8 provides a critical and reflexive angle on the field by asking difficult questions regarding how LAC and CLIL are often situated in contexts characterized by inequality of access to the linguistic and cultural capitals, where the local languages of the students are usually neglected or viewed unfavourably in relation to the L2 in mainstream society, and where teachers are usually positioned as recipients of knowledge rather than makers of knowledge. In closing, Chapter 9 reviews the state of the art in the field and proposes directions for future inquiry.
This is the first detailed description of a non-native variety of English known as Pakistani English (PE). The pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary of this variety have been described in some detail.
This is the first detailed study of the history of language policies and practices among the Muslims of north India and Pakistan. It begins with British language policies and then goes on to the policies of the state of Pakistan. The link between the use of language as a symbol of ethnic identity to resist the state's imposition of Urdu as the only national language if Pakistan is studied in detail with reference to the Bengali language movement, the Sindhi-Urdu controversy, the Siraiki movement, the Pashto movement, the language movements of Baluchistan and the Punjabi language movement. There is also a chapter on the Urdu-English controversy in education as well as the minor language movements of Pakistan.
This two-part volume provides a collection of 27 linguistic studies and contributions that shed light on the evolution of different Englishes world-wide (varieties, learner Englishes, dialects, creoles) from a broad spectrum of different perspectives, including both synchronic and diachronic approaches. What makes the volume unique is that it is the first-ever contribution to the field which includes a section exclusively commited towards testing, discussing and refining Schneider’s (2007) Dynamic Model against recent realities of English world-wide (Part 1). These realities include a wide variety of case studies ranging from regions (socio)linguistically as diverse as South Africa, the Phillipines, Cyprus or Germany. Part 2 goes beyond the Dynamic Model and offers both empirical and theoretical perspectives on the evolution of World Englishes. In doing so, it provides contributions with a theoretical focus on the topic as well as cross-varietal accounts; it sheds light on individual Englishes from different geographical regions and offers new perspectives on “old” varieties.
One way of thinking about ‘Englishes’ is to consider the English language as a repertoire of registers that vary depending on the context. A major contextual factor is the mode or medium being employed. The casual, fluid language characteristic of the spoken mode is very different from that of the heavily crafted, compressed written mode. In multilingual educational contexts, it is important that students are provided with support as they move along the continuum from oral interaction through to written academic texts. This chapter will examine the different linguistic demands of oral and written modes and how teachers can use the ‘mode continuum’ as a framework to sequence learning activities.
This is the first comprehensive account of the Appraisal Framework. The underlying linguistic theory is explained and justified, and the application of this flexible tool, which has been applied to a wide variety of text and discourse analysis issues, is demonstrated throughout by sample text analyses from a range of registers, genres and fields.
This paper critiques research methods used in current studies of syntax in World Englishes. In order to do so, we draw from the literature on China English to exemplify these issues. By critically reviewing current literature that documents syntactic features of China English, we show that the features described as those of China English fail to index the variety itself. This is, we argue, partly a consequence of the limitations of the research methods that were adopted in these studies. The paper identifies six main issues with research methodology used in current studies of World Englishes: (1) uniqueness; (2) register variation; (3) using norms of writing for describing oral texts; (4) insufficient sociolinguistic information; (5) stability and extent of use; and (6) problematic sources of data. The results of the meta-analysis presented in this paper can help us in reconsidering the methodological requirements for work in this area. The paper ends with a discussion of alternative ways to carry out research in World Englishes.
In this paper we will explore the nature of English as it is used in one Muslim country and argue that, far from being a colonizing language, English used in Pakistan reflects Islamic values and embodies South Asian Islamic sensitivities. Through analysis of the current discourses on the politics of the English language and a study of Pakistani English, a framework is developed that can be used to study the relationship between Islam and English in other contexts.
The Politics of Indians’ English: Linguistic colonialism and the expanding English empire
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