Abstract
UNESCO and local organizations raise concern over the threats towards Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) and continue their efforts to get help from any field possible for introducing ICH elements and raising awareness. Education is one of those fields. Considering the relation between culture and English language teaching, ICH can be incorporated into English classrooms. Besides, being the primary source of input in a language classroom, ELT coursebooks can serve as a bearer of culture. In this regard, this paper discusses the role of English language teaching coursebooks in the safeguarding of ICH by revealing the representation of ICH elements in locally produced coursebooks from 16 different countries: Bulgaria, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Norway, Republic of Korea, Romania, Türkiye, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. Findings from the study supported the idea that ELT coursebooks can be utilized as a medium for safeguarding ICH while improving the learners’ language skills.
Communities express their culture through traditional practices, which have a significant role in financial and social development (Scovazzi, 2019). Changes in all areas of life affect cultural activities. Migration experienced as a result of changing economic equilibrium has affected the continuation of various cultural practices in local contexts to a large extent, and the process of forming a single cultural mass, on which globalization has a great impact, causes the elements of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) to disappear gradually (Stefano et al., 2012). As pointed out in UNESCO (2003):
the processes of globalization and social transformation, alongside the conditions they create for renewed dialogue among communities, also give rise, as does the phenomenon of intolerance, to grave threats of deterioration, disappearance and destruction of the intangible cultural heritage, in particular owing to a lack of resources for safeguarding such heritage (para. 5)
Intangible cultural heritage refers to ‘the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills – as well as the instruments, objects, artefacts and cultural spaces associated therewith – that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage’ (UNESCO, 2003, Art.2.1). Despite its delicate nature, ICH has a significant role not only in the sustainability of cultural diversity under the threat of globalization but also in developing respect for the lifestyles of other communities (UNESCO, 2011b). As acknowledged by UNESCO (2011b, pp. 4–5), ICH has the following characteristics: ‘traditional, contemporary and living at the same time, inclusive, representative, and community-based’. Along with the other characteristics, Pillai and Achilles (2015, p. 15) add ‘respectful of human rights’ to the list. Based on its characteristics, the following comments can be stated: ICH does not only stand for cultural practices inherited from the past; it is a living heritage with continuous progression, with its inclusive nature. ICH enables a certain cultural practice to be owned by two or more communities, and it is community-dependent since its value and recognition depend on those who create, sustain and transfer the knowledge and skills to others (Pillai & Achilles, 2015; UNESCO, 2011b). Moreover, any practices or traditions jeopardizing the lives of people or the respect constructed within and among the communities is not considered as ICH (Pillai & Achilles, 2015).
By virtue of context-specific practices of various countries, safeguarding ICH is turning into a social and cultural movement on an international level with extensive effect (Yan & Chiou, 2021). As defined by Logan (2007, p. 33), ICH is a ‘heritage that is embodied in people rather than in inanimate objects’. Therefore, the survival of ICH practices depends mostly on preserving the connection between ICH and the practitioners (Stefano et al., 2012), and its immanent characteristic makes ICH rely on the individual or collective involvement of people to be sustained (Kim et al., 2019). Safeguarding is defined in UNESCO (2003) as ‘measures aimed at ensuring the viability of the intangible cultural heritage, including the identification, documentation, research, preservation, protection, promotion, enhancement, transmission, particularly through formal and non-formal education, as well as the revitalization of the various aspects of such heritage’ (Article 2.3). Being quite different from the ones taken for tangible heritage, measures to take for safeguarding ICH include learning ICH practices and transferring them to future generations (UNESCO, 2011b). As listed by Grant (2013, p. 11), ‘documenting cultural expressions at risk, building community capacity, creating learning and teaching resources, supporting education and transmission processes, lobbying for government action and support, raising public and scholarly awareness, organizing activities to strengthen cultural practices, and implementing revitalization strategies’ are some of the local-level steps to be taken for safeguarding ICH.
The efforts of UNESCO in terms of safeguarding ICH were initiated with Recommendation on the Safeguarding of Traditional Culture and Folklore in 1989, which provides a basis for the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (Oğuz, 2018; Pietrobruno, 2009) and continued through Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding. With the signature of Romania as the thirtieth State Party in 2006, the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (CSICH) came into effect three years after its approval by UNESCO (Logan, 2007). Safeguarding ICH has been a concern for a majority of the countries even before CSICH (Blake, 2017). Despite the increasing interest and endeavours of international communities and non-governmental organizations, globalization and social transformation still pose a threat to safeguarding ICH (UNESCO, 2003).
As acknowledged in CSICH, education is one of the fundamental measures for safeguarding ICH, and intergenerational transfer, lying at the core of the process, is itself a form of informal education (UNESCO, 2019). Traditionally, ICH was conveyed in a form of master–apprentice relationship within families or communities, but in modern times, formal education has replaced the traditional method and countries all over the world have been conducting projects to incorporate ICH into their educational systems (Labrador, 2022). Reestablishing the bond between schools and the communities they belong to, integration of ICH in education has the potential to enable students to learn different subjects and to appreciate the ICH of others along with their own (UNESCO, 2019). From a cross-curricular perspective, heritage can be used as a medium while teaching other subjects such as language and art (Copeland, 2006). Although ICH can be incorporated with any school subjects, the cooperation between ICH and language classrooms can be more efficient. Language is considered to be ‘a vehicle of the intangible cultural heritage’ (UNESCO, 2003, Article 2.2a). In addition to being a medium of communication, language reflects the cultural heritage created by its speakers (De Witte, 2020).
For more than half a century, the role of culture in foreign or second language learning has been in dispute (Weninger & Kiss, 2013). Although they are perceived as two different notions, language and culture cannot be expected to exist without the company of each other (Messekher, 2014). Nault (2006) defines the relation between the two notions as ‘two sides of the same coin’ (p. 314). The relation between language and culture is multifaceted and intricate (Risager, 2007). Language is one of the ways for culture to be ‘mediated, interpreted and recorded’ (Kramsch, 1995, p. 85). For language, culture is the most significant notion aside from the basic concepts: ‘language, learning, and teaching’ (Atkinson, 1999, p. 625). As claimed by many scholars, either in their native language or in a foreign language, there is a culture-based impact on the interpretation of the messages and self-expression of individuals (Nault, 2006). This connection between language and culture leaves learners no other choice but to become familiar with the culture of the language they are learning, to be able to reach a high level of proficiency (Nault, 2006). From a language socialization perspective, the two notions are not distinct and cannot be stated under different categories since they are acquired together (Mitchell et al., 2019).
Globalization, as a threat against ICH, gave a new direction to language teaching. The emergence of the multicultural nature of societies as a result of globalization has left English teachers no other choice but to integrate culture into teaching and consider the cultures their learners belong to (Kramsch & Hua, 2016). Along with the frequency and availability of intercultural encounters as a result of globalization and technology, the goal of language teaching has shifted to gaining intercultural communicative competence (Rodríguez & Espinar, 2015). Highlighting the changes resulting from the interaction between second or foreign language pedagogy and intercultural communication, Lee (2012) believes that pluricultural competences have found a solid ground within the objectives of language teaching. Although the place of the culture is well accepted, scholars have debated over which culture to teach and to include within the teaching material: target language culture, culture of the learners or intercultural context (Rashidi & Meihami, 2016). According to Weninger and Kiss (2013), cultural content within foreign or second language teaching has experienced three phases. During the first phase, dating between the 1950s and the 1990s, studies favoured target culture. With the second phase, during the 1990s, researchers questioned the possibility of target culture for English, and the discussions provided a base for the last phase focusing on interculturality (Weninger & Kiss, 2013). Being one of the supporters of interculturality in language teaching, Byram (2013, p. 60) simply answers the question of ‘which culture’ with these words: ‘any culture of any social group with which learners can be encouraged to interact’. In parallel, Kramsch and Hua (2016) claim that the cultural contexts in which it has been used have left their traces, and thus, it is not possible to label English as a culture-free language. As explained by Bernaus et al. (2007):
For today’s individual, it is important to be able to interact with people of other languages and cultures. Indeed that is what language education is all about: making languages a means of communication in the sense of a mode of openness and access to otherness: linguistic otherness, cultural otherness and otherness of identity. (p. 10)
According to Shin et al. (2011), not only the ELT curriculum but also the instructional materials should help learners to be culturally aware. Performing as ‘cultural mediators’, coursebooks contribute to the learners’ understanding of themselves and other communities (Ndura, 2004, p. 143). In fact, the main principle of coursebooks is teaching English through a content representing locales, individuals and traditions, and this content has never been culture-free (Stec, 2019). Moreover, we can also consider the coursebooks as the ‘products of cultures which produce them’ (Gray, 2010, p. 730). Thus, these instructional materials can be one of the best options for the State Parties, countries bound by CSICH, to be used as medium of introducing ICH to the present generation and those to come.
Considering the role of English as an international language, its importance within the curricula of the countries in the world and the relation between culture and foreign language learning, English can be one of the most relevant school subjects for the integration of ICH. EFL/ESL coursebooks have the capacity to function as a medium for conveying ideas about accepting other lifestyles, cultural heritage and faith (Mohammadnia & Moghadam, 2019). Despite the number of studies focusing on the cultural content of English teaching coursebooks (e.g., Dahmardeh & Kim, 2021; Messekher, 2014; Rashidi & Meihami, 2016; Rodríguez & Espinar, 2015; Sadeghi & Sepahi, 2018; Setyono & Widodo, 2019; Shin et al., 2011; Tajeddin & Teimournezhad, 2015; Thumvichit, 2018), ICH elements in ELT coursebooks have been relatively under-researched. The present study is an attempt to direct the attention of State Parties of CSICH, ELT textbook designers and writers, and the authorities in charge of material selection and approval to a possible relation between ELT coursebooks and safeguarding ICH. To this end, we analysed the content of locally produced ELT coursebooks from 16 different countries (Bulgaria, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Norway, Republic of Korea, Romania, Türkiye, Ukraine and Uzbekistan) with the intention to show that use of ICH elements within the content of coursebooks pertains to the nature of language teaching and learning as well as introducing ICH elements to the youth. It should be noted that the objective of the present study is not to criticize the coursebooks analysed. The aim here is to discuss how these instructional materials can be utilized for safeguarding ICH while using them for their main purpose of teaching English.
Method
Research design
Adopting a qualitative approach, the study was conducted through document analysis. Documents, as defined by Creswell (2012), can supply crucial data for the researchers to comprehend a phenomenon. In the present study, document analysis was chosen to reveal the representation of ICH domains within the content of English language coursebooks and to discuss the potential of these instructional materials to be used as a means of safeguarding ICH.
Data
Sixteen locally produced English coursebooks were chosen for the analysis (see Appendix 1). Locally produced materials are preferred because education ministries have more control over the content of those materials. We tried to reach as many coursebooks as possible to enrich the data and present a variety of contents from different contexts. Along with accessibility to the coursebooks, the countries were selected through the criterion of countries’ CSICH ratification/acceptance/approval status. The countries that accepted/ratified/approved CSICH were selected because their CSICH status, in a way, shows their awareness of the issue. Context and publication information of the coursebooks analysed are presented in Table 1, along with the date of deposit of instruments and number of elements in UNESCO ICH lists.
Context and publication information of the coursebooks analysed.
As presented in Table 1, coursebooks of different grades were chosen to add variety to the data. For the State Parties, dates of deposit of the instruments range from 2004 to 2013 and all of the countries selected have elements in UNESCO’s ICH lists (Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding and Register of Good Safeguarding Practices) ranging from three (Chile) to 43 (China) as of April 2023.
Framework for data analysis
Once electronic or hardcopies of the coursebooks were obtained, their contents and visuals were reviewed one by one. For the analyses, the explanations by Oğuz (2018), Rusalić (2009) and UNESCO (2011a) on the domains of ICH constituted a base. In Article 2 of UNESCO (2003), the domains of ICH are listed as: ‘(a) oral traditions and expressions, including language as a vehicle of the intangible cultural heritage; (b) performing arts; (c) social practices, rituals and festive events; (d) knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe; (e) traditional craftsmanship’. Being one of the definable domains (Oğuz, 2018), oral traditions and expressions embraces a variety of spoken forms such as ‘proverbs, riddles, tales, nursery rhymes, legends, myths, epic songs and poems, charms, prayers, chants, songs, dramatic performances and more’ (UNESCO, 2011a, p. 4). Besides their significance for keeping the cultures alive, oral traditions and expressions are the key elements to convey the value, knowledge and collective memory to the generations to come (Rusalić, 2009; UNESCO, 2011a). There is a reciprocal relationship between languages and oral traditions and expressions and two of the parties in this relation can be safeguarded with the help of one another (Rusalić, 2009). The performing arts domain encompasses ‘vocal and instrumental music, dance and theatre to pantomime, sung verse and beyond’ (UNESCO, 2011a, p. 6). The domain also includes the special costumes or accessories, instruments and the place associated with the performances (Rusalić, 2009). The elements involved within other domains must be performed to be listed in this domain (Oğuz, 2018). Reflecting the practitioners’ perspective of the world, their past and reminiscence, social practices, rituals and festive events involve activities related to important events and have a key role in resuming the identity of the communities (UNESCO, 2011a). Social practices, rituals and festive events can be defined as the most complex domain of ICH since its elements are related to all the other domains (Oğuz, 2018). Some of these activities can be listed as: ‘birth, wedding and funeral rituals; oaths of allegiance; traditional legal systems; traditional games and sports; kinship and ritual kinship ceremonies; settlement patterns; culinary traditions; seasonal ceremonies; practices specific to men or women only; hunting, fishing and gathering practices’ (UNESCO, 2011a, p. 11). It is one of the domains affected by and due to the modernization accompanying migration and individualization since it requires extensive involvement from the members of the communities (Rusalić, 2009). Being the base of the other domains, the knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe domain contains ‘indigenous knowledge, traditional ecological wisdom, ethno zoology, ethno botany, ethno biology, cuisine, rituals, then traditional healing systems and pharmacopeias, initiatory rites, esoteric sciences, beliefs, cosmogonies, festivals, languages, and last, but not the least, visual arts’ (Rusalić, 2009, p. 29). The last domain of ICH, traditional craftsmanship can be expressed in a variety of ways such as ‘clothing and jewellery; costumes and props for festivals and performing arts; storage containers, objects used for storage, transport and shelter; decorative art and ritual objects; musical instruments and household utensils, and toys, both for amusement and education’ (UNESCO, 2011a, p. 14). It should be noted that these domains could overlap within a single ICH practice; for instance, a ritual may contain elements from performing arts, oral traditions and expressions, and traditional craftsmanship through dances, songs and traditional clothes (Pillai & Achilles, 2015). During the analyses, UNESCO’s ICH lists were also referred to in order to categorize the data.
Findings
Verbal and visual representation of ICH in English coursebooks
The texts, dialogues, activities and visuals in the selected coursebooks were analysed and classified in line with the ICH domains. During the analyses, every item was counted for once regardless of its verbal or visual repetition. After the analyses, the findings were tabulated (see Table 2) and supported with exemplars. It should be pointed out that the coursebooks did not present ICH elements simply stating their names or showing their pictures; in some of the coursebooks, there were also activities, questions and projects to engage students with ICH.
Verbal and visual representation of ICH in English coursebooks analysed.
As can be understood from Table 2, ICH-related elements have already been included, to some extent, verbally or visually within the content of ELT coursebooks analysed. The first domain, oral traditions and expressions, appeared through legends, myths or folktales (i.e., Navajo legends (p. 60) in Ac7, Legend of Gelert (pp. 28–29) in Ex6, Maya creation myth (p. 54) in MSE3, Indonesian folktale Sangkuriang (p. 132) in BITGAL9), poems (i.e., traditional Japanese haiku (p. 135) in EF1), proverbs (i.e., Whanganui proverb (p. 175) in EF1, Danish proverb (p. 11) in UE8, and Indian proverb (p. 23) in HSE3), rhymes (i.e., BCV, p. 6, TE6, p. 10), songs (i.e., reference to classic Uzbek songs (p. 6) in TE6), and greetings (how men and women greet each other in Uzbekistan and Europe (p. 78) in TE6).
The second domain, performing arts, was displayed through folk music (i.e., Cajun music Zydeco (p. 153) in Ac7, vallenato music, reggae and merengue (p. 69) in EP1), folk dance (Maori Haka dance (p. 61) in EP1 and (p. 78) in HSE3, traditional Indian dances bhangra, dandiya and bihu (p. 33) in BCV, Tal Chum and Cheoyongmu (p. 139) in MSE3, Chinese lion dance (p. 33) in TiM2 and (p. 64) in HSE3 and traditional Turkish dance horon (p. 78) in UE8), and folk theatre (i.e., Jatra, tamasha and nautanki (p. 35) in BCV).
The third domain, social practices, rituals and festive events, was represented through festivals, carnivals and celebrations (i.e., Shogatsu, Setsubun, Hanami and Shichigosan (p. 132) in NHEC3, Notting Hill Carnival (pp. 24–25), Eisteddfod (p. 55) and Joie de vivre festival (p. 153) in Ac7, cheese rolling festival (p. 58) in LME8, Saraswati Puja (p. 55) in BCV, Chinese Lantern festival (p. 2), Coming of age day (p. 2), La Tomatina (p. 6), Chongyang festival (p. 10), Laba festival (p. 11) and Obon festival (p. 61) in HSE3, Kırkpınar wrestling and cultural events (p. 147) in UE8, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Hogmanay (p. 57), the day of rose (p. 61) in HE4, Burns Night (p. 141) in NBB8 and (p. 231) in Eng8, Chinese Full Moon (p. 57) in EF1), ceremonies (i.e., cukur jambul (p. 52), Iban child naming ceremony (p. 54), newborn ceremony in Jamaica (p. 59) and mundan (p. 62) in EF1, Uzbek (p. 9) and British (p. 10) wedding ceremonies in TE6), and traditional sports, martial arts and games (i.e., shogi (p. 18) and sumo (p. 19) in NHEC3, Chinese chess and Tai Chi (p. 32) in HSE3 and karate (p. 24) in UE8 and (p. 59) in LME8).
The fourth domain, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe, was included within the content of the coursebooks mostly through the names and visuals of traditional dishes (i.e., taco and sushi (p. 9) in TiM2, cholao, ajiaco, lechona (p. 88) in EP1, Ang Ku (p. 57) and nasi lemak (p. 189) in EF1, palov (p. 44) in TE6, haggis (p. 140) in NBB8, arancini and polpette (p. 114), black pudding and shepherd’s pie (p. 123) in LME8, bakso (p. 30), gorengan (p. 102) and pempek (p. 147) in BITGAL9, Washoku, traditional dietary cultures of Japanese, (p. 11) in NHEC3, yuanxiao (p. 12) and gumbo (p. 26) in HSE3, migas or salmorejo (p. 75), tteokbokki (p. 28), bibimbap (p. 29), madeleines (p. 36), gimchi (p. 58) and japchae (p. 63) in MSE3, and kuymak (p. 78) in UE8). Other elements within this domain were folk architecture (i.e., Bulgarian houses (p. 52) in HE4, Kinka-kuji (p. 50) in NHEC3, hogan (p. 61) and visuals of Wampanoag Indians and Plymouth houses (p. 108) in Ac7, and traditional wooden architecture, daemokjang, (p. 136) in MSE3), and traditional healing systems (i.e., yoga (p. 111) in EP1 and (p. 46) in MSE3 and traditional Chinese herbal medicine (p. 32) in HSE3).
The last domain, traditional craftsmanship, found itself a place through clothing and jewellery (i.e., Native American clothes and jewellery (p. 67) in Ac7, hanbok (p. 139) in MSE3, tartan and kilt (p. 140) in NBB8 and (pp. 230–231) in Eng8, ulos (p. 150) in BITGAL9, clothes of Miao and Bouyei people (p. 31) in HSE3, and yukata (p. 133) in NHEC3), adornment (i.e., Maori tattoo Ta moko (p. 78) in HSE3), decorative art and ritual objects (smiling face, peace pipe, cow skull (p. 67) in Ac7, kolam (p. 4) in EF1, payung geulis (p. 151) in BITGAL9, dreamcatcher (p. 170) in TiM2, Tal Chum masks (p. 139) in MSE3, Koi-nobori (p. 19) and ema (p. 133) in NHEC3), folk painting (i.e., Munjado (p. 141) in MSE3 and ukiyo-e (p. 6) in NHEC3), toys (i.e., congkak (p. 63) and gasing (p. 73) in EF1, motanka doll (p. 4) in Eng8), musical instruments (i.e., sitar, table, sarangi (p. 35) in BCV, angklunk (p. 149) in BITGAL9, bagpipes (p. 140) in NBB8, geomungo (p. 142) in MSE3, shamisen (p. 35) and taiko (p. 70) in NHEC3 and tamburitza (p. 169) in Eng8), and objects used for storage, transport and shelter (i.e., Edirne wickerwork basket (p. 147) in UE8, noken (p. 150) in BITGAL9, Onggi (p. 137) in MSE3, Maori watercraft waka (p. 78) in HSE3 and furoshiki (p. 7) in NHEC3).
Some of the ICH elements presented within the content of the coursebooks are inscribed on the UNESCO’s ICH lists (i.e., cheoyongmu, kırkpınar wrestling festival, yoga, reggae, vallenato, bagpipe, gimchi and washoku). Verbal and visual representations of ICH elements within the locally published coursebooks do support the idea of using ELT coursebooks as a means of safeguarding ICH since the materials analysed harmonized language teaching and raising cultural heritage awareness by incorporating ICH elements belonging to various communities into their contents.
Discussion and conclusion
Safeguarding ICH has become a global case requiring the participation of multiple fields of society in the process (Yan & Chiou, 2021). Globalization creates a world of uniformity, a fixed and biased picture of culture, and eventually devalues cultural diversity, and in order to prevent this process of elimination, we need to safeguard ICH, which is intrinsically diverse and unique (Lenzerini, 2011). Mentioning the significance of ICH for cultural diversity, UNESCO (2015, p. 2) emphasizes the role of ICH in sustainable development and explains how ICH could contribute to ‘the tree dimensions — economic, social and environmental — of sustainable development’, addressed within ‘The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’. In order to safeguard ICH, it is crucial to sustain its feature as living heritage and convey ‘its different shades and colors to future generations’ (Lenzerini, 2011, p. 120). ICH owes its value to community practices, and education is a key element for transferring ICH from the past into the future (Pillai & Achilles, 2015). When we consider the generations to come to be the next owners of cultural properties, it becomes more and more important to come up with educational practices for the sustainability of cultural heritage (Goodarzparvari & Camejo, 2018). As emphasized in the 14th article of UNESCO (2003), every State Party should strive for the acknowledgement and safeguarding of ICH through formal and non-formal educational practices for their society members, especially for youth. Related literature also draws attention to the relation between education and safeguarding ICH. According to Kutlu (2009), a folk culture course has become a part of the curriculum in formal education in the Turkish context as a selective course starting from the 2006–07 academic year, and this course should be perceived as a means of raising awareness towards cultural heritage as well as a concrete step in implementing CSICH. Promoting a model for setting priorities and effectively funding utilization in the sustainability of ICH, Grant (2013) lists designing instructional materials and promoting educational activities among the local-level attempts. Moreover, Kasapoğlu Akyol (2016) suggests that the integration of ICH into the formal education curricula should not be limited to the folk culture course and draws attention to the points of training teachers in terms of ICH and utilizing educational technologies for permanent learning. Lastly, Aral (2022) underscores how pre-eminent education is for transferring ICH to the generations to come and suggests the elimination of educational challenges as much as possible and to embrace constant and compendious micro-level and macro-level practices.
For the majority of English teachers in the world, coursebooks have remained as a primary teaching material in spite of technological advancements (Richards, 2014). There is no other school subject controlled by coursebooks more than language teaching; it is even seen as the syllabus itself (Appel, 2011). Providing the learning outcomes, content and teaching methods for the teachers, a coursebook creates a coherent structure (Richards, 2014). Coursebooks can enlighten learners about the target language, direct the language practice, present different usages of language, motivate learners to use it and facilitate discoveries about language (Tomlinson, 2012). All these functions foreground the characteristic of coursebooks as ‘curriculum artefacts’, but they are concomitantly a ‘cultural artefact’ presenting ‘particular ways of being, particular varieties of language and ways of using language, and particular sets of values’ (Gray, 2013, p. 3). In other words, as well as language skills, coursebooks provide learners with a slice of life from different societies (Risager, 2021). It is not quite possible to develop cultural awareness within the classroom without using an instructional material which helps learners to overcome some prejudices about their own and other cultures (Kumaravadivelu, 2008). As mentioned by Risager (2021), ‘language textbooks are not only tools for learning a specific language, they also serve as windows to the world’ (p. 130). By utilizing this reflective feature, we can employ these instructional materials as one of the tools for documenting, introducing and eventually safeguarding ICH. Teaching English and safeguarding ICH can be employed together with the help of efficient material, not necessarily printed because digital coursebooks can also be utilized for safeguarding ICH with their customizable content. It would be fair to add digital coursebooks into the discussion, considering their rising popularity and advantages, and the status of the future generations as digital natives. Digital coursebooks present a variety of instructional resources and can be changed in line with the learners’ needs (Joo et al., 2017). According to Gadomska and Krajka (2018, p. 176), they provide ‘interactive individualization, language immersion, instant practice and feedback. Moreover, they are plastic/flexible enough to be adjusted to the demands of users, groups, time and mode’. A coursebook with cultural values embedded can be effective for the motivation and participation of language learners while raising awareness of the self and others (Toppo & Rahman, 2021). Thus, bringing the themes related to ICH into the classroom and conducting relevant activities through coursebooks, printed or digital, can provide great opportunities for the introduction and transferring of ICH elements to the future generations while improving language skills.
As the findings of the present study indicate, ICH has already attained a place within the contents of locally published ELT coursebooks from various contexts. It is not possible to be sure whether it was the conscious effort of the authors or not because the majority of the elements revealed through the analyses are not specifically titled or mentioned as ICH, but still the coursebooks analysed present elements from local and global ICH. Based on the findings of the study, some implications for State Parties to incorporate ICH into language education can be listed. First, a deliberate attempt should be made to include ICH in the content of ELT coursebooks for all levels. National coursebooks are prepared and evaluated in line with the guidelines determined by the department or ministry of education. For some countries, through these guidelines, the ministry of national education has the last word in the process and has overall control over the content (Richards, 2014). In this regard, State Parties can revise the evaluation criteria set for their locally published coursebooks, requiring the involvement of ICH elements within the content and raising awareness towards the issue. This also requires the reorganization of learning outcomes defined for English language teaching within the national curricula. Along with those related to language skills, learning outcomes for ICH should be added to English language teaching curricula. Second, just like some of the coursebooks analysed within the present study, the materials to be prepared can include elements from UNESCO’s lists of ICH, or coursebook writers and all the other parties involved within the coursebook development process can take those lists as a base in order to decide which ICH elements to include. Third, attention should be paid to a prorated distribution of ICH domains within the content. As the findings of the present study revealed, the knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe domain was the mostly represented ICH domain within the content of the coursebooks. Coursebook writers should endeavour to distribute the domains in a balanced way. Fourth, as well as the coursebook itself, the supplementary materials like teachers’ guides should be utilized. As detailed in the title of formal and non-formal education means of Operational Directives for CSICH by UNESCO (2020), State Parties could find ways to strengthen the ICH knowledge of teachers and provide manuals to them to this end. By utilizing the teachers’ guides within English coursebook sets, information about ICH domains and alternative activities or tasks to bring ICH into the classroom context can be provided to English teachers. Lastly, a variety of attractive activities on ICH, interesting and appropriate to the age group, should be designed. State Parties are encouraged to find ways to engage the teens of their community in learning and spreading information about ICH (UNESCO, 2020). To this end, coursebooks should include projects or tasks, expecting learners to research ICH elements of their own community or others to engage them with ICH. In this way, English coursebooks and their supplementary materials may function as a means of conveying ICH knowledge to the generations to come and ensuring the acknowledgement, appreciation and enhancement of ICH.
Social, cultural or political ideologies are intrinsic parts of the curriculum and language coursebooks (Kirkgöz, 2020). Pointing out the relation between ideology and language learning and coursebooks, Curdt-Christiansen and Weninger (2015, p. 4) claim that coursebooks ‘represent the authorized “official” texts that often have an overt or covert agenda to promote/demote certain cultural values and ideologies’. Additionally, coursebook publishing is a market, and the political or cultural content of these materials are specified in line with the reactions of ‘powerful groups’ or populated states (Apple, 2019). Coursebooks’ presenting cultural diversity and the daily life of the students is a requirement for effective language teaching and learning (Ndura, 2004). The main concern here is that schools are the places for creating mutual understanding and cultural diversity, but coursebooks can impede or support this process (UNESCO, 2017). Despite the power of these instructional materials, the related literature has not concentrated enough on the politics of culture behind the development and publishing process of the coursebooks (Kramsch & Vinall, 2015). As worded by Apple (2014, p. 47), ‘little attention has actually been paid to that one artifact that plays such a major role in defining whose culture is taught: the textbook’. Thus, we need coursebook evaluation studies to minimize the negative effect of the distorted content (Ndura, 2004).
The present study is limited to ESL/EFL coursebooks, specifically the ones analysed within the study. It was not possible for us to reach a locally produced ELT coursebook from every country. Thus, we set the availability of printed or online copies of the coursebooks as a criterion for the selection process. Further studies with coursebooks from different contexts can be considered. Additionally, we only focused on students’ books within the coursebook packages. Further studies can be conducted to analyse teacher packs, workbooks and audio/video recordings in terms of presenting ICH elements along with other instructional materials. As mentioned, the present study is limited to the field of English as a second/foreign language. We need further studies from fields such as native language, social sciences and art to raise awareness of the issue with a cross-curricular perspective. Moreover, the present study handled the issue from the perspective of material evaluation. Researchers can also focus on the material development side. Digital and printed materials can be developed to engage students with ICH through both in-class and outdoor practices.
Footnotes
Appendix 1. Locally published English coursebooks analysed
Bulgaria: Koleva, E., & Stavreva, E. (2019). Hello! English textbook for 4th grade – New Edition. Prosveta Publishing House
Chile: Jantus, L. M. A. (2018). Teens in Motion 2. Ediciones Cal y Canto
China: Wallace, P., Miller, S. H., McCue, S., Yoshioka, E., Xiao, Fei, Linlin, Z., Xu, Zhuo, Zhuang, & Li (2019). 高一英语必修第三册 [High School English Vol. 3]. People’s Education Press
Colombia: Chappell, P., Gutiérrez, M. I, Hadland, T., Langton, A., Lane, A., Rincón, L., & Martínez, L. T. P. U. (2016). English, please! 1. Ministry of National Education
Crotia: Čajo Anđel, K., & Knezović, A. (2014). New Building Bridges 8. Profil Klett.
Germany: Harger,L, Niemitz-Rossant, C., Seidl, J., & Toal, E. (2019). Access 7. Cornelsen Verlag
India: Department of School Education & West Bengal Board of Primary Education (2017). Butterfly Class V. West Bengal textbook corporation.
Indonesia: Wachidah, S., Gunawan A., & Diyantari. (2018). Bahasa Inggris Think globally act locally 9. Ministry of Education and Culture
Japan: Tokyo Shoseki. (2015). New Horizon English course 3. Tokyo Shoseki
Republic of Korea: Yoon, J. Lee, H., Song, H., Yeom, M., Jin, S., Jang, S., & Sundeen, G. P. (2019). Middle School English 3. Dong-A Publishing
Malaysia: Bien, T. H., Lian, T. B., Parasuraman, R., & Azman, A. A. B. (2016). English Form 1. Penerbitan Pelangi Sdn. Bhd.
Norway: Edwards, E. M. T., Omland, T., Royer, I., & Solli, V.A. (2016). Explore: My textbook 6. Gyldendal.
Romania: Trut’ă, C., Mircea, C., & Putinei, L. (2020). Limba modernă 1 Engleză clasa a VIII a. Ministry of Education and Research
Türkiye: Tıraş, B. (2018). Upswing English 8. Tutku Publishing
Ukraine: Каrpyuk, O. (2021). English 8. Libra-Terra
Uzbekistan: Khan, S., Kamalova, L., & Jurayev, L. (2018). Teens’ English 6. Uzbekistan NMIU