Deconstruction of Cultural Knowledge and Ideologies in Saudi Arabia Secondary School English Language Textbook Series

Abstract

School textbooks are expected to reflect a country's culture, history, and values. In the Saudi Arabian context, international publishers are assigned to produce English language textbooks, which may have adverse consequences. Thus, this research aims to examine how dominant cultural, political, economic, and social interests might be promoted or neglected in two international textbook series, Traveller and Mega Goal. Utilising methods of Critical Discourse Analysis, the findings of this research reveal that the Traveller textbooks emphasise tourism discourse while the Mega Goal textbooks promote entrepreneurship. In addition, both textbooks disseminate environmental issues without sufficient representation of Saudi culture and values