Today's class focused on how textbooks and materials are evaluated and chosen. many times the selection of the textbooks is not up to the teacher. When we have the oportunity to select books we consider things like appropriateness for the level, inclution of activities that are inline with adopted methodology, how current the material is, etc.
The proposition is that we should also take into account how the material incorporates cultural elements, whether it does it conscionsly or unconsciously. Books might be insensitive to different cultures or they might be centered on one particular culture. Textbooks might assume that students know a lot more about the target culture than they actually do or should.
So what are the characteristics of a good book when it comes to including cultural information. The following list of questions were brainstormed and may provide a clue.
Choosing a textbook: questionnaire (part 4)
Is the textbook culturally sensitive?
- Does the textbook include images of local sites or people? Does the textbook include images from a viriety of sites?
- Are there any text passages written by local writers? Are there any passages written about local experiences?
- Does the textbook include contrasting scenes from different cultures?
- Does the textbook show variety in english usage, (not just from one english speaking country)?
- Does the textbook include activities that ask students to contrast material with their own culture?
- Does the textbook include suggestions for teachers on incorporating local cultural elements?
- Does the textbook try to make as few assumptions as possible when it comes to cultural knowledge students should have?
- Does the textbook try to stay away from stereotypes?
- Does the textbook include explicit sections to promote cultural awareness?
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