Evaluating English textbooks: A cultural matter

Globalization has brought about many changes to the concept of culture. One of those changes has been directly reflected on the way language is seen in the contexts of foreign language teaching. This article shows an exploration of how culture has been represented in an English textbook and the way this conception may build students’ perceptions about English speaking countries. The argumentation of this study is supported by the analysis of some excerpts taken from a recognized English textbook currently used in several institutions in Bogota, a survey that shows some teachers’ opinions about textbooks and the book under discussion and the way they evidence culture in them. This reflection searches for a general understanding on the ways teachers can critically evaluate culture in textbooks, therefore, discovering stereotyped visions of culture.