DECOLONIZING THE ELT TEXTBOOK: REPRESENTATIONS OF PAKISTANI CULTURE IN LOCALLY PUBLISHED MATERIALS

Abstract

The increased attention given to English Language Teaching (ELT) calls on the use of textbooks in a wide scale around the world. However, the portrayal of non-Western cultures such as Pakistani culture in ELT materials is a less-explored aspect in educational research. The purpose of this study is to explore how Pakistani locally published English language teaching (ELT) textbooks represent Pakistani culture and the consequences of these representations for decolonizing ELT practices. This paper makes a critical review of the content of some ELT textbooks used in Pakistani schools and reveals the ways such materials do or do not draw on authentic local cultural narratives as well as challenge colonial legacies entrenched in global ELT resources. The results show that although some textbooks initiate inclusion of Pakistani culture there, the representation is usually very elementary and lacks a realistic or subtle depiction. 9 This research highlights the need for a move in the direction of education that is more culturally significant, locally informed teaching materials which enfranchise students through representing their own identities and experience.
Keywords: Decolonization, ELT, Pakistani culture, textbook analysis, cultural representation, local materials.