Global Englishes: Textbook Analysis and Teachers’ Perception

Abstract

This study investigated the manifestation of Global Englishes features in three English textbooks commonly used in the lower secondary schools of eastern Thailand. It further explored whether the teachers who used the textbooks were aware of the Global Englishes features manifested in the textbooks. The data revealed that Global Englishes features were primarily taken for granted when designing the three English textbooks. In contrast to the Global Englishes paradigm, the three English textbooks mainly represented the target interlocutors, ownership of English, and norms of English from ‘native’ English-speaking (NES) countries. Even though attempts were made to include some diversity regarding the target interlocutors, it was unbalanced distribution. However, cultural content in reading materials is found to be diversely represented. When exploring teachers’ perceptions of Global Englishes in the textbooks, it was revealed that they lacked knowledge about Global Englishes. They were aware of cultural diversities in the readings but did not try to discuss them with the students since they perceived reading skills as more important than cultural content. Implications for teacher professional development are discussed.