Attitude of Qatari Students towards the Cultural Content of Q: Skills for Success Textbooks

The increasing demand of English language learning among different nations and different cultural backgrounds of learners has created the need for an appropriate English language learning textbooks with a variety of cultural contexts. One of the popular textbooks in Qatari educational institutions is the English language textbook series "Q: Skills for Success". The application of such international teaching resources in regional settings, especially concerning cultural relevance and student involvement, is a topic of intense discussion and interest. The way students look at the cultural content of these teaching materials and respond to them offers important insights about Qatar, a nation with a rich cultural legacy and a fast-changing educational environment. Considering Qatari students' attitudes towards the cultural content of these textbooks is important because this factor can immensely affect their learning process. This current study is conducted for the purpose of investigating the Qatari students' attitudes towards the cultural content of the English language textbook "Q: Skills for Success". This textbook is used to teach English language to the foundation program students at the Community College of Qatar (CCQ). The study aims to make educators and textbooks’ authors more conscious of the necessity for these textbooks to accurately represent an appropriate cultural content. This cultural content is expected to facilitate learning English by attracting the attention of learners and it is expected not to conflict with their traditions. The research involves collecting data from a random representative sample of students from the English Language Center (ELC) or what is known as the Foundation program at CCQ. The study sample consisted of 50 male and female students who are enrolled in the pre intermediate level. Q: Skills for Success is used to teach the pre intermediate level which is the reason for selecting all of the participants only from this level. Due to the nature of this research, the study adopted the quantitative technique. To collect data from the sample a Likert scale questionnaire was designed. SPSS was then used to analyze the collected data. The results of the study demonstrate the intricate relationship that exists between students' local cultural identities and how they perceive the target language culture that the textbooks present. Most students expressed their desire for more extensive integration of Qatari local cultural content, even though they appreciated other cultures and expressed their will to meet with people of diverse cultures. These results highlight a gap in the current cultural content of the educational materials between the representation of target language cultural content and the preference of the local one. The findings of the research have significant implications for educators, policymakers, and EFL textbook writers. EFL textbooks and other Instructional materials need to be monitored by more specialized representatives from the countries these textbooks are designed for. Also, they need to further represent the local cultural content. This research contributes to the broader literature of English language teaching and cultural representation in EFL textbooks, particularly in the context of Qatar and other Arab countries.