The inclusion of cultural elements in English as Foreign Language (EFL) textbooks is critically important because language and culture are deeply intertwined. Teaching language without its cultural context can lead to superficial learning and hinder communicative competence. This paper examines the target-culture content embedded in three EFL textbooks authored by the Tunisian Ministry of Education and used in public schools nationwide. It employs a modified version of a multi-category target-culture checklist to study the distribution of cultural elements in the three public-school textbooks in terms of three variables: (1) the cultural category they belong to (Big ‘C’ vs. small ‘c’), (2) the formal-presentation type they are embedded in (text vs. image), and (3) the language skill they are associated with. The quantitative analysis of the data collected with the three parts of the checklist shows that the three textbooks consistently include higher references to Big ‘C’ elements than to small ‘c’ elements; the visual illustrations accompanying the written input bear more consistent references to formal institutional aspects of the target culture than to abstract attitudinal and behavioral aspects; and the input presented in reading and speaking activities tends to develop awareness about the target culture in ways different from the input presented in listening and writing activities. These findings imply that the cultural input presented in the textbooks would have a limited impact on developing learner’s intercultural competence, and teachers may need to supplement textbook content with additional activities that foster deeper and more authentic cultural understanding.
Ezzeddine Saidi (2025) studied this question.