Teaching Source, Target, and International Cultures: A Case Study of the Books of English Prescribed by the Sindh Textbook Board

This study analyses the representation of three cultural materials in books of English published and prescribed by the Sindh Textbook Board for students of grades one to ten, to determine if the books include materials from different cultures and promote intercultural competence. This study is conducted from the vantage point of Cortazzi and Jin’s (1999) model of inclusion of three types of cultural material, i.e., source, target, and international cultures in EFL curriculum for developing intercultural competence. The Process Model of Intercultural Competence by Deardorff (2006) has been employed to analyse how an in-depth understanding of various cultures produces informed, enlightened, progressive, and moderate individuals with global insight, diversified outlook, multicultural understanding, and transnational demeanour. The content analysis of the qualitative data reviewed from the English Books of grades one to ten focuses on identifying the inclusion of material representing the three levels of cultures and the promotion of intercultural competence. The study finds that the prescribed books do not gradually, systematically, and consistently present material on the three types of cultures to develop cross-cultural awareness among learners. As a result, the books remain inadequate in promoting intercultural competence, co-existential prevalence, and global outlook.