Abstract

The spread of English as a global language has resulted in several changes, which challenge the foundations of how language should be taught and learned. To match today‘s sociolinguistic realities, researchers have called for a paradigm shift from the traditional pedagogy to a new pedagogy that can prepare students to use English in international communication involving different varieties of English and its cultures. The purposes of this study are (1) to investigate the aspects of target interlocutors, and (2) to investigate cultural depictions as reflected in three selected English textbooks, which are currently used in lower secondary level (Grade 7) in Thailand. Three English textbooks are purposively selected as the samples of this study. Data is collected from the communication practice tasks (e.g., conversation dialogues, emails, and letters) and the contents of the reading passages, and articles in the textbooks. The Galloway's and Rose's (2018) GELT framework and Kachru's (1992) Three Circles Model are used to analyse data. The findings reveal that the textbooks mostly represent the target interlocutors from Native English users. With regards to the aspect of cultural depiction, the findings reveal that various cultures from all three circles are represented in these textbooks. The findings suggest that the English textbooks that which are currently used in Thai EFL context are likely to rely on the traditional ELT in the aspect of the target interlocutors. However, the depiction of cultural aspects in the textbooks corresponds more to the GELT concept with regards to the promotion of learners from different cultures across circles.

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