Culture & Cross-/Intercultural Literacies & Communication Research Paper (25 mins)
An Investigation into the Promotion of Cultural Awareness in Locally Produced English Learning Materials in Thailand
This research evaluated the extent to which two series of in-house English textbooks in Thailand, New Weaving It Together and Moving Up Critical Reading, enhance cultural awareness among different learners. A three-level model of cultural awareness established by Baker (2011) was adopted as a framework to analyze the content of the selected materials. We descriptively analyzed 120 reading passages and 150 reading exercises in total. The agreement between the two raters was almost perfect. Overall, the content of the New Weaving It Together series has more significant potential to increase cultural awareness at basic and advanced levels as opposed to that of the Moving Up Critical Reading series. We suggested that reading passages and exercises in locally-produced ELT materials should integrate content focusing on different traditional or cultural aspects and knowledge across disciplines or subjects. These include stories about science, technology, and geography, enhancing intercultural sensitivity and awareness.
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Yossiri Yossatorn is a full-time lecturer at Navamindradhiraj University, Bangkok, Thailand and a Ph.D candidate in Digital Learning and Education at National Taiwan University of Science and Technology. His research interests lie in the area of teaching and learning education, pedagogical technology, social media and information sharing, attitudes, metaphors, and language and culture. Reach me at "yossir@nmu.ac.th" It is a pleasure to meet you all!