Region - Educational Research and Reviews

This study examines cultural representations in the junior secondary "Go For It" English textbooks using the FARCET framework and a social semiotic analysis of text–image relations. Results show that cultural items increase across grades, but non-specific and inner-circle (English-speaking) content dominates, while Chinese and other cultures are underrepresented. Most items focus on practices, with less attention to products, figures, or communities, aligning with a task-based teaching approach. Cultural presentation remains largely implicit, with images mainly supporting language learning rather than explicit cultural instruction. Teacher interviews underscore the practicality of multimodal resources, while also calling for clearer presentation of cultural differences between Chinese and foreign cultures, increased local content, and the use of more concise language. The study recommends diversifying cultural content and improving text–image integration to foster cultural awareness.