Abstract
This chapter shows to which extent two textbooks published by one of the leading publishers in the Philippines realize their goal of promoting a more critical approach to reading. Guided by the principles of critical literacy, content analysis reveals that despite the wide range of universally acknowledged values covered in the textbook, not all of them are necessarily relevant to the target audience. Also, it was found that the processing questions and activities remain limited to low order comprehension questions and language exercises, with few opportunities for users of the textbook to engage more fully with the values of the text or challenge ways of thinking embedded in the material despite the seemingly critical perspective preface that frames the series.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Bautista, M., Bernardo, A., & Ocampo, D. (2008/2009). When reforms don’t transform: reflections on institutional reforms in the department of education, (HDH Discussion Paper Series No. 2). Retrieved from Human Development Network website: hdn.org.ph/wp-content/uploads/2009/../dp02_bautista_etal.pdf.
Behrman, E. (2006). Teaching about language, power, and text: A review of classroom practices that support critical literacy. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 49, 490–498.
Case, R., Ndura, E., & Righettini, M. (2005). Balancing linguistic and social needs: Evaluating texts using a critical language awareness approach. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 48, 374–391.
Freire, P. (1988). Editor’s introduction. In H. Giroux (Ed.), Teachers as intellectuals: Toward a critical pedagogy of learning (pp. xxvii–xxxviii). New York: Bergin & Garvey.
Hammond, J., & Macken-Horarik, M. (1999). Critical literacy: Challenges and questions for ESL classrooms. TESOL Quarterly, 33, 528–544.
Huang, S. Y. (2009). EFL reading through a critical literacy perspective. English Teaching & Learning, 33(3), 51–93.
Huang, S. Y. (2011a). Critical literacy helps wipe away the dirt on our glasses: Towards an understanding of reading as ideological practice. English Teaching: Practice and Critique, 10(1), 140–164.
Huang, S. Y. (2011b). Reading ‘further and beyond the text’: Student perspectives of critical literacy in EFL reading and writing. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 55, 145–154.
Janks, H. (2012). The importance of critical literacy. English Teaching: Practice and Critique, 11(1), 150–163.
Janks, H., Dixon, K., Ferreira, A., Granville, S., & Newfield, D. (2014). Doing critical literacy: Texts and activities for students and teachers. London/New York: Routledge.
Kuo, J. (2007). Taiwanese freshmen’s responses to critical-literacy English instruction. The International Journal of the Humanities, 5(4), 1–11.
Leland, C., Ociepka, A., & Kuonen, K. (2012). Reading from different interpretive stances: In search of a critical perspective. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 55, 428–437.
Locke, T., & Cleary, A. (2011). Critical literacy as an approach to literary study in the multicultural, high-school classroom. English Classroom: Practice and Critique, 10(1), 119–139.
Luke, A., & Freebody, P. (1999). A map of possible practices: Further notes on the four resources model. Practically Primary, 4(2), 5–8.
Luke, A., O’Brien, J., & Comber, B. (2001). Making community texts objects of study. In H. Fehring & P. Green (Eds.), Critical literacy: A collection of articles from the Australian literacy Educators’ Association (pp. 112–123). Newark: International Reading Association.
Martin, I. (2002). Pedagogy: Practices of American colonial educators in the Philippines. Kritika Kultura, 1, 90–100.
McLaughlin, M., & De Voogd, G. (2004). Critical literacy as comprehension: Expanding reader response. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 48(1), 52–62.
Merriam, S. B. (2009). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Nunan, D., & Bailey, C. (Eds.). (2009). Exploring second language classroom research. Boston: Heinle.
Olajide, S. (2010). A critical assessment of the cultural content of two primary English textbooks used in Nigeria. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 1, 656–661.
Opuko-Amankawa, K., Brew-Hammond, A., & Kofigah, F. E. (2011). What is in a textbook? Investigating the language and literacy learning principles of the ‘gateway to English’ textbook series. Pedagogy, Culture, & Society, 19, 291–310.
Paterno, M. E., & Hermosa, N. (2006a). Our world of reading grade 5. Pasig City: Anvil Publishing.
Paterno, M. E., & Hermosa, N. (2006b). Our world of reading grade 7. Pasig City: Anvil Publishing.
Pennycook, A. (2001). Critical applied linguistics. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Shin, J., Eslami, Z. R., & Chen, W. C. (2011). Presentation of local and international culture in current international English-language teaching textbooks. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 24, 253–268.
Wallace, C. (1992). Reading. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Wallace, C. (1999). Critical language awareness: Key principles for a course in reading. Language Awareness, 8, 98–110.
Widdowson, H. G. (2003). Defining issues in English language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Xiong, T., & Qian, Y. (2012). Ideologies of English in a Chinese high school EFL textbook: A critical discourse analysis. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 32(1), 75–92.
Xiong, T. (2012). Essence or practice? Conflicting cultural values in Chinese EFL textbooks: A discourse approach. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 33, 499–516.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Perfecto, M.R., Paterno, M.G. (2018). Critiquing Culture in Reading Materials Used by ESL Private Middle Schools in the Philippines: A Critical Literacy Perspective. In: Widodo, H., Perfecto, M., Van Canh, L., Buripakdi, A. (eds) Situating Moral and Cultural Values in ELT Materials. English Language Education, vol 9. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63677-1_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63677-1_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-63675-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-63677-1
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)