An Investigation in the Cultural Aspects of the Secondary School Textbook 'Getting Through'

Abstract

The main concern of this dissertation is to investigate the present situation of learning/teaching culture in the Algerian secondary schools. It attempts to evaluate the textbook “Getting Through” from the cultural aspect as well as it investigates the views of pupils and teachers of the second year at foreign languages stream about the importance of culture in EFL classes. Through the adoption of the qualitative study the situation of teaching culture in the Algerian secondary schools will be highlighted. The results of the analysis of the textbook “Getting Through” reveal that the treatment of the cultural content is not presented in adequate and profound way. Also, the results of the field work confirm the results of the analysis. Both teachers and pupils show their awareness concerning the importance of culture in EFL classes. Moreover, the textbook witnesses the absence of materials which are used to present the target language culture; however, this does not cease the teachers to do personal efforts in giving a thorough picture of the foreign culture via adopting different materials. The work is concluded by a general discussion of the results, moreover; the dissertation is accompanied with some recommendations in relation to this study.