Antagonism between western and Islamic cultures in Iranian English textbooks

Due to its worldwide usage, the necessity of teaching the English language is undeniable even in Islamic and religious countries like Iran. However, in order to avoid ‘cultural invasion’, the Iranian government decided to ban teaching English in the official curriculum of primary schools and asked a team of experts chosen by the Organization for Educational Research and Planning to design localized English textbooks for students in K12. Thus, in response to curriculum changes and the vital role of textbooks in language education, a plethora of Iranian scholars quantitively investigated the locally designed textbooks in language education focusing on objectives, content, culture, gender representation, and improvement of students’ language skills. However, the previous literature does not consider the role of visual content in transmitting the target language culture. Thus, in this study, we investigated the cultural references and cultural dimensions of visual content representation in two series of English language textbooks called ‘English for Schools’ (Prospect 1-3 and Vision 1-3). Due to the nature of the study, we applied qualitative visual content analysis for grouping and categorizing data. The analysis of the visual content of the textbooks revealed that the utmost portion of all six books has been devoted to the source culture of Iran, and the focus on aesthetic dimension had been exaggerated. Also, great attention has been paid to the semantic dimension, especially the Islamic ideology. The findings revealed the hegemony of Islamic cultures and ideology in English textbooks which is opposed to the vital role of teaching culture as the fifth language skill in language education.