Critical Cultural Awareness in Iranian ELT Coursrbooksd: Coursebook Realizations and Ideals

Numerous academics in the domains of language instruction, cultural studies, communication studies, ethnic studies, gender studies, etc. have focused on critical cultural awareness (CCA) as a crucial element of intercultural competency. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate whether the cultural elements in Iranian high school coursebooks (Vision Series) have been (un)touched by the ministry of education. To this end, the conversation contents of the Vision Series (levels 1- 3) were examined by the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to evaluate possible intercultural competence used in Vision Series. It was found that the content was biased toward the source culture in general. Finally, some ideal ways of presenting culture in the coursebooks were put forward in the form of a cultural rubric. The pedagogical implications of this study are discussed.