“An Analysis of Cultural Diversity in Elementary School 3rd and 4th Grade English Textbooks Based on the 2015 Revised National Curriculum.”

The present study aims to investigate the cultural contents realized in Korean EFL elementary school English textbooks (i.e., 3rd to 4th grades). It particularly focuses on cultural diversity based upon the following 4 categories (i.e., cultural background, cultural types, cultural aspects, and activities for cultural learning). The results of this study showed that the cultural diversity was not broad enough in all four areas of criteria. Regarding the cultural background, ‘English-speaking’, ‘Asian’ and ‘European’ cultures accounted for more than 75% of the cultural areas. Among the three cultural types (materials, norms, and ideas), ‘Norms’ comprised about 47%, and the sub-topics of each type also tended to focus on a limited range of culture. As for cultural materials, among the four categories, ‘Everyday life of various cultures’ comprised 51%. Out of 10 cultural lesson activities, the top 3 - ‘photos and pictures’, ‘simple information description,’ and ‘website videos’ accounted for more than 75%.