Content and Language Ideology in Textbooks: How English Language Textbooks Reflect the Syllabi for English Teaching in Sweden

Abstract: The aim of this essay is to investigate English language textbooks and the way they adhere to the curriculum and syllabi for English language teaching in Sweden. It will also look at what language ideological elements that these textbooks represent. The background section reviews language ideology in general, while also attempting to present the language ideological attitudes that are currently dominant in Sweden. The literature review looks both at the way ideology is usually manifested in textbooks, as well as the roots of English language teaching in Sweden. A mixture of qualitative and quantitative content analysis (CA) is used in order to investigate both the curriculum/syllabi, and the textbooks. Through a close reading of the textbooks, a division of the textbook content has been made in order to match the topics brought up in the curriculum and syllabi. The general curriculum for Swedish upper secondary school presents a general ideology of democratic values and humanism, while the syllabi for English focus on linguistic competence versus cultural and societal understanding. There is some evidence also of the “struggle for power” between Swedish and English. The most frequently occurring texts where those relating to cultural and societal understanding, which could in turn be related to democratic values. Prior to the research it was believed that the role of English would be more prominent in the textbooks, however, this proved to be untrue. Understanding where the English language comes from and its role in the world was not given much space; only a few of the textbooks brought it up.