Representations of the World in Language Textbooks

The cultural dimensions of language learning are important and complex. Teachers and researchers will therefore welcome this accessible introduction to culture for language learning. Risager breaks through the seemingly impenetrable divide between theory and practice by analyzing textbooks through multiple theoretical perspectives on culture.

* Carol A. Chapelle, Iowa State University, USA *

This important research-based book is unique in that it addresses the issue of representation in materials for the teaching of a range of modern foreign languages – English, German, French, Spanish, Danish and Esperanto. Written by a well-established author, the book deftly combines theoretically informed analysis with practical suggestions for language teaching professionals and materials writers and producers.

* John Gray, UCL Institute of Education, UK *

This intensely scholarly work provides an exhaustive study of textbooks used in Danish schools in six languages. It focuses on discourses of culture and potentials for intercultural learning. It will be core reading for researchers in textbook analysis and the problematised concepts of nation and its relationship with language and culture.

* Adrian Holliday, Canterbury Christ Church University, UK *

[Representations of the World in Language Textbooks] is an excellent book. Ambitious in scope and detail, it is a must read for anyone interested in the analysis of language teaching materials. Risager manages to inform us about the textbooks that she focuses on, but more importantly, she has managed to develop a multidisciplinary framework that is applicable to any language textbook in any context. And that is no small feat.

-- David Block, University Pompeu Fabra, Spain * Pragmatics and Society 10