Engaging Young Learners Through Human Images: A Cross-Cultural Comparative Study of English Textbooks in the US and China

Abstract

ELT materials produced by Western native speakers are often highly valued in EFL/ESL contexts. However, such materials may embody particular practices and beliefs about social interaction and education that may not adequately account for cultural differences across EFL/ESL contexts. This study examines how locally produced American and Chinese primary school English textbooks interact with learners via human images. Drawing on Kress and van Leeuwen’s Visual Grammar and Hofstede et al.’s cultural dimensions, this study analysed the interactional metafunction, focusing on gaze, social distance, and power relations in 144 human images from two sixth-grade textbooks. Findings show that the American textbook more frequently employs direct gazes and close-up shots, inviting personalised engagement and reflecting student-centred pedagogical orientations associated with individualism. In contrast, the Chinese textbook predominantly uses indirect gazes and medium-to-long shots, positioning human figures as objects of observation within broader social contexts and reflecting more collectivist and teacher-centred educational orientations. Power relations are generally balanced in both textbooks. These findings show that ELT materials do not just teach the English language, but also embed cultural differences, particularly in social interaction (where language is used) and education. The interaction between textbooks and learners also signals teacher-student interaction. All these highlight the ongoing tension between the push for globalisation and the call for deglobalisation, with the latter often advocating greater cultural inclusivity and sensitivity in ELT practices and materials.