An evaluation of cultural contents in ELT textbooks used by university students in Thailand and development of an ELT textbook redesigned under EIL paradigm

Culturally biased ELT textbooks are widely utilized in non-native English speaking countries, including Thailand, which has been influenced by native-speaking countries. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the ELT textbooks used in ten universities in Thailand, ranked in the Time Higher Education World Rankings, and redesign a textbook that reflects the globalized society. The study comprised two phases. The first phase assessed the cultural content proportions in listening and speaking tasks of the ELT textbooks used in these universities, determining the appropriate integration of each culture type in relation to English as an International Language. The second phase involved creating a redesigned textbook based on Intercultural Communicative Competence and the results from the first phase, aiming to determine the characteristics of an EIL textbook. In the first phase, cultural analysis was employed to examine the data. The results indicated that some textbooks encompassed a wide range of cultures, including deep culture, while others primarily focused on the influence of native speakers. The locally published textbook, Blossom, contained a significant amount of surface culture (100%) and target culture (67.50%). Speakout and Navigate presented the highest proportions of deep culture, with 22.29% and 23.89% respectively. Local culture was predominantly explored in Touchstone (34.21%) and Speakout (32.16%), while Unlock mainly consisted of international culture (38.04%). Touchstone and Personal Best had the highest percentages of neutral culture, with 35.96% and 31.69% respectively. Prism and Personal Best incorporated larger amounts of deep culture. In terms of integration, Prism achieved a balance among local culture (18.90%), international culture (24.39%), target culture (31.70%), and neutral culture (25.01%).During the second phase, a sample textbook was created and validated by three experts experienced in material development. Following validation, seven major suggestions were addressed, resulting in improvements. The tasks in the textbook comprised 20% communicative competence tasks, 6.67% intercultural competence tasks, and 73.33% intercultural communicative competence tasks. Additionally, the textbook provided 21.43% of deep culture content. This study emphasized the necessity of altering the cultural content proportion in ELT textbooks by emphasizing the inclusion of deep culture and various cultures, which can enhance students' critical thinking skills, particularly in higher education settings.