Study of the senses and the organization of discourse in English as foreign language textbooks

Abstract

The article focuses on the analysis of eight English as foreign language
textbooks used by teachers of English in different private, subsidized and state secondary schools in Osorno, Chile. In this study, the English textbook is seen as a wide and dynamic space where social, geographic, cultural and individual scenarios are constructed, shaping a complex narrative web of senses. Our research has been articulated in four moments. Firstly, a theoretical support for the key concepts is given, showing the English textbook as a device of Cultural Politics; as a qualified authority naturally present in language classroom settings and as a space where multiple narratives of identity are interwoven to (de)construct the self and reality.
Secondly, a thorough reading on Foucault’s views of language and discourse are made to orient the analysis of texts in each book. Thirdly, to illustrate this analysis, two discursive fields are presented: care of the self and experience and alterity.