The intercultural potential of language activities: Investigating the implementation of intercultural learning in three Austrian EFL textbooks

Abstract

In the context of globalisation, classrooms have become meeting places for learners from an increasing variety of backgrounds. Intercultural education, anchored in many national curricula, is considered a key approach to doing justice to this growing plurality among students. In relation to fostering learners’ intercultural (communicative) competence, language education plays a particularly important role. As textbooks determine much of the current teaching practice, it is vital to examine what kind of intercultural student engagement they can promote. While existing research has largely focused on cultural representations, less is known about how language activities support intercultural learning. This paper reports on a study that examined 897 activities included in the three most widely used Austrian English as foreign language (EFL) textbooks, based on a specifically developed 21-item criteria catalogue. Dichotomous coding was applied, allowing for individual and overall conclusions about the textbooks’ potential for intercultural learning. The findings indicate that, beyond frequent references to regional studies and occasional prompts for self-reflection, implementation remains limited and tends to be superficial. Unexpectedly, the oldest textbook in the sample demonstrated the strongest integration of intercultural learning. However, the consistently rare engagement with difference, prejudice, and ethnocentricity across all three textbooks underscores the urgent need for a more future-oriented and equity-focused revision of EFL materials.