Towards regionally customized English AI digital textbooks

For over three decades, Korean elementary schools have relied on standardized, paper-based English textbooks. This pilot study examines how these textbooks represent regions such as Jeju and Busan, aiming to inform the development of the Artificial Intelligence Digital Textbook (AIDT), set to launch in 2025. Drawing on Holliday’s (1999) cultural paradigm, which differentiates between Large culture and Small culture, this study utilizes a mixed-methods approach, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative analyses. The analyses focus on textbooks from two publishers widely patronized on Jeju Island. The findings reveal a lack of regional references in textbooks for lower grades (grades 3 and 4). Specific regions, such as Jeju, Busan, and Gangneung, are mentioned in textbooks for higher grades (grades 5 and 6), but primarily as weekend or summer travel destinations. Seoul is presented as the main character’s place of origin, implicitly positioning it as the central place of residence. Jeju, which appears frequently, is consistently depicted as a tourist destination, reinforcing an oversimplified and peripheral image of the region. This study emphasizes the significance of AIDT in providing regionally tailored English education that reflects the lived experiences of students outside Seoul, fostering a more inclusive and realistic understanding of various regions in Korea. Recommendations include collaboration between AIDT developers and regional experts to ensure accurate and comprehensive regional data, training for regional English teachers in local knowledge, and the development of a region-based English curriculum supported by an efficient administrative structure.