Varieties of English in Swedish EFL Textbooks : A content analysis of textbooks used in upper-secondary school

This study examines the presence of different varieties of English in three EFL textbooks used in Swedish upper-secondary school. The aim is to research which varieties were represented in current EFL textbooks and to what extent. An additional aim was to discover if the textbooks address distinguishing features between varieties such as spelling, word use and pronunciation. To research this aim, a systematic selection was made of three course materials for the second year of upper-secondary school in Sweden; which then were analyzed using content analysis. The study categorized and counted the linguistic variables identified within the textbooks. The results revealed a strong representation of British and American English with other native English-speaking varieties being poorly represented. Moreover, there was some explicit information in two of the three textbooks regarding differences between varieties. However, these were mostly on the contrast between British and American English. The bias observed in the textbooks likely stems from a societal and educational norm which glorifies British and American English, at the expense of other varieties. This is the case although there are many who call for innovation in EFL materials and the syllabus has been revised with the aim of being more inclusive of less prestigious varieties of English.