Investigation of the English coursebooks in secondary education within the context of multiculturalism

As a result of constant change in the process of foreign language learning-teaching methods and approaches, there have been changes and updates in foreign language teaching policies. This change has a direct impact on the objectives and content of English language coursebooks which are used as primary source of teaching materials. In Turkey, the concept in which teaching linguistics has been considered as the central objective was alienated in time and the focus has been on developing language learners' intercultural interaction and communicational abilities, especially after 2005 when the curriculum was tailored in accordance with the constructivist theory. In the studies held in foreign language teaching field, the effects of the factors such as teachers, learners, teaching methods, techniques and materials involved in the process of learning were investigated. In literature, there have been studies focusing on how the concepts such as gender, age, social class, identity and ethnicity should be represented in the coursebooks and the impacts of these concepts on the learners' cognition and conception of the world. Also, there has been plethora of studies, discussing the necessity of integrating cultural items into language learning process through emphasizing multiculturalism. In this paper, to what extend are the items such as everyday living, living conditions, interpersonal relations, values, beliefs and attitudes, body language, social conventions, ritual behaviours, geography and stereotypes included in the English language coursebooks was targeted, from the viewpoint of multiculturalism through emphasizing globalisation and global citizenship. In this research, a qualitative research method has been carried out in line with the purpose of the study and literature review has been employed as a descriptive data collection method. In the research, texts in English coursebooks, workbooks and teachers' books which take part in preparatory, 9, 10, 11 and 12. grades in secondary education, in 2018-2019 academic year were investigated with reference to reading, writing, speaking and listening parts and visuals in the books were studied. Data from coursebooks were analyzed by descriptive analysis method. Items within the scope of "sociocultural knowledge" in the section of User/Learners' Competences in Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, are treated as the criteria for multiculturalism. "Values, beliefs and attitudes" is the most emphasized category and "interpersonal relationship" is the least emphasized category in the books analysed. Multicultural specific items are mostly represented in Progress Preparatory Class Students' Book and Workbook and least represented Count Me in 12. Grade Students' Book and Workbook. Consequently, findings show that there is an imbalance in the distribution of cultural items in terms of quality and quantity in the coursebooks which were analyzed. Findings are not in line with the aims of foreign language teaching programmes of secondary schools and fundamental principles of multiculturalism. Key Words: Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, European Language Portfolio, Culture, Multiculturalism, Multicultural Education, Coursebook.