An Analysis of Identities of Characters and Ideologies in Four Series of English Textbooks for Thai Beginners From Past to Present

Abstract

This research is a critical analysis of English textbooks designed for Thai students beginning to learn English. The textbooks under examination are from four different series from four different eras: the late nineteenth century, the 1930s, the 1980s, and the 2000s. The objectives of the research are twofold: 1) to examine the identities of the characters represented in the textbooks, and 2) to examine the ideologies embedded in the content of the textbooks and how the ideologies are constructed in the Thai context. The textbooks are analyzed based on the theoretical frameworks of Critical Discourse Analysis. The findings reveal that each series of textbooks portrays the age, race, class, and gender identities of characters. The first two series prioritize adult characters, Siamese/Thai characters, elite characters, and male characters in the representations. In contrast, child characters, foreign characters, middle-class characters, and female characters become increasingly important in the last two series. It can be quite difficult for textbooks to serve as naturalized discourses, but they seem to function as sites where the power of some groups over others is contested and negotiated. In terms of ideologies, the findings reveal that the dominant ideologies in the first, second, third, and fourth series of textbooks are modernization, nationalism, consumerism, and globalization, respectively. Moreover, the ideology of morality is dominant in all four series. It is argued that these ideologies are discursively constructed. The four series of textbooks were controlled by the state education agencies in terms of production. The textbook production, in turn, is governed by the state policy that is tied to social conditions. Thus, the ideologies serve to justify and maintain the power of the state.