An ANALYSIS OF LITERARY TEXTS AND CULTURAL CONTENT IN The ACTION PACK TEXTBOOKS IN JORDAN FOR GRADES (6, 10, 12)

                           كلية التربية

        إدارة: البحوث والنشر العلمي ( المجلة العلمية)

                       =======

An ANALYSIS OF LITERARY TEXTS AND CULTURAL CONTENT IN The ACTION PACK TEXTBOOKS IN JORDAN

FOR GRADES (6, 10, 12)

إعــــــداد

Sara Muhammad AbuShalha

University of Jordan

School of Educational Sciences

Department of Curriculum and Instruction

saramm123@yahoo.com    

}     المجلد الثامن والثلاثون– العدد الحادي عشر– جزء ثاني-نوفمبر 2022م {

http://www.aun.edu.eg/faculty_education/arabic

Abstract

This study aimed at analyzing the cultural content and some key aspects of the literary texts in Action Pack textbooks in Jordan. The sample of the study consisted of 6 textbooks of Action Pack for the  grades 6, 10, and 12 during the academic year 2021/2022. A content analysis was conducted to investigate the number, genres, length, and authenticity of the examined literary texts. As for the cultural content, a checklist of nine main categories including: intellectual values, lifestyle behaviours, media, artistic values, family, minor values, major values, and formal values. Those categories were derived from Tuna and Razi (2016) classification of cultural content that should be integrated in language textbooks. The results revealed that 21 literary texts were integrated to the examined textbooks, only 19% of these texts were authentic. The results also showed that some literary genres, such as drama, appeared once during the three stages. With regard to the cultural content, it was arranged according to the highest ratio as follows: major values in the first place, family and the intellectual values in the second place, lifestyle in the third place, behavior in the fourth, minor values in the fifth and finally the aesthetic values. The results also showed that the formal values and media were not integrated in the examined texts.

Keywords: Action Pack; literary texts; cultural content.

ملخص

هدفت هذه الدراسة إلى تحليل المحتوى الثقافي والخصائص الرئيسية للنصوص الأدبية المضمنة في الكتب المدرسية من سلسلة Action Pack الاردنية. تكونت عينة الدراسة من 6 كتب مدرسية للصفوف 6 و10 و12 خلال العام الدراسي 2021/2022. حيث تم إجراء تحليل للمحتوى بهدف التحقق من عدد النصوص الأدبية وأنواعها وطولها وأصالتها. أما فيما يتعلق بالمحتوى الثقافي للنصوص الادبية، فهناك قائمة تحقق تضم تسع فئات رئيسية تشمل: القيم الفكرية، نمط الحياة، الوسائط الإعلامية، والقيم الفنية، والأسرة، والقيم الثانوية، والقيم الرئيسية، والقيم الرسمية. وقد اشتقت هذه الفئات من تصنيف Tuna and Razi(2016) للمحتوى الثقافي الذي ينبغي إدراجه في الكتاب المدرسي. وكشفت النتائج عن دمج 21 نصا أدبيا في الكتب المدرسية التي تم فحصها. وأن 19٪ فقط من هذه النصوص كانت أصلية. كما أظهرت النتائج أن بعض الأنواع الأدبية، مثل الدراما، لم تظهر إلا مرة واحدة خلال المراحل الثلاث. أما بالنسبة للمحتوى الثقافي فقد جاء بالترتيب على النحو التالي وفقا لأعلى نسبة ظهور : القيم الرئيسية في المقام الأول، والأسرة والقيم الفكرية في المقام الثاني، ونمط الحياة في المقام الثالث، والسلوك في المرتبة الرابعة، والقيم الثانوية في الخامسة، وأخيرا القيم الجمالية. في حين أظهرت النتائج أن، الوسائط الإعلامية والقيم الرسمية لم يتم دمجها في القيم التي تم فحصها.

 الكلمات المفتاحية: أكشن باك؛ النصوص الأدبية؛ المحتوى الثقافي.

Introduction

Integrating literary texts in English language textbooks has been strongly recommended by many scholars and educators. Brumfit (1985), Collie & Slater, (1987), Richards & Rodgers (2001), Choo, (2011) and Bland (2018) argued that literary texts are key sources of authentic materials that expand language awareness, cultural awareness and ensure personal growth and involvement. Moreover, literary texts extend literary competence among learners and help them read and enjoy great works of world literature. Several criteria for selecting and evaluating literary texts in EFL textbooks have been suggested by educators and researchers like (Lazar, 2000; Bibby & Mcllroy, 2013; Pellicer Ortin & Romo Mayor, 2020). All the criteria have a consensus on the value of choosing literary texts according to students' needs, interests, and level of language proficiency, cultural background, and life experiences.

Despite the strong recommendation of integrating literary works in EFL classroom, numerous researchers (Lima, 2010; Shrouf and Dwaik, 2013;  Skela, 2014; Al-Faki, 2014; Shamshiri and Zerkarat, 2014) found that existence of literary texts in EFL textbooks is still insufficient either in term of quantity or quality.

In Jordan a core outcome of the Jordanian EFL curriculum is to aid the learners to explore and respond to both Arabic and world literature. Therefore, learners can be enriched in the levels of knowledge, personal values, understanding cultural heritage, and appreciating other cultures (Ministry of Education, 2013). To achieve this outcome,  various literary contents, for instance, short poems, short songs, rhymes, simplified short stories, and narratives, have been included in the Jordanian English textbooks; Action Pack. These textbooks are twelve-level English learning series that have been adapted for Jordanian students to help them master language skills and develop cultural, social, cognitive, and “psychomotor” domains (Al-Ghazo and Smadi, 2013). Each level of Action Pack consists of a student's book, a workbook, an audio cassette, and a comprehensive teacher's book.

Analyzing EFL textbooks is a significant and common technique in the field of learning and teaching EFL. It can be a preliminary stage for evaluating the effectiveness of these textbooks. A common procedure for analyzing textbooks is content analysis. It is an important analytical research method, through which supervisors, textbooks' authors, and researchers can define the points of weakness and strength in a given textbook, and decide to what extent it is suitable for the learners as well as teachers (Al-Ghazo and Smadi, 2013). It can be used as a quantitative or qualitative research method, though the best content analytical studies are those which combine both qualitative and quantitative procedures according to Weber (as cited in Zhang and Wildemuth, 2009). This methodology; among other methodologies, was applied to analyze different aspects of Action Pack textbooks by many researchers (e.g. Bani Amer and Bani Abdelrhman, 2020; Omari, 2018; Al-Ghazo and Smadi, 2013; Zawahreh, April 2012; Zawahreh, 2012; Al-Barakat, Bataineh, Al-Karasneh, Bataineh, 2006). Still, there is a clear shortage of studies that investigated and analyzed the literary texts in Action Pack series. This fact leads to state the research problem.

Statement of the Problem

Action Pack textbooks in Jordan have been designed to provide learners with the necessary knowledge, language skills, and information about the English-speaking countries. The content of these textbooks also aims at qualifying Jordanian learners to interact with other cultures. So, several studies have been conducted to explore the appropriateness of these textbooks (Bani Amer and Bani Abdelrhman, 2020; Omari, 2018; Al-Ghazo and Smadi, 2013; Zawahreh, April 2012; Zawahreh, 2012; Al-Barakat, Bataineh, Al-Karasneh, Bataineh, 2006). However, there is a current shortage of studies needed to shed the light on the quality and the quantity of the literary texts in Action Pack series. In other words, it is an essential issue to define whether Action Pack textbooks provide Jordanian learners with the appropriate quality and quantity of literary texts or not. To achieve this, analyzing literary texts in the assigned English textbooks can be a sufficient device.

Operational Definitions:

The following terms are operationally defined:

A literary text: is used to refer to every piece of literary works included in the Jordanian Action Pack textbooks. These literary works are classified under three main literary genres: first, prose fiction mainly short stories and novels, second: poetry in form of poems, songs, and rhymes, third, drama in form of plays.

Action Pack Series: refers to a series of twelve levels of English textbooks approved by the Jordanian Ministry of Education for Jordanian students in public schools for the academic year 2021/2022. This study is concerned mainly with the student's book and the activity book.

Cultural content: is used to refer to the cultural components that are integrated in Action Pack textbooks. The components were classified under main categories including: intellectual values, lifestyles, verbal and non-verbal behavior patterns, media, artistic values, family life and relationship, and minor values, and major values. These categories were adapted from Tuna and Razi (2016) study.

Research Objectives:

This reserach attempted to:

1. Explore the key-aspects of the involved literary contents in 6 textbooks of Action Pack Series in Jordan for the grades 6,10 and 12 through analyzing their number, length, genres, and authenticity.
2. Discover what type of cultural content is employed within these literary texts.

Research Questions:

Current research intended to answer the following questions:

1. What are the features of literary texts in Action Pack series for the grades (6, 10, and 12) in terms of their number, genres, length and authenticity?
2. What kinds of cultural content have been integrated in the literary texts in Action Pack textbooks for the grades (6, 10, and 12)?

Literature review

The Merits of Using Literary Texts in EFL Classrooms

Although literary texts have not been composed for teaching and learning languages, many academics, scholars, and researchers promoted integrating such texts into language curricula, in general, and EFL curricula, in particular for several reasons. Al-Dersi (2013) indicated that literature in EFL classroom makes the process of learning more enjoyable and attractive. That occurs because literature provides a variety of emotional values which aid the reader to get a taste of literature (Isariyawat, Yenphech, and Intanoo, 2020).

Literary texts in EFL classroom can be employed as valuable resources to enrich learners’ language abilities and stimulate language acquisition. Lazar (2000), Lima (2010) and Al-Dersi (2013) argued that literary materials expand language awareness and encourage language acquisition among EFL learners. Duncan and Paran (2017) stated that reading skills and vocabulary development benefit from using literary texts in EFL teaching and learning more than other language skills. Nurrohmah, Suparman, and Sukirlan (2015) concluded to the fact that reading comprehension among learners who read literary texts is much better than who read non-literary texts. They stated that literary texts play an important role in developing and encouraging critical reading.

Bruns (2011) mentioned some life skills and abilities, considered as fundamental in “today's world,” that can be enhanced through reading valuable literary works. Instances of these skills and abilities are: interpretation, problem solving, oral and written communication, evidence-based argument, critical thinking, making inferences, and drawing conclusions.

Collie and Slater (1987), Van (2009), Marzban (2015), Al- Saeed and Alenezi ( 2020), and Hamimed (2021) supported the view that the authenticity of literary texts makes them valuable materials in EFL classrooms since exposing  EFL learners to authentic texts obliged them to cope with language created basically to native speakers and  provides opportunities for authentic communication and collaborative group work. This helps them to be familiar with the language as it is used outside the classroom.  In Jordan, a big emphasis is put on the authenticity of the materials that are used in EFL language teaching. A core outcome of the Jordanian EFL curriculum is to aid the learners to read and understand both simplified and authentic texts (Ministry of Education, 2013).

Researchers like Daskalos and Ling (2005) recommended that to understand certain culture you need to know it’s stories, myths, histories, legends, fables, and religious doctrines. Bruns (2011) and Hamimed (2021) also emphasized the fundamental role of literary materials in EFL classrooms as they provide the learner with a chance to observe how people in other nations communicate, practice, and express their ideas. They also stated that literary works appear as an essential source of the values, perspectives, or ways of living of other people cultures. In this case, learners can compare their own culture and lifestyle with that of the target culture and they will become aware of the cultural similarities and differences.

In 2016, Tuna and Razi outlined 45 cultural components that should be integrated in EFL classrooms. The 45 components were classified under nine categories. These categories include intellectual values, lifestyle, behaviours, media, artistic values, family, minor values, major values, and formal values.

Gómez Rodríguez (2015) has a different classification for cultural components achieved by teaching literary texts. He classified culture into surface and deep culture. The topics of the surface culture are described as being “static, congratulatory, neutral, and “homogeneous” like holidays, celebrations, food, and geographical sites. The topics of the deep culture are labeled by being “transformative, complex, contentious or congratulatory, and heterogeneous”. Sociocultural norms, beliefs, values and lifestyles are examples of these topics.

Action Pack Series in Jordan:

In Jordan, Action Pack Series, which selected as EFL textbooks to be taught for Jordanian learners in public schools from grade one through grade twelve, play a major role to prepare the Jordanian learners by providing them with the required knowledge, skills and attitudes. Each level of Action Pack consists of a student's book, a workbook, an audio cassette, and a comprehensive teacher's book. The content of these books contains simplified texts as well as authentic texts to achieve the intended outcomes. Literary texts such as  short poems, short songs, rhymes, simplified short stories, and narratives are also part of the content for the purpose of exploring and responding creatively to Arabic and world literature as a way of knowing, developing personal values, understanding Arab- Islamic cultural and appreciating other cultures (Ministry of Education, 2013). Several studies like Bani Amer and Bani Abdelrhman, 2020; Omari, 2018; Al-Ghazo and Smadi, 2013; Zawahreh, April 2012; Zawahreh, 2012; Al-Barakat, Bataineh, Al-Karasneh, Bataineh, 2006 were conducted to analyze and evaluate different aspects of Action Pack textbooks. The fundamental reason for conducting this study is the clear shortage of studies that investigated and analyzed the literary texts in Action Pack series.

Methodology

The population of this study consists of all the literary texts in both student's book and activity books in the 12 levels of Action Pack Series in Jordan. The sample of the study consists of the literary texts in 6 textbooks for the grades (6, 10, and 12). The sample of the study was purposefully chosen to represent the three educational stages: lower basic stage (1-6), upper basic stage (7-10), and the secondary stage (11-12).

A content analysis was conducted to investigate the number, genres, length, and authenticity of the literary texts in 6 Action Pack textbooks for the grades (6, 10, and 12). A table was built to collect the data. The 6 books of Action Pack Series were scanned page by page to detect the number and genre of the literary texts. The total number of words for the investigated text determine its length. Literary texts were classified to non-authentic, simplified, or authentic texts in term of their authenticity. This classification was adopted from Bakhshizadeh (2018) study. The non-authentic texts according to Bakhshizadeh are mainly written by a non-native for language learning purposes like teaching a particular structure or vocabulary. Contrariwise, authentic texts are written for natives and contain "real" language. Finally, the simplified texts are basically authentic texts.  As for the cultural content in the literary texts  in Action Pack textbooks, the researcher followed Tuna and Razi (2016) classification of the cultural components. According to Tuna and Razi (2016) the cultural components were classified under nine main categories including:

Intellectual Values: Thoughts, habits, beliefs, traditional values, etiquette, ethics, and ideas.

Lifestyles: Unique dances, unique jewelry, hobbies, particular skills, unique tools, dressing habits, food, and games. 

Behaviours: Non - verbal behavioural patterns, verbal behavioural patterns, other behavioural patterns, means of communication, and reactions to particular situations. 

Media: Television shows, news broadcasts, popular web sites, advertising, scientific / technological accomplishments, and printed materials such as newspapers and magazines. 

Artistic Values: Music, cinema, art, and literature.  

Family: Family life, taboos, relationships, and daily life. 

Minor Values: Public holidays, weather conditions, traffic rules, and travel habits. 

Major Values: History, geography, and philosophy.   

Formal Values: Legal system, politics, and the economy (p.44).

A cultural checklist was used to analyze literary texts to discover the types of the cultural content within these texts. The reliability of the cultural checklist was obtained by analyzing a sample of (11) literary texts shaping (55%) of the total number of the literary texts (21) by two independent analysts; the researcher and another analysts. The examined literary texts were chosen to represent the three grade levels (6,10, and 12). Holsti’s inter-coder reliability formula was applied to find the agreement between the analysts:

C.R. = 2M/N1 + N2

Where C.R. referred to coding reliability, M referred to the number of cases that the coders were in agreement, and N1 and N2 referred to the number of coding cases made by the first and the second coders. The accepted level of agreement among the coders should be 85% or more according to Holsti (1969). The percentage of agreement between the researcher and the other rater was 91%, which is statistically acceptable for this study.

Findings

Findings Related to Question One: “What are the features of literary texts in Action Pack series for the grades (6, 10, and 12) in terms of their number, genres, length, and authenticity?”.

A: Findings related to The number, genres and length of the        literary texts

The number, genres and length of the investigated literary texts are presented in Table 1

Table1. The number, genres and length of literary texts in Action Pack textbooks for grades (6, 10, and 12)

Table 1 shows that 10 literary texts are included in the 6th grade student’s and activity books of Action Pack series. Learners at this grade are exposed to 4 songs and 6 simple short stories. The songs range in length between 59- 65 words with a mean of texts length 61 words. The 4 songs are presented as closing activities of some units in the student’s book of 6^th grade to emphasis the vocabulary and grammar studied during the unit. The 6 stories were distributed equally in both the student’s and activity book and range in length between 97-197 words with an average 106 words. The stories were written as supporting texts to represent the vocabulary, grammar and any language items studied during the unit. The connected activities of the stories were designed to develop the four language skills among Jordanian learners mainly reading, writing and speaking. After reading the story and answering comprehension questions, learners are supposed to retell the story and to write their own stories. They are also asked to draw conclusions and to elicit the main idea of the story. All the literary texts in this stage are non-authentic.

   Student’s and activity books of Action Pack 10 contain 5 literary texts including 3 short stories, one stanza of a poem and one extract of a novel. Four texts out of five are presented in the student’s book. It is worth to mention that all the literary texts in the student’s book of 10th grade; an extract of novel and two short stories, appeared at the end of the book under the title “Extra reading” except the stanza of a poem. The stories range in length between 170- 520 words with an average 366 words. The stories in the student’s book were about Muslim inventors more specifically; Abbas Ibn Firnas and Al Jazari. The extract of a novel is a 1065 words long. It is a simplified version of “Treasure Island” novel which written by Robert Louis Stevenson. The appearance of poetry in Action Pack 10 is very shy. Only a stanza of 34 words is presented to 10th grade students. This stanza is quoted from Julia Abigail Fletcher Carney poem’s “Little Things” This stanza is the only authentic literary texts in Action Pack 10 whereas the three short stories are non-authentic text. As for the extract of novel, it was classified as simplified text. 

Students are introduced to four different literary genres in Action Pack 12, including poetry, drama, novels, and short stories. There are six literary texts in this level: two extracts of novels, two poems, a speech from a play and a short story. With the exception of the short story, all the literary texts are introduced to the Jordanian students in a separated section titled “Literature Spot”. Thomas Hood’s “I Remember, I Remember” is one of the poems. It is a 180 words poem. The second poem is “A Green Cornfield” by Christina Rossetti and it is a 105 words. The two poems are authentic texts with an average 143 words long. The learners are also exposed to a famous speech from As You Like It by William Shakespeare. It is a 191 words act. It is the only appearance of drama in the three investigated levels. As for the novels, a summary of the novel The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway and an excerpt from the novel Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne with a word count ranging  from 514 to 730 words and an average of 622 words long. Only a single non-authentic short story was appeared in Action Pack 12. The total number of its words is 127. It was employed to represent the use of the past perfect continuous tense. Regarding to the texts authenticity, three authentic texts were employed in Action Pack12 including the poems and the speech from William Shakespeare's As You Like It. The extracts of the novels were classified as simplified texts and the short story was labeled as non-authentic text.

B: Findings related to the authenticity of the literary texts:

   Twenty-one literary texts from three levels of Action Pack textbooks were examined to determine their authenticity. The percentages of authentic, simplified, and non-authentic literary texts among the 21 texts evaluated are shown in Table 2.

Table2. Number and Percentage of the literary texts in terms of authenticity.

Table 2 shows that 67% of the examined literary texts were non-authentic texts. 14 literary texts out of 21 were non-authentic. All the literary texts in Action Pack six; 4 songs and 6 short stories, are non-authentic whereas for grade 10, three out of five literary texts were non-authentic with a percentage 60% of the analyzed literary texts. The non-authentic texts in Action Pack 10 include the 3 short stories. As for Action Pack 12 only the short story is the non-authentic literary text with a percentage 17%. The extract from Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Treasure Island” is the sole simplified text that accounts for 20% percentage of the analyzed literary texts in Action Pack 10. The simplified texts in Action Pack 12 are 33% of the examined texts including the summary of the novel The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway and an excerpt from the novel Around the World in Eighty Days.

It is worth to mention that poetry is the only authentic literary genres represented in 10 and12 Action Pack textbooks. In Action Pack 10 Only a stanza of a poem which accounts 20% of the total texts was classified as authentic text. As for Action Pack 12, learners are exposed to poetry through 2 poems: “I Remember, I Remember,” “A Green Cornfield,” and a speech from As You Like it. In this level, authentic texts account for 50% of the total literary texts.

Findings Related to Question Two:

The results of the analysis that aimed at answering the second question which enquire about the kinds of cultural content that have been embedded in the literary texts in Action Pack textbooks for the grades (6, 10, and 12 ) were presented in table 3.

Table3. The frequencies and percentages of the cultural content in the literary texts in Action Pack( 6, 10, and 12).

  Freq: Frequency           perc: percentage   

The results in table 3 show that the cultural aspects which scored the highest frequencies and percentages in the examined literary texts are the major values, intellectual values, family and lifestyle. These categories have scored 32%, 15%, and 14% respectively. Both intellectual values and family have scored the same percentage. While with the cultural aspects: behaviors, minor values, and artistic values have received 11.7%, 8.6%, 4.7% respectively. The cultural aspects media and formal values were completely ignored in the analyzed texts. Both aspects received 0%.

The Cultural aspects in the literary texts in Action Pack 6

 Among other cultural aspects, family relationship and daily life has ranked first in term of the appearances in the examined texts in 6^th grade textbook. It was employed 11 times and accounting for 34% of the total. The analyzed literary texts described the relationship between the family members, their duties, the relationship with their relatives.

The examined literary texts highlighted only geography as a major cultural value. The focus was on Arabian geographical locations particularly Aqaba, UAE, Abu Dhabi and the desert. These places were mentioned 7 times and received a 22% rating.

 Behaviours and artistic values ranked third with 4 frequencies and 13% for each one. The texts highlighted reading habit as a nonverbal behavior and thankful and apology as verbal behaviours. The music, which is combined to the songs, provides the learners with artistic values in this stage.

Analyzing the literary texts in Action Pack 6 showed that only 9% of the total cultural content was given to the lifestyle. Texts mentioned life in tents as a part of Arabic culture. In addition, some sports like hiking and snorkeled were motioned as lifestyle patterns.

Some ideas and ethics about the importance of respecting the history as well as the future and the virtue of helping others are examples of the intellectual values embedded in the examined literary texts. This cultural aspect appeared shyly at a rate of 9%. The single mention of the minor values as cultural aspects in Action Pack 6's literary materials was a description of the weather conditions in Aqaba. This aspect's percentage was the lowest among the employed aspects, at 3%.

The Cultural aspects in the literary texts in Action Pack 10

About 55% of the cultural content that embedded in the literary texts of Action Pack 10 was classified under major values aspect; particularly geography, history and philosophy. This percentage is the highest among other cultural aspects. The learners were exposed to Arabic and Islamic culture as well as the target and international cultures. Regarding to the historical values; different ancient civilizations such as the Chinese, Egyptian, Indian and Persian have been mentioned in the examined literary texts. Mention was also made of some Arab and Islamic historical characters, namely Abbas Ibn Firnas and Al Jazari. Their lives, inventions and books were presented in the form of short stories. Geographical places like England, Cordoba, Diyarbakir and the desert were settings for different literary works like Treasure Island and stories about Abbas Ibn Firnas and  Al Jazari. Some literary texts highlighted some philosophical perspectives. An example of these perspectives is the stanza from Julia Abigail Fletcher Carney poem’s “ Little Things” which emphasized the secret of happiness.

Treasure Island”  is the literary text which presented to tenth grade students with some ethical values mainly the virtue of helping people; like when Jim Hawkins; the hero of “Treasure Island” decided to help the pirate who was hurt and when Ben Gunn helped Jim Hawkins to get to the citadel. The short story” AL Jazari” offered some scientific ideas to the learners like the mechanism of using water and weight  to run Al Jazari’s the water clock. This cultural aspect appeared 8 times and ranked 21% of the total appearance of the cultural content in Action Pack 10’s literary texts.

In Action Pack 10, family life and relationships were ranked third as a cultural component with 11% percentage and 4 frequencies. For example the text "Treasure Island" presents an example of the strong relationship between family members in order to solve difficulties and assist one another when Jim Hawkins and his mother worked hard in the hotel because of the illness of his father.

Both lifestyle and the minor values have scored the same percentage and frequencies.  Each aspect was repeated twice and achieved 5%. An example of dressing habits of Arabic people as a part of their lifestyle in the past was presented in the story of Abbas Ibn Firnas. The text mentioned that Abbas was wearing a cloak. The lifestyle of the pirates was also described in “Treasure Island.” Regarding to the minor values, the only one that was highlighted was the change of the weather condition between day and night.

In Action Pack 10, the ratio of the artistic values in the literary texts was 3%. The narrator of one of the literary works, namely the short story in the Activity book, describes how fathers convey old stories to their kids “My father told us old stories about the people who travelled constantly and who passed through these areas”. This quotation clarified how literature of certain culture passes from one generation    to another.

The cultural aspects media and formal values and behaviours were completely ignored in the literary texts In Action Pack 10. The three aspects received 0%.

The Cultural aspects in the literary texts in Action Pack 12

The results of analyzing the literary texts in Action Pack 12 revealed that among other cultural aspects, the major values, particularly geography and history, achieved the highest percentage (23%). Several places, like Jerash, Cuba, Africa, India, Kholby, Bombay, Hong Kong, Calcutta and Allahabad were mentioned in the literary texts especially in the novel Around the World in Eighty Days.

Lifestyle, as a cultural component of the literary texts in Action Pack 12, has been ordered second with percentage 21% and 13 frequencies. Jordanian learners are exposed to new and different lifestyles through reading the given literary texts. For example by reading The Old Man and the Sea the students learn about the lifestyle and the skills of fishermen. The students also distinguish the unique tools of this Job like hooks, harpoon and club. While the novel Around the World in Eighty Days highlighted the lifestyle in India for instance the text mentioned wearing the Indian shoes as dressing habits for this culture. The text also referred to the habit of using the elephant as a means of transportation and using howdahs, which is something new to the culture of the Jordanian learner.

Behaviours ranked third with a percentage of 18% and 11 frequencies. Numerous verbal and nonverbal behaviours, which reflect different cultures, have been mentioned in several literary texts. An example of the verbal behaviours is using the French expression “Monsieur” in the novel Around the World in Eighty Days. As for the nonverbal behaviours, the act of the play All the World’s a Stage highlighted some international nonverbal behaviours, for instance a school boy attitudes toward the school and the soldier behavior in the battel. Santiago's determination to catch the huge fish and to fight sharks to reach the shore in The Old Man and the Sea is another example of nonverbal behaviours.

The intellectual values were ordered fourth with percentage 16% and 10 frequencies. They were presented in form of believes, ideas, ethics and traditional values. Shakespeare's play “All the World’s a Stage” is a clear example of the writer's thoughts and beliefs about the world and the role of individuals in this world. In The Old Man and the Sea, Manolin's ethics were clear through insisting to return the favor to his teacher Santiago. Manolin refused to leave his teacher despite the difficult circumstances and despite the insistence of his parents to leave Santiago, and by taking care of him during his illness. The love of beauty and nature was emphasized in both “Green Cornfield” and “I Remember, I Remember” poems.

The minor cultural values that have been mentioned in the literary texts in this stage with percentage 12% and 7 frequencies are travelling rules and habits beside the weather conditions. Through reading Around the World in Eighty Days Jordanian learners are educated about the means and the rules of travelling in India. For instance, you need to buy a ticket and present it to a person who is called conductor in order to board a train. But in some places in India the only means of transportation is elephants and it is familiar to sit on the         elephant’s neck.

Family life and relationships made up 8% of the overall cultural content that was integrated in Action Pack 12's literary texts with 5 frequencies. The poem “I Remember, I Remember” and the short story at the student’s book page 19 both highlighted these cultural aspects.

The artistic values appeared once in Action Pack 12 when the narrator of Around the World in Eighty Days” said: “The story, set in 1873 CE, is about an Englishman, Mr. Phileas Fogg”. This cultural aspect ranked 2%.

The cultural aspects media and formal values were completely ignored in the literary texts In Action Pack 10. The two aspects   received 0%.

Discussion

As shown in Table 1, the literary genres which presented in Action Pack 6, 10, and 12 textbooks are: poetry ( including songs and poems),  narrative texts ( including short stories, simplified and paraphrased novels), and one dramatic text – a scene from As You Like It. The results indicated that Jordanian students in grades 6 and 10 are deprived from the opportunity to be familiar with two main literary genres; namely poetry and drama. As for drama, it is missing in the two textbooks. Regarding poetry, non-authentic songs and a stanza of 34 words were the only types of poetry that appeared in the two textbooks. The researcher believes that the purpose of using literature in EFL classrooms could not be fully attained by the presence of poetry and the absence of drama. These findings are in line with those of Al-Saeed and Alenezi (2020) and Shrouf and Dwaik (2013).

The results related to the authenticity of literary texts, as presented in Table 2, showed that 67% of the texts included in Action Pack for grades 6, 10, 12 are non-authentic, 14% are simplified, and 19% of the texts are authentic. These findings are in accordance with those of Al-Saeed and Alenezi1 (2020), Farrah (2019) and Shrouf and Dwaik (2013). Some researchers like Campbell (1987) advocated the use of adapted literary texts in EFL textbooks by mentioning that when using adapted literary texts, the linguistic difficulties of authentic literary texts may be avoided, and EFL learners, as a result, will be able to understand and enjoy reading literary works.

Several criteria for evaluating the cultural content, as a part of English as a foreign language (EFL) textbooks, have been suggested by researchers like (Tuna and Razi; 2016, Gholami and Ghasemi; 2018).  Those criteria have completely or partly consensus on several cultural components to be integrated in EFL contexts. The components include lifestyle, geography, history, media and communication, family life, art, belief and behaviour.

The findings of the second question, as clear in Table 3, revealed that several cultural components, which reflect the source, target, or international culture, were embedded in the examined literary texts. For instance, number of geographical places and historical incidents were mentioned. The findings also showed that intellectual values (mainly ethics, beliefs and thoughts), family (including family life, daily life and family relationships), lifestyle (in particular dressing habits, particular skills and tools) were highlighted. Some verbal and non-verbal behaviours were integrated. The results of this study are in agreement with Dweik and Al-Sayyed (2015), who analyzed the cultural aspects in Action Pack 12. The results of the two studies indicated that there are some cultural aspects that have been integrated into the analyzed textbooks, such as history, literature, family, and dress. While, some cultural aspects like etiquette as a social behavior did not appear.

Conclusion

This research aimed at investigating the literary texts included in the Action Pack series for the (6, 10, and 12) grades in terms of their number, length, literary genre and authenticity. The study also sought to investigate the cultural content of these texts. The results of the study revealed that the analyzed books contained a total of 21 literary texts, most of which were simplified or non-authentic. In addition, some important literary genres, such as drama, appeared once in Action Pack 12. Thus, it is necessary to reconsider the number, authenticity and distribution of literary genres included in Action Pack Series. The results also showed that some cultural components were adequately represented in the examined literary texts, while other cultural components like media and formal values were not represented.

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