Representations of
Indigenous Cultures in
Spanish L2 Textbooks
SILVIA RODRIGUEZ SABATER, PH.D.
DEPARTMENT OF HISPANIC STUDIES
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON
4TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE
DEVELOPMENT AND ASSESSMENT OF
INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE
TUCSON, ARIZONA
JANUARY 23-26, 2014
Introduction and Background
 “Commercially available books which are used in
language teaching programs and are often designed for
a wide range of clients” (Hatoss, 2004, p. 25).
 It is widely accepted in the study of L2 acquisition that
learning an L2 cannot be separated from learning the
culture of the target group of speakers (Brosh, 1997;
Kramsch, 1995; Mar-Molinero, 1992; Ndura, 2004;
Ros i Solé, 2003 among many others) and that learning
culture needs to start at the introductory level (Ros i
Solé, 2001 and Mar-Molinero, 1992).
Textbooks as Sources of Information
 Textbooks are central to the educational process (Aliakbari,
2005; Brosh, 1997; Hatoss, 2004; Hutchinson and Torres,
1994 among others):
They introduce the linguistic system and the culture(s) of
Spanish-speaking peoples.
 Textbooks have the power to influence students’
perceptions of the L2 culture.

Cultural Information
 Culture is an essential element of L2 learning and can be an
objective in itself for L2 enrichment.
 Common definitions of culture in L2 teaching and learning:

Cultural products, background knowledge, and an
inventory of items such as music, social life, interesting
places, holidays, food, sports, famous people, daily life,
art, social institutions, artifacts, manners, customs,
geography and history.
The Study
 In a previous study, Rodriguez Sabater (2013) found that
indigenous cultures received 11.0% and 17.5% of the total
cultural coverage in Introductory and Intermediate books
respectively.
 This study aims to find out the type of cultural information
L2 learners receive with regards to the indigenous cultures
of Latin America.
 Research Questions:
1.
Which indigenous cultures of the Spanish-speaking countries of
Latin America are well represented in the textbooks?
2.
Which themes are learners exposed to in written and visual
representations?
Textbook Selection
 5 major publishing houses (Cengage, Pearson, Wiley,
McGraw-Hill, Vista Higher Learning) were contacted and
asked about their two best selling introductory and
intermediate textbooks:
Introductory
Intermediate
¡Claro que sí! (2013)
¿Cómo se dice? (2013)
Gente (2012)
¡Arriba! (2012)
Dicho y hecho (2012)
¡Vívelo! (2011)
Dos mundos (2010)
Puntos de partida (2012)
Vistas (2012)
Panorama (2013)
¡Continuemos! (2013)
Nexos (2013)
Atando cabos (2012)
Más allá de las palabras (2010)
Horizontes (2005)
Punto y aparte (2011)
Más (2010)
Enfoques (2012)
Imagina (2011)
Procedures and Analysis
 Following Ndura (2004) I read the publishers’
introductions, editors’ remarks to identify the
teaching/learning theoretical background.
 All textbooks mentioned a strong cultural component.
 I read the textbooks in their entirety, marked all passages
and visuals with cultural references to the indigenous
cultures of Latin America.
 259 chapters in 19 books were analyzed.
Procedures and Analysis 2
 Following a modified approach to Yamanaka (2006);
Ramirez and Hall (1990), Chapelle (2009), and Rodriguez
Sabater (2013):

Cultural references to indigenous cultures of the Spanishspeaking countries of Latin America were noted.

Themes were analyzed whether in:
 Written mode: texts longer than one sentence.
 Visual mode: photos, drawings, maps, graphs, tables,
charts, and reproductions of realia (Alley, 1994, Ilet,
2009).
Findings
 More references to indigenous cultures in the 2nd year
textbooks than the 1st year textbooks.
 More visual references than written references in both 1st
and 2nd year textbooks.
 Main cultures mentioned are:


The Incas, the Mayas, Andean cultures in general, and the Aztecs.
The general situation of indigenous cultures in Latin America.
Findings: Inca Culture
 Themes for the Inca culture:
 Machu Picchu and Cusco, the Incan civilization, customs, marriage,
the writing system, ceramics and textiles, the cemetery, the quipu
counting system, the Inca roads and mail system, the Inca emperor
and empire, and the indigenous market.
desarrolló
siglo XV,
"La civilización inca se
aproximadamente en el
basada en la herencia de varias
culturas anteriores. Hacia 1470,
los incas habían conquistado un
vasto territorio y habían
incorporado muchas culturas
vecinas ….”
(¡Vívelo, p. 457)
Findings: Inca Culture 2
“ Un avanzado sistema de rutas no sería de mucha
utilidad sin un sistema de comunicación eficiente.
Los incas usaban un sistema de chasquis, o
mensajeros, para llevar órdenes y noticias por
todo el imperio. El sistema utilizado por los
chasquis era similar al de las carreras de relevos.
Se dice que fue el sistema de mensajería más
rápido hasta la invención del telégrafo. Los
chasquis podían llevar un mensaje de Quito a
Cuzco (aproximadamente 2.000 kilómetros) en
unos cinco o seis días”
(Enfoques, p. 446)
Findings: Maya Culture
 Themes for the Maya culture:
 The Mayan civilization, the ruins of Copán, Chichén Itza, Tikal, Popol
Vuh Museum, traditional clothing textiles and weaving, the Mayan
calendar, numbers, and Mayan sports.
“Estudien el sistema de números
mayas. Observen que al llegar a
20, hay dos niveles de símbolos: el
nivel superior representa el número de unidades de 20, el nivel
inferior representa el número de
unidades 0-20…” (Más allá de las palabras, p. 186)
Findings: Maya Culture 2
“¿Qué ingrediente secreto se
encuentra en las telas
tradicionales de Guatemala? ¡El
mosquito! El excepcional tinte de
estas telas es producto de una
combinación de flores y de
mosquitos aplastados. El insecto
hace que los colores no se
destiñan. Quizás es por esto que
los artesanos representan la
figura del mosquito en muchas de
sus telas.”
(Vistas, p. 296)
Findings: Andean Cultures
 Themes for the Andean cultures (chibcha, quechua and
aimara):

Weaving, music, food, legends (Tio Supay), and Diablada de Oruro.
“La región andina de la América
del Sur tiene una rica tradición
indígena (…) Se entiende, entonces el origen netamente indígena
de muchos platos andinos . Considere el maíz, que se ha cultivado en la región de los Andes por
4000 años…”
(Dos mundos, p. 293)
Findings: Andean Cultures 2
“Una gran parte de la música
andina refleja la fuerte influencia
de las diversas culturas
indígenas de la región. (…)
Aunque los instrumentos de los
indígenas precolombinos eran
muy variados, predominaban los
instrumentos de viento. Entre los
que todavía se usan hoy en día
están las zampoñas o sikus, la
quena y las tarkas, una flauta
rectangular …”
(Punto y aparte, pp. 156-7)
Findings: Aztec Culture
 Themes for the Aztec culture:

History, Aztec empire, chocolate, Moctezuma II, Chichimeca
dancing, war, and ruins.
“ La capital de México es enorme, y su
metro es uno de los más extensos del
mundo. Durante la excavación para el
metro, encontraron (they found) una
pirámide azteca completa entre las
líneas 1 y 2 de la estación Pino Suárez.
Los ingenieros dejaron la pirámide intacta en la estación.”
(Arriba, p. 106)
Findings: Aztec Culture 2
“Los granos de cacao fueron el
medio de pago de los aztecas; lo
llamaron cacahuatl y era la
única moneda de validez
universal con que las provincias
conquistadas pagaban los
impuestos y podían comprar en
los mercados. También hubo
falsificadores que rellenaban las
cáscaras vacías del cacao con
barro. A estas “monedas” falsas
se les llamaba cachuachichiua…”
(Atando cabos, p. 298)
Findings: General Situation of Indigenous
Cultures
 Themes for the general situation of cultures in Latin America:
 Indigenous subjugation, the indigenous life and globalization, social
exclusion, the historic role of Spain in the current social situation of the
indigenous peoples, the role of the land and Pachamama, indigeneous
languages, and indigenous voices such as Rigoberta Menchú and Dolores
Cucango.
“Hace más de cinco siglos después de la
conquista de América, las comunidades
indígenas - hast ahora oprimidas y desheredadas de su patrimonio ancestral –
Están en busca de un futuro propio. Los
pueblos indígenas luchan por salvar su
identidad contra el poder de la uniformidad
y la globalización. Para ellos, la tierra es un
elemento esencial …”
(Atando cabos, p. 127)
Findings: General Situation of Indigenous
Cultures 2
“La situación lingüística de
Paraguay no es la norma sino la
excepción. El mapa lingüístico de
América Latina es muy diverso, y
depende del curso que siguió la
historia de cada país. (…) Hay
países como Guatemala y
México, que tienen numerosas
comunidades indígenas y donde
existen muchos idiomas
autóctonos. En México, por
ejemplo, hay tres centenares de
idiomas autóctonos, pero casi
todos son hablantes son
bilingües…”
(Gente, p. 231).
Conclusions
 L2 textbooks of Spanish at Introductory and
Intermediate levels show that students are exposed to the
indigenous cultures of Latin America:



More references to indigenous cultures in the 2nd year textbooks
than the 1st year textbooks.
More visual references than written references in both 1st and 2nd
year textbooks.
More complex social and historic topics at the intermediate level.
 Main cultures mentioned are:
 The Incas, the Mayas, Andean cultures in general, and the Aztecs.
 The general situation of indigenous cultures in Latin America.
Conclusions 2
 Since textbooks are one of the primary sources of cultural
information for L2 beginning learners, their culture content
becomes the cultural knowledge they are most likely to
gain.
 The references to indigenous cultures gives the message
that they are relevant in the understanding of Latin
American Spanish-speaking cultures overall because of a
general interest for globalized issues and concern for
human and cultural rights of all peoples.
Further Research
 Continue exploring cultural diversity within the




Spanish-speaking world such as the representation
and themes of non-Spanish-speaking cultures in
Spain.
Analyze frequency of cultural information in Spanish
and/or in English.
Explore the themes from a products, practices and
perspectives approach.
Study instances for learners’ cross-cultural awareness
and reflection.
Explore online supplementary materials and compare
to textbooks.
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Thank you!
Silvia Rodriguez Sabater
College of Charleston
rodriguezsabaters@cofc.edu