English language textbooks

The chapter presents an overview of ideologies that are common in English language textbooks across the world. The ideologies are “boxes of coloniality”—ways of thinking about the world while ignoring the consequences of power relations going back many centuries. The chapter discusses the ideologies with a view to imagining alternatives that may counteract coloniality. The primary empirical reference is an English language textbook for grades 1–9 in Denmark (primary and lower secondary school). Denmark is a country marked by a complex coloniality of power, including postcolonial relations with Greenland and the Faroe Islands, and a strong dependence on the United States. The textbook referred to is an example of a locally produced textbook with very little local orientation. It offers a colorful and very selective Anglo representation of the world, whereas it hardly mentions Denmark, the country of learning. The survey encompasses five major categories of ideologies: Ideologies concerning the English language; ideologies concerning world geography and geopolitics; ideologies concerning the languages of the world; ideologies concerning the world population; and ideologies concerning people’s lives. During the discussion of ideologies and possible alternatives, a range of analytical questions are raised, among them: Which parts of the world are represented, and which are not? Which sociocultural identities are represented, and which are not? Which ways of life are represented, and which are not? In the development of new materials, all choices should be justified, and it is important to imagine representations that have not only a local starting point but also a global outlook.