Self And Other Representation In Algerian Secondary School English Textbooks: A Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis

Résumé: Abstract The present work is a critical discourse study that seeks to investigate the ways EFL textbooks in Algeria embody ideologies and operate as tools of propagating established social hierarchies and asymmetrical power structures. These power structures are generally expressed through representations of the dichotomy of the Self and the Other, which is embedded in the semiotic modes incorporated in these textbooks. This dissertation primarily aims at identifying these visual semiotic modes, investigating how these modes express the aforementioned dichotomy, and determining the ideologies behind these representations and their implications on the learners. This study adopted a qualitative research design, wherein content analysis was employed to study how self-representations and other-representations are portrayed in Algerian secondary school English textbooks. The samples selected for the analysis were extracted from the textbooks of all three levels: At the Crossroads, Getting Through, and New Prospects. The findings obtained show the disparity between the representations of the dichotomy. Self-representational pieces are portrayed negatively whereas other-representational compositions are depicted positively. Overall, representations of this dichotomy elevate the Self and simultaneously demean the Other. Therefore, these results were unexpected and have damaging repercussions. This study then offered some suggestions to syllabi designers to prevent such issues and to properly represent the Self and the Other.

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