Global ELT coursebooks and equalities legislation: A critical study

Abstract

Equalities legislation in the United Kingdom (UK) aims to protect the rights of all residents by
identifying nine characteristics that can cause discrimination. This legislation requires institutions
offering programmes in English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) to include positive
representations of these protected characteristics in their learning content. However, many ESOL
programmes draw heavily on global coursebooks—materials published for a global market—which
tend to avoid equalities issues. This article describes a study that analyses global coursebooks from this UK equalities perspective,
exploring how the characteristics are represented within these resources. Findings appear to suggest
that the global coursebooks featured in the study are at odds with UK equalities legislation; rather
than promoting diversity and inclusion, they legitimise and endorse the hegemonic normativity that
fuels discrimination. We conclude the materials are an inappropriate source of core content for any
ESOL programmes seeking to address the equalities agenda.