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http://doi.org/10.332.34/SSR.23.11
Semiotic Strategies in ELT Textbooks: A Comparative Analysis of the Evolve – Global and Special Editions
Nabil Mohammed Nasser Salem
Department of Foreign Languages,
Faculty of Arts and Humanities,
Al-Baha University,
Saudi Arabia
Abstract
This study examines the semiotic strategies employed in the Evolve English Language Teaching (ELT) textbook series through a comparative analysis of its Global Edition and the Special Edition tailored for learners in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region. Drawing on Barthes’ (1977) semiotic concepts of denotation, connotation, and anchorage, and Kress and van Leeuwen’s (2020) theory of non-arbitrary signs, it explores how visual and linguistic elements are redesigned to reflect local religious, cultural, and social values while preserving pedagogical aims.
Using qualitative semiotic analysis, the study identifies four key strategies: substitution, modification, deletion, and retention, each aligning with Barthes’s framework of signification and Kress and van Leeuwen’s social view of signs. The localized edition thus emerges as a re-semiotized product that negotiates global educational objectives and local sociocultural expectations.
The study contributes to debates on culturally responsive ELT design and highlights the importance of semiotic analysis as a critical tool for understanding ideology in educational materials.
Keywords: semiotic strategies; cultural localization; ELT textbooks; textbook adaptation; Barthes; Kress and van Leeuwen; Saudi Arabia