Abstract

This study aimed to examine the construction of intercultural identity through evaluating the representation of identity options in two Tunisian EFL textbooks, namely “Let’s Learn English” and “Let’s Discover more English”. Using content analysis and Byram’s (1997) identity options, the textbooks’ textual contents were analyzed in terms of their representation of identity options of the Tunisian, British and other cultures and in terms of mutual representations and mutual relationships. The results revealed that the representation of identity options is generally limited, imbalanced, oversimplified, and unrealistic, which makes it unfit for the development of intercultural identity. The portrayal of the characters’ social, ethnic and regional identities and their mutual representation of their cultures and relations are stereotypic and oversimplified. It is recommended that the textbooks provide a more realistic, balanced, updated and comprehensive representation of identity options.