In today's age of communication, knowing a language is not simply mastering its
vocabulary and grammar rules. Language learning has a social dimension and to be
socially competent users of a target language, learners need to be aware of the
target culture. The present study attempts at investigating the place of culture in
Iranian English textbooks entitled Prospect Series studied at Iranian junior high
schools. The major purpose is to see whether the cultural elements included in the
books, are conducive to the creation of a rich cultural awareness among learners
and an increase in their level of intercultural communicative competence.
Additionally, the paper is to review Iranian English teachers' attitudes towards
culture learning in language classes. The content analysis of Prospect books was
carried out using "L2/FL/EFL/ESL/EIL Culture Teaching/Learning Tree".
Interviews were also conducted to obtain teachers' perspectives regarding the
necessity and importance of teaching culture. The findings indicated that the
content of the English books taught at Iranian junior secondary schools was not
rich enough to lead learners in their path towards the acquisition of suitable and
sufficient cultural competence. Moreover, 15 teachers who taught the same books were interviewed about the
books' cultural content. They supported the need for revising the books, specifying
that cultural content can be improved much without endangering learners' national
or religious identity.