The need for coping with an ever-changing expanding body of relationships in a globalized world, necessitates concepts as intercultural communicative competence (ICC). ICC has been defined as the ability to communicate successfully and efficiently with people from diverse backgrounds (Byram, 2008). Emphasis is to be exerted on the essential role of ICC in language education as this concept is reckoned to be a pivotal part of teaching languages (Hilliard, 2005; Byram, 2008; Sercu, 2010). In language education, one of the areas where interculturality is manifested is in textbooks. Oakes and Saunders (2004) consider textbooks to be important mediators which can transfer intercultural information to L2 learners and they are also authentic sources for boosting learners’ knowledge about different aspects of the target language. This study aims to investigate a number of ICC components through analyzing the two levels of preparatory/lower-secondary as well as secondary/upper-secondary in English school textbooks of Egypt and Iran (Hello series; Prospect & Vision Series, for Egypt & Iran, respectively). There are three textbooks in each level, thus, there has been 12 textbooks for the present analysis which have been paralleled based on the age of the students. The framework hired in this research focuses on three aspects of culture each contributing to enhance ICC: cultural topics, cultural dimensions and cultural references (after Hall, 2002 & Sercu, 2000; Risager, 1991; Ramirez & Hall, 1990). The results are classified into three parts based on the cultural aspects investigated. In both countries’ textbooks cultural topics directly related to culture, have not been developed and they only remain on a superficial level. What is more is that cultural topics were mainly considering, introducing and elaborating the source culture in both countries and more evidently in Iran. This was done by focusing on the positive or neutral aspects of culture. Therefore, textbooks in both
