The confluence of the creativity components in the ELT textbooks of inner, outer, and expanding circle countries: An investment theory of creativity

•Examining the presence of creativity in ELT textbooks.•Investigating the confluence of creativity components in ELT textbooks through the investment theory of creativity.•Selecting the ELT textbooks from inner, outer, and expanding circle countries. The concept of creativity is complex and significant in the process of learning English as a foreign/second language. Hence, the purpose of this study was 1) to investigate if creativity components, which are critical to developing learners' creativity, were present in the ELT (English language teaching) textbooks and 2) to examine the confluence among the components. Using basic content analysis, we analyzed the creative content of three ELT textbooks developed and used in Iran (expanding circle), India (outer circle), and the USA (inner circle). We investigated creativity using the investment theory, which considers factors such as intelligence, knowledge, thinking styles, personality, environment, and motivation. The ELT textbooks of Iran, India, and America all include components of creativity with a focus on knowledge in Iran and personality and intelligence in India and America. Furthermore, the findings revealed that Indian textbooks had a balanced inclusion of creativity components compared to the other two countries. We also found that creativity components overlapped across tasks and activities in the ELT textbooks of all three countries. We concluded that materials developers' beliefs and practices, the quality characteristics of creativity components, and the societal characteristics of the contexts where the ELT textbooks were developed and used might influence the confluence of creativity components in ELT textbooks.