The article focuses on the analysis of eight English as foreign languagetextbooks used by teachers of English in different private, subsidized and state secondary schools in Osorno, Chile. In this study, the English textbook is seen as a wide and dynamic space where social, geographic, cultural and individual scenarios are constructed, shaping a complex narrative web of senses. Our research has been articulated in four moments. Firstly, a theoretical support for the key concepts is given, showing the English textbook as a device of Cultural Politics; as a qualified authority naturally present in language classroom settings and as a space where multiple narratives of identity are interwoven to (de)construct the self and reality.Secondly, a thorough reading on Foucault’s views of language and discourse are made to orient the analysis of texts in each book. Thirdly, to illustrate this analysis, two discursive fields are presented: care of the self and experience and alterity.Análisis de ocho Libros de Texto para la enseñanza escolar del inglés comolengua extranjera usados en escuelas secundarias de Osorno (Chile). El estudio se articula en cuatro momentos: en el primero se presentan los conceptos que constituyen el soporte teórico referido al Libro de Texto como dispositivo de política cultural, la autoridad del Libro de Texto de lengua extranjera, y Libro de Texto y narrativa de identidad. En el segundo momento se hace explícita la delimitación epistemológica y metodológica de la investigación. En el tercer momento se desarrollan los análisis realizados y se presentan, a modo de ejemplo, dos campos discursivos: el campo de los cuidados del sí mismo y el campo de la experiencia y la alteridad.