144
Table 2.1. Type of Cultural Information in EFL Materials
NO. TYPES OF
CULTURAL INFORMATION
ILLUSTRATIONS 1.
Informative texts
40
2. Texts
presenting foreign attitudes and
opinions
41
3. Dialogues
about everyday life
42
40
Nina Bates, Real Time: An Interactive English Course for Junior High School Students Year VIII Jakarta: Erlangga, 2007, p.96.
41
Ibid., p. 111.
42
Ibid., p. 20.
145
NO. TYPES OF
CULTURAL INFORMATION
ILLUSTRATIONS 4.
Contextualized writing tasks
43
5. Idioms
and collocations
44
6. Realia or pseudo
realia
45
43
Nina Bates, Real Time: An Interactive English Course for Junior High School Students Year IX Jakarta: Erlangga, 2007, p. 57.
44
Ibid., p. 94.
45
Ibid., p. 9.
146
NO. TYPES OF
CULTURAL INFORMATION
ILLUSTRATIONS 7.
Visual illustrations
46
8. Sound recordings
47
In the context of EFL learning, learners generally expect that they will need to become familiar with the culture of those who
speak English as their mother tongue
48
. Learners expect to learn how other teenagers or adolescence at their age, at different part of
the world, talk, dress, think, or belief. It urges that learning materials should provide target culture information in any
aforementioned forms.
Textbooks are the most common EFL materials widely used by the teachers and students around the globe. Textbooks‘
important role in facilitating the second language teaching and learning in the classroom makes it as the most convenient EFL
materials. Despite the fact that textbooks are the most convenient
46
Ibid., p.11.
47
Mukarto, et al., English on Sky 1 Jakarta: Erlangga, 2007, p.75.
48
Jinliang Xiao, ―Cultural Contents of an in-use EFL Textbook and English
Major Students‘ Attitudes and Perceptions towards Culture Learning at Jiangxi University of Science and Technology China
‖ Unpublished thesis Prince of Songkla University, 2010, pp.1
—115.
147
EFL materials, ―the information in language textbooks is generally
fragmented and highly generalized, indicating only the norms of behavior.
‖ Therefore, a good cultural and intercultural competence is urgently needed to encounter such kind of condition. When EFL
learners do not possess actual experience of the culture presented in the textbooks, they may assume that the information applies to the
culture as a whole. This easily leads to prejudice or stereotype. Consequently, EFL materials should be carefully selected. From
this point forwards, the term of ‗English textbooks‘ is used in favor to ‗EFL materials‘.
C. The Role of Textbooks in Foreign Language Learning Textbook is an effective instrument for the educational
practice and it can reflect values and senses for individuals and nations
49
. Further, textbooks are crucial tools which serve various functions
50
. On the other hand, textbooks are also commodities, political objects, and cultural representations and therefore, are the
site and result of struggles and compromise in order to determine how and by whom they will be produced, how and by whom the
contents will be selected, how and to whom they will be distributed, and how teachers and students will make use of them
51
. The content of textbook significantly affects learners.
Further, textbooks directly or indirectly transmit cultural values to a certain degree thus called ‗hidden curriculum‘
52
. In terms of intercultural issue, textbooks are believed to have several roles for
students
53
. Textbooks can provide valuable input when it comes to
49
Eli Hinkel, Culture in Second Language Teaching and Learning Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2005, p. 135.
50
J.M. Kobia, ―Feminity and masculinity in English Primary School
Textbooks in Kenya ‖ in The International Journal of Language Society and
Culture pp.57
—71 Retrieved
at November
1, 2012
from www.educ.utas.edu.auuserstleJOURNAL
51
P. S hannon, ―Textbook Development and Selection‖ in International
Encyclopedia of Education third edition, Elsevier, 2010: pp.397 —402.
52
Alan Cunningsworth, Choosing your Coursebook Oxford: Heinemann, 1995, p. 8.
53
Ragnhild Lund , ―Questions of Culture and Context in English Language
Textbooks: A Study of Textbooks for the Teaching of English in Norway ‖ A
Dissertation in Universitet I Bergen, pp. 1 —350.
148
exposing students to new cultural expressions and to the diversity of cultures. Reflecting a worldview of a cultural system and a
social construction, textbook is considered to be an ideology
54
. Thus, it influences the way how students and teachers perceive the
view of culture. Because of the essential role of textbooks in EFL teaching,
the EFL materials choice could determine the quality of teaching and learning instruction. Particular attention is paid off by the
material selector textbook selector by conducting an evaluation to towards some English textbooks to rate their quality before finally
choose one as the most appropriate EFL materials. Cunningsworth proposes four stages of choosing textbooks namely analysis,
interpretation, evaluation, and finally selection.
55
Analysis deals with the process of seeking information in a range of categories,
and provides sufficient data for interpretation. Next, Interpretation refers to the process of interpreting the obtained data in the
previous stage. Later on, Evaluation has to do with professional judgment and experience to consider the different aspects of
textbooks. In this stage, some factors are taken into account, such as: learners and teacher expectations, methodological preferences,
the perceived needs of the learners, syllabus requirements and personal preferences. Lastly, Selection is the last stage where all
requirements are cross-checked to the particular teaching and learning situation.
Some countries tried to develop the English textbooks to be used nationally
to facilitate their learners‘ intercultural competence. To mention some, there are Contemporary College English for
Listening
56
for Chinese universities, Interchange
57
and Headway
58
used by Iranian college students, and such. These textbooks contain very rich cultural information and provide the learners with
54
Mohammad Aliakbari, ―The Place of Culture in the Iranian ELT Textbooks
in High School Level ‖ in PAAL Japan 17th Conference Proceedings, pp. 1—14.
55
Cunningsworth, Choosing your Coursebook Oxford: Heinemann, 1995, p. 9.
56
Published by the Foreign Languge Teaching and Research Press of China in 2009.
57
Jack C. Richards, et al., Interchange series. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
58
Liz and John Soars, Headway. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010.
149
the insights of target culture and international target culture. In other words, these textbooks facilitate the learners to gain
intercultural competence. D. English Textbooks at Madrasah Tsanawiyah in DKI Jakarta
Like other Madrasah Tsanawiyah, MTs Negeri in DKI Jakarta serve as another formal basic school which incorporate
Islamic values in its nature compared to public junior high schools. As a consequence, in the daily praxis of EFL teaching and learning,
the values of Islam is or should be integrated. Islam is not so much about believing in the faith but how Muslims respond to the
faith, that is, ‗not so much a noun but a verb, an action‘
59
. It suggests that, all component of the learning institution should be
supporting the integration of Islamic values in daily practice, including EFL teaching and learning.
In EFL classrooms at MTs, either teachers, students, teaching methods and teaching materials are expected to facilitate
the aim of EFL teaching which is intercultural communicative competence. It implies that students of MTsN are expected to be
culturally aware of their culture while they are learning some other cultures and embedded values in them. This is a challenge of
MTsN English teachers as they need to preserve Islamic values, while at the same time presenting target culture and international
target culture
for their EFL learners‘ knowledge. Based on the documents emerged by the Ministry of
National Education, the goals of English teaching at MTsN level are:
i. to improve communicative competence both in oral and
written to gain functional literacy level, ii.
to raise the awareness about the importance of English to raise the competitiveness of the nation, and
59
Caroline Ball and Akhlaque Haque , ―Diversity in Religious Practice:
Implications of Islamic Values in the Public Workplace ‖ in Public Personnel
Management, 32 no.3 September 2003: p.317.
150
iii. to develop students‘ understanding about the connection
between language and culture.
60
To support these goals, the teaching of English subject at MTsN is covering some scopes, such as discourse competence, text
production in various genres and some supporting competences linguistic competence, socio-cultural competence, strategic
competence, and discourse competence.
Revisiting these goals of English teaching at MTsN, it can be seen that the ultimate goal of EFL teaching is the
communicative competence. As what defined by Dell Hymes and followed by Canale Swain
61
communicative competence covers linguistic competence, socio-cultural competence, strategic
competence, and discourse competence. This study focuses on the socio-cultural competence where intercultural communicative
competence is the ultimate goal.
Ideally, the culture representation on English textbooks, either in the forms of products, practices, perspectives, or persons
should raise the EFL learners‘ intercultural awareness. Baker defines intercultural awareness as ―a conscious understanding of
the role culturally based forms, practices, and frames of understanding can have in intercultural communication, and an
ability to put these conceptions into practices in a flexible and
context specific manner in real time communication‖
62
. Savignon calls this as intercultural communicative competence ICC which
refers to the complex ability needed to perform effectively and appropriately when interacting with others who are linguistically
and culturally different from oneself.
63
60
Badan Standar Nasional Pendidikan, Panduan Penyusunan Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan Jenjang Pendidikan Dasar dan Menengah.
Downloaded on January, 10 2013. from http:bsnp-indonesia.orgidwp-
contentuploadskompetensiPanduan_Umum_KTSP.pdf
61
Michael Canale, ―Theoretical Bases of Communicative Approaches to
Second Language Teaching and Testing ” in Applied Linguistics, 1 1980: p. 1.
62
Michael Byram in W. Baker, ―From Cultural Awareness to Intercultural
Awareness: Culture in EL ‖ in ELT Journal Volume 661 January 2012: p. 66.
63
Savignon in Jianliang Xiao, ―Cultural Content of an in-use EFL Textbook
and English Major Students‘ Attitudes and Perceptions towards Culture Learning at Jiangxi University of Science and Technology, China
‖. Unpublished thesis University of Prince Songkla Thailand, 2010.
151
This intercultural communicative competence is developed through some stages namely: basic cultural awareness, advanced
cultural awareness, and intercultural awareness. To better comprehend these features of intercultural awareness, each stage is
presented below.
Table 2.2 Level of intercultural competence
64
Level Description
Level 1 basic
cultural awareness
An awareness of: 1. culture as a set of shared behaviours, beliefs, and values;
2. the role culture and context play in any interpretation of meaning;
3. our own culturally induced behaviour, values, and beliefs and the ability to articulate this;
4. others‘ culturally induced behaviour, values, and beliefs
and the ability to compare this with our own culturally induced behaviour, values, and beliefs
Level 2 advanced
cultural awareness
An awareness of: 5. the relative nature of cultural norms;
6. cultural understanding as provisional and open to revision;
7. multiple voices or perspectives within any cultural grouping;
8. individuals as members of many social groupings including cultural ones;
9. common ground between specific cultures as well as an awareness
of possibilities
for mismatch
and miscommunication between specific cultures.
Level 3 intercultural
awareness An awareness of:
10. culturally based frames of reference, forms, and communicative practices as being related both to
specific cultures and also as emergent and hybrid in intercultural communication;
11. initial interaction in intercultural communication as possibly based on cultural stereotypes or generalizations
but an ability to move beyond these through 12. a capacity to negotiate and mediate between different
emergent socio-culturally grounded communication modes and frames of reference based on the above
understanding of culture in intercultural communication.
64
Byram in Will Baker, ―From Cultural Awareness to Intercultural
Awareness: Culture in ELT ‖in ELT Journal Volume 661 January 2012: p. 66.
152
As a matter of fact, the representation of culture in English textbooks play
essential role in supporting students‘ intercultural competence. When textbooks present not only aesthetic sense
products, persons but also sociological sense, semantic sense and pragmatic sense; students learn target culture deeper. Textbooks
with rich cultural information enable the students to gain more knowledge about other cultures. As an illustration, students are not
only presented to Pop musics, TV shows and pop singers. Further, they also learn the norms and attitudes of other culture and later
will reflect the common ground of cultural understanding. By this means, intercultural competence will be achieved.
To achieve this intercultural awareness, Baker suggests some proposals to be implemented in the ELT classrooms, such as:
a. Exploring local culture, which is exploring the diversity and
the complexity of different local and national cultural groups. A discussion with other students from different local cultures
or nations can enrich the students with the cross cultural understanding.
b. Exploring language-learning materials, by evaluating or
criticizing the presented images or descriptions of the culture on the textbooks whether or not they are match with the
students‘ real experience knowledge. c.
Exploring the traditional media and arts through English, including film, television, radio, newspapers, novels,
magazines, to explore the images of local and other cultures. d.
Exploring IT electronic media through English, by using some internet features such as email, chatting, instant messaging,
online learning management systems LMS such as Moodle, Blackboard, Edmodo, etc to share cultural view with other
students from different countries.
e. Cultural informants, by inviting an informants persons who
have intercultural experience to share their stories and to provide information about their experiences of other cultures.
f. Face-to-face intercultural communication, if it is possible, by
inviting non local English teachers foreign teachers.
65
65
Will Baker, ―From Cultural Awareness to Intercultural Awareness: Culture
in ELT ‖in ELT Journal Volume 661 January 2012: p. 66.
153
F. Cultural Content Analysis of English Textbooks
