The content of lessons in group A is developed by the central government, while the content of lessons in group B is developed by the central government
complemented with local content developed by district government. In Curriculum 2006, English is firstly introduced formally in elementary
schools as a compulsory subject with six contact hours per week. In the new curriculum, Curriculum 2013, English is set as an extracurricular activity in
elementary schools. It is firstly introduced formally as a compulsory subject in JHS level with four contact hours per week. However, the total contact hours in
JHS level increases from 32 per week to 38 per week. The government adds some contact hours to some lessons like Pendidikan Agama dan Budi Pekerti. With the
increasing number of contact hours and decreasing number of Kompetensi Dasar in Curriculum 2013, it is expected that teachers have more time to develop
learning process which is active learning students oriented Kemdikbud, 2013a.
B. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
The discussion of a textbook will never end since it is almost used in every language classroom. The existence of a textbook seems to be a must for
both teachers and learners. Some teachers rely on a textbook since it provides a lot of materials to teach. Teachers making their own teaching materials, those who do
not use any textbook in their classroom, are seen less ‘reliable’ and ‘trusted’ than those who use a textbook. Learners also feel more ‘secure’ if they have a textbook
and use them in their language learning classroom.
A good textbook is not only a complement in language learning. More than that, a textbook should provide teaching and learning guide both for teachers
and learners; what to teach, what to learn, how to teach, and how to learn. Although it is very essential and determines the flow of the language learning, the
success of language learning does not primarily depend on the textbook. The success of language learning depends on the teachers and learners themselves,
how they make use of the textbook to support their needs. No matter how perfect and complete a textbook is, it would never support language learning if the users
cannot use it properly. On the contrary, a less perfect textbook would be very beneficial for the users if they can match what is there in the textbook with
learners’ needs. An aspect in a textbook deals with vocabulary items which are used in it.
Vocabulary itself plays an important role in language learning. As the result, vocabulary coverage of a textbook becomes one consideration in textbook
selection. Vocabulary takes an essential part in language learning since the meaning of language lies in the meaning of the vocabulary items as the key
elements, which affect comprehensibility. Having comprehension of vocabulary, learners would be able to acquire language Krashen and Terrell, 1995.
In a textbook, vocabulary should act as input which helps learners acquire language. However, the input should be comprehensible, meaning that the
input should be of one level above learners’ current competence. This is called Input Hypothesis by Krashen 1985. Being in one level above learners’ current
competence, vocabulary presented in a textbook will trigger learners to learn and
acquire something. In this case, 1,000 English types need to be recognized by
students in
beginning level Sánchez Criado, 2009.
Vocabulary consists of words. It contains a number of type, token, and word family. Those are recycled throughout a textbook in different contexts. The
number of type, token, and word family in the textbook will affect whether the vocabulary is comprehensible or not. If the number of token is almost the same
with the number of type, it means that the vocabulary items are too various. It is too wide to cover all of them. If the number of the token is far below the number
of type, it means that the textbook uses a lot of vocabulary items which are the same, repeated too frequently. Ten-time repetitions should bring enough effect on
students Coady and Nation, 1988. The number of word family also needs to be in line with the need of the
learners, and one level above their current language competence. A textbook should contain a number of word types which are recycled throughout different
contexts. It aims to introduce new word types and make learners familiar with them. However, the number of word types should also be appropriate to support
language acquisition and to avoid learners from having burden. Moreover, the level of difficulty needs to be appropriate with students’ level.
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CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
