SIMPATI: Jurnal Penelitian Pendidikan dan Bahasa Vol.
No.
4 Oktober 2023 e-ISSN :2962-1143- p-ISSN :2962-0864.
Hal 21-33 DOI: https://doi.
org/10.
59024/simpati.
A Cultural Content Analysis of English Textbooks Written by Native and Non-native Speakers Ichsan Fauzi Pangestu University of Mataram Henny Soepriyanti University of Mataram Arafiq University of Mataram Untung Waluyo University of Mataram Korespondensi penulis: ichsanfauzip@gmail.
Abstract.
The examination of cultural content in textbooks enables educators to identify suitable course materials that effectively cater to the linguistic requirements of learners in a culturally appropriate manner.
This study aimed to examine the cultural aspects of the target language in high school English textbooks, specifically "Bahasa Inggris 2017 revised edition Kelas X" and "English in Mind Second Edition (Student's Book .
for Grade X.
" The research used Cortazzi and Jin's checklist of cultural types and Byram's criteria of Cultural Knowledge.
Cultural Awareness, and Intercultural Competence.
The data was gathered from two English textbooks for tenth-grade students written by native and non-native English speakers.
The findings showed that Textbook 2.
English in Mind for Grade X, had a higher cultural content compared to Textbook 1.
Bahasa Inggris Kelas X.
Textbook 2 presented more target culturerelated content, covering 188 items.
International culture 64 items, and the least presented type.
Source culture 28 items.
Both textbooks met the cultural aspects criteria as suggested by Byram's criteria but Textbook 2 contained more target culture-related content than Textbook In conclusion, the ideal textbook for presenting more target cultural content is represented by Textbook 2, which is written by native speakers of English.
Keywords: Cultural Aspects.
Target Language.
Textbook
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Both teaching and learning are dependent on textbooks.
Despite the growing number of learning resources and technological advancements, textbooks remain the most essential source of assistance for teachers and students.
According to Szcke-Milinte .
a textbook is an effective tool for self-study, a collection of theories and activities, a source of knowledge for students, a syllabus which signifies post-learning objectives, as well as guidance for less Received August 3, 2023.
Revised September 2, 2023.
Accepted October 05, 2023 * Tirta Dianti, tirtadianti9@gmail.
A Cultural Content Analysis of English Textbooks Written by Native and Non-native Speakers experienced teachers expecting confidence.
Textbooks are essential learning tools for both students and instructors.
Textbooks are the fundamental course principles that govern instruction and learning.
Despite the fact that textbooks do not contain all of the information necessary for teaching and learning, their availability as a teaching resource is essential.
They were effective teaching and learning tools and a reflection of the values and beliefs of the people or nation (Edmundson, 2.
According to Prayatni et al.
, .
, globalization and immigration have produced multiethnic and multi-complex societies in which individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds can communicate face-to-face or through mediated means.
However, cultural differences have always made it difficult for individuals to communicate, even when they speak the same Therefore.
Culture as part of learning a language must incorporate significant ideals that students need to accomplish educational objectives, such as preparing students to be socially aware.
Students can interpret cultural values in language learning as more than just generic knowledge, but also as a resource for interacting with society.
Azmi et al.
identify that many EFL textbooks written by non-native authors are tedious and unappealing.
This kind of books can decrease studentsAo motivation in learning English classes and lead to poor subject comprehension and mastery.
Furthermore.
Yusniawati & Lestari .
add uninteresting materials make students less encouraged to take part in the English classes.
this relation.
Endrayuni et al.
suggest that teachers tailor their indigenous cultures into the classrooms to learn English culture.
With this, they will be able to recognize the significance of cultural identity for individuals and society.
Putting cultural awareness into textbooks is therefore essential for language learning (Kodriyah et al.
Hidayat et al.
argue that not all online content is appropriate and accessible for Some may be appropriate, straightforward, and cost-free, while others may be complex, costly, and inadequate for students' requirements.
Therefore, both physical copies and soft copies, such as videos and audio recordings, are utilized to represent the materials (Rajabi & Ketabi, 2.
These hard and soft materials contain content that can be used as sources and references for teaching and learning English as a foreign language, which is applied throughout the process to cultural materials.
Cortazzi and Jin .
suggest an effective textbook should include source cultures, target cultures, and international cultures.
incorporating these three cultural categories, it is anticipated that students will develop their intercultural communication competence.
Through classroom instruction and sources such as textbooks, it is possible to discover cultural elements that are grounded in reality.
The Ministry SIMPATI - VOLUME.
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Hal 21-33 of Education and Culture publishes a book entitled a Bahasa Inggris textbook that includes authentic cultural elements.
For instance, in the chapter of Talking About Self the book informs students how to introduce themselves in the target language.
The other section of the book entitled The Battle of Surabaya provides a historical overview which can assist students to present a positive attitude toward nationality.
These instances demonstrate that cultural aspects can be taught in the classroom.
In addition, the Indonesian government encourages the use of textbooks in the Indonesian education system by publishing and distributing textbooks to each school as a teaching aid based on the most recent curriculum.
The textbook is also known as the curriculum's primary tool in Indonesia.
As Richards .
stated, it is one of the readily accessible resources that can be used in learning activities without using devices or electricity.
In addition, textbooks contain numerous teaching materials that are well-organized and provide a shared, visible outline of what will be taught in the classroom.
The materials are represented by hard copies, such as textbooks or course materials, and digital copies, such as videos and audio recordings (Rajabi & Ketabi, 2.
This insinuates that textbooks are inherently an integral part of the educational process.
Numerous ELT researchers who have focused on textbook analysis and evaluation assert that cultural content of a textbook content has a significant impact on student learning experiences (Kiczkowiak, 2.
Cultural content in ELT materials refers to cultural information, such as the various categories of culture, symbolic meaning, artistic dimension, and cultural values that represent cultural identities in a variety of ways.
According to Elshadelin & Yumarnamto .
, both texts and visual illustrations comprise cultural content in ELT materials.
In addition, students can be exposed to cultural content through stories, news reports, and other forms of writing Islam et al.
argued that textbooks provide students with valuable exposure to cultural manifestations and cultural diversity.
Moreover, it was noted that textbooks transmit cultural values either directly or indirectly, a phenomenon known as "hidden curriculum.
" In this relation.
Cortazzi and Jin .
argue that textbooks should include cultural materials that encourage students to investigate intercultural issues and enhance their communicative It should be noted that acquiring a culture does not necessarily imply acceptance of that culture.
It is just an attempt to increase students' interest in subject-matter materials.
According to Cortazzi and Jin .
English textbooks contain three categories of cultural references, i.
: the target culture, the source culture .
ocal cultur.
, and the international culture.
The type of target culture can be identified as that of the United Kingdom A Cultural Content Analysis of English Textbooks Written by Native and Non-native Speakers (British Englis.
, the United States (American Englis.
Canada, and Australia.
However, the majority of English language instruction focuses primarily on American and British culture.
Therefore, it is greatly necessary to include the target culture, as the objective is to expose authentic aspects of knowledge from native countries in order to provide an understanding of the native use of the language and to acquire a native speaker's point of view.
Byram .
assert that the use of authentic materials in learning a new language can expand students' worldview and the intercultural communicative competence.
These aspects include cultural knowledge, which comprises all cultural information about the target language.
Students should comprehend this cultural information as it is typically presented for the purpose of learning descriptive and narrative texts.
In addition, cultural awareness is an essential component of cultural sensitivity toward the cultural products of other people, such as their beliefs and values.
This cultural awareness assists students to adjust to cultural With such a cultural awareness, they will be encouraged to develop positive dispositions, such as tolerance for other cultures, when they are exposed to specific cultural All of these will result in the development of intercultural competence.
This is an ability to communicate and interact with people from different cultures and countries.
With this in mind, students will be able to develop the following traits: a curious and open attitude toward other cultures, the ability to comprehend situations or events in another culture and relate them to their own, and the cultural awareness necessary to evaluate the practices and products of the other culture (Quester, 2.
This study examined two tenth-grade English textbooks, "Bahasa Inggris" and "English in Mind Second Edition (Student's Book .
" using the framework of cultural aspects and content theorized by Cortazzi and Jin's cultural types and Byram's criteria of cultural aspects.
The textbook 1.
Bahasa Inggris for Grade X was selected for analysis because it adopted numerous cultural aspects of Indonesia.
This text covers a wide variety of Indonesian culture and other international cultures.
The second book.
English in Mind Second Edition (Student's Book .
, was chosen for the study because it was written by a variety of native English speakers.
Based on the preceding background information, the following research questions have been developed for this study: .
What cultural types contained in Senior High School English .
How are the cultural aspects of the target language represented in Senior High School English textbooks from non-native English speaker authors compared to native English speaker authors? SIMPATI - VOLUME.
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RESEARCH METHOD
To highlight the inclusion of cultural elements of the target language in high school English textbooks, the researcher employed a qualitative technique in this study.
Qualitative research, according to Creswell .
, is a method for examining and comprehending the significance of individuals or groups involved in social or human problems.
This indicates that the researcher wanted to convey the meaning and moral principles included in the textbooks that served as the study's data source.
The development of the research instruments for this study was guided by two theoretical frameworks: Michael Byram's cultural features criteria and Cortazzi and Jin's cultural kinds.
The framework was created to find out how each English textbook depicts cultural elements of the target language.
The researcher used a worksheet as part of all of the research equipment.
To help the researcher classify and interpret the data, the cultural categories described by Cortazzi and Jin and the cultural characteristics described by Byram were set in the spreadsheets.
Later, the worksheet was displayed as a table with Cortazzi.
Jin, and Byram's cultural types and characteristics.
For the purpose of gathering data, the researcher used English textbooks, namely English in Mind Second Edition (Student's Book .
for Grade X and Bahasa Inggris for SMA/MA/SMK/MAK Grade X.
Documentation was employed as the method of data gathering in this study.
There were two primary steps to the data analysis Each unit's reading passages, conversations, visuals, and exercises were initially divided into three categories: .
source culture.
target culture.
international culture (Cortazzi & Jin, 1.
Next, all parts of the materials were divided into three categories: cultural knowledge, cultural awareness, and intercultural competency to analyze the cultural aspects of the target language that are included in senior high school English textbooks (Byram, 1.
When comparing how non-native English speakers and native English speakers expressed cultural features of the target language in Senior High School English textbooks, the categorized data were compared and analyzed using thematic analysis.
A presentation of the findings and qualitative discussion followed.
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
Findings A Cultural Content Analysis of English Textbooks Written by Native and Non-native Speakers The subsequent sections describe how the findings are conveyed.
First, the analysis of the titles of the textbooks is used to present the findings.
this checklist examined all textbook contents to determine whether or not any cultural aspects of the target language are presented.
Second, the results are presented in accordance with the research questions posed by the study.
The conclusion of this study is the discussion of the research findings.
The following are the English for Tenth Grade (Textbook .
The Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture published this revised iteration of the 2013 curriculum in 2017 as a textbook.
This textbook was written by authors from Indonesia.
This is a theme-based textbook because each of its fifteen chapters is dedicated to a distinct subject.
The data analysis reveals that there were three types of culture classification:
source culture, target culture, and international culture.
The source culture refers to the culture of the students.
Indonesian culture, followed by target culture, refers to the culture of countries where the target language is spoken.
and international culture refers to all cultures other than the source and target cultures.
The following categories of culture are presented in Bahasa Indonesian for 10th grade.
Chart : Types of Culture in Textbook Bahasa Inggris for Grade X Types of Culture in Bahasa Inggris for Grade X Source Culture Target Culture International Culture The source material analysis included texts, conversations, images, phrases, and words from the textbook.
The findings revealed that the source culture, also known as Asian culture, does not appear in every chapter of the textbook.
For instance, chapter 1 had the highest frequency of source culture .
, whereas chapters 7 and 14 contained no source culture.
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Hal 21-33 Typical names of Indonesians, such as Alif.
Bejo.
Sinta.
Eny.
Cita.
Yuni.
Rahmi.
Firda.
Fadhil.
Wayan.
Santi.
Bayu.
Siti.
Afgan.
Habibie, and Cut Nyak Dhien, primarily represented the source culture.
Also included was a catalog of typical Indonesian cities, including Jakarta.
Papua.
Surabaya.
Aceh, and Padang.
In addition, the book included dialogues or conversations between two or more speakers that reflected the culture of origin.
On page 17, for instance.
Edo and Slamet introduce themselves and discuss their regions and occupations.
Several cultural origins were cited, including Raja Ampat and Jepara, as well as ukir Jepara, a carving technique indigenous to Jepara.
The textbook 1 included several texts presenting Indonesian cultures in recount and narrative formats, including historical recounts of Indonesian figures.
In addition, the book included the target culture of English-speaking nations including the United States, the United Kingdom.
Canada.
Australia, and New Zealand.
Compared to the source culture, this textbook contained less information on this topic.
Also confined was the presentation of the target However, the textbook contained commonplace names, images, readings, dialogues, melodies, and quotations pertaining to notable individuals.
Each chapter comprised information regarding the target culture, according to the findings.
The presence of the target culture was mentioned 10 times in Chapter 1, whereas it was not mentioned in Chapters 4, 6, 8, or 10.
These include Hannah.
Caroline.
One Direction.
Tom Cruise.
Oprah Winfrey.
Rowling.
Mark Zuckerberg, and Steve Jobs.
This culture includes a wide variety of cultures situated in English-speaking countries or other countries where English is not a first or second language, but is used internationally.
The research findings revealed that international culture received the least going over in Chapter 1 featured a preponderance of international cultures .
, whereas Chapters 3, 7, 9, 13, 14, and 15 were devoid of international culture.
It was found in the names of Issumboshi and Lionel Messi, as well as Singapore.
India.
Malaysia, and Japan.
In addition, international figures such as Lao Tzu and the Talmud mentioned it.
In addition, descriptive and narrative reading texts are included in the representations of international culture.
On page 58, the Taj Mahal is described in detail.
The chapter 12 on pages 157 to 159 was titled Issumboshi and was based on a Japanese folk tale.
This textbook presents and implies the cultural aspects of the target language's culture through words or phrases, writing assignments, reading texts, images, and dialogues.
Cultural knowledge comprises all cultural information about the target language.
This cultural data is typically presented for the purpose of teaching descriptive and narrative texts.
A Cultural Content Analysis of English Textbooks Written by Native and Non-native Speakers English in Mind for Grade X (Textbook .
This textbook entitled English in Mind Second Edition (StudentAos Book .
was written by native English speakers Herbert Puchta.
Jeff Stranks.
Richard Carter, and Peter Lewis-Jones and published by Kementrian Pendidikan.
Kebudayaan.
Riset, dan Teknologi in 2021.
This textbook contains fourteen chapters on various topics.
Details of findings are elaborated in the Chart below.
Types of Culture in English in Mind for grade X Source Culture Target Culture International Culture Chart 2: Types of Culture in Textbook English in Mind for Grade X This textbook provided fewer details about the existence of this cultural type.
The target culture was present in all types of textbook material, including readings, conversations, phrases, and words, considering the limited presentation.
According to the findings, source culture, also known as Indonesian culture, was not present in every chapter of the textbook 2.
The findings show that Chapter 2 of the book had the highest frequency of source culture existence .
, while chapters 1, 3, 4, 7, and 9 did not present any source culture existence.
The source culture was primarily presented by people's names, such as Annisa.
Hasanah.
Amir.
Hasan.
Desy.
Amanda.
Elvira.
Rizqi.
Nur.
Ahmad.
Fauziah.
Yahya.
Hafiz.
Azka.
Ayu.
Jelita.
Indra.
Saskia.
Siti.
the name of a country, such as Indonesia.
and another mentioned source The material analysis covered every aspect of the textbook, including names, pictures, speech acts, readings, dialogues, and songs.
The findings showed that each chapter displayed a target culture.
Chapter 11 had the highest frequency of target culture existence .
, while Chapter 9 had the lowest frequency .
nly 4 item.
People's names such as Nick.
Connor.
Chloe.
Richard Clark.
Deborah Jenkins.
Sophie Lake.
Ashley & Mary-Kate Olsen.
Green Day.
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Hal 21-33 William Golding.
R Tolkien.
Ray Kurzweil.
Nirvana.
Pearl Jam.
Britney Spears.
Pictures of famous people such as Jay Z.
Oasis.
Neil Armstrong.
John F.
Kennedy, and Robbie Williams were also found in this textbook.
Moreover, there was a section of the book that discussed arts from the target culture.
for example, on pages 33 and 89, there were songs in the target language called Live Forever by Oasis and No Regrets by Robbie Williams, as well as several famous stories from target cultures such as Dracula, a story written by Bram Stoker, and The Hobbit, a story written by R Tolkien on page 51.
This culture involves an extensive variety of cultures set in Englishspeaking countries or in other countries where English is not a first or second language, but is used as an international language is referred to as international cultures.
The presence of international culture was found most frequently in Chapter 5 .
Chapter 10 .
, and Chapter 14 .
It appeared in the names of people like Columbus and Picasso and in countries such as Argentina.
Egypt.
Germany.
India.
Paris, and Portugal.
Furthermore, reading text about international culture was represented.
on page 74, there was a text about The Curse of Tutankhamun's Tomb.
The cultural aspects of the target language's culture are primarily presented in this textbook through the meaning of texts, pictures, tasks, words, and phrases.
This cultural information is generally presented for learning descriptive and narrative texts.
Below is the evidence:
The song lyrics entitled AuLive ForeverAy by Oasis .
The descriptive text about American TV Show entitled AuThe Amazing RaceAy .
The argumentative text about eating fast food .
The song lyrics entitled AuNo RegretsAy by Robbie Williams .
As regards cultural awareness, the book contains some names of people from the target culture countries and the names of famous people.
The A The secret methods of communication between twins .
A conspiracy theory entitled AuThe LakeAy .
The descriptive text of Stonehenge.
England .
An article entitled AuThe Curse of TutankhamunAos TombAy .
The American Story entitled AuThe Legend of Sleepy HollowAy .
DISCUSSION
Based on the frameworks created by Cortazzi and Jin .
and Byram .
, the findings showed that the two textbooks analyzed presented cultures in different ways.
There A Cultural Content Analysis of English Textbooks Written by Native and Non-native Speakers were differences between the cultures presented in the two textbooks regarding the cultural types from Cortazzi and JinAos .
framework and cultural aspects from ByramAos .
Based on the findings, each textbook depicts realistic learning materials such as pictures or visual illustrations, readings, phrases, words, names of people, places, conversations or dialogues, and other activities.
They presented the different types of culture.
The source culture's dominant appearance was similar to English textbooks studied by Akbar .
in Makassar.
It was considered that the first textbook is more likely to encourage students' source cultures to learn English.
While the second textbook English in Mind for Grade X, presented the Target culture with the highest percentage, surpassed with the International culture and Source culture.
However, the second textbook English in Mind for Grade X presented different findings regarding the Types of Culture.
This textbook emphasized Target Culture over Source Culture and International Culture.
The analysis revealed 188 items in the presentation of the Target culture.
Compared to the first textbook.
Bahasa Inggris for Grade X emphasized target culture in senior high school English learning.
Source culture was the least frequently typed with a percentage of 28 items.
Additionally, international culture was the second most frequently mentioned in the textbook, covered 64 items.
From the finding above, it can be inferred from the findings above that all textbooks included the three types of culture in different proportions.
Furthermore, the findings revealed that English in Mind for grade X included a higher number of cultural types than Bahasa Inggris for grade X, based on the findings of cultural existence in both textbooks.
The findings also revealed that there was an uneven distribution of cultural types, with each textbook mainly presented Source and Target Culture over International Culture.
The second aspect is to discover how the target language's cultural aspects are represented in English textbooks for senior high school.
To conduct this research.
Byram .
's cultural aspects criteria are used to analyze and examine the contents of the textbooks.
The findings show that cultural knowledge in both books exposes all cultural information about the target language.
This cultural information is generally presented for learning descriptive and narrative texts.
Cultural awareness is the sensitivity to other cultural knowledge such as beliefs and values, it helps students in adapting to differences.
In addition, when they are exposed to specific cultural knowledge, it encourages positive attitudes such as tolerance of other cultures.
Byram .
suggests that in terms of teaching materials, a minimum range of cultural content representations in terms of the themes and topics mentioned below should be provided in the textbook.
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Hal 21-33 Based on the data Analysis provided above, the findings revealed that both textbooks contained the criteria developed by Byram .
in the aspects of Cultural Knowledge.
Cultural Awareness, and Intercultural Competence.
The presentation of target cultural contents in Textbook 1 covered 36 items which consisted of Cultural knowledge 14 items.
Cultural awareness 2 items, and Intercultural Competence 20 items.
While the presentation of target cultural contents in Textbook 2 covered 50 items of target cultural contents which consisted of Cultural knowledge 30 items.
Cultural awareness 7 items, and Intercultural Competence 13 The data showed that the source culture category predominated in the textbook.
The present data analysis revealed that Textbook 2 contained more target cultural content than Textbook 1.
The present study's findings support the previous study conducted by Rahmawati .
Furthermore, the present study's findings are also in line with another previous study reported by Mustofa .
, who claimed that the presentation of source culture/local culture in Bahasa Inggris for Grade X by kemendikbud dominated over target culture and international In the present study, the researcher discovered that Textbook 1.
Bahasa Inggris for Grade X, contained more Source culture than Target culture and International culture.
While Textbook 2.
English in Mind for Grade X, contained more Target culture than Source and International culture.
CONCLUSION
This study investigates the cultural types in senior high school English textbooks and their representation of the target language.
The researchers used the three cultural types proposed by Cortazzi and Jin .
to identify the cultural types in the textbooks.
The results showed that English in Mind for Grade X had a higher number of cultural types than Bahasa Inggris for Grade X.
The second textbook.
English in Mind for Grade X, presented more on Target Culture.
International culture, and Source culture.
The first textbook.
Bahasa Inggris for Grade X, encouraged students to learn English by applying local cultural values as an Indonesian identity.
Compared to the second textbook.
English in Mind for Grade X, it encouraged students to learn a new perspective on the target culture.
SUGGESTIONS
For teachers currently using the textbook Bahasa Inggris for Grade X, it is highly suggested to include more cultural content related to the target culture in other ELT materials A Cultural Content Analysis of English Textbooks Written by Native and Non-native Speakers to compensate the limitation.
Furthermore, for teachers who have not decided yet on a textbook to use in the classroom, it is recommended to be more selective when selecting a textbook regarding cultural content that will be used as the primary source of information.
According to the findings of this study, the researcher recommends the textbook English in Mind for Grade X to be used in ELT in the classroom because its target cultural contents are considered ideal than the other textbook.
It is expected that the authors of the textbooks used in this study will pay more attention to cultural content and include more cultural aspects in their textbooks because it provides teachers and students with knowledge of the language they have acquired.
To be more specific, considering how widely used the textbook Bahasa Inggris for Grade X is in schools, it is highly recommended that the textbook's authors be more concerned about this topic.
For those who are interested in conducting further studies on cultural content in EFL or ELT materials, it is suggested to look closely Byram's .
theory and framework of nine cultural aspects more deeply and to be able to use it more accurately in identifying cultural content in English textbooks.
Furthermore, it is highly recommended to have a lot of discussions with experts regarding opinions in analyzing textbooks.
When identifying the cultural content presented in the textbook, it will be helpful to hear opinions from different Despite some similarities, the ideal textbook that present more target cultural content is represented by Textbook 2, which is written by native speakers of English.
REFERENCES