CULTURAL CONTENT ANALYSIS OF AN ENGLISH
TEXTBOOK FOR SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL GRADE THREE
IN CIANJUR, WEST JAVA
Submitted to Department of English Education of Faculty of Language and Arts Education of Indonesia University of Education in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for Sarjana Pendidikan degree
A Research Paper
By
Ihsan Nur Iman Faris
0902468
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH EDUCATION
FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION
INDONESIA UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION
CULTURAL CONTENT ANALYSIS OF AN ENGLISH TEXTBOOK FOR
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL GRADE THREE IN CIANJUR, WEST JAVA
Oleh
Ihsan Nur Iman Faris
Sebuah skripsi yang diajukan untuk memenuhi salah satu syarat memperoleh gelar Sarjana Pendidikan pada Fakultas Pendidikan Bahasa dan Seni
© Ihsan Nur Iman Faris2014 Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia
Januari 2014
Hak Cipta dilindungi undang-undang.
IHSAN NUR IMAN FARIS
CULTURAL CONTENT ANALYSIS OF AN ENGLISH TEXTBOOK FOR SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL GRADE THREE IN CIANJUR, WEST JAVA
APPROVED BY
Main Supervisor
Dr. H. Odo Fadloely, M.A.
NIP. 195408041977021001
Co-Supervisor
Drs. Prawoto S. Purnomo, M.Pd.
NIP. 195110081980021002
Head of English Education Department Faculty of Language and Arts Education
Indonesia University of Education
Prof. Dr. Didi Suherdi, M.Ed.
ABSTRACT
This research investigates the cultural content in an English textbook for senior high school grade three in Cianjur, West Java. The data of the research were collected from reading passages in the English textbook for
senior high school entitled “Look Ahead”, book three published by
Airlangga publisher. To reveal what cultures are represented in the textbook, the cultural contents are categorized into the source culture, the target culture, or the international culture (Cortazzi & Jin, 1999). To reveal how the cultures are represented in the textbook, the cultural contents are categorized into the aesthetic sense, the sociological sense, the semantic sense, or the pragmatic sense (Adaskou, Britten & Fahsi, 1990). The research finds that the target culture is predominant in the textbook. The investigation found that 77.05% cultural contents refer to the target culture, 13.11% cultural contents refer to the source culture, and 09.84% cultural contents refer to the international culture. Regarding how cultures are represented in the textbook, generally culture is represented by the aesthetic sense (37.70%), the sociological sense (31.15%), the pragmatic sense (19.67%) and the semantic sense (11.48%). Based on the findings it is recommended that more source culture and international culture be included in the textbook.
Keywords: Culture, the target culture, the source culture, the international
culture, four senses of culture, textbooks.
ABSTRAK
Penelitian ini menginvestigasi muatan budaya dalam sebuah buku pelajaran bahasa Inggris untuk kelas tiga di salah satu SMA di Cianjur. Data dalam penelitian diambil dari teks bacaan dalam buku pelajaran bahasa Inggris
yang berjudul “Look Ahead” buku ketiga, diterbitkan oleh penerbit Airlangga. Untuk menyingkap budaya apa yang direpresentasikan oleh buku pelajaran, muatan budaya dikaterogikan ke dalam budaya pribumi, budaya target, dan budaya internasional (Cortazzi & Jin, 1999). Untuk menyingkap bagaimana budaya direpresentasikan di buku pelajaran, muatan budaya dikategorikan ke dalam makna estetika, makna sosiologikal, makna semantik, dan makna pragmatic (Adaskou, Britten & Fahsi, 1990). Penelitian ini menemukan bahwa budaya target diutamakan dalam buku pelajaran. Hasil investigasi menunjukan 77.05% muatan budaya merujuk pada budaya target, 13.11% muatan budaya merujuk pada budaya pribumi, dan 09.84% merujuk pada budaya internasional. Berkenaan dengan bagaimana budaya direpresentasikan, secara umum budaya direpresentasikan dengan makna estetika (37.70%), makna sosiologikal (31.15%), makna pragmatic (19.67%) dan makna semantic (11.48%). Berdasarkan temuan penelitian, direkomendasikan budaya pribumi dan budaya internasional agar mendapat proporsi lebih di dalam buku pelajaran.
Kata Kunci: Budaya, budaya target, budaya pribumi, budaya internasional,
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE OF APPROVAL ... Error! Bookmark not defined.
STATEMENT OF AUTHORIZATION ... Error! Bookmark not defined.
PREFACE ... Error! Bookmark not defined.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ... Error! Bookmark not defined.
ABSTRACT ... Error! Bookmark not defined.
TABLE OF CONTENTS ... viii
LIST OF TABLES ... x
LIST OF FIGURES ... xi
CHAPTER I ... Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.1 Background of the Research ... Error! Bookmark not defined. 1.2 Research Questions ... Error! Bookmark not defined. 1.3 Aims of the Research ... Error! Bookmark not defined. 1.4 Scope of the Research ... Error! Bookmark not defined. 1.5 Significance of the Research ... Error! Bookmark not defined. 1.6Research Methodology ... Error! Bookmark not defined. 1.6.1 Research Design ... Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.6.2 Data Collection ... Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.6.3 Data Analysis ... Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.7 Clarification of Terms ... Error! Bookmark not defined. 1.8 Organization of Paper ... Error! Bookmark not defined. 1.9 Concluding Remark ... Error! Bookmark not defined.
CHAPTER II ... Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.1 Culture ... Error! Bookmark not defined. 2.1.1 The Definitions of Culture ... Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.1.2 The Four Senses of Culture ... Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.1.3 Indonesian Culture in Four Senses of Culture ... Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.1.4 Target Culture and International Culture in Four Senses of Culture ... Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.3 Integrating the Target Culture in English Language Teaching ... Error!
Bookmark not defined.
2.4 Integrating the Source Culture in English Language Teaching ... Error!
Bookmark not defined.
2.5 The Role of Textbook in English Language Teaching .. Error! Bookmark not
defined.
2.6 Textbook and Cultural Content ... Error! Bookmark not defined. 2.7 The Use Textbook in Indonesia ... Error! Bookmark not defined. 2.8 English Textbook Evaluation ... Error! Bookmark not defined. 2.9 Previous Investigation of Cultural Contents in English Textbooks ... Error!
Bookmark not defined.
2.10 Concluding Remark ... Error! Bookmark not defined.
CHAPTER III ... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.1 Research Design ... Error! Bookmark not defined. 3.2 Data Collection... Error! Bookmark not defined. 3.2.1 Selection of the Text ... Error! Bookmark not defined. 3.3 Data Analysis ... Error! Bookmark not defined. 3.4 Data Presentation ... Error! Bookmark not defined. 3.5 Concluding Remark ... Error! Bookmark not defined.
CHAPTER IV ... Error! Bookmark not defined.
4.1 What Cultures the Textbook Represent ... Error! Bookmark not defined. 4.1.1 The Representation of the Target Culture in the Textbook . Error! Bookmark not defined.
4.1.2 The Representation of the International Culture in the Textbook ... Error! Bookmark not defined.
4.1.3 The Representation of the Source Culture in the Textbook Error! Bookmark not defined.
4.2 How Cultures are Represented in the TextbookError! Bookmark not defined. 4.2.1 How the Target Culture is Represented in the Textbook .... Error! Bookmark not defined.
4.2.2 How the Source Culture is Represented in the Textbook ... Error! Bookmark not defined.
4.2.3 How the International Culture are Represented in the Textbook ... Error! Bookmark not defined.
CHAPTER V ... Error! Bookmark not defined.
5.1 Conclusions ... Error! Bookmark not defined. 5.2 Suggestions ... Error! Bookmark not defined.
BIBLIOGRAPHY ... Error! Bookmark not defined.
APPENDICES
APPENDIX 1 READING PASSAGES FROM THE TEXTBOOK
LIST OF TABLES
Table 3.1 The Detailed Information of the Textbook Analyzed ... 41 Table 3.2 The Representation Example of Frequency of Cultural Contents in the Reading Passages of the Textbook ... 45 Table 3.3 The Representation Example of Frequency of Cultural
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2.1 Four Senses of Culture (based on Adaskou, Britten, and Fahsi, 1990) ... 12 Figure 2.2 Kachru’s three-circle model of World Englishes (taken from Jenkins, 2009, p.19) ... 21 Chart 4.1 The Frequency of the Target Culture Distinctive
Occurrences in the Textbook ... 59 Chart 4.2 The Frequency of the Source Culture Distinctive
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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents the general description of the research. It covers background of the research, research questions, aims of the research, significance of the research, research methodology, and organization of paper.
1.1 Background of the Research
There are many propounded definitions about what culture is. One hundred and seventy five separate definitions were listed in a book entitled Culture written by Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn in 1952 (Vivelo, 1997).
From numerous definitions of culture, Vivelo (ibid) divided culture into two major views. The first is the totalist view in which culture is viewed as ways of life. The second is the mentalist view in which culture is viewed as ideational or conceptual system formulated to be the codes of behavior or the standards of appropriateness. By combining both of the view, it can be concluded that the term culture covers many aspects in society. In its relation to language, culture and language are inseparable and bound to each other (Kramsch, 1998; Brown, 2000). Kramsch (1998) stated that language is the expressions of cultural reality, the embodiments of cultural reality, and the symbols of cultural reality. The inseparability of language and culture has led researchers to conduct investigations in the field of English language teaching taught in various cultural contexts. One of the investigations concerning language and culture lies in how culture is represented in English textbooks.
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English can erode the existence of local culture if the spread is not controlled and filtered. The statement might hold true as Littlejohn and Windeatt (1989 cf McGrath, 2002) stated that hidden curriculum comprising certain values and ideology is hid in language learning materials.
In terms of English language teaching through textbooks, some scholars for example Hinkel (1999) and Dat (2008) suggested that the target culture should take more proportion in order to bring the cultural context of the native speakers. On the contrary, the other scholars argued that the source culture should take more proportion in English textbooks due to the status of English as an international language and familiarity theory in language teaching (McKay, 2003; Brown, 2000; Cunningsworth, 1995). However, there are some scholar taking a more neutral position, for example Peterson and Coltrane (2003) and Kramsch (1991). They stated that English language teaching should teach both the target and the source culture in a non-judgmental way where the differences between the target and the source culture do not clash with each other. The balanced proportion of both the source culture and the international culture seem to be the win-win solution in this intense discussion.
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(2010) found that the source culture contents in Nigerian context sufficient. Yet, the representation of the source culture does not inform textbooks users how the cultural contents occurred in the real life situation. In Indonesia, Hermawan and Noerkhasanah (2012) also found more representation of the source culture than the target culture in three English textbooks for primary schools. However, the representations were not enough in terms of promoting the source culture.
This research investigates what cultures are represented in the English textbook for a senior high school in Cianjur, West Java, and how the cultures in the textbook are represented. This research is qualitative in nature. The four senses of culture framework propounded by Adaskou, Britten & Fahsi (1990) is used to analyze the English textbook entitled Look Ahead grade three published by Airlangga publisher.
1.2 Research Questions
The research is geared toward answering the following research questions:
1. What cultures are represented in the English textbook for a senior high school in Cianjur, West Java?
2. How are the cultures represented in the English textbook for a senior high school in Cianjur, West Java?
1.3 Aims of the Research
This research aims at:
1. Investigating what cultures are represented in the English textbook for a senior high school in Cianjur, West Java.
2. Investigating how the cultures are represented in the English textbook for a senior high school in Cianjur, West Java.
1.4 Scope of the Research
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culture, or the international culture (Cortazzi & Jin, 1999). Culture in the textbook is also viewed based on the framework of four senses of culture (Adaskou, Britten, & Fahsi, 1990), dividing cultures into the aesthetic sense, the sociological sense, the semantic sense, and the sociolinguistic sense.
1.5 Significance of the Research
This research is expected to provide theoretical, practical, and professional benefits.
1. Theoretical benefits
The results of this research are expected to enrich the theories of English textbook development in Indonesia. The findings of this research may be used as one of the references for the next cultural content investigation in English textbooks.
2. Practical benefits
The results of this research will reveal what are the strengths and weaknesses of the textbook investigated in term of cultural content. The findings of this research furthermore are expected to help teachers and learners to choose the appropriate textbook in term of cultural contents. Teachers and learners may be able to identify and evaluate what kind of cultural contents are appropriate or inappropriate in the textbook they use after reading this research.
3. Professional benefits
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1.6Research Methodology
1.6.1 Research Design
This research generally is descriptive qualitative research attempting to “investigate quality of relationships, activities, situations, or materials” (Fraenkel, Wallen, & Hyun, 2012, p.426). As the specific matter is thoroughly described in this research, this research is descriptive in nature. This research investigated the representation of cultural content in the selected textbooks from the data collected in the reading passages. A Systematic technique for analyzing message content and message handling was employed in this research. How communication occurs between certain communicators in the textbook was also observed and analyzed. The result of recorded data is shown in data percentages.
The categorization of cultures in the textbooks was based on Cortazzi & Jin (1999), categorizing culture into the source culture, the target culture, and the international culture. The source culture in this research refers to Indonesian cultures. The target culture in this research refers to the countries of The Inner Circle such as England and America, and the international culture in this research refers to the cultures of Outer Circle and Expanding Circle-countries (Kachru, 1992 cf. Jenkins, 2009). The categorization of culture was employed to determine what cultures are represented in the textbook. While to investigate how the cultures are represented in the textbook, cultural contents found were also categorized based on the four senses of culture framework proposed by Adaskou, Britten & Fahsi (1990). The framework divides cultures into four categories: the aesthetic sense, the sociological sense, the semantic sense, and the sociolinguistic sense.
1.6.2 Data Collection
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practicability and usability. Practicability in this sense means that the source of the data was relatively easy to find due to wide publication of the source in society, while usability refers to the usage of textbooks by students and teachers in English classroom, especially in Cianjur, West Java. By taking those two considerations into evaluation process, this research investigated what kind of book is used in the community especially in English education environment, and whether the book is in line with cultural context of the book users or not.
The data of the research mainly were in the form of reading passages. The reading passages were chosen since they have high possibility to contain cultural values (Adaskou, Britten & Fahsi, 1990). The data were collected by selecting the reading passages available in each unit of the textbook. The number of reading passages in the textbook is 38.
1.6.3 Data Analysis
Data analysis was divided into two main steps. The first step was analyzing the presence of cultural contents in the selected sources based on the categorization of culture by Cortazzi & Jin (1999). The source culture in this research refers to Indonesian culture. The target culture in this research refers to British, American, Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand cultures as The Inner Circle country‟s (Kachru, 1992 cf. Jenkins, 2009), and the international culture in this research refers to cultures which do not belong to the source culture and the target culture. This step was conducted in order to reveal what cultures are represented in the textbook. Then, the cultural contents of the reading texts were perceived in term of culture in four senses by Adaskou, Britten, & Fahsi (1990) which are the aesthetic sense, the sociological sense, the semantic sense, and the pragmatic sense in order to investigate how cultures are represented in the textbook.
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investigated. The findings were presented in form of tables and graphs. The results of the research then were discussed qualitatively.
1.7 Clarification of Terms
a) Culture: ways of life of people and ideational or conceptual system
formulated to be the code of behavior and standard of appropriateness (Vivelo, 1997).
b) The Four Senses of Culture: the framework dividing culture into the
aesthetic sense, the sociological sense, the semantic sense, and the pragmatic sense (Adaskou, Britten & Fahsi, 1990).
c) The Inner Circle countries: The Inner Circle country refers to the
countries using English as the native language/first language. It consists of the native English-speaking countries which are Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States (Kachru, 1992 cf. Jenkins, 2009).
d) The Outer Circle countries: The Outer Circle country refers to the
countries using English as their second language or official language. It consists of the former colonies or spheres of influence of the United Kingdom and the United States such as India, Kenya, Nigeria, the Philipines, and Singapore (Kachru, 1992, cf. Jenkins, 2009).
e) The Expanding Circle countries: The Expanding Circle country refers to
the countries where English is considered as a foreign language yet it is used in the domains of education, science, and technology. The examples of The Expanding Circle countries are China, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and Indonesia (Kachru, 1992, cf. Jenkins, 2009).
f) The source culture: the source culture refers to learner‟s own cultures
(Cortazzi & Jin, 1999). In this research refer to Indonesian culture.
g) The target culture: the target culture refers to the cultures of countries
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h) The international culture: the International culture refers to the cultures
that are neither the source culture nor the target cultures; it is the culture of English- or non-English-speaking countries around the world, using English as an international language (Cortazzi & Jin, 1999).
i) English Textbook: materials specially designed for English learning and
teaching that have been specially selected and exploited for teaching purposes (McGrath, 2002 p.8).
1.8 Organization of Paper
This paper is organized into five chapters as follows:
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents background of the research showing the current burning issue regarding the topic of the research. To some extent, the research is discussed and formulated into the research questions, aims of the research, significance of the research, and the research methodology.
CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter presents the theories grounding the investigation of the research. Since the research is concerned with the cultural content of English textbooks, the theories presented in this chapter are focused on cultural studies theories, cultural analysis theories, and English learning materials theories.
CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter presents further explanation of research methodology employed in this research. This chapter also explains the detailed information of the data and the framework used to analyze the data.
CHAPTER IV FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS
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and description. After the finding of entire data collected, the discussion point is presented in summary.
CHAPTER V CONCLUSION
This chapter presents the conclusion of the research. Adjacent to that, suggestion section presents ideas and hints are presented for benefits and developments of the next study regarding cultural content analysis and English learning materials development.
1.9 Concluding Remark
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CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter presents the procedure and steps in conducting the research. Mainly this chapter is about the elaboration of the research design which is further organized into four important sections: (i) research design (ii) data collection (iii) data analysis and (iv) data presentation. The first section presents the elaboration of the general concept related to the design of the research. The second section presents the steps taken in order to collect the data needed for this research. The third section presents how the data is analyzed. The last section presents how the data are presented.
3.1 Research Design
This research generally is descriptive qualitative research attempting to “investigate quality of relationships, activities, situations, or materials” (Fraenkel, Wallen, & Hyun, 2012, p.426). As the specific matter is thoroughly described in this research, this research is descriptive qualitative in nature. This research involved selecting text, determining the unit to be coded, developing content categories, and analyzing data. Thus, the method used in this research is categorized into content analysis (Frey, et al, 1999). Systematic technique for analyzing message content and message handling was employed in this research. How communication occurs between certain communicators in the textbook was also observed and analyzed. The result of the recorded data is shown in data percentages.
The data were categorized based on the types of culture in language materials by Cortazzi & Jin (1999) and the framework of four senses of culture proposed by Adaskou, Britten & Fahsi (1990). The limitation of cultural items belong to the source culture was based on Culture and Customs of Indonesia (Forshee, 2006), Pemanfaatan Keberagaman Bahasa Indonesia dalam Pengajaran Bahasa Indonesia untuk Penutur Asing (BIPA) (Ruskhan, 2007), and
Kajian Etnografi (Arianto, 2011). The limitation of cultural items belong to the
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Australia (Clancy, 2004) How Canadians Communicate: III (Beaty, et al, 2010) New Zealand: Culture Shock - A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette (Oettli, 2009) British Culture: An Introduction (Christopher, 1999) Culture and Customs of the United States (Shearer ,2008) Beyond Language (Adelman and Levine, 1993) and some online references.
3.2 Data Collection
The data of this research were collected from an English textbook used by teachers and students in a senior high school in Cianjur, West Java, entitled Look Ahead book three written by Th. M. Sudarwati and Eudia Grace. This book was
published by a private publisher, Airlangga. The reasons why the source was selected mainly were because of its practicability and usability. Practicability in this sense means that the source of the data was relatively easy to find due to wide publication of the source in society. Usability refers to the usage of the textbook especially in Cianjur, West Java. This book was recommended by English Teacher Association of Cianjur (MGMP Cianjur) to be used by learners and teachers in classroom. The textbook was developed based on the content standards of the previous curriculum, KTSP 2006. This book is still used by some schools in West Java which have not yet regulated the new curriculum. The table below shows the detailed information of the books:
Table 3.1 The Detailed Information of the Textbook Analyzed
Title Author(s) Pages Year/Publisher ISBN
Look Ahead
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The textbooks users were Indonesian people categorized into The Expanding Circle countries people or EFL speakers. The socio-cultural context of the textbooks user was in the rural area where the local cultural values were still highly upheld. The tendency of the textbook users to encounter native speakers directly in the native-speaker cultural context was relatively low since less users aim at going to foreign countries. The textbook users might use English in the context of tourism and hotel works. Hence, the need to understand native speakers’ culture was followed by the need to describe their own cultures due to the fields they are in.
3.2.1 Selection of the Text
The texts were selected from the textbook: Look Ahead book three for high school students. The analysis was focused into the reading passages presented in each unit. The illustrations accompanying the reading passages were analyzed only when it represented the contents of the reading passages. Reading texts intended for exercise or evaluation were not collected as data.
Look Ahead Book three comprised of five units. Each unit constituted of
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textbook. In each content page of the unit, the reading passage aimed at raising cultural awareness was mentioned. Thus, based on the content page of each unit, the possible number reading passages containing cultural values were five.
3.3 Data Analysis
Data analysis was divided into two main steps. First, in order to reveal what cultures are represented in the textbook, the contents in the reading passages were categorized into the source culture, the target culture, the international culture, or culture neutral (Cortazzi and Jin, 1999). As elaborated earlier in the previous chapter, the source culture refers to Indonesian culture. The target culture refers to British, American, Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand cultures or the culture belong to The Inner Circle countries (Kachru, 1992), and the international culture refers to cultures which do not belong to the source culture and the target culture. Culture neutral contents are contents in the textbook which do not refer to any culture, such as scientific explanation.
Then, in order to reveal how the cultures are represented in the textbook, the cultural contents found in the reading passages were categorized into the aesthetic sense, the sociological sense, the semantic sense, or the pragmatic sense (Adaskou, Britten & Fahsi, 1990). The aesthetic sense refers to the big “C” of culture, covering products of culture such as art and literature. The sociological sense refers to the small “c” of culture, or the term culture as the way of life or the codes of behavior and the standards of appropriateness. The semantic sense is the dimension of culture relating to the conceptual system embodied in the language such as the terms referring to food, clothes, institutions, time and space relations in every language. The pragmatic sense refers to the pragmatic aspects accommodating effective and successful communication in the socio-cultural contexts of the language.
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frequently in the textbook selected. The findings are presented in form of tables and graphs. The results of the research then are discussed qualitatively.
In conducting the research, generally the steps taken were:
1. Selecting English textbook grade three for a senior high school in Cianjur, West Java.
2. Deciding possible parts of the book carrying cultural contents to analyze.
3. Deciding the limitation of cultural items belong to the source culture, the target culture, and the international culture.
4. Categorizing the data into the source culture, the target culture, the international culture, or neutral culture content.
5. Categorizing the data into the aesthetic sense, the sociological sense, the semantic sense, or the pragmatic sense.
6. Converting the findings into percentages and present them in graphs. 7. Making conclusion and suggestion for further research.
3.4 Data Presentation
The collected data were interpreted based on the categorization of culture proposed by Cortazzi & Jin (1999) and the four senses of culture framework proposed by Adaskou, Britten & Fahsi (1990). The example of data interpretations is as follows:
“Breaking the Ice” in Britain
What is the most difficult thing for an overseas student in Britain? Many will say that it is “breaking the ice” with British people.
Unlike Americans who are open and friendly, British are reserved. They are quiet people, don‟t like intruding on another person‟s personal space, and value privacy much. They are not very „generous‟ with their smiles. In Indonesia, friendliness is expressed by smiles. You are always surrounded by people who do
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Yet, there are some topics that can almost guarantee success in opening a
conversation with the British people. One common topic is talking about the weather. If you say, “It‟s freezing (very cold) outside,” followed by “winter come too early this year,” this will usually elicit at least a smile from another person. You may hear, “What is the weather like in your country?” To which you can reply, “Always warm and usually sunny”. The British are often envious of people who come from places with pleasant weather.
When the sun does actually appear, people are tempted to stay outside. They use the fine weather as an excuse to abandon their work. “It‟s too nice to stay inside” is typical explanation.
Data interpretation:
The reading passage is related to how to build an effective communication with British people. The reading passage explains the difference between Indonesian, American, and British in term of friendliness. Americans in the reading passage are described to be open and friendly people, while British people are reversed. The sentence explains the target culture in term of generalization/stereotyping. Then, this content is categorized into the target culture represented in the sociological sense. Another sentence tells “In Indonesia, friendliness is expressed with smiles”, the sentence explains the source culture in term of generalization. Then, this content is categorized into the source culture represented in the sociological sense. The phrases “It’s freezing outside” and “What is the weather like in your country?” are also explained in the reading passage. The explanation is intended to provide readers the information, how to start an effective communication with British people. Hence, those two phrases are categorized into the target culture content represented in the pragmatic sense.
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Table 3.2 The Representation Example of Frequency of Cultural Contents in
the Reading Passages of the Textbook
Cultural Reference Numbers of reading passages
Percentage
Source Culture 1 2.63%
Target Culture 17 44.74%
International Culture 4 10.53%
Both Source & Target Culture 5 13.16%
Both Source & International Culture 0 0%
Both Target & International Culture 2 5.26%
Source, Target, & International Culture 0 0%
Culture Free 9 23.69%
Total 38 100%
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Table 3.3 The Representation Example of the Frequency of Cultural
Distinctive Occurrences in the Textbook
The Aesthetic
Sense
The Sociological
Sense
The Semantic
Sense
The Pragmatic
Sense Total
23 (37.70%) 19 (31.15%) 7 (11.48%) 12 (19.67%) 61
(100%)
The example of how the cultures are represented in the textbook and the number of cultural contents found in the textbook are shown in the table above. The cultural contents found in the textbook were categorized into the source culture, the target culture, or the international culture. Then, the cultural contents were also categorized into the aesthetic sense, the sociological sense, the semantic sense, or the pragmatic sense. For instance, according to the table above, it can be stated that there are 12 cultural contents in the pragmatic sense. Then, it can be concluded that totally there are 61 cultural contents found in 38 reading passages in the textbook.
3.5 Concluding Remark
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CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS
This chapter presents the conclusion of the research based on the findings and discussion in the previous chapters. The suggestions for further research are also presented in this chapter.
5.1 Conclusions
This research is aimed at investigating and evaluating cultural contents represented in the textbook for a senior high school in Cianjur, West Java. In particular, this research investigates what cultures are represented and how the cultures are represented in the textbook. The investigation of the textbook has revealed two major points; the target culture is predominantly represented in the textbook compared to the source culture and the international culture, and the culture in the textbook mostly is represented through the aesthetic sense.
This research has confirmed the findings from previous research on the representation of culture in the textbook conducted by McGrath (2002), Abdullah & Chandran (2009), Xiao (2010) and Hermawan & Noerkhasanah (2012). Despite the limitation of the findings covered, this research has revealed that cultural values exist in textbooks, the target culture was predominant in the textbook, and the cultural contents mostly were represented in the aesthetic sense.
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especially American and British. On the other hand, the representation of the target culture in the textbook can raise the awareness of learners toward native speakers’ cultural contexts. The target culture contents which are new and challenging can increase learners’ motivation if they are handled carefully by teachers.
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5.2 Suggestions
Relevant to the findings, discussion, and the conclusion of this research, there are several points of suggestions. First, it is suggested that English materials developers, especially English textbook authors should include more source culture and international culture contents. The use of English should not only be related to The Inner Circle countries or the Anglo-Saxon races. The traditional and particular ways of life of people from the source culture should be represented. By so doing, learners will feel the contents are parts of their daily lives and be more motivated. The representation of characters from Outer Circle and Expanding Circle countries should also be represented in the textbook. Therefore, learners will understand that English nowadays is needed as an international language accommodating the communication between people from various cultural backgrounds.
Second, it is suggested that cultures should be represented in non-judgmental ways where one culture to another is treated equally. The difference between cultures should be handled and explained carefully. Teachers should explain that the code and standard of appropriateness between one culture to another is different and no culture is better than another.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Abdullah, N., & Chandran, S. K. (2009). Cultural Elements in a Malaysian English language Textbook. 01-22 [online:
http//www.ddms.usim.edu.my/bitstream/handle accessed on 09 September 2013].
Adaskou, K., Britten, D., & Fahsi, B. (1990). ELT Journal. Design decisions on the
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