xiv ABSTRACT
Mijayati, Yuki. 2015. SMA English Teachers’ Lived Experience in Selecting Textbooks. Yogyakarta: The Graduate Program in English Language Studies, Sanata Dharma University.
Textbooks are the most commonly used materials in a teaching learning process. There are various English textbooks published for students of SMA. Each of them attempts to attract their consumers by offering the different activities, exercises, topics, even attractive layouts and attachments. This demands teachers to work harder and be more selective in selecting textbooks. The needs of students, teachers, administrators have to be taken as significant considerations in the process of selecting textbooks. Besides, teachers should also be able to solve problems which may appear such as limited time, financial problem, and insufficient resources. This makes the researcher interested to dig out the real meaning of textbooks selection for teachers by questioning what the SMA English
teachers’ lived experience in selecting textbooks is. The aspects of lived experience to be investigated in this study are understanding, belief, action, feeling, and intention.
The study applied hermeneutic phenomenology. The researcher tried to search how the teachers experience textbooks selection, describe it, and interpret it. There were two teachers participated in this study. To gather the data, the researcher conducted in-depth interview with the teachers. Observation and artifacts collection were also done in order to make triangulation. The researcher also conducted re-interview with the teachers to complete the missing data as well as to improve the trustworthiness.
The two teachers in this study had the similar understanding on textbooks selection. They viewed textbooks selection as a process of making prediction of what is good and bad of certain textbooks before they were used. It was done by looking through the textbooks page by page, chapter by chapter in order to find the suitability with the expectation and needs that the teachers wanted to match.
Although in the process of selecting textbooks they considered the needs of students, teachers, and administrators, each of them had different focus and ways in giving meaning toward textbooks selection. One of the teachers thought that textbooks selection was a process of finding more than one books which suited to the curriculum and contained appropriate, motivating, and challenging activities for his students. Meanwhile, the other teacher considered textbooks selection as finding one textbook which was in line with the curriculum, affordable for the students, and facilitated the students in preparing examination.
The understanding on textbooks and textbooks selection formed the
teachers’ beliefs. One of them believed that there was not any significant
relationship between the appropriate textbooks selection with the students’ success of learning. On the other hand, the other teacher believed that textbooks
selection contributed to the students’ learning success whenever the textbook
xv
Both teachers were given authority to select textbooks they wanted to apply. There were not any checklists or systematic textbooks evaluation. They did impressionistic textbooks selection by directly looking through the textbooks and matching the needs they were intended to address. One of the teacher preferred textbook completed with CD, listening scripts, and answer keys, while the other one did not. Besides, one of them did not consider the textbooks affordability and never handled the administrative things whereas the other one did. Yet, they faced the similar problem in conducting textbooks selection, which was the absence of perfect textbooks. Both of the teachers felt free to choose any textbooks they were interested in and considered there would no need to evaluate the textbooks systematically in the future.
xvi ABSTRAK
Mijayati, Yuki. 2015. SMA English Teachers’ Lived Experience in Selecting Textbooks. Yogyakarta: The Graduate Program in English Language Studies, Sanata Dharma University.
Buku paket adalah materi yang paling umum digunakan dalam proses belajar mengajar. Terdapat berbagai macam buku paket Bahasa Inggris bagi siswa SMA. Masing-masing buku paket bertujuan untuk menarik penggunanya dengan menawarkan aktifitas, latihan, dan topik yang bervariasi. Bahkan mereka menawarkan layout dan lampiran yang menarik. Hal tersebut menjadikan guru harus lebih selektif dalam memilih buku yan tepat. Kebutuhan siswa, guru, dan pihak sekolah harus diperhatikan dalam memilih buku paket. Selain itu, guru harus mampu untuk memecahkan masalah yang kemungkinan muncul seperti keterbatasan waktu, biaya, dan sumber. Hal ini menjadikan peneliti tertarik untuk menggali lebih dalam pengalama bermakana dari guru untuk dipelajari secara lebih lanjut berkaitan dengan pemilihan buku paket. Aspek pengalaman bermakna yang diteliti dalam penelitian ini adalah pemahana, keyakinan, tindakan, perasaan, dan keinginan.
Penelitian ini menggunakan fenomenologi hermeutik. Peneliti mencoba untuk mengetahui bagaimana pengalaman guru dalam memilih buku paket, menjelaskan, dan menginterpretasikannya. Dua guru terlibat sebagai sumber dalam penelitian ini. Dalam mengumpulkan data peneliti menggunakan wawancara mendalam dengan kedua guru tersebut. Peneliti juga melakukan pengumpulan document dan observasi sebagai triangulasi. Wawancara ulang dilakukan terhadap kedua guru tersebut untuk melengkapai data kemudian yang digunakan untuk dapat menjadikan penelitian ini layak untuk dipercaya.
Kedua guru dalam penelitian ini mempunyai pengertian yang sama tentang pemilihan buku paket. Mereka memandang pemilihan buku paket sebagai suatu proses membuat prediksi baik dan buruk suatu buku sebelum menggunakannya. Pemilihan buku paket ini dilakukan dengan melihat secara keseluruhan buku paket halaman demi halaman, unit demi unit untuk menemukan kesesuaian dengan harapan dan kebutuhan yang guru ingin sesuaikan.
Meskipun dalam proses pemilihan buku paket mereka mempertimbangkan kebutuhan siswa, guru, dan pihak sekolah, masing-masing guru memiliki makna yang berbeda tentang pemilihan buku paket. Salah satu guru memandang bahwa pemilihan buku paket sebuah proses menemukan lebih dari satu buku yang sesuai dengan kurikulum dan berisi kegiatan yang sesuai, memotivasi, dan menantang bagi siswa. Sedangkan guru yang lain memandang pemilihan buku paket sebagai proses menemukan satu buku yang sesuai dengan kurikulum, terjangkau untuk siswa, dan memfasilitasi siswa dalam mempersiapkan ujian.
xvii
terhadap keberhasilan belajar siswa ketika buku paket yang dipilih menyediakan banyak kegiatan membaca yang sesuai dengan tingkat kemampuan siswa.
Kedua guru diberikan otoritas untuk memilih buku paket yang mereka ingin gunakan. Tidak ada penggunaan ceklis ataupun evaluasi buku paket yang sistematis. Mereka melakukan pemilihan buku paket secara impresionistik dengan melihat buku paket secara menyeluruh dan mencocokkan dengan kebutuhan yang ingin mereka sesuaikan. Satu guru lebih memilih buku paket yang dilengkapi dengan CD, skrip mendengarkan, dan kunci jawaban, sedangkan guru yang lainnya tidak. Disamping itu, satu dari mereka tidak pernah mempertimbangkan keterjangkauan harga buku paket dan tidak pernah mengurusi administrasi, sedangkan guru yang lain melakukannya. Meskipun demikian, mereka memiliki masalah yang sama dalam pemilihan buku paket, yaitu tidak adanya buku paket yang sempurna. Kedua guru tersebut merasa bebas dalam memilih buku paket manapun yang menurut mereka menarik dan menganggap tidak perlu melakukan evaluasi buku paket secara sistematis di masa mendatang.
SMA ENGLISH TEACHERS’ LIVED EXPERIENCE IN SELECTING TEXTBOOKS
A THESIS
Presented as a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Magister Humaniora (M.Hum) Degree
in English Language Studies
by Yuki Mijayati
Student Number: 126332059
THE GRADUATE PROGRAM IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDIES SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
i
SMA ENGLISH TEACHERS’ LIVED EXPERIENCE IN SELECTING TEXTBOOKS
A THESIS
Presented as a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Magister Humaniora (M.Hum) Degree
in English Language Studies
by Yuki Mijayati
Student Number: 126332059
THE GRADUATE PROGRAM IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDIES SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
iv
DEDICATION PAGE
I dedicate my thesis to
ALLAH SWT
and
vii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Alhamdulillah. First and foremost, I thank Allah SWT for giving me the
strength and guidance to bring this thesis to its completion. Without the mercy of Allah, none of this would have been possible.
My utmost gratitude goes to my thesis advisor, Dr. B.B. Dwijatmoko, M.A. for his patience, guidance, help, suggestions, and support to finish my study. Without his support and guidance, I would not be able to accomplish my thesis. I am greatly indebted to the all lecturers in English Language Studies for guiding and teaching me during my study in Sanata Dharma University: F.X Mukarto, Ph.D., Dra. NovitaDewi, M.S., M.A.(Hons), Ph.D., and Dr. J. Bismoko. I thank them for letting me learn great things, sharing the knowledge and also giving me suggestions and support during the process of my thesis writing. I am also grateful for the cooperation and supports of the participants of my study, whose names I cannot mention for some reasons. They are great SMA English teachers from whom I collected the data.
I sincerely send my gratefulness to my beloved parents, Bapak Sumija and Ibu Triwiyati, for their love, prayers, support, advice, and patience. To my beloved one, Anang Sulistio, I thank him from the bottom of my heart for his love, encouragement, advice, and prayers. My gratitude also goes to my little brother Prasojo Agung Mijayanto for always helping me in my difficult times.
I should be grateful for having my friends in KBI especially Class C community for sharing good moments, support, tears, and laughters during our study. We have learnt many things from our friendship. Besides, I thank KBI staff, Mbak Lely and Pak Mul and all graduate staff for helping me during my academic time. Finally, my gratitude also goes to those whom I cannot mention by names. May all of them be blessed with health and happiness in life.
viii
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS ………. vi
ACKNOWLEDGMENT ………... vii
c. Language-focused Learning ………. 12
d. Fluency Development ……… 13
2) Textbooks that Meet the Teachers’ Needs………... 24
3) Textbooks that Meet the Administrators’ Needs………. 24
ix
CHAPTER IV DATA ACQUISITION, DESCRIPTION, AND INTERPRETATION
CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS A.Conclusions ……… 75
B.Suggestions ………... 78
x
LIST OF APPENDICES
Appendix 1. Interview Transcripts: Mr. Yudi ……….. ……. . 85
Appendix 2. Interview Transcripts: Bu Ami ………. . 90
xi
LIST OF TABLES
Table 2.1. The List of Obligatory Subjects Based on Curriculum
2013……… 21 Table 2.2. The List of Elective Subjects Based on Curriculum
2013……… 22 Table 2.3. Construct of Theoretical Framework of Study…………. 37 Table 3.1. Blueprint of Interview Questions………... 42 Table 4.1. Sample of Individual Account of Mr. Yudi………... 50 Table 4.2. Sample of Individual Account of Bu Ami……….. 52 Table 4.3. Sample of Shared Accounts of Mr. Yudi and
xii
LIST OF FIGURES
xiii
LIST OF ABBREVIATION
UND : Understanding BLF : Belief
xiv ABSTRACT
Mijayati, Yuki. 2015. SMA English Teachers’ Lived Experience in Selecting Textbooks. Yogyakarta: The Graduate Program in English Language Studies, Sanata Dharma University.
Textbooks are the most commonly used materials in a teaching learning process. There are various English textbooks published for students of SMA. Each of them attempts to attract their consumers by offering the different activities, exercises, topics, even attractive layouts and attachments. This demands teachers to work harder and be more selective in selecting textbooks. The needs of students, teachers, administrators have to be taken as significant considerations in the process of selecting textbooks. Besides, teachers should also be able to solve problems which may appear such as limited time, financial problem, and insufficient resources. This makes the researcher interested to dig out the real meaning of textbooks selection for teachers by questioning what the SMA English
teachers’ lived experience in selecting textbooks is. The aspects of lived experience to be investigated in this study are understanding, belief, action, feeling, and intention.
The study applied hermeneutic phenomenology. The researcher tried to search how the teachers experience textbooks selection, describe it, and interpret it. There were two teachers participated in this study. To gather the data, the researcher conducted in-depth interview with the teachers. Observation and artifacts collection were also done in order to make triangulation. The researcher also conducted re-interview with the teachers to complete the missing data as well as to improve the trustworthiness.
The two teachers in this study had the similar understanding on textbooks selection. They viewed textbooks selection as a process of making prediction of what is good and bad of certain textbooks before they were used. It was done by looking through the textbooks page by page, chapter by chapter in order to find the suitability with the expectation and needs that the teachers wanted to match.
Although in the process of selecting textbooks they considered the needs of students, teachers, and administrators, each of them had different focus and ways in giving meaning toward textbooks selection. One of the teachers thought that textbooks selection was a process of finding more than one books which suited to the curriculum and contained appropriate, motivating, and challenging activities for his students. Meanwhile, the other teacher considered textbooks selection as finding one textbook which was in line with the curriculum, affordable for the students, and facilitated the students in preparing examination.
The understanding on textbooks and textbooks selection formed the
teachers’ beliefs. One of them believed that there was not any significant
relationship between the appropriate textbooks selection with the students’ success of learning. On the other hand, the other teacher believed that textbooks
selection contributed to the students’ learning success whenever the textbook
xv
Both teachers were given authority to select textbooks they wanted to apply. There were not any checklists or systematic textbooks evaluation. They did impressionistic textbooks selection by directly looking through the textbooks and matching the needs they were intended to address. One of the teacher preferred textbook completed with CD, listening scripts, and answer keys, while the other one did not. Besides, one of them did not consider the textbooks affordability and never handled the administrative things whereas the other one did. Yet, they faced the similar problem in conducting textbooks selection, which was the absence of perfect textbooks. Both of the teachers felt free to choose any textbooks they were interested in and considered there would no need to evaluate the textbooks systematically in the future.
xvi ABSTRAK
Mijayati, Yuki. 2015. SMA English Teachers’ Lived Experience in Selecting Textbooks. Yogyakarta: The Graduate Program in English Language Studies, Sanata Dharma University.
Buku paket adalah materi yang paling umum digunakan dalam proses belajar mengajar. Terdapat berbagai macam buku paket Bahasa Inggris bagi siswa SMA. Masing-masing buku paket bertujuan untuk menarik penggunanya dengan menawarkan aktifitas, latihan, dan topik yang bervariasi. Bahkan mereka menawarkan layout dan lampiran yang menarik. Hal tersebut menjadikan guru harus lebih selektif dalam memilih buku yan tepat. Kebutuhan siswa, guru, dan pihak sekolah harus diperhatikan dalam memilih buku paket. Selain itu, guru harus mampu untuk memecahkan masalah yang kemungkinan muncul seperti keterbatasan waktu, biaya, dan sumber. Hal ini menjadikan peneliti tertarik untuk menggali lebih dalam pengalama bermakana dari guru untuk dipelajari secara lebih lanjut berkaitan dengan pemilihan buku paket. Aspek pengalaman bermakna yang diteliti dalam penelitian ini adalah pemahana, keyakinan, tindakan, perasaan, dan keinginan.
Penelitian ini menggunakan fenomenologi hermeutik. Peneliti mencoba untuk mengetahui bagaimana pengalaman guru dalam memilih buku paket, menjelaskan, dan menginterpretasikannya. Dua guru terlibat sebagai sumber dalam penelitian ini. Dalam mengumpulkan data peneliti menggunakan wawancara mendalam dengan kedua guru tersebut. Peneliti juga melakukan pengumpulan document dan observasi sebagai triangulasi. Wawancara ulang dilakukan terhadap kedua guru tersebut untuk melengkapai data kemudian yang digunakan untuk dapat menjadikan penelitian ini layak untuk dipercaya.
Kedua guru dalam penelitian ini mempunyai pengertian yang sama tentang pemilihan buku paket. Mereka memandang pemilihan buku paket sebagai suatu proses membuat prediksi baik dan buruk suatu buku sebelum menggunakannya. Pemilihan buku paket ini dilakukan dengan melihat secara keseluruhan buku paket halaman demi halaman, unit demi unit untuk menemukan kesesuaian dengan harapan dan kebutuhan yang guru ingin sesuaikan.
Meskipun dalam proses pemilihan buku paket mereka mempertimbangkan kebutuhan siswa, guru, dan pihak sekolah, masing-masing guru memiliki makna yang berbeda tentang pemilihan buku paket. Salah satu guru memandang bahwa pemilihan buku paket sebuah proses menemukan lebih dari satu buku yang sesuai dengan kurikulum dan berisi kegiatan yang sesuai, memotivasi, dan menantang bagi siswa. Sedangkan guru yang lain memandang pemilihan buku paket sebagai proses menemukan satu buku yang sesuai dengan kurikulum, terjangkau untuk siswa, dan memfasilitasi siswa dalam mempersiapkan ujian.
xvii
terhadap keberhasilan belajar siswa ketika buku paket yang dipilih menyediakan banyak kegiatan membaca yang sesuai dengan tingkat kemampuan siswa.
Kedua guru diberikan otoritas untuk memilih buku paket yang mereka ingin gunakan. Tidak ada penggunaan ceklis ataupun evaluasi buku paket yang sistematis. Mereka melakukan pemilihan buku paket secara impresionistik dengan melihat buku paket secara menyeluruh dan mencocokkan dengan kebutuhan yang ingin mereka sesuaikan. Satu guru lebih memilih buku paket yang dilengkapi dengan CD, skrip mendengarkan, dan kunci jawaban, sedangkan guru yang lainnya tidak. Disamping itu, satu dari mereka tidak pernah mempertimbangkan keterjangkauan harga buku paket dan tidak pernah mengurusi administrasi, sedangkan guru yang lain melakukannya. Meskipun demikian, mereka memiliki masalah yang sama dalam pemilihan buku paket, yaitu tidak adanya buku paket yang sempurna. Kedua guru tersebut merasa bebas dalam memilih buku paket manapun yang menurut mereka menarik dan menganggap tidak perlu melakukan evaluasi buku paket secara sistematis di masa mendatang.
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
This study intends to investigate the SMA English teachers‟ lived
experience in selecting textbooks. This introductory chapter contains the underlying information of the research, which shows the readers the importance of the issues under study. The chapter covers five main sections, namely (1) background of the study, (2) problem limitation, (3) research question, (4) research goal, and (5) research benefits.
A. Background of the Study
Textbooks have an important role in English language teaching (ELT). Sheldon (1988) reveals that textbooks not only represent the visible heart of any ELT program but they also have advantages for both students and teacher when they are used in ESL and EFL classroom. Among the other ELT materials such as slides, videos, audiotape recordings, and computerized materials, textbooks play a critical part as they are considered as the most important means for transferring content knowledge, for establishing in large measure what goes on in class (Hummel, 1998, cited in Lebrun, Lenoir, Laforest, Larose, Roy, Spallanzani & Pearson, 2001), and for measuring what students do and do not learn (Freeman & Porter, 1989, cited in Oakes & Sauders, 2004). Furthermore, according to Brown, Lewis and Harcleroad (1977), textbooks are adaptable product. They help to put instruction in order by providing common reading experiences, suggested activities, recommended readings, and questions.
Furthermore, the role of textbooks is a source in responding to the goals of teacher‟ and learners‟ needs rather than the goals of teaching and learning
elements (Litz, 2005; Razmjoo and Raissi, 2010). Cunningsworth (1995) mentions that the connection between textbooks and teacher would be effective for language classrooms when their objectives could counter to the teacher‟ goals and fulfill the learners‟ needs. Considering the importance of textbooks, it is
regarded a necessity for teacher to carefully select the relevant textbooks as textbooks do not only influence what and how students learn, but also what and how teachers teach.
Textbooks selection is closely linked to the textbooks evaluation. The evaluation helps the selection, which functions as a decision-making process. Sheldon states that:
The selection of a particular core volume signals an executive educational decision in which there is considerable professional, financial and even political investment. This means that the definition and application of systematic criteria for assessing coursebooks are vital (1998:37)
In addition, Sheldon (1988), Zhao and Zhang (2005) state that textbook evaluation is a beneficial process for both teacher and educational administrators to judge the positive and negative points of textbooks when they select, employ materials, and help to support both teacher development and training in language programs (Cunningsworth, 1995).
Furthermore, Masuhara (1998) suggests that teachers who conduct the textbooks selection have to consider the students‟, teachers‟, and administrators‟
needs; while administrators‟ needs cover the sociopolitical needs, educational
policy, and some limitations such as financial problem.
Currently, Indonesia has implemented 2013 curriculum. To accommodate it, governments also published 2013 curriculum-based textbooks, including English, in order to support the implementation of the curriculum. It forces teachers whose schools have implemented the new curriculum to use the recommended textbooks. This fact shows that "power play" exists. Teachers then face internal conflict within them in using textbooks as they cannot select textbooks which are considered more relevant for themselves as teachers as well as their students‟ needs.
On the other hand, the 2013 curriculum-based textbooks themselves have not been distributed well throughout the country so that many schools now are still waiting for the recommended textbooks. Meanwhile, the number of textbooks sold in the market is now limited and the contents do not really fit the new curriculum. It then also raises another problem for teachers and school administrators.
This study focuses on interpreting teachers‟ lived experience in selecting
textbooks. Lived experience is the basis of reflection – by taking the value of the experience and using it as the mirror to make improvements of our own lives. Lived experience can be described through an approach called phenomenology. It is to see the phenomenon in a certain area. It tries to see thoroughly and to understand someone else‟s experience and get meaning of the experience of the
lived experience is the breathing of meaning. It is expected that this study is able to discover the real meaning of textbooks selection to SMA English teachers based on their experience. It is not merely about how teachers do the textbook selection, but what textbook selection means to them.
Several researchers had conducted studies regarding teachers‟ lived
B. Problem Limitation
This study tried to describe the SMA English teachers‟ lived experience in selecting textbooks. According to Murphy (1960:13 in Bradley, 2002) teacher's lived experience includes many aspects, namely understanding, desire, intention or expectation, anticipation, relations with others, cultural patterns, feelings, belief or sights, smells, sounds, etc.
Because of the time limitation, the study concerns the teachers‟ lived
experience covering five main aspects, namely understanding, belief, action, feeling, and intention. Teachers‟ understanding on curriculum and the textbooks evaluation criteria will influence their beliefs or opinions, intention, feelings and action in selecting textbooks used in the classroom. Therefore, the study deals with what the teacher understands, believes or thinks about, intends to, feels about and does with the English textbook selection. The researcher considers the five aspects significant to provide deep insight into what textbooks selection means to SMA English teachers.
In selecting participants, the researcher chose two senior SMA English teachers who work for different schools in Yogyakarta and have plentiful experience in teaching. The researcher considered it was better to focus on two teachers‟ lived experience in order to obtain as rich information as needed.
C. Research Question
researcher would like to answer the research question by describing and interpreting the SMA English teachers‟ understanding, belief, action, feeling, and intention related to textbooks selection.
D. Research Goal
The study is aimed at describing and interpreting the teachers‟ lived experience in selecting English textbooks for SMA which focuses on understanding, belief, action, feeling, and intention regarding with the English textbook selection.
E. Research Benefits
As the study attempts to address the research question “What is the SMA
English teachers’ lived experience in selecting textbooks?” the researcher expects
that the study will give beneficial contributions for empowering the teachers. The benefits of the study cover theoretical and practical benefits. They are explained as follow.
1. Theoretical Benefit
Theoretically, the description and interpretation of SMA English teachers‟ lived experience functions as English teachers‟ reference in selecting textbooks,
2. Practical Benefit
CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW
The purpose of this chapter is to clarify the constructs and concepts used in the study. It will be divided into three parts. The first part includes the theoretical description concerning the constructs and concepts used in this study. It begins with the review of the main words in the study title, lived experience, and it is followed by the review of textbooks. The second part is review of related studies, and the third part is theoretical framework and assumption.
A. Theoretical Review
In the first part, the researcher would like to discuss on senior high school, then followed by senior high school teachers. After that, the discussion would be about teacher cognition, then followed by the four strands. Next, the elaboration about textbooks will be presented. It covers the concept of textbooks, textbooks as an instructional material, textbooks in the 2013 Curriculum, the criteria of good textbooks, textbooks selection. After that, the researcher discusses lived experience, which would cover five aspects of it, namely understanding, belief, action, feeling, and intention. The last part focuses on hermeneutic phenomenology.
1. Senior High School
According to Law No. 20 Year 2003 on the National Education System, the structure of education in Indonesia begins with Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini (PAUD) or early childhood stage which is not compulsory and is categorized into
kindergarten and playgroup starting from the age of 0 to six years old. It is then followed by three levels of formal education namely primary education, secondary education, and tertiary education. The primary education covers Sekolah Dasar (SD) and Madrasah Ibtida‟iyah (MI), as well as Kejar Paket A. Meanwhile, the
junior high schools consists of Sekolah Menengah Pertama (SMP) and Madrasah Tsanawiyah (MTs) as well as Kejar Paket B. The secondary education covers senior high schools and vocational schools. Senior high schools consist of Sekolah Menengah Atas (SMA) and Madrasah Aliyah Kejuruan (MAK). There is also Kejar Paket C, which is in the same level as SMA and MAK. The last and the highest level is tertiary schools, which consist of several kinds of educational institutions including universities and colleges.
In the national education system in Indonesia stated previously, senior high school is three secondary grades (10, 11, 12) of school following junior high school and preceding university. Senior high school students are approximately 16 to 18 years old. Considering the ages, the students of senior high school are mentally independent. Generally, they have experienced learning English in junior high school so that they already have prior knowledge of English.
2. Senior High School English Teachers
Tahun 2005, the responsibilities of civil servant teachers consist of main and additional duties. The main duties cover planning, executing and evaluating processes, giving academic consultancy and training. Meanwhile, the additional duties commonly deal with administrative works.
Further, Law No. 14 Tahun 2005 also mentions that being separated from the administrative works, senior high school teachers have to teach 24 hours teaching sessions for the minimum and 40 hours teaching sessions for the maximum in a week. In the relation to teaching English, senior high school teachers have two hours in a week for the compulsory English and three hours in a week for the elective English.
3. Teacher Cognition
It has to be realized that each teacher has their own individual ideas, ways of doing things, and preferences, which makes it obvious that if in this study the researcher wants to understand completely what the teachers do, the researcher then needs to understand what they know and believe.
4. Four Strands
Dealing with the language skills, teachers need to be aware that each of the language skills, listening, speaking, reading, writing, are different from the others. Due to that, it is needed to break down each skill and give attention to each of them. Learning language opportunities can be separated into four strands: meaning-focused input, meaning-focused output, language-focused learning and fluency development (Nation, 2007). These strands should become a consideration of teachers in providing learning materials and activities.
a. Meaning-focused Input
Meaning-focused input deals with receptive learning which involves finding a meaning for word form. It covers learning trough listening and reading. It is called meaning-focused as in all the works accomplished in this strand, the main focus of the students should be on understanding and gaining knowledge or enjoyment from what they listen to and read. The activities covered in this strand are reading novels, listening to songs, watching films, and so on.
b. Meaning-focused Output
Meaning-focused output strand deals with productive learning which involves searching for and producing a word. It covers learning through speaking and writing. The activities involved in this strand are being involved in conversations, telling stories, writing letters, and so on. This strand demands certain conditions as focused-meaning input does. First, the students are required to write and talk about things that are largely familiar to them. Next, the students‟
main goal should be to convey their message to someone else. Besides, the proportion of the unfamiliar language the students need to use is small. The students can also apply communication strategies, dictionaries or previous input to make up for gaps in their productive knowledge. Lastly, opportunities to speak and write are large.
c. Language-focused Learning
d. Fluency development
The fluency development strand covers all the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. The students are helped to make the best use of what they have already known. Fluency development strand is also meaning-focused, which means that the students‟ aim is to receive and convey messages. The activities involved in this strand include speed reading, skimming and scanning, repeated reading, ten-minute writing and listening to easy stories.
The fluency strand will be accomplished if all of what the students are listening to, reading, speaking or writing is mostly familiar to them. Besides, there is no unfamiliar language for the students and the students‟ focus should be on
receiving or conveying meaning. The students are suggested to be encouraged to perform. Lastly, there is a large amount of input or output exposed to the students. However, it has to be noted that each strand should have approximately the same amount of time in a course in order to cover both receptive and productive skills. 5. Textbooks
This section mainly focuses on discussing textbooks, which covers the development of textbooks, the concept of textbooks, textbooks as an instructional material, textbooks in the 2013 Curriculum, the criteria of good textbooks, and textbooks selection.
a. Development of Textbooks
textbooks contained long reading texts with vocabulary glossaries and grammar explanation in the students‟ native language.
In 1960s and 1997s the focus moved to audio-lingualism. Language textbooks representing audiolingualism presented dialogues, pattern practice, and substitution drills in which the teacher provided a stimulus such as a sentence beginning with a certain personal pronoun and the learners provided a response sentence changing the subject with another personal pronoun.
In the 1970s and 1980s, there was a shift towards the notional-functional approach in which language was used for the purposes of expressing opinions, to talk or write about both abstract and concrete topics. Textbooks began to stress functional languages as well as pair and group work activities in which learners used the language to communicate with each other.
In the 1980s, task-based language teaching approach emerged. Language is learned through negotiation with other learners in problem-solving. This approach focused on meaning rather than form. Textbooks then provide a needed structure for interaction in the classroom and learners see textbook as a guide that helps them organize their learning and provides security. Many current textbooks have contained tasks or projects to stimulate interaction and negotiation among learners.
b. Concept of Textbooks
al., 2001) and also as teaching tools (Graves, 2000) which help teachers and learners conduct the process of study. Textbooks are also one of a lot of learning media which holds significant roles in the classroom. It usually provides the curriculum material in an instructional system. Further, Richards (2001: 251) reveals that textbooks function as the source for much of the language input learners receive and the language practice that takes place in classroom. They provide goals, process and the most frequently-used material of an instruction and educational planning.
For most teachers, textbooks provide the foundation for the content of lessons, the balance of the skills taught, as well as the kinds of language practice the students engage in during class activities. According to Cortazzi and Jin (1999), the textbook can be a teacher, a map, a resource, a trainer, an authority, and an ideology. Textbooks present the necessary tools in preparing learners for the transition of language skills across disciplines. For most teachers, textbooks provide the foundation for the content of lessons, the balance of the skills taught, and the kinds of language practice the students engage in during class activities. Textbooks turn out to be the focal source of language contact for students, apart from teacher input.
c. Textbooks as an Instructional Material
Instructional materials are perceived as very important in the teaching and learning of English language. Instructional materials are materials or tools or devices used to enhance and enlighten the effective teaching and learning process. Instructional materials include textbooks, technology-based materials, other educational materials, and tests. Due to this, in the English teaching and learning process, textbooks function as a part of the teachers‟ instructional materials.
Donovan in Tomlinson (1998) affirms that materials should have a high degree of regularity in unit design, content, task type, etc. Tomlinson (1998) in Richards (2001: 263) suggests that good language teaching materials have the following characteristics:
1) Materials should achieve impact
2) Materials should help learners feel at ease
3) Materials should help learners to develop confidence
4) What is being taught should be perceived by learners as relevant and useful 5) Materials should require and facilitate learner self-investment
6) Learners must be ready to acquire the points being taught
7) Materials should expose the learners to language in authentic use
8) The learners‟ attention should be drawn to linguistic features of the input 9) Materials should provide the learners with opportunities to use the target
language to achieve communicative purposes
10) Materials should take into account that learners have different learning styles 11)Materials should take into account that positive effects of instruction are
12)Materials should take into account that learners differ in affective attitudes 13)Materials should permit a silent period at the beginning of instruction
14)Materials should maximize learning potential by encouraging intellectual, aesthetic, and emotional involvement that stimulates both right and left brain activities
15)Materials should not rely too much on controlled practice 16)Materials should provide opportunities for outcome feedback.
The impact of the use of textbooks as one of instructional materials to classroom learning is significant, and they have been shown to be a significant tool for teachers in classrooms. Textbooks as an instructional material serves as one of the most important means of access for students to the knowledge and skills they must master. Textbooks also support teachers in making instructional decisions and selecting effective teaching strategies that lead to student mastery of the language.
differences, and (8) Learning needs to engage learners both affectively and cognitively.
d. Textbooks in the Curriculum 2013
Law No. 20 Year 2003 on the National Education System defines curriculum as sets of plans which include purposes, content, and teaching materials, which will be used as the guideline to achieve the objective of educational institution. In line with the definition, curriculum then has several concepts:
a. Scope and sequence, the depiction of curriculum which is regarded as a matrix of objectives assigned to successive grade levels (i.e. sequence) and group of common themes (i.e. scope)
b. Syllabus, the plan for the whole course, which commonly includes the rationale, topics, resources, and evaluation
c. Content outline, a list of topics covered organized in outline form
d. Standards, a list of knowledge and skills required by students upon completion e. Textbook, an instructional material which is used as the assistance in giving
instructions in class
f. Course of study, a series of courses which the students have to complete g. Planned experience, all experience the students gain, which are planned by the
school, covering academic, athletic, emotional, or social
functions as developing individuals‟ dignified skills, characters, and civilization in
order to make intellectual generations and to develop learners‟ potentials to be healthy, intellectual, skillful, creative, independent, democratic, and responsible individuals who believe in God and who possess noble characters.” It implies that
education, its process, and its outcome is meant to develop learners to be fully functional persons who have skills and good characters and who are knowledgeable, aware of their potentials, and are able to implement their potentials and skills for the society‟s and their own benefit.
Curriculum 2013 for senior high school began to be implemented from grade X or first grade of senior high school. Curriculum 2013 contains basic competence (kompetensi dasar/ KD) and core competence (kompetensi inti/ KI) as the main variables. According to basic competence (kompetensi dasar/ KD) and core competence (kompetensi inti/ KI) stated in Curriculum 2013, students are expected to be able to use language skills with several characteristics embedded namely honesty, self-discipline, responsibility, cooperation, tolerance, politeness, responsiveness, and being proactive.
The contents of Curriculum 2013 are not only based on the students‟
accomplishment on the indicators and standards, but also the students‟
aesthetic factors are part of the method. It makes English skills become main priority in teaching English for students in Curriculum 2013 as the activities in Curriculum 2013 are expected to make the students exposed with the use of English language as often as possible with various theme, context, and topic.
The uses of English skills in communication become the main priority for Curriculum 2013 in term of communicative purposes. Materials and exercises provided in the textbook should be in line with the curriculum and learners‟ needs. Further, in Curriculum 2013 teachers should be able to create an enjoyable atmosphere in order to set up the student-centered learning classroom, which is aimed at making the students feel encouraged to analyze, observe and generate what they have learned. The essence of the curriculum and the learners‟ needs still have to be significant considerations for teachers in delivering the learning materials from textbook or any other media because students are different one to another. It is important to view language learning as student-centered because each student is individual who differs from each other.
The objective of communication is to build social relation (interpersonal) and developing discourse through information exchange among the individuals involved within the communication (transactional) delivered via oral or written media. The ability to communicate feeling, knowledge and views among those involved in the communication (interlocutors) must be based on their sociocultural values for the sake of making appropriate communication.
are organized around the integration of linguistic rules (cohesive and coherent choice of words, phrases, sentences, or utterances) and the socio-cultural rules of the language use applied in various types of oral and written discourse needed by the language users in certain communicative situations and scopes such as daily situation, working situation, education, and academic scope. The socio-cultural rules regarding to the language use covers attitudes in communication which are influenced by cross-cultural understanding values.
In Curriculum 2013, subjects are divided into two categories namely compulsory suzbjects and elective subjects. The compulsory subjects are those which are obligated to be learned by all the students in all senior high schools. Meanwhile, the elective subjects are those which can be chosen and joined by the students based on their own interest.
The following are the list of compulsory subjects and elective subjects based on Curriculum 2013.
Referring to the 2013 curriculum, the presence of textbooks in the teaching process in the classroom is very vital. Because of the important roles, governments need to take control of the textbook content, production, and distribution, as what happens in Indonesia. Jazadi (2003) states that textbooks in Indonesia need to pass several political and also evaluation process to maintain security.
“The content of books should be in line with and not contradictory to Pancasila (The State Philosophy), UUD 1945 (The 1945 Constitution), Government policies, national unity and security, laws, regulations, ethics, and that the content not exploits the sensitive issue of SARA (ethnics, religions, race, and intergroup relations). Judgement of this aspect is made by evaluators coming from Mabes ABRI (Armed Forces Headquarter), Kejaksaan agung (Office of Attorney General), Lemhanas (National Defence Institute) and Inspectorate General of MOEC (Ministry of Education and Culture).” (Jazardi, 2003)
The aforementioned statements then can be the reason why Indonesian governments take control in deciding, providing, and distributing the Curriculum 2013 textbooks to be used in schools.
The governments provide an English textbook for the compulsory English. Each senior high school implementing the Curriculum 2013 has to purchase the textbook by using BOS, as many as the number of the students. Meanwhile, the governments decide a publisher, which is Erlangga, to provide an English textbook to be used in teaching elective English in senior high schools. Though the textbook for elective English should also be purchased using BOS, the number of the textbook purchased depends on the schools‟ financial condition.
e. Criteria of Good Textbooks
Before selecting a textbook to be applied in the class, teachers have to be familiar with the criteria of a good textbook. Masuhara (1998) points out that a good book is a book which meets teachers', students', and administrators' needs and wants. The following is the more detail elaboration on those needs and wants. 1) Textbooks that meet the learners' needs
Learners' personal needs include age, sex, cultural background, interest, and educational background (Masuhara, 1998). Learners' learning needs can be identified from various aspects as learning styles, language learning experience, language proficiency, learning goals and learning expectations. In addition, learners‟ needs also include the needs of exciting and advantageous materials, the
2) Textbooks that meet the teachers' needs
Teachers' needs can be divided into two, personal needs and professional needs. As aforementioned learners‟ needs, teachers' personal needs also cover age,
cultural background, interests, educational background and teachers' language proficiency. Teachers‟ preferred teaching styles, teachers‟ training experience and
teachers‟ teaching experience belong to teachers' professional needs (Masuhara,
1998). For teachers, certain textbooks can be said they are good if they present explanations on the content, examples and exercises. Besides, the availability of a variety of activities in teaching is also one of the considerations.
3) Textbooks that meet the administrators' needs
Administrators' needs cover institutional needs which involve sociopolitical needs, market forces, educational policy, and constraints such as time, budget and resources (Masuhara, 1998). It is easy to find the fact that a number of schools in Indonesia do not have sufficient budget to provide books for the students so that they tend to wait for the governments support to facilitate their needs for textbooks. Discussing about educational policy, it should be firmly stated that one of the most important policies is curriculum. It should be thoroughly examined whether the textbooks are in line with the curriculum being applied.
In addition, Cunningsworth (1995) proposes four criteria for evaluating textbooks:
b) They should reflect the uses (present or future) which learners will make of the language. Textbooks should be chosen that will help equip students to use language effectively for their own purposes
c) They should take account of students‟ needs as learners and should facilitate their learning processes, without dogmatically imposing a rigid “method”
d) They should have a clear role as a support for learning. Like teachers, they mediate between the target language and the learner
f. Textbooks Selection
Textbooks selection can be considered as a subjective practice. Textbooks selection is a process of selecting certain textbooks which is conducted before a teacher employs a textbook. Due to that, textbooks selection is also called pre-use evaluation. Pre-use evaluation is the first stage of evaluation before whilst-use and after use selections. This stage is usually done by teachers or director of the studies, but in Indonesia this activity is usually conducted by those two or even only by the administrators.
are, how good the materials presented are, how the activities and exercises are sequenced and how they meet the syllabus as well as the students‟ needs, also how
the balanced language skills are exposed.
As discussed in the previous part, good textbooks are those which meet students', teachers', and administrators' needs so that in the process of textbooks selection those needs have to be considered very well. Yet, in Indonesia the price of a textbook is regarded as a considerable issue especially when the school has many students who come from lower class and consider it is hard to buy textbooks. Furthermore, some teachers and administrators may consider discount and other additional benefits in the process of purchasing textbooks. The other bad possibilities are when teachers only have very limited choices because of the limited school budget or even when administrators have already decided a textbook to use in class.
Teachers‟ autonomy takes an important role in textbooks selection.
Autonomy is generally described as being responsible and independent in making choices. Benson (2000: 101) describes autonomy as the right to freedom from control by others. Yet, in the reality it seems to be difficult to achieve. It is a fact that teachers are restricted by school regulations, demands of the administrators, and also curricula.
be able to achieve not only personal but also the community goals. In this study, teachers‟ autonomy in selecting textbooks means the teachers‟ awareness of the
professional needs as well as of the demands of the administrators and curricula which then lead them to the responsibility to select textbooks which best suit to the needs and demands.
6. Lived Experience
Clarifying the term lived experience used in this study is significant to attain the readers‟ understanding. Lived experience covers the significant events
in the past which make a person what he/ she is today. This kind of experience accumulates over time, teaches us lessons and has effects by shaping or influencing our responses to the world. Manen (1990) reveals that each person has a unique set of experiences which are regarded as truth and influence the behavior of the individual. In line with this, individual lived experience refers to the lived experience of an individual which is considered as unique from one individual to another. To be more specific, the teachers‟ individual lived experience in selecting
textbooks can be said as the lived experience of the teacher himself/herself, without being compared or related to the lived experience of the other teachers.
Further, Manen (1990) explains that the most fundamental part of the study of lived experience is the narrative reflections on the meaningful lived experiences and daily real practices in the real world reality in order to enhance someone‟s understanding and knowledge. In addition, he mentions that lived
teachers‟ lived experience of selecting textbooks, it less concentrates to how a teacher selects textbooks, but it focuses on the real meaning of selecting textbooks. In other words, it can be understood that the researcher should examine the teachers‟ experience of selecting textbooks without leaving the consideration
of the other facts because those facts must be connected to and affect each other. There are individual and shared lived experience. Individual lived experience refers to the lived experience of an individual which is considered as unique from one individual to another. The teachers‟ individual lived experience of textbooks selection means the lived experience of each teacher toward textbooks selection which is seen individually, without being compared with the lived experience of other teacher. Meanwhile, shared lived experience is the lived experience among people which are considered similar among others. Teachers‟
shared lived experience of textbooks selection means the lived experience of the teachers which are relatively similar from one teacher to other teacher. The shared lived experience can be identified by comparing the individual lived experience of one participant to another.
Further, according to Bradley (2002), the word „lived experience‟ means
the mixed senses of the last events and the events which are happening now. Teachers‟ lived experience of selecting textbooks then can be defined as the
relations with others, cultural patterns, feelings, beliefs or sights, behaviors, smells, sounds, etc.
Obtaining these aspects of lived experience, the researcher considers to focus on five aspects of lived experience to be used in the study. They are understanding, belief, action, feeling, and intention. The researcher thinks that the teachers, of course, had gained knowledge on the criteria of selecting materials, especially textbooks, in their undergraduate study. Here, the teachers obtained information about selecting textbooks. It means that the teachers already had understanding on textbooks selection criteria. The information on textbooks selection criteria might change the teachers‟ understanding into the teachers‟
belief. After that, the teachers implemented the textbooks selection based on the teachers‟ understanding and belief. This means the teachers did an action. During
selecting textbooks, the teachers might feel something and want to do something related to textbooks selection, which means that the teachers had intention. The five aspects of lived experience will be discussed continuously.
a. Understanding
According to Cronbach (1963: 350) to understand means to have the knowledge of or to be well informed about a particular object. In other words, to understand an idea can be described as knowing its significance, its implicit correlation with other important idea and also its meaning. Teachers‟ understanding about textbook selection then can be defined as the teachers‟
toward textbook selection can be interpreted through what the teachers know or what information the teachers have related to textbook selection.
Understanding enables someone to decide the possible responses toward any thought that comes to mind and eliminate those which are not appropriate with the facts. It means that understanding will affect the teachers‟ beliefs. Belief
itself can be stated as the expression of values and feelings of a person toward something. In short, understanding and belief differ from each other as understanding often changes from time to time, while belief is relatively static and difficult to change.
b. Belief
Belief is formed and influenced by understanding. It involves values and feelings. It affects someone‟s behavior or actions. Pajares (1992) mentions that teachers‟ beliefs influence their perceptions and their behaviors, which then affect
their plans, thoughts, and decisions. Hence, belief plays a crucial role in defining behavior and organizing knowledge and information.
Teachers‟ beliefs in textbook selection can be identified through the
teachers‟ opinions, views, assumptions and decisions related to certain textbook.
The teachers‟ answer for the question about their beliefs toward the topic under
study are interpreted by the researcher in order to gain the essence of the participant's beliefs or views related to textbook selection.
c. Action
involves the use of five senses and bodily movements. Some examples are the act of seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, and smelling.
Teachers‟ actions regarding the textbook selection is identified through the
activities or actions the teacher does in selecting textbook. In this case, the teachers‟ actions can be seen and identified from in depth interviews, the
observation notes, and re interviews done by the researcher. d. Feeling
Feelings are closely related to emotions. They grab the affective aspect of human life. Magai (2001) asserts that emotions begin in our neurophysiology and that our personalities are organized around “affective biases.” All of us possess
five primary human emotions: happiness, sadness, fear, anger, and interest/excitement. These emotions are natural in our brains and are the source of our motivations. When our emotions are activated, they will influence on our cognition and behavior.
Schacter & Singer (1962) mention that experience of emotion is based on conscious evaluations which someone makes about physiological sensations or feelings in particular social settings. Expressions of feelings that are commonly used are anxious, happy, afraid, intimidated, confident, and so on (Patton, 2002). This study tried to explore what the teachers feel when they select a textbook. Feeling, in this study, refers to what the teachers feel about the action of textbook selection.
e. Intention
According to them expectation is a subjective speculation that a behavior will actually be presented. Intention is a combination of desire and ability. Desire is the motivation to have a thing or an object; ability is the potential for action. Someone can be said to have an intention to do something when he thinks he himself is potentially able to fulfill it. Since both of intention and desire have insignificant differences, these terms are used interchangeably in this study. Related to the study, intention toward textbook selection can be identified from what the teachers desire or what they expect to do or to achieve concerning textbook selection. Intention toward textbook selection is the hope or expectation of the teachers about what they aim to do or to accomplish in the future.
7. Hermeneutic Phenomenology
As Bismoko (2007) suggests, hermeneutic phenomenology is one of research methods which belongs to interpretive research. Interpretive research is concerned with social and human realities. Further, Bismoko (2007) states that interpretive research is mainly aimed at understanding human phenomenon which is to access meaning of participants‟ lived-experience.
This research is hermeneutics phenomenology. It is phenomenology because it is aimed at gaining a deeper understanding of meaning of everyday experience (Van Manen, 1990). It describes the meaning of individuals‟ lived
experience of a phenomenon. Further, Bismoko (2007) states that phenomenology attempts to reveal the essence of the meaning of a phenomenon which is consciously observed in a real life. It is also hermeneutics because it also intends to interpret world reality through the participants‟ interaction and from the participants‟ point of view.
B. Review of Related Studies
There are several studies conducted to investigate lived experience and textbooks selection. Kiswara (2010) wrote a graduate thesis on SMP English teachers‟ reflection on textbooks selection. In accomplishing the study, he employed phenomenology. He found out the fact that in general, in selecting textbooks the participants tried to meet the students‟ learning needs, interest, and
cultural background by still considering the constraints and educational policies. However, he also found out that each participant assigned different meanings to textbooks selection: a) finding the right textbook which could help the teacher and the students achieve the instructional goal, b) selecting textbook which could help the students achieve the future professional needs, and c) finding the textbook which could help the students pass the final examination.
and commonly affected by factors which do not have any relation to pedagogy including limited awareness of available texts, budget restrictions, and limited availability. He proposes the steps in the textbook selection process, which include matching the textbook to the program and the course, reviewing the skills presented in the textbook, reviewing exercises and activities in the textbook, and weighing practical concerns. Further, by basing on the textbooks selection steps he has proposed, he also presents a checklist which teachers can use to decide the most appropriate textbooks to be employed in class as he believes that decisions regarding textbooks selection do affect teachers, students, and the overall classroom dynamic.
Mukundan and Nimehchisalem (2012) believe that textbooks selection will be easier, more objective and valid when it is based on a reliable instrument. Checklists are often used by experts in selecting as well as evaluating textbooks. The paper presents the findings of the quantitative study that aims at investigating a group of English as a Second Language (ESL) views on a checklist developed by the researchers. The study provides what constitutes a good textbook based on the views of ELT practitioners. The findings of the study can be applied by teachers to evaluate textbooks more confidently.
Having reviewed some studies above, it is obvious that the study on SMA English teachers‟ lived experience in selecting textbooks has not been conducted.
C. Theoretical Framework
Textbooks are a common element in English teaching. Textbooks are regarded as the most vital means for conveying knowledge, for measuring what students do and do not learn in class. Besides, textbooks also help teachers to put instructions in class by supplying various exciting activities, appropriate reading texts, and meaningful examples, exercises, and also questions.
Considering the importance of textbooks previously mentioned, the researcher assumes that a lot of teachers need to select textbooks to be applied in class. This is because the teachers need to find materials, exercises, activities and/ or ideas to teach the students. Moreover, the fact that each day most teachers have several classes in a row makes it difficult for them to have enough time to prepare their own materials. Other assumption of teachers‟ using textbooks is class is that
the teachers need to give the same topic, the same materials, the same exercise, and even the same activities to the students in the same grade so that the teachers could measure the students‟ success in learning particular topics.
could affect the teachers in the process of proper textbooks selection. Therefore, it is theoretically important to conduct a study on how teachers actually carry out a textbook selection.
Selecting an appropriate textbook is considered as an important and challenging process as it has a big influence on students‟ engagement, motivation
to learn, and language performance. Brown (2004: 25) states that textbooks selection is a process of matching the theory of learning with the needs in a textbook right before teachers use the books. The criteria used in the process of selecting textbooks itself have been mentioned by Masuhara (1998: 257) and Byrd (2001). They reveal that a good textbook should suit to the needs of students, teachers and the administrators.
This study will interpret teachers‟ lived experience in textbook selection.
The researcher aims to elaborate and interpret how a teacher gives meanings to the process of textbook selection. To answer the question of the study, the researcher would conduct a qualitative study. To interpret how the SMA English teacher assigns meanings to the textbook selection, the researcher mainly used Masuhara‟s textbook evaluation steps and Masuhara‟s list of needs in selecting
textbook. To improve the trustworthiness, the researcher interviewed the participants in two periods, before and after analysis.
The following is the construct of theoretical framework of the study. Construct 1 Category Construct 2 Indicator Lived
belief, action,
Action - Teachers‟ autonomy to
select textbooks
Feeling - Feeling when selecting
textbooks
- Success and failure of conducting textbooks selection
Intention - Intentions to do in the
future textbooks selection
