The representation of multicultural values in the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture-Endorsed EFL textbook: a critical discourse analysis

Cultural representation and intercultural interaction in textbooks of English as an international language

“…Furthermore, African countries are mostly presented with poverty and conflict as English-speaking countries (Britain and The USA) are depicted with superiority and more positive roles. These findings are partially in line with textbooks studies not only in the Indonesian context (Setyono & Widodo, 2019), but also other contexts such as Korea (Sherman, 2010;Song, 2013), Hong Kong (Yuen, 2011), andBrazil (Taylor-Mendes, 2009). Since English is seen as an international language, the cultural content in textbooks should not only focus on cultures from particular regions.…”

“…The curriculum is designed to make sure Indonesians graduates ready to be international citizens who have faith, as well as being prolific, inventive, and passionate so that they can contribute not only to their fellow national citizens, but also international civilization (Widodo, 2016). Further, Indonesians are projected to become individuals who are tolerant of other people that have different religions, social as well as cultural values, and willing to work hard; and creative (Setyono & Widodo, 2019). In the relation of English language teaching, the current curriculum views English as a globally-used language and subsequently has a responsibility to embrace not only linguistics-based knowledge (four language skills and grammar) but also the knowledge of cultural diversity whether in the level of national and international.…”

“…Due to the shifting role of English language teaching (ELT) from EFL into English as a lingua franca (ELF) and the raising awareness of the importance of culture, it is unsurprising that there have been a large number of investigations discussing the position of English in various cultural conditions in language textbook (Kusumaningputri & Widodo, 2018;Setyono & Widodo, 2019;Shin et al, 2011;Song, 2013;Tajeddin & Teimournezhad, 2015;Weninger & Kiss, 2013;Yuen, 2011). Despite its potential limitations such as containing inauthentic language, distorting content, or deskilling teachers (Richards, 2001), language textbooks are still undoubtedly crucial in the process of both teaching and learning (Ndura, 2004;Song, 2013).…”

“…In the Indonesian context, studies focusing on cultural elements in English textbooks are growing in numbers (Hermawan & Lia, 2012;Munandar & Ulwiyah, 2012;Parlindungan et al, 2018;Setyono & Widodo, 2019). Setyono & Widodo (2019) analyzed multicultural values in an English textbook for Indonesian secondary school students and how the values might affect the students' intercultural competence. The findings reveal four values contained in the investigated textbook, namely respecting for diversity (pluralism), respecting for the indigenous people's rights, experiencing peace with nature, and increasing in value of cultural products.…”

Primary School English Teachers’ Perceptions of the Teacher Educator-Created English Textbook: The Case of Indonesia

“…In English language teaching (ELT) contexts, language textbooks play an important role in mediating students' language learning inside and outside of the classroom (Setyono & Widodo, 2019). A language textbook can also help language teachers organize and enact their teaching practices (Cunningsworth, 1995).…”