Understanding Culture through Textbooks: A Study on Teacher Cognition and Cultural Representation in Indonesian EFL Classrooms

Salila Prasidya Hidayati; Fallianda Falianda; Hurrotul Firdausiyah

doi:10.22437/langue.v4i2.55235

Authors

Salila Prasidya Hidayati Universitas Sunan Gresik
Falianda Universitas Sunan Gresik
Hurrotul Firdausiyah Universitas Sunan Gresik

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22437/langue.v4i2.55235

Keywords:

cultural representation, teacher cognition, EFL textbooks, intercultural competence, Indonesian EFL classrooms

Abstract

This study investigates how cultural representation is constructed in Indonesian EFL textbooks and mediated through teacher cognition in classroom practice. Using a qualitative case study design, the research analyzed five selected chapters from the Grade 10 English textbook Work in Progress and conducted semi-structured interviews with three EFL teachers in Gresik, East Java. The study employed qualitative content analysis, multimodal discourse analysis, and teacher cognition theory to examine textual, visual, and pedagogical dimensions of culture. The findings indicate that globalized or modernized culture dominates textbook representation, while Indonesian culture is embedded implicitly through collaborative classroom practices and native-speaker culture receives limited representation. The study also reveals that teachers play an important mediating role in interpreting cultural content. However, classroom practices tend to prioritize communicative competence over explicit intercultural reflection due to curriculum demands, assessment orientation, and time constraints. Consequently, cultural learning remains largely implicit and less critically developed. The findings suggest that cultural representation in EFL classrooms emerges dynamically through the interaction between materials, pedagogy, and teacher cognition. This study highlights the importance of explicit intercultural pedagogy and teacher preparation in supporting intercultural competence development in Indonesian EFL contexts.

References

Agustin, D. T. (2023). The origins of Indonesian EFL teachers’ ideological beliefs about English and ELT. Wiralodra English Journal, 7(1), 40–50.

Almunawaroh, N. F., Diem, C. D., & Steklács, J. (2024). EFL teachers’ pedagogical beliefs, pedagogical content knowledge, and instructional material use: A scale development and validation. Cogent Education, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2024.2379696

Baker, W. (2018). English as a lingua franca and intercultural communication. Cambridge University Press.

Baker, W. (2021). Intercultural communication and English as a lingua franca. In The Routledge Handbook of English as a Lingua Franca (pp. 25–36).

BERA. (2018). Ethical guidelines for educational research.

Borg, S. (2019). Language teacher cognition: Perspectives and debates. In X. Gao (Ed.), Second Handbook of English Language Teaching (pp. 1149–1170). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58542-0_59-1.

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2021). Thematic analysis: A practical guide. Sage.

Charmaz, K. (2019). Constructing grounded theory. Sage.

Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and research design (4th ed.). Sage.

Curdt-Christiansen, X. L., & Weninger, C. (2022). Language textbook analysis. System, 105, 102742.

Fairclough, N. (2015). Language and power (3rd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315834361

Galloway, N., & Rose, H. (2022). Global Englishes for language teaching. Cambridge University Press.

Geertz, C. (1976). The religion of Java. University of Chicago Press.

Gray, J. (2021). Critical perspectives on language teaching materials. Palgrave Macmillan.

Hermawan, B., Haryanti, D., & Suryaningsih, N. (2022). Buku Panduan Guru Bahasa Inggris: Work in Progress. Ministry of Education.

Koentjaraningrat. (2009). Pengantar ilmu antropologi. Rineka Cipta.

Kramsch, C. (2013). Culture in foreign language teaching. Routledge.

Kress, G., & van Leeuwen, T. (2021). Reading images: The grammar of visual design. Routledge.

Krippendorff, K. (2019). Content analysis: An introduction to its methodology. Sage.

Landis, J. R., & Koch, G. G. (1977). The measurement of observer agreement for categorical data. Biometrics, 33(1), 159–174.

Lantolf, J. P., & Thorne, S. L. (2022). Sociocultural theory and second language development. Oxford University Press.

Lee, J. S. (2022). Intercultural competence in language education. Language Teaching Research, 26(3), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168820946448

Li, L. (2020). Teacher cognition and classroom practice. ELT Journal, 74(2), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccz054

Liddicoat, A. J. (2005). Teaching languages for intercultural communication. Language Teaching, 38(4), 201–214.

Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (2020). Naturalistic inquiry. Sage.

Marlina, R. (2024). Global Englishes in Southeast Asia. Asian Englishes, 26(1), 1–15.

Matsuda, A. (2020). Preparing teachers to teach English as an international language. Multilingual Matters.

McKay, S. L. (2018a). English as an international language: What it is and what it means for pedagogy. RELC Journal, 49(1), 9–23. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688217738817

McKay, S. L. (2018b). Teaching English as an international language. Oxford University Press.

Ministry of Education Research, and Technology, C. (2022). Merdeka curriculum guidelines. Government of Indonesia.

Mufidah, A., Mustofa, M., & Ubaidillah, M. F. (2022). The creation of EYL textbooks in Indonesia: An interview study on EFL teachers’ perceptions. Central European Journal of Educational Research, 4(3).

Patton, M. Q. (2015). Qualitative research & evaluation methods. Sage.

Porto, M., & Houghton, S. A. (2021). Intercultural citizenship in language education. Multilingual Matters.

Pratama, H. (2022). Cultural representation in Indonesian textbooks. Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 12(1), 45–60.

Rahmawati, Y. (2023). Teacher cognition in Indonesian EFL contexts. TEFLIN Journal, 34(2), 200–220.

Richards, J. C. (2019). Approaches and methods in language teaching. Cambridge University Press.

Rose, H., & Galloway, N. (2019). Global Englishes for language teaching. Cambridge University Press.

Schreier, M. (2018). Qualitative content analysis in practice. Sage.

Septiana, E., Mujiyanto, J., & Sutopo, D. (2020). Teachers’ perception, plan, implementation, and evaluation toward the use of Super Minds textbook in EFL classroom. English Education Journal, 10(3).

Sercu, L. (2020). Teaching intercultural competence. Language Teaching, 53(1), 1–15.

Setyono, B., & Widodo, H. P. (2019). Cultural representation in Indonesian ELT textbooks. System, 80, 10–20.

Tran, T. Q., & Duong, T. M. (2022). Intercultural competence development. System, 105, 102715.

Widodo, H. P. (2020). ELT materials development in Asia. Springer.

Widodo, H. P., Perfecto, M. R., & Canh, L. V. (2023). Cultural representation in Southeast Asian ELT textbooks. System, 114, 103020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2023.103020

Yazan, B., & Rudolph, N. (2023). Critical perspectives on interculturality. TESOL Quarterly, 57(1), 1–25.

Zein, S. (2021). English language education in Indonesia. Routledge.