CULTURAL CONTENTS IN THE ELT TEXTBOOK PREPARED BY THE INDONESIAN MINISTRY OF EDUCATION FOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Background and Purpose: Learning materials are powerful resources in facilitating students’ intercultural communication competence; therefore, this study aims to investigate the cultural contents presented in the textbook for Year 11 students in Indonesian secondary schools. Methodology: This study employed a content analysis approach based on the framework by Cortazzi and Jin (1999). The texts, dialogues and images in the textbook were analyzed to understand which culture they represent. Findings: The textbook contains elements of the target culture, native culture and other international cultures in varying degrees. The dominant culture presented in the textbook is the target culture (57.6%). Elements of native culture represent about one-third of the content (30.3%). However, the content related to other international cultures is very limited (12.1%). When there is a lack of exposure to international cultures, students’ cognitive and affective skills may subsequently reduce and this leads to difficulty in developing their intercultural competence. Revision to some parts of the textbook should be done to meet the ideal requirements. Contributions: The study provides insights into the cultural contents of the ELT textbook used in Indonesian secondary schools and it suggests that the textbook should be revised to meet the requirement of intercultural competence. Keywords: ELT textbook, intercultural competence, international culture, native culture, target culture. Cite as: Deswila, N., Kustati, M., Yusuf, Y. Q., Raja Harun, R. N. S., Besral, & Rehani. (2021). Cultural contents in the ELT textbook prepared by the Indonesian ministry of education for secondary schools. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 6(1), 222-241. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol6iss1pp222-241

Analysing Cultural Elements in L2 Mandarin Textbooks for Malaysian Learners

Culture is an important aspect of foreign or second language education as the teaching of foreign languages straddles two languages, the learner’s first language and the target/foreign language, and the different cultures associated with them. Textbooks for the teaching of foreign languages must inevitably orient to cultural elements from at least two cultural practices and environments. In this study, cultural elements in four Mandarin as a second language textbooks written by Malaysian authors were examined using content analysis. The conception of cultural elements proposed by Zhang and Chen and the categorizations of types of culture proposed by Cortazzi and Jin and Chao were employed to investigate the extent to which cultural elements (knowledge-culture or communicative-culture) and types of culture (source, target, international cultures or intercultural interaction) are represented in these textbooks. The analysis found that both knowledge-culture and communicative-culture are embodied in the textbooks. Furthermore, most of the cultural elements identified in the textbooks represent source and target cultures which refer to learners’ own culture and culture of the target language. The presence of international cultures and intercultural interaction, on the other hand, is lower in these textbooks. This study contributes towards a better understanding of how Malaysian authors of Mandarin as a second language textbooks for Malaysian learners incorporate cultural elements in the books they write. It highlights the importance of integrating cultural elements and representing a diversity of cultures in textbooks for teaching Mandarin as a second language.

Selly Raby Kane: Surrealist Designer and Social Innovator

Selly Raby Kane is a renowned Senegalese fashion designer and artist involved in Africa’s booming art and design movement. Kane is an interesting case study to grasp fashion’s involvement in Africa’s current debate surrounding identity and empowerment through innovation. This article discusses Kane’s designs in light of her contribution not only to contemporary approaches to African fashion that emphasize individuality, but also to effecting change through fashion, examining the ways in which she mixes symbols, signs, and techniques of African and international cultures to inscribe Africa, and Senegal in particular, into the global fashionscape.

CANTI POPOLARI LITUANI: THE FIRST COLLECTION OF LITHUANIAN FOLK POETRY IN ITALIAN

The essay starts by analyzing an editorial project, the series Poesia popolare indoeuropea (Indo-European Folk Poetry), realized in Italy in 1930 under the guidance of the expert of Slavic Studies Ettore Lo Gatto. The series aimed at a vast audience, with the objective to inform and sensitize the society to ancient and folk literatures of the Indo-European area, a theme not so popular and almost unknown at that time, but also not easy to study, considering the historical period was closed to international cultures. Unfortunately, it was a short experience: the volumes composing the series were just three. The second one, Canti popolari lituani (Lithuanian Folk Songs) by Giuseppe Morici, is the first collection of Lithuanian dainos translated into Italian. This study places a special emphasis on Morici’s work, analyzing its contents and, through its example, reflecting on the issue of translation.