Cultural Representation of EFL Textbook for Elementary School in Indonesia

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the cultural representations found in English textbooks. A qualitative method was employed, utilizing content analysis on a fifth-grade elementary English textbook. The researcher applied Cortazzi and Jin’s (1999) framework of cultural types and Yuen’s (2011) cultural dimensions to examine the cultural content in My Next Words Grade 5 – Student’s Book for Elementary School, written by the EYLC Team (2021). The findings revealed a total of 30 cultural representations, which 28 were categorized under both cultural types and dimensions, while the other 2 were identified only in cultural dimensions. The most dominant cultural type found in the book was source culture, while the most frequent cultural dimension was person. The study concludes that English textbooks used in elementary schools tend to prioritize local culture.