Representations of Multicultural Values in Indonesian English for Senior High School Students’ Textbook Grade XI

Abstract

Cultural diversity is an important aspect of learning considering that Indonesia is a multicultural country, one of which is through the representation of multicultural values in textbooks. Multicultural representation in books is shown through visual and textual aspects. This paper aims to analyze the multicultural values represented in the book entitled English Book for Grade XI (Buku Bahasa Inggris Tingkat Lanjut Kelas XI) published in 2021. This research was conducted by adopting the theory from Baker (2012) elaborating that multicultural aspect in books language learning is divided into four components including ethnic, religious, socio-economic and geographical background which are further divided into visual aspects and textual aspect. There are 18 multicultural representations which are described visually containing maps, images, illustrations, and 61 multicultural representations which are described textually in texts and tasks. Religious representations are not adequately involved and the least described in this book, both visually and textually. It is hoped that this research contributes to the improvement and reflection for the government as the party that writes this book. In addition, school principals are required to encourage teachers to emphasize multicultural values in learning both through textbooks and improvisation in learning and teaching activities.