An Analysis of English Users in Reading and Speaking Text in EFL Textbooks in Curriculum 2013 used by the First Graders of Junior and Senior High School

Abstract

The study was conducted to examine the representation of the main characters in EFL (English as Foreign Language) textbooks used by the first grade of Junior and Senior High School. There were two textbooks were analyzed, Bright (Zaida, 2013) and Pathway to English (Sudarwati& Grace, 2013). These books were analyzed due to the changing of the KTSP (Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan) into the new curriculum, curriculum 2013. The study focused on analyzing the speaking and reading text with the representation of main characters refers to Kachru (1985) categorization of Inner circle, Outer circle, and Expanding circle country. The data were analyzed quantitatively. The findings showed that the two textbooks tended to represent Indonesian main characters as English users in Expanding circle countries. Moreover, there were three categories being represented through the text such as Inner circle, Outer circle, and Expanding circle countries other than Indonesia. Several main characters from ethnic groups in Indonesia were also found in the text. One implication from the results is that if the textbooks provide a dominant role for Indonesian main characters which is part of the Expanding circle countries, teacher can try to add some additional materials about the users of English in Outer circle countries. So that the students might understand that English users are not limited to the Inner circle Countries (Matsuda, 2002).