| Abstrakt: |
Although research on cultural representation in textbooks has been widely discussed, little is known about the cultural representation in Arabic and English textbooks endorsed by the Indonesian government. This study investigates the cultural representation in the two textbooks to fill the lacuna. Nested in the conceptual framework of cultural representations of a social context that consists of (1) introduction, (2) time, (3) profession, (4) health, (5) story and (6) daily activities, the present study reports that the culture in the two textbooks is represented using the categories of person, product, perspective, and practice. Specifically, in the person category, Arabic textbooks display more Arabic names than local names and tend to be Linguicism. This case is contradictory to English textbooks which accommodate some familiar local words. In general, more cultural representations are presented in the forms of local culture than foreign cultures, although in some parts, English textbooks are different from Arabic textbooks. For example, Arabic textbooks provide more visual data and contrast with English books in local culture. Likewise, Arabic textbooks tend to present more verbal than visual data in foreign cultures, while English textbooks do not. Finally, this research has implications for the need for specific regulations from the Indonesian government to regulate the percentage of cultural values in Arabic and English textbooks so that they can stimulate the emergence of cross-cultural understanding, which is essential for multicultural education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
