Ahmad Bukhori, Nia Nafisah, and Ika L. Damayanti Indonesia University of Education SoLLs.INTEC.09 Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 5-6 May 2009

Introduction English learning in Indonesia English as a foreign language, now introduced earlier Haliday’s (1985) Genre-Based Approach in Indonesian national curriculum of English; narrative text for junior and senior high schools Wells’ (1987) four literacy levels (performative, functional (JHS), informational, and epistemic (SHS) Children’s literature improve students’ interest (Lazar, 1993) Relevance of learning material with students background knowledge (Gu, 2003; Blachowicz & Fisher, 2003; Elley, 1997) Local stories support students’ learning of English (Muslim, 2008)

Globalization Economic, social, political, psychological, and philosophical hegemony (Sasaki, 2004) Stealing children’s innocence by corporate culture (Giroux, 2000) Uprooted and lost generation (Mahfudin, 2009) Awareness of self-identity (Giden 1991, in Barker, 2000)

Introduction Cont. Identity Who, what, and how to behave (Giden, 1991 in Barker, 2000) Various ethnics in Indonesia. Majors: Javanese, Sundanese (Java), Padangese, Batakese (Sumatra), Balinese, Madurese, Dayakese (Kalimantan) Bugisi (Sulawesi) Asmat (Papua) Nurturance through formal schooling Civic education for democracy and self-identity (Saifullah, 2009) School dance from childhood games and plays (Sunaryo, 2009)

Questions: How do Indonesian text-books incorporate local stories? How do teachers and students perceive the inclusion of local stories in the text-book? How does this inclusion influence students’ English learning process?

Method Descriptive in nature Sample : 10 teachers of junior and senior high schools Students 50 high school and 18 junior high Instrument : Questionnaire Students (nationalism, reading interest, local/foreign stories in learning) Teachers (nationalism, reading interests, local/foreign stories teaching process) Interview Location Urban and suburban schools in Bandung West Java Indonesia Public and religion schools

Finding : Text-book, grades, and authors NoTitlesGradesAuthorsPublishers 1 English on Sky Book 2IXMukarto dkk.Erlangga 2 Real Time Student’s Book 2IXNina A. BatesPhibeta A Gama 3 Contextual LearningXIIWachyu Sundayana dkkGrafindo 4 Look Ahead 1XTheresia & EudiaErlangga 5 Linked to the World 1XSoeprapto & DarwisYudhistira 6 Learning to Use EnglishXIFernando et.al.Piranti Darma Kaloka 7 Seize Your English!XIIAhmad Bukhori et.al.Al-Ihsan Press 8 Let’s TalkIXBachtiar Bima etl.al.Pakar Raya 9 English in ContextXWachyu Sundayana, et.al. Grafindo Utama 10 Developing Competencies in EnglishIXAnwar Sofyanda, et.alGrafindo

Finding : number of stories NoTitlesNumber of foreign stories Number of local stories Comparison 1 English on Sky Book 264More foreign story 2 Real Time Student’s Book 2110No local at all 3 Contextual Learning51More foreign story 4 Look Ahead 192More foreign story 5 Linked to the World 151More foreign story 6 Learning to Use English166More foreign story 7 Seize Your English81More foreign story 8 Let’s Talk54More foreign story 9 English in Context48More local story 10 Developing Competencies in English 44Equal proportion Total7331

Finding Cont. Foreign and local stories in each English text-book

Finding Cont: Teachers Nationalism Very patriotic, proud of being Indonesians Born, raised, work, and live in the country Prefer local food and clothes, not always music Reading interest Many interested in reading local stories A few interested in reading both stories (int’l schools) English Teaching Many found easier to teach narrative using local stories A few found indifferent between both stories

Finding Cont: Students Nationalism (food, film, fashion) Majority, proud of being Indonesians, a few less proud Like local food and fashion better due to availability and affordability Many prefer foreign music due to creativity and English learning. Reading interests Junior high and religion school Ss like local stories better. Senior high Ss of urban school prefer foreign stories to the local ones. Learning process Students of junior high and religion schools learn the four language skills better with local stories with slight difference for each skill Some high school students learn the four language skills better with both foreign and local stories

Discussion Inclusion of narrative texts: As mandated by the curriculum, all sample books have included narrative texts in various forms, meeting the minimum requirement for a good text book set by the government. Most students found it easier to learn the four English language skills using local stories (Lazar, 1993; Tomlinson, 1990; Wright, 1989), supported by (Muslim, 2008). The content of text-book is rather relevant with students’ background or prior knowledge (Graves et.al., 2004; Gu, 2003; Blachowicz & Fisher, 2003; Elley, 1997). Foreign stories are still dominant in English text-books. Stories from Java are still central Most book writers and publisher are in Java island

Discussion Cont. Nurturing nationalism by teachers Introducing local stories and cultures School location determines students, interests and nationalism. The less urban, the more nationalistic Students’ intellectuality also influences their nationalism. High achieving is more critical and less nationalistic. Type of schools affect the sense of nationalism. Religion school is more nationalistic, history approves School levels influence the sense JHS students are more nationalistic Less exposed to foreign cultures

Conclusion Sample books have included narrative texts, but foreign story is still dominant. Stories from Java island are still central. Teachers tend to have higher sense of nationalism than their students (maturity and understanding of self-identity). Ss from urban schools have less sense of nationalism due to their environment. Some teachers find local stories support the teaching of narrative texts using local literature but others find it indifferent Most students find it easier to learn the four skills of English via local stories but a few found indifferent. The younger the students, the higher the nationalism.

Suggestion More quality local stories included in text-books. Also, more non-Java stories included.

Thank you Terima kasih