THE ANALYSIS OF CULTURAL CONTENT IN READING PASSAGES OF THE ENGLISH TEXTBOOKS BAHASA INGGRIS FOR SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL GRADE X-XII

Abstract

This research is a descriptive research which is intended to reveal the cultural aspects and how cultural contents are presented in reading passages. The data in this research was obtained from the English textbooks entitled Bahasa Inggris for Senior High School grade X-XII written based on curriculum 2013 by Kemendikbud RI. This research employed the descriptive approach with the instrument was the cultural content checklist. After conducting the research, the cultural aspects found in the reading passages were religion and religious rituals; history and politics; foods and drinks; ecology; economy; leisure time, music, and arts; dressing; science and literature; social behaviour, and etiquette; family and male-female relationship; naming systems; geographical names; cultural products; and tribe. Based on the data in this research, it was revealed that Indonesian cultural contents were dominantly used in the reading passages. Furthermore, the presentation of cultural contents was found in forms of monologues, dialogues, and pictures. Since Indonesian cultural contents dominated the reading passages, the evaluation towards these three textbooks needs to be conducted. The cultural contents of the target culture need to be added into the reading passages.