PROBLEMATISING CULTURAL CONTENT IN ELT TEXTBOOKS: A CASE OF INDONESIA

The importance of cultural content in ELT (English Language Teaching) materials is strongly related to the current role of English as an International Language (EIL). Furthermore, as English is now internationally spoken, a need to learn the culture is also inevitable. However, many recent theories suggest that learning EIL does not have to be associated with learning the culture of the ‘Western’ countries where English is spoken as a mother tongue. As Smith (1976; as cited in McKay, 2002, p. 7) assumes that the ownership of English is now denationalised, the cultural norms of native speakers not need to be internalised by EIL learners. Then, whose culture should be taught to Indonesian learners? I have examined several aspects related to what implications the cultural contents have in relation to the role of English in Indonesia, which can be of importance for many educational practitioners. This paper is divided into two major sections, the theoretical background influenced by theories that connect between culture and ELT materials and to what context English plays its role in Indonesia and what cultural content Indonesian ELT should adopt in relation to the role of English in Indonesia. Keywords: cultural contents, EIL, English materials, Indonesian ELT contex