The representation of cultural values in Korean as a foreign language (KFL) textbook

Abstract

The representation of cultural values in textbooks is crucial to be examined because learning a foreign language is bound with the culture. Although previous research has quite extensively investigated this issue, much is yet to be explored in the context of Korean as a foreign language learning. This study aims to address the gap by investigating how cultural values are represented in the Korean as a foreign language (KFL) textbook, published by The Korea Foundation for Indonesians. A critical discourse analysis (CDA) approach was employed to analyze the data. The findings exhibited the representation of cultural values in four language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The introduction to the Korean language could be given through cultural recognition. Among the identified cultural values in the textbook, the representation of showing respect to creative products or the results of local culture was more evident than the other categories, followed by showing respect to cultural differences from various ethnic or religious groups and merging with nature and life. However, the representation category of showing respect to indigenous people’s culture was not seen in the textbook. This suggests that the textbook is intended to foster the students’ multicultural awareness in learning Korean as a foreign language.

Representing and Implementing Moral Values to Foreign Students in Indonesian Textbooks for Learners Other Than Indonesians

“…The quality of textbooks also contributes to success in learning a second language. Textbooks are a medium for building knowledge and understanding of second language learners and as a guide in implementing learning (Sun and Dang, 2020;Samsudin et al, 2021;Pratiwi et al, 2022). Based on this, second language teachers can adapt textbook material by adjusting it to the circumstances and context of learning.…”

“…Concerning learning a second language, this study has found many studies that examine moral values in textbooks as learning resources. These studies include moral values in English learning textbooks (Tajeddin and Teimournezhad, 2015;Mcconachy, 2018;Sulistiyo et al, 2020;Puspitasari et al, 2021), moral values in Korean language learning textbooks (Samsudin et al, 2021), and moral values in Japanese language learning textbooks (Nishino, 2019). Meanwhile, this study has not found a reference source that examines moral values in Indonesian language textbooks for Foreign Speakers (often known as BIPA).…”

The Efl Students’ Perceptions of the Quality of the English Language Textbook

“…Other studies examining textbook material in relation to its cultural setting have been conducted by several scholars (Butar-butar & Pasaribu, 2021;Samsudin, Ansas, & Triarisanti, 2021;Ariawan, 2020;Kim & Ma, 2018). Butar-butar & Pasaribu (2021) conducted a comparison of English textbooks published by domestic and international publishers in terms of the sort of culture and dimensions included in the two textbooks.…”

“…Similarly, Ariawan (2020) investigated the cultural dimension in EFL textbook. Moreover, Kim & Ma (2018) and Samsudin et al (2021) studied the cultural content of textbooks in South Korea. He examined portrayals of American and South Korean culture in Korean high school textbooks.…”