Teaching English or Teaching the West? Multimodal Cultural Imperialism in Big Show Level 5 Textbooks Used in Indonesian Islamic Montessori Schools
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24256/ideas.v14i1.10176Keywords:
Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis, Cultural Imperialism, EFL Pedagogy, Islamic Education, Educational EquityAbstract
This study extends Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) beyond traditional textual examination to investigate multimodal representations of culture in "Big Show Teacher’s Guide Level 5" a 135-page English as a Foreign Language (EFL) textbook guidance for teachers, widely used in Indonesian educational contexts, particularly Islamic Montessori elementary schools. Employing an expanded analytical framework incorporating five dimensions which are visual-spatial representation, digital multimodality, embodied cultural practices, temporal-contextual positioning, and material-environmental factors. The study reveals systematic patterns of cultural imperialism operating through multiple semiotic modes simultaneously. Analysis of all twelve units demonstrates that while the textbook superficially incorporates cultural variety, it fundamentally privileges Western cultural norms, consumer values, and secular worldviews that conflict with Indonesian communitarian values, Islamic principles, and indigenous knowledge systems. The study documents how 4th of July celebrations, London landmarks, and Western leisure activities are positioned as universal references while Indonesian Independence Day, traditional markets, indigenous games, and local wildlife remain entirely absent. Material requirements including extensive technology access create class-based educational exclusion, while rigid temporal structures contradict Islamic prayer schedules and traditional learning rhythms. These findings demonstrate that genuine educational equity requires comprehensive multimodal redesign across all five dimensions, not superficial textual modifications.
References
Abu, D., Prameswari, S. K., & Nisa, F. K. (2023). Analysis of the Islamic Montessori for multiple intelligences method in alpha generation children in the development of Islamic education learning. At-Turots: Jurnal Studi Keislaman, 5(2), 47-59. https://doi.org/10.51468/jpi.v5i2.156
Adam, B. (1990). Time and social theory. Polity Press.
Apple, M. W. (2004). Ideology and curriculum (3rd ed.). RoutledgeFalmer.
Bezemer, J., & Kress, G. (2016). Multimodality, learning and communication: A social semiotic frame. Routledge.
Bourdieu, P. (1977). Outline of a theory of practice. Cambridge University Press.
Charmaz, K. (2014). Constructing grounded theory (2nd ed.). Sage.
Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (4th ed.). Sage.
Djonov, E., & Zhao, S. (Eds.). (2014). Critical multimodal studies of popular discourse. Routledge.
Fairclough, N. (2015). Language and power (3rd ed.). Routledge.
Giroux, H. A. (2001). Theory and resistance in education: Towards a pedagogy for the opposition (Rev. ed.). Bergin & Garvey.
Gray, J. (2010). The construction of English: Culture, consumerism and promotion in the ELT global coursebook. Palgrave Macmillan.
Harwood, N. (Ed.). (2014). English language teaching textbooks: Content, consumption, production. Palgrave Macmillan.
Jewitt, C. (Ed.). (2009). The Routledge handbook of multimodal analysis. Routledge.
Kress, G. (2010). Multimodality: A social semiotic approach to contemporary communication. Routledge.
Kress, G., & van Leeuwen, T. (2001). Multimodal discourse: The modes and media of contemporary communication. Arnold.
Kress, G., & van Leeuwen, T. (2006). Reading images: The grammar of visual design (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Kumaravadivelu, B. (2016). The decolonial option in English teaching: Can the subaltern act? TESOL Quarterly, 50(1), 66-85. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.202
Ladson-Billings, G. (2014). Culturally relevant pedagogy 2.0: a.k.a. the remix. Harvard Educational Review, 84(1), 74-84. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.84.1.p2rj131485484751
Lauder, A. (2008). The status and function of English in Indonesia: A review of key factors. Makara Human Behavior Studies in Asia, 12(1), 9-20. https://doi.org/10.7454/mssh.v12i1.128
Lillard, A. S. (2017). Montessori: The science behind the genius (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.
Lin, A., & Luke, A. (2006). Coloniality, postcoloniality, and TESOL: Can a spider weave its way out of the web that it is being woven into just as it weaves? Critical Inquiry in Language Studies, 3(2-3), 65-73. https://doi.org/10.1080/15427587.2006.9650840
Luke, A. (2004). Two takes on the critical. In B. Norton & K. Toohey (Eds.), Critical pedagogies and language learning (pp. 21-29). Cambridge University Press.
Machin, D. (2016). Introduction to multimodal analysis (2nd ed.). Bloomsbury Academic.
Pennycook, A. (2017). The cultural politics of English as an international language. Routledge.
Phillipson, R. (1992). Linguistic imperialism. Oxford University Press.
Phillipson, R. (2017). Myths and realities of 'global' English. Language Policy, 16(3), 313-331. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10993-016-9409-z
Ramli, M. (2019). Islamic education in Indonesia: Theory, practice, and challenges. In H. Daun & R. Arjmand (Eds.), Handbook of Islamic education (pp. 717-734). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18769-6_36
Spivak, G. C. (1988). Can the subaltern speak? In C. Nelson & L. Grossberg (Eds.), Marxism and the interpretation of culture (pp. 271-313). University of Illinois Press.
Statistics Indonesia. (2022). Statistical yearbook of Indonesia 2022. BPS-Statistics Indonesia.
Tuhiwai Smith, L. (2012). Decolonizing methodologies: Research and indigenous peoples (2nd ed.). Zed Books.
Ulum, Ö. G. (2023). Resisting EFL textbooks in the English as a foreign language education system. The Universal Academic Research Journal, 5(1), 1-13.
Van Dijk, T. A. (2008). Discourse and power. Palgrave Macmillan.
Warschauer, M. (2004). Technology and social inclusion: Rethinking the digital divide. MIT Press.
Wodak, R. (2008). Introduction: Discourse studies—Important concepts and terms. In R. Wodak & M. Krzyzanowski (Eds.), Qualitative discourse analysis in the social sciences (pp. 1-29). Palgrave Macmillan.
Zein, M. S. (2017). Elementary English education in Indonesia: Policy developments, current practices, and future prospects. English Today, 33(1), 53-59. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266078416000407
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
Citation Check
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Muhammad Arif, Qurrata’ain, Greis Evalinda, Ida Nyoman Tri Darma Putra
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under an Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See the Effect of Open Access)
