CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

This chapter will elaborate the background of the research. It has

five parts namely background of the study, identification of the problem,
limitation of the problem formulation of the problem, and significance of
the research.

A. Background of The Study

English is an international language used by all of the people
across the nations as a tool for communication. Many aspects of life, such
as economy, education, health, technology, etc., require people to have the
ability in English communication spoken and written. This demanding of
English mastery has made it become the most important key for success in
this competitive era. Seeing how significance English is, the government
in Indonesia has made English as compulsive subjects that required for the
students to be passed the graduation. English basically has four skills
which are listening, reading, writing, and speaking.
Kayi (2006) stated that speaking is the gap between linguistic
expertise and teaching methodology. Linguistic expertise concerns with
language structure and language context. Speaking is a productive skill
that needs habit formations because it needs the real communication and
an intense practice. This means that speaking skill can be developed
through some activities that could be guided by a textbook. Speaking is
"the process of building and sharing meaning through the use of verbal and
non-verbal symbols, in a variety of contexts" (Chaney, 1998, p. 13). The
constructing of idea that produced in speaking related to the experience
and also the use of good form of speech construction including, fluency,
clearness, accuracy and comprehension.
English Language Teaching Materials take an important role in
many language classrooms but in recent years there has been a lot of
debate on the actual role of materials in teaching English as a
Second/Foreign Language. Arguments about the textbooks include both
the advantages and the limitations of materials for students as well as the
needs and preferences of teachers who are using them. Other modern
issues regarding material evaluation include textbook design and
practicality, methodological validity, the role of textbooks in innovation,
the authenticity and the appropriateness of subject matter, and cultural
components. Therefore, it is absolutely essential that we establish and
apply a wide variety of relevant and contextually appropriate criteria for
the evaluation of the textbooks that we use in our language classrooms.
Since the 1970's there has been a movement to make learners the
center of language instruction and it is probably best to view textbooks as
resources in achieving aims and objectives that have already been set in
terms of learner needs. Therefore, we must make every effort to establish
and apply a wide variety of relevant and contextually appropriate criteria
for the evaluation of the textbooks that we use in our language classrooms.
We should also ensure "that careful selection is made, and that the
materials selected closely reflect the aims, methods, and values of the
teaching program.” (Cunningsworth, 1995 :7).
There are some criteria to choose a good speaking materials and
activities. Harmer (2007:12) claimed that speaking activities should
provide a chance for the students to practice real life speaking and offer
drawbacks for both teacher and students. Real life speaking activities will
fulfill the need of the students itself. It will motivate them more to speak
rather than activities that are irrelevant with their basic needs. The
suitability between the topic and task can be consideration for the teachers
in selecting good materials. By giving good speaking materials and
activities, students are able to participate freely and enthusiastically during
the speaking class.
Richards (2007:254) said that textbooks are the most common
form of teaching materials in language teaching. It is because textbook
provides materials that have been matched with standard of competence in
a curriculum. Chunningsworth (1995:7) also stated that textbook is the
best resource to help the students in achieving the aim and objectives of
learning, because it has already set based on the learners’ need. A textbook
can help the teacher because they can focus in following the instruction of
what they teach to the students.
Educational system in Indonesia had implemented different
curriculums since the independence of the nation. BSNP (National
Standardization Board of Education) who is responsible in designing
curriculums had tried hard to deliver good curriculums. Some of the
products of BSNP are KBK (Competency-Based Curriculum), KTSP
(School-Based Curriculum), and the recent one, Curriculum of 2013. In
this case, textbooks should follow the curriculum that is used by the the
government. Since its inception in 2012, Curriculum of 2013 has many
pros and cons especially from teachers. They think that the curriculum
ignore the role of teachers because students will be busy with themselves.
In the other hand, School-Based Curriculum was implemented based on
the belief that every school deserves to manage its own competency based
on teachers and learners competency and local potential sources.
Moreover, schools have a right to manage its own curriculum based on the
content standard given by BSNP. The main aspects of the curriculum are
content standard and competencies which have to be achieved by learners,
while its implementation of the curriculum and the syllabus was in the
hand of the school management. It encourages students to be well
mannered, appreciative, confident, tolerant, creative, and critical. It is
accomplished by proper communication activities both written and
spoken. In addition, it covers interpersonal and transactional
communication
From the explanation above we can conclude that the existence of
textbook is really important in the classroom. We cannot deny the good
materials in a textbook will bring more impact in skill development for the
 students itself. The aim of this study is to find out whether speaking
material in a textbook fulfill the requirement of curriculum 2013.

B. Identification of The Problem

In recent years, there are many textbooks have been published,
either by local publishers or foreign publishers. The reforming of the
curriculum has influenced the evolution of the textbook used by teachers.
There are so many English textbook with many features that attract the
attention of the teachers to use. But not all of the textbook fulfill the need
of curriculum 2013. The fact that the teachers still use a textbook as the
material in teaching English prove that the teachers have low capability
and motivate on to make their own instructional material. There is no
option that the teacher should use a textbook to accomplish the goal of
education, since textbook is one of the main factors of educational goal.
The teachers should be selective in choosing the textbook that is used as
the teaching-learning materials for the students. They must observe deeply
into the content of the textbook before choosing the right one and compare
it to the need of the students and the relation with the current curriculum
used.
Indonesian’s ministry of education and culture published an
English textbook entitled “Bahasa Inggris” which used by the teacher as
the material in teaching English. This book used curriculum 2013. This
research will evaluate the speaking materials in the textbook and its
relevancy with curriculum 2013.

C. Limitation of The Problem

This study will analyze whether the textbook “Bahasa Inggris”
published by the Ministry of Education of Republic of Indonesia fulfill the
requirement of textbook assessment for senior high school released by
BSNP (Badan Standar Nasional Pendidikan).
D. Formulation of The Problem
Based on the limitation of the problem above, the research problem
can be formulated as follows : Do the speaking materials in textbook
“Bahasa Inggris” for tenth grade published by Ministry of Education of
Republic of Indonesia fulfill the requirement of textbook assessment for
senior high school released by BSNP (Badan Standar Nasional
Pendidikan)?

E. Significance of The Research

The result of the research was expected to give some theoretical
and practical advantages for the following parties.
1. Theoretically, the research gave beneficial and referential
contributions in delivering general knowledge of the way to evaluate
English instructional materials.
2. Practically, the result of the research was beneficial for:
a. The researcher, he could give a practice in developing his
knowledge and skill in evaluating English textbooks.
b. Englsih teachers, the result of the research could provide helpful
information in selecting and evaluating good textbooks before
making decision to use it in the classroom.
c. English textbook writers, the result of the study might help them to
be more careful in developing English textbooks for students and
more aware of the worthiness of content, language correctness and
appropriateness, and layout of the book.
d. Other researchers, the study could give general knowledge of how
to evaluate textbooks or other forms of English instructional
materials. The research also could be used as the foundation for
further research.