Content analysis of thinking skills level in reading questions of tenth grade of EFL textbook in Indonesia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26418/jeltim.v7i1.60800Keywords:
content analysis, higher order thinking skill, reading comprehension questions, textbook, thinking skillsAbstract
Textbooks play a pivotal role in education, serving as primary learning resources and guiding both teaching and learning activities. Despite their importance, limited research has examined the cognitive levels of reading comprehension questions in EFL textbooks. This study aimed to analyze the level and distribution of thinking skills reflected in the reading questions of the tenth-grade Indonesian EFL textbook Bahasa Inggris. Utilizing content analysis, the study employed coding tables and checklists based on the revised Bloom"™s Taxonomy, which classifies cognitive skills into six categories: Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, and Create. A total of 123 reading questions were analyzed. The results reveal a strong dominance of lower-order thinking skills (LOTS), particularly the Remember category, which accounted for over 60% of all questions. Understand and Apply followed with 15.45% and 13.00%, respectively. Higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) were significantly underrepresented, with Analyze and Evaluate comprising only 1.63%, and no instances of Create were identified. Overall, LOTS constituted 96.74% of the questions, while HOTS made up just 3.24%. These findings indicate a lack of cognitive challenge in the textbook"™s reading sections, highlighting the need for more balanced question design that promotes critical and creative thinking.
How to cite this paper: Muhsinin, M., Sahni, S., Ariawan, S., & Hamdi, M. Z. (2023). The level of thinking skills in reading questions of tenth grade EFL textbook in Indonesia. Journal of English Language Teaching Innovations and Materials (Jeltim), 7(1), 35"“53. https://doi.org/10.26418/jeltim.v7i1.60800
References
Al-Rahbi, A. M., Al-Mekhlafi, A. M., Al-Barwani, T., & Omara, E. (2022). Challenging the status quo: Critical thinking skills integration in the EFL curriculum of young learners. Journal of Curriculum and Teaching, 11(8), 79-96. https://doi.org/10.5430/jct.v11n8p79
Anderson, L., & Krathwohl, D. (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives (Complete ed.). Longman.
Apriyani, L. A., & Robiasih, R. H. (2019). Eight grade textbook evaluation by Cunningsworth’s theory. Journal of English Language and Pedagogy, 2(2), 94-103. https://doi.org/10.36597/jelp.v2i2.4865
Ariawan, S. (2020). Investigating cultural dimensions in EFL textbook by using Byram checklist. Register Journal, 13(1), 123–152. https://doi.org/10.18326/rgt.v13i1.123-152
Asipi, L. S., Rosalina, U., & Nopiyadi, D. (2022). The analysis of reading habits using Miles and Huberman interactive model to empower students’ literacy at IPB Cirebon. International Journal of Education and Humanities, 2(3), 117-125. https://doi.org/10.58557/ijeh.v2i3.98
Atiullah, K., Fitriati, S. W., & Rukmini, D. (2019). Using revised Bloom’s taxonomy to evaluate higher order thinking skills (HOTS) in reading comprehension questions of English textbook for Year X of high school. English Education Journal, 9(4), 428–436.
Baig, S., Javed, F., Siddiquah, A., & Khanam, A. (2021). A content analysis of English textbook of Punjab Textbook Board of grade 8 in Pakistan. SAGE Open, 11(2), 21582440211023159. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440211023159
Canale, G. (2021). The language textbook: Representation, interaction and learning. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 34(2), 113-118. https://doi.org/10.1080/07908318.2020.1797080
Castles, A., Rastle, K., & Nation, K. (2018). Ending the reading wars: Reading acquisition from novice to expert. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 19(1), 5-51. https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100618772271
Erdiana, N., & Panjaitan, S. (2023). How is HOTS integrated into the Indonesian high school English textbook? Studies in English Language and Education, 10(1), 60-77. https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v10i1.26052
Es-Salhi, A., & Elfatihi, M. (2019). Evaluating critical thinking skills in Moroccan EFL textbooks: Gateway to English 2 as a case. Higher Education of Social Science, 17(1), 13-22. http://dx.doi.org/10.3968/11284
Farashaiyan, A., Tan, K. H., & Shahragard, R. (2018). An evaluation of the pragmatics in the Cutting Edge intermediate textbooks. 3L: Language, Linguistics, Literature® The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies, 24(4), 158-170. https://doi.org/10.17576/3L-2018-2404-12
Halimah, H., Sumiyadi, S., Mulyati, Y., & Damaianti, V. S. (2020). Critical literacy approach in the teaching of literary appreciation using Indonesian short stories. Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 10(1), 84-94. https://doi.org/10.17509/ijal.v10i1.24992
Hasanah, M., Ni’mah, M., & Badruttamam, C. A. (2024). Analisis penerapan profil pelajar Pancasila dalam pembentukan karakter siswa di MI Walisanga I Banyuanyar. Berkala Ilmiah Pendidikan, 4(3), 440-449. https://doi.org/10.51214/bip.v4i3.1070
Irafahmi, D. T., Nuris, D. M., Zahroh, F., & Nagari, P. (2018). Critical thinking in accounting textbooks. Journal of Education and Learning (EduLearn), 12(1), 21-29. https://doi.org/10.11591/edulearn.v12i1.6315
Jiang, Y. (2022). Evaluation of pedagogical impact of Business English textbooks on teaching critical thinking skills. Heliyon, 8(11), e11419. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e11419
Khan, H. R., & Rahaman, A. (2019). Critical agency and glocal subjectivity in ELT material development: An analysis of English language textbook of Bangladesh. 3L: Language, Linguistics, Literature® The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies, 25(2), 157-172. https://doi.org/10.17576/3L-2019-2502-12
Khusniyah, N. L. (2021). English extensive reading material needs in digital era. Al-Ishlah: Jurnal Pendidikan, 13(1), 763-768. https://doi.org/10.35445/alishlah.v13i1.560
Kurniawan, H. (2020). Global materials versus local materials for students’ reading comprehension: A library research. Journal of English Language Teaching Innovations and Materials (JELTIM), 2(1), 49-62. https://doi.org/10.26418/jeltim.v2i1.32831
Laila, I., & Fitriyah, I. (2022). An analysis of reading comprehension questions in English textbook based on revised Bloom’s taxonomy. Journal of English Teaching, 8(1), 71-83. https://doi.org/10.33541/jet.v8i1.3394
Masduqi, H. (2014). EFL reading in Indonesian universities: Perspectives and challenges in cultural contexts. Journal of Teaching and Education, 3(3), 385–397. https://www.universitypublications.net/jte/0303/pdf/V4G339.pdf
Muhsinin, M., Saleh, M., Dwi, R., & Sofwan, A. (2017). The need to develop English for specific purposes (ESP) reading syllabus for students of Islamic education department – Islamic higher education institution. Journal of Foreign Languages, Cultures and Civilizations, 5(1), 24-33. https://doi.org/10.15640/jflcc.v5n1a4
Mulyaningsih, T., & Yuliana, Y. G. S. (2019). Need analysis as the foundation to develop supplementary material for tenth grade students. Journal of English Language Teaching Innovations and Materials (Jeltim), 1(1), 16-24. https://doi.org/10.26418/jeltim.v1i1.28468
Neuendorf, K. A. (2017). The Content Analysis Guidebook. SAGE.
Nourdad, N., Masoudi, S., & Rahimali, P. (2018). The effect of higher order thinking skill instruction on EFL reading ability. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, 7(3), 231-237. https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.7n.3p.231
Onoda, S. (2022). Enhancing creative thinking, critical thinking, and interactional skills through problem-solving group projects among undergraduate English majors in Japan. 3L: Language, Linguistics, Literature® The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies, 28(2), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.17576/3L-2022-2802-01
Prancisca, S., & Chappell, C. (2022). Evaluation of bilingual book for English language learning. Journal of English Language Teaching Innovations and Materials (Jeltim), 4(2), 144-156. https://doi.org/10.26418/jeltim.v4i2.55665
Rahman, K. (2020). Perceived Use of Metacognitive Strategies by EFL Undergraduates in Academic Reading. Voices of English Language Education Society, 4(1), 44–52. https://doi.org/10.29408/veles journal.v4i1.1975
Ribahan, R. (2023). Exploring readiness toward the implementation of blended learning among lecturers and students of foreign languages. Journal on Education, 5(4), 16353-16370. https://doi.org/10.31004/joe.v5i4.2789
Rinekso, A. B. (2021). The representation of 21st century skills in an Indonesian EFL textbook. LLT Journal: A Journal on Language and Language Teaching, 24(1), 19-21. https://doi.org/10.24071/llt.v24i1.2655
Saputra, J. D., & Besral, B. (2021). The Flaw of Tasks in EFL Textbook for Indonesian Vocational Students of Grade IX. RiELT Journal, 7(1), 1-10. https://ejournal.uinib.ac.id/jurnal/index.php/rielt/article/view/3954/2378
Sari, D. M. M., & Prasetyo, Y. (2021). Project-based-learning on critical reading course to enhance critical thinking skills. Studies in English Language and Education, 8(2), 442-456. https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v8i2.18407
Schunk, D. H. (2020). Learning Theories: An Educational Perspective. Pearson.
Setyarini, S., Gustine, G. G., Harto, S., & Muslim, A. B. (2021). Promoting students’ critical speaking skill through Plus-Minus-Interesting (PMI) strategies: A case study of Indonesian junior high schools. 3L: Language, Linguistics, Literature® The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies, 27(3), 119-214. https://doi.org/10.17576/3L-2021-2703-13
Shalihah, M., Fikri, D., & Mustofa, M. (2022). Analyzing higher order thinking skills (HOTS) questions of reading essay tasks in senior high school English textbook. English Education Journal, 13(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.24815/eej.v13i1.23956
Sinaga, P., Setiawan, W., & liana, M. (2022). The impact of electronic interactive teaching materials (EITMs) in e-learning on junior high school students’ critical thinking skills. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 46, 101066. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2022.101066
Soe, T. (2024). Investigating critical thinking in ELT textbooks: A systematic literature review of textbook evaluation studies. Theory and Practice of Second Language Acquisition, 10(1), 1-29. https://doi.org/10.31261/TAPSLA.13882
Solihati, N., & Hikmat, A. (2018). Critical thinking tasks manifested in Indonesian language textbooks for senior secondary students. SAGE Open, 8(3), 2158244018802164. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244018802164
Stevani, M., & Tarigan, K. E. (2023). Evaluating English textbooks by using bloom’s taxonomy to analyze reading comprehension question. SALEE: Study of Applied Linguistics and English Education, 4(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.35961/salee.v0i0.526
Sucipto, S., & Cahyo, S. D. (2019). A content analysis of the reading activities in “Bright 2†an English textbook for junior high school students. English Language Teaching Educational Journal, 2(1), 13-21. https://doi.org/10.12928/eltej.v2i1.918
Sun, Y., & Dang, T. N. Y. (2020). Vocabulary in high-school EFL textbooks: Texts and learner knowledge. System, 93, 102279. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2020.102279
Syafrina, E., & Arono, A. (2017). Features of English textbooks for the first-year of senior high school Implementing the 2013-Curriculum. JOALL (Journal of Applied Linguistics and Literature), 2(2), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.33369/joall.v2i2.5950
Syarifudin, S. (2023). Online Collaborative Flipped Writing Classroom for EFL Writing Instruction in the New Normal Era: Students’ Perceptions. International Journal of Arabic-English Studies, 23(1), 257–280. https://doi.org/10.33806/ijaes2000.23.1.14
Tarman, B., & Kuran, B. (2015). Examination of the cognitive level of questions in social studies textbooks and the views of teachers based on Bloom Taxonomy. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice, 15(1), 213–222. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1057483.pdf
Ur, P. (2019). Theory and practice in language teacher education. Language Teaching, 52(4), 450–459. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444819000090
Wresni, D. S., Halwat, M. H., & Muamaroh, M. (2023). Investigating HOTS on Reading Questions from Fiction Text of the English Textbook Used by Vocational High Schools in Indonesia. AL-ISHLAH: Jurnal Pendidikan, 15(2), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.35445/alishlah.v15i2.2823
Zainil, Y., Rosa, R.N., & Fitrawati (2020). An Analysis of Reading Comprehension Questions in English Textbooks for SMAN Kota Padang: HOTS. Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Languages and Arts (ICLA-2019). 76-80. https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.200819.015
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal the right to publish the work, which is simultaneously made available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/