Rethinking Coursebook Content in Malaysia and Indonesia

As the English language has now been treated more of a world language than a language that belongs to its native speakers, the term “decolonisation” has become a central discussion in the English language teaching (ELT) pedagogy especially in the contexts of a second or foreign language (ESL/EFL). This chapter examines the decolonisation of English language coursebooks in Malaysia and Indonesia, two countries with distinct colonial histories and approaches to English education. Since 2017, Malaysia has aligned its English language curriculum with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and imported all English language coursebooks from international publishers, aiming at instilling intercultural competence in local learners. On the other hand, Indonesia initiated Kurikulum Merdeka that is more contextualised to learners, yet providing leeway to teachers to adapt the teaching materials. By employing a phenomenological approach on five English language teachers, this study aims to discover teachers’ perspectives on the decolonisation of ELT material, and strategies for making their teaching material culturally appropriate to their learners. The findings provide implications for policymakers and textbook writers, in which the results from both countries can be a benchmark for future coursebook development in Southeast Asian countries that share almost similar demographics.