THE DEVELOPMENT OF ETHNOSCIENCE-BASED ENGLISH LEARNING MATERIALS IN A CONTEXTUAL MODEL

Key Words: Ethnoscience, Contextual, English Material.
English is very important for students because of its status as an international
language that is widely used by various groups. However, Indonesian language
learners often experience difficulties in mastering English. One of the main
causes of difficulties encountered in learning English is the mismatch between
the teaching materials provided and their suitability with students' daily
experiences. The purpose of this study was to examine the need to incorporate
ethnoscience-based English materials into contextual English teaching models.
The questionnaire was used as a research instrument to collect data more 70
students from Yunior High School in Semarang, enabling analysis of learning
needs and learning suitability of students and educators. Descriptive statistics are
used to analyze the collected data. Students and teachers desire English learning
materials that are not only culturally engaging (ethnoscience) but also relevant to
their everyday lives (contextual). The approach taken involves combining
elements from both approaches to create materials that meet the desires and
needs of students and teachers in the English curriculum. They recognize the
importance of developing ethno-science-based English materials in a contextual
model, recognizing that teaching English should not be limited to theoretical
knowledge but must include practical applications through student-centered
activities. In addition, it was emphasized that materials that are closely related to
daily life and reflect the cultural values of the local community will be very
useful.