READING TEXT APPROPRIATENESS AND READING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS IN THE TEXTBOOK “SIAP MERDEKA BELAJAR BAHASA INGGRIS” BY BUDIYONO, ET AL. AND “ENGLISH” BY DENDY DESMAL, ET AL.

Anisa Faradiba; Gustaman Saragih

doi:10.30998/d8244c42

Authors

Anisa Faradiba Indraprasta Pgri University Author
Gustaman Saragih Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30998/d8244c42

Keywords:

textbook evaluation, reading comprehension

Abstract

This study investigates the appropriateness of reading texts and comprehension questions in two Indonesian senior high school English textbooks: Siap Merdeka Belajar Bahasa Inggris by Budiyono et al. and English by Dendy Desmal et al. Using qualitative content analysis, the study adopts Nuttall’s (1996) framework, these are suitability, exploitability, and readability to evaluate the reading texts, and Day and Park’s (2005) taxonomy to analyze comprehension questions across six levels: literal, reorganization, inferential, prediction, evaluative, and personal response. Findings reveal inconsistencies in content relevance, authenticity, and language difficulty across texts in both books. Furthermore, the comprehension questions largely emphasize lower-order thinking skills (LOTS), with limited emphasis on higher-order thinking skills (HOTS). The study highlights the need for textbook improvement to align with learners’ cognitive levels, language proficiency, and curriculum standards. It contributes to the field of English language teaching by providing practical recommendations for textbook evaluation and instructional material development.

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