Pedagogy, Culture & Society

ISSN: 1468-1366 (Print) 1747-5104 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rpcs20

Pedagogical representation of visual images in EFL

textbooks: a multimodal perspective

Dewi Satria Elmiana

To cite this article: Dewi Satria Elmiana (2019): Pedagogical representation of visual
images in EFL textbooks: a multimodal perspective, Pedagogy, Culture & Society, DOI:
10.1080/14681366.2019.1569550

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/14681366.2019.1569550

Published online: 21 Jan 2019.

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PEDAGOGY, CULTURE & SOCIETY
https://doi.org/10.1080/14681366.2019.1569550

Pedagogical representation of visual images in EFL textbooks:

a multimodal perspective
Dewi Satria Elmiana
School of Social Sciences, Education, and Social Work, Queen’s University Belfast, UK

ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
This study adopts the framework proposed by KvL to analyse visual Visual images;
images in Indonesian senior high school EFL textbooks, to shed light representational mode;
on their functions as well as their appropriateness and suitability for interactional mode;
compositional mode; EFL
pedagogical purposes. The data in this study cover all the visual
textbooks
images in the three EFL textbooks, a total of 232 images. The findings
suggest that, regarding gender bias and stereotypes males were more
frequently portrayed than females (66% and 34% of images respec-
tively). Also, the meaning of the images suggested an objective and
impersonal connection between images and viewers. Moreover, there
was no apparent power discrepancy between images and viewers
suggesting that students would be able to make connections to the
images. Furthermore, it is suggested that the visual images could help
students to engage effectively with the exercises and provide empha-
sis for the assertions made in the linguistic parts of the text. Thus, the
image-structuring in the three senior high school EFL textbooks in
Indonesia provided and emphasised concepts and meaning in the
text.

Introduction
Visual images are essential in any language textbook; pictures and other images offer
a universal language (Olshansky 2008), and carry equal meaning for English native and
non-native speakers (Basal et al. 2016). ‘In compliance with the needs of the visual world
of today, illustrations or images should be able to serve as valuable teaching tools,
bringing to the eye what otherwise can only be imagined’ (Evan, Watson and Willows
1978, 86). Historically, the use of images to convey one’s message is not a new idea, it
started when humans first used visual elements to communicate with one another
(Domin 2007). For instance, in ancient times, storytellers used paintings to narrate
their story; in the modern era, illustrations or images play a part in printed materials
such as storybooks and textbooks (Carney and Levin 2002). Storybooks are predomi-
nantly used for young learners while textbooks are designed for all levels of education to
assist students in understanding the content of teaching and learning.
In the teaching and learning process, visual images play a pivotal role in supporting
the effectiveness of teaching materials. Visual image representations in textbooks are

CONTACT Dewi Satria Elmiana delmiana01@qub.ac.uk School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work,
Queen’s University Belfast, 18 College Green, BT7 1LN UK
© 2019 Pedagogy, Culture & Society
2 D. S. ELMIANA

common in teaching and learning materials and are widely used in the literature in
teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL): ‘Visual materials can be defined as
facilitates that can be employed by teachers and learners to enhance language learning
in classrooms’ (Jahangard 2007, 139). They can act as communication tools (Moghtadi
2012) and powerful elements in constructing students’ knowledge relating to the real
world that cannot otherwise be formed in classroom activities (Canning- Wilson 1999).
The places, situations, and characters portrayed by visual images in EFL textbooks
encourage students to know what the real world can look like, and provide students
with opportunities to cultivate their understanding of the target language, culture, and
worldview (Mendoza and Reese 2001). Thus, socio-cultural representations in visual
images in EFL textbooks can influence students’ judgment and impressions of real-life
activities (Tahririan and Sadri 2013). Other functions are to add to information and act as
a bridge to connect discursive and theoretical features (Read 2000). According to their
function in discourse, images can provide examples of what is being defined in their
associated texts (Fakher 2011). Thus, it is accepted that the use of visual images in
instructional materials shows significant benefits for learners (Omaggio 1979).
In addition, visual images in textbooks, particularly in EFL, can stimulate students’
interest and encourage them to learn language in more critical and creative ways
(Canning 1997; Curtis and Bailey 2001). In a similar vein, Yazdanmehr and Shogi (2014)
state that visual images draw students’ interest and attention to the text. Clarks and
Lyons (2004) note that visual images build students’ attention and knowledge, reduce
cognitive load, and motivate students’ learning. According to Fakher (2011), visual
images also enable students to relate to the learning materials in meaningful ways.
For instance, they can help to prepare students to for an exercise, task, or activity
(Moghtadi 2012). Therefore, visual images, in general, have a motivational role in
relation to the context of the text (Peek 1993).
Moreover, it is recognised that visual images are universal stimuli that offer a starting
point for language-sharing in EFL classroom activities and help students to self-regulate
their language- learning process. Starting with images, teachers can also generate more
attractive and explicit instructional materials (Canning-Wilson 1999). ‘The amount of
information learned through visual means such as illustrations arguments the ability
to understand, evaluate and produce visual images’ (Satnley 1996, in Roohani and
Saeidfar 2013, 82). Illustrations accompanying explanations of the text can also help
students to achieve the highest level of cognitive processing (Mayer 1989). Lemke (1998)
proposes that visual classification is better than the linguistic system regarding complex
ratios and variations in space, line, shape, and colour. Furthermore, Canning-Wilson
(1999, in Tahririan and Sadri 2013, 139) states that ‘visual images in EFL textbooks
provide excellent testing prompts; images lend themselves to be developed into tests
to manipulate language structures, vocabulary, functions, situations, and skills to deter-
mine what the learner has acquired’.
Conversely, although visual images may have an essential function in EFL textbooks
regardless of their instructional role in language learning (Tahririan and Sadri 2013), some
studies contend that they create a cognitive barrier and instructional hurdles for students,
as they may not fit with students’ learning style or cognitive processing (Ollerenshaw,
Aidman, and Kidd 1997; Thompson 1994; Weidenmann 1989). Similarly, Sweller in Roohani
and Saeidfar 2013, 82) claims that ‘illustrations accompanied by texts might be harmful
 PEDAGOGY, CULTURE & SOCIETY 3

since attention is split between the two forms of information which have to be integrated’.
Additionally, not all illustrations or visual images are pedagogically effective (Thomas 2001),
and according to Boling et al. (2004), the intended meanings of visual images in textbooks
are not always interpreted properly by students. Therefore, visual images may not convey
the intended meaning of the text (Elkins 1998).
Moghtadi (2012, 2) disagrees, and states that ‘visuals are hugely influential and create
a more immediate impact on the viewer than a piece of text could ever do’. For all these
reasons, therefore, it is important to analyse the characteristics, as well as the functions,
of visual images in EFL textbooks. However, in Indonesia, no studies have been con-
ducted to analyse them in terms of their pedagogical functions and there is a lack of
research on this area in EFL textbooks. Therefore, there is a need for research on the
visual images in EFL textbooks in relation to their functions and characteristics, and
whether they are more decorative than pedagogically useful.
In the light of these issues, this paper will adopt the framework proposed by Kress
and van Leeuwen (2006) to analyse the visual images in Indonesian senior high school
EFL textbooks, to shed light on their functions as well as their appropriateness and
suitability for pedagogical purposes. The research questions are formulated below:

(1) What is the function and significance of visual images in Indonesian senior high
school EFL textbooks?
(2) In what way do the visual images support interaction between students and
materials in Indonesian senior high school EFL textbooks?
(3) To what extent do the visual images in Indonesian senior high school EFL text-
books reflect the aim of foreign language learning?

Theoretical framework
This paper will adopt the theory of visual images proposed by Kress and van Leeuwen
(2006) in their book Reading images: grammar of visual design. This theory, known as KvL,
is in line with social semantics and systematic functional grammar, and has its roots in
Halliday (1978). KvL proposes a grammar of visual design to show a social-based theory
of visual representation. Grammar is the way the researcher attempts to examine the
meaning of the images, similar to how grammarians examine how words are combined
into clauses, sentences and texts. Tahririan and Sadri (2013, 140) maintain that ‘the
grammar of visual design has a critical role in reading the images because it reveals
implicit regularities and invisible patterns that govern the visual representation and
helps viewers interpret, negotiate, and make meaning from information presented in the
form of an image’. KvL (2006) proposes that visual modes draw on similar semantic
systems as language, and that the following three meta-functions generate a grammar
of visual design: representational mode, interactive mode, and compositional mode of
the images. The representational mode involves the description of the participants,
inanimate or animate, the activities represented by the participants and the settings
within which the representation is developed. The interactive mode is built by the viewer
from the way the visual image addresses its potential viewers in interactional terms. The
compositional mode focuses on the aspects of page layout that determine whether the
visual and verbal elements have coherence in the texts.
4 D. S. ELMIANA

A few studies have been conducted on visual images, among them that by Roohani and
Saeidfar (2013), who evaluated the visual elements in three English textbooks for Iranian
junior high schools. This study employed a qualitative approach using semi-structured
interviews to identify whether the visual images in the EFL textbook met the objectives of
the course. Participants were thirty-five Iranian English teachers and forty-nine students of
English. The study found that the visual elements in the textbook had a significant impact
on improving students’ perceptions of teaching and learning activities, offered a useful
source of information, and were culturally and religiously appropriate. However, the
participants, particularly students, did not tend to show positive responses concerning
the aim of visual images in textbooks, as they critically considered that they did not meet
their needs. This is because they assumed that, as they were students, they were simply
echoing and remembering the sentences. Furthermore, the objective of this study was as
same as that of this study, although the textbook used was different.
Another study by Moghtadi (2012) showed that visual images in textbooks, in
particular EFL textbooks, provide appropriate input for language learners. The study
used the three criteria of illustrative, stimulus-response, and student-generated to analyse
the function of four EFL textbooks for Iranian high schools. However, the methods in this
study can only be used to identify low-level language skills in textbooks by examining
the visual images. A deeper analysis of visual images in EFL textbooks would, therefore,
be more beneficial, and thus the research methods used in this study take note of the
limitations of Moghtadi’s study.
Tahririan and Sadri (2013) found that textbooks did not exploit visual images suffi-
ciently to meet the pedagogical aims. The theoretical framework used for this study is
adopted from Kress and van Leeuwen (2006) framework. Three EFL textbooks for Iranian
high school students with 296 images in total were chosen for analysis. The method
used in the study by Tahririan and Sadri is similar to the methods used here, although
the application was to the different contexts of EFL textbooks in Iran and Indonesia.
An analysis exploring whether visual images in EFL textbooks in Indonesia provided
religious, gender, ethnic, and socioeconomic diversity for the students was conducted by
Ena (2013). They found that although most visual images represented all levels of socio-
economic background (low, mid, and high), Melanesian ethnic, Confucianism and women
were under represented in all textbooks. The study also showed that textbook developers
tend to adopt English as an international language paradigm. The study employed quali-
tative content analysis and using electronic textbooks. The use of EFL textbooks as main
sources of data and the use of qualitative content analysis were similar to this study,
however, there are also some significant differences between Ena (2013) and this study: (1)
the textbooks used were different, Ena (2013) used electronic textbooks whilst this study
used text books based on the new curriculum compiled by Ministry of Education and (2)
the theoretical framework as well as objectives of studies were different.

Methodology
Materials
The data in this study came from three Indonesian senior high school EFL textbooks
currently in use in grades ten (X) to twelve (XII). These were chosen as they have been
 PEDAGOGY, CULTURE & SOCIETY 5

updated in accordance with the new curriculum in Indonesia, Curriculum 2013, compiled
by the Ministry of Education. The data cover all the visual images from three actual EFL
textbooks, a total of 232 images. The distribution of images in each textbook can be
seen in the table below:

Data analysis
The KvL (2006) model guided the data analysis procedure. The features are summarised
below:
The Representational mode, according to KvL (2006), relates to the visual structures
that represent animals, places, objects, or people, as well as their experiences, actions,
qualities and the characteristics attributed to them. Therefore, to analyse the meaning of
visual images, the first step is to understand the type: human, animal, objects, gender,
child and adult, and frequency. This is followed by investigating the hidden meanings,
for example, gender stereotypes and socio-cultural connotations of the images based on
their relationships and characteristics.
The interactive mode, according to KvL (2006), refers to how visual images connect,
communicate with and address the viewers. The interaction between images and viewers
was analysed from three aspects: distance, perspective and modality. Distance relates to the
visual frame size: the body size of images exposed in the frame defines the level of social
distance and intimacy between the images and viewers. For instance, the images in the
close shot showing the head and shoulders indicate an intimate relationship; a medium shot
showing the images (people) at about waist level expresses a social connection, and a long
shot in a frame that shows the entire human body indicates the relationship between
images and viewers as public or largely impersonal. The perspective identifies the degree of
power and involvement, based on whether the visual angles are horizontal or vertical.

Along the horizontal axis, a frontal plane associates with an attitude of involvement
whereby the viewers is invited to become part of the world depicted in the image. On
the other hand, the use of an oblique angle conveys a sense of detachment and connotes
that what the viewer sees is not part of his or her world. The vertical axis and its variants
(e.g. high, low, or eye-level) signify power at different levels and in different relationship.
(Kress and van Leeuwen 2006, 129).

For instance, a high angled image represents the inferiority of the image for the viewer,
while a low angle suggests the image has power over the viewer. An eye-level image
shows equality between the image and the viewer. Modality, according to the KvL
(2006), is a way of modulating reality in visual representations contrary to the viewer’s
judgment, and is related to the credibility of the structures of the visual image. For
credibility or naturalistic modality, the two main factors are colours and contextualiza-
tion. The use of colour demonstrates visual modality. To have high visual modality, the
image should have high colour saturation rather than white and black, varied colours
rather than monochromatic or modulated colours rather than unmodulated. The con-
textualization of the images can be identified by looking at the backgrounds and
settings that represent details and itemised manner. ‘The presence of background in
an image increases its modality from a naturalistic perspective whereas the absence of
background lowers it’ (159).
6 D. S. ELMIANA

The Compositional mode, according to KvL (2006), depicts the way visual images are
structured, the meaning of principles of layout, and several composition styles. It
comprises single mode form as the single visual composition used and multiple mode
forms as a text containing more than one visual composition. Hence, the compositional
mode can be analysed in terms of its text-image status and information value. Text
image refers to the association between text and image. KvL theory (2006 in Tahririan
and Sadri 2013, 177) proposes that:

In the texts on humanistic subjects such as English course book, images may have the
following relation with their co-occurring texts such as (1) Information, when the written
text may become less important with the message articulated primarily in the visual mode;
(2) illustration, when the visual representation is an account or evidence of the truth of the
claims made in the linguistics part; (3) decoration, when the visual and linguistics compo-
nents have no immediate semantic relationship and the visual mode is redundant.

Another compositional mode feature is information value, which is related to the image
placement or pictorial zone (e.g. left/right or top/bottom). The KvL (2006) indicates that
when verbal-visual compositions follow a left-right structure, the left element delivers
the meaning of a self-evident piece of information and familiarity, while the right
element determines new and related information. Conversely, a top-bottom structure
conveys a different meaning, as the top element depicts ‘ideal’ information, while the
bottom element demonstrates ‘real’ information.

Findings and discussion

(1) What is the function and significance of visual images in Indonesian senior high
school EFL textbooks?

Representational mode
The analysis of the representational mode in three EFL textbooks began by determining
the type and frequency of the images. Results show that 232 images consist of 124 with
humans as a key theme; there are 108 images of non-humans, with 56 objects, 23
animals, and 29 settings and locations. The data also show that the images used in the
textbooks represented a realistic image of students’ activities with actions and social
relations as central themes. Table 3 shows the distribution of type and frequency of
images in the three EFL textbooks.
The data identified that non-human images consisted of objects (24%), animals (10%),
and settings or locations (13%) portraying common objects easily found in the class-
room, for example, pencil, pen, table, chair. Animals were typical of those living in
tropical areas (for instance, tigers, lizards, rabbits), and settings or locations familiar to
students (national monuments, landmarks). However, some settings in the textbook
were not related to places in Indonesia, for example, the Niagara Falls in Canada and
the United States and Stonehenge in England. In addition, there was a lack of objects
representing the latest technologies currently popular in Indonesian society. For
instance, the current technology was represented by planes and computers without
additional images of other vehicles, types of computer or household appliances. It was
 PEDAGOGY, CULTURE & SOCIETY 7

Table 1. Frequency and distribution of images in Indonesian senior high school EFL
textbooks.
EFL textbook Number of images Number of pages
Textbook for grade X 119 224
Textbook for grade XI 60 240
Textbook for grade XII 53 250
Total 232 714

Table 2. Modes of visual images meaning on KvL’s model (2016).

Mode Category Sub category
Representational Participant Human Age
Gender
Sociocultural portrayal
Non-human
Interactive Distance Close up
Medium shot
Long shot
Perspective Horizontal Frontal
Oblique
Vertical High
Low
Eye-level
Modality Colour
Contextualization
Compositional Information Value Left/Right
Top/Bottom
Text- Image

Table 3. Type and frequency of the images.

Images N Overall %
Human (53%) Child (9%) 11 5
Adult (91%) Female (34%) 38 16
Male (66%) 75 32
Non-human (47%) Object (52%) 56 24
Animal (21%) 23 10
Setting and Location (27%) 29 13

interesting for the researcher to note that the 108 non-human images showed mostly
objects that can be easily found in Indonesia.
Moreover, the data on human images indicated that 91% were of adults, and 9% of
children, which might appear to show that the textbooks were designed for adult users.
Regarding gender bias and stereotypes, the distribution percentage of males was
significantly higher than that of females at 66% and 34% respectively. This unequal
distribution of gender roles can be seen in Table 4, which shows the social and domestic
roles of males and females.
In terms of social roles, the table above shows that males have a wider scope of
occupations than females, which tend to be limited. However, job possibilities refer to
equality of scope between males and females, as seen in some images depicting social
actions in Figure 1 below:
Furthermore, in terms of activities, there were no significant differences between
males and females. As can be seen in Table 4, the activities were mostly the same. For
8 D. S. ELMIANA

Table 4. Social and domestic gender role in the images of Indonesian EFL textbooks.
Gender Social role (Occupation) Activities
Female ● Teacher ● Teaching in front of class
● Fashion model ● Talking with friends
● Singer ● Having discussion with classmates
● Fisher ● Writing a diary
● Entrepreneur ● Carrying a baby
● A hero: a person who is admired for great, brave acts, and fine ● Dancing
qualities(e.g. R.A. Kartini, Cut Nyak Meutia, Mother Theresa, ● Fishing
Marie Curie,etc).
Male ● Actor ● Reading a book
● Entrepreneur ● Writing a book
● Fisher ● Having discussion with classmates
● Musician ● Dancing
● Painter ● Fishing
● Football player
● Announcer
● Singer
● Army
● President
● Chef
● Inventor
● A hero: a person who is admired for great, brave acts, and fine
qualities(e.g. Soekarno, Nelson Mandella, Mahatma Gandhi,
Spiderman, Superman, etc)’.

Figure 1. Images representing equal occupations between males and females.

Sources: Kemendikbud

instance, the activities of fishing and dancing give the impression of equal activity.
Examples can be seen in Figure 2
In terms of image appearance, the human images depict Indonesian cultural, histor-
ical and religious customs, signified by characters wearing a headscarf or hijab in Muslim
society and in local fairy tales. Historical images are used to describe the settings related
to the objective of the lesson. However, the images do not attempt to favour any
particular occupation or social class over another, or indicate attitudes towards ethnic
and political affiliations. In other words, the images simply demonstrate some of the
cultural, historical and religious customs in Indonesian society. Nevertheless, images of
western culture, which are not relevant to Indonesian culture, are used to promote some
 PEDAGOGY, CULTURE & SOCIETY 9

Figure 2. Images representing equal activities between males and females.

Sources: Kemendikbud

activities in textbooks. Figures 3 and 4 provide images of contexts that are relevant and
non-relevant to Indonesian society.

(2) In what way do the visual images support interaction between students and
materials in Indonesian senior high school EFL textbooks?

Interactive mode
The first step in examining the interactive mode of the images is distance. According to
Tahririan and Sadri (2013), distance relates to the level of social space and closeness
between the images and the viewers. This can be seen in how much body is shown in
the images in close-up, medium and long shots. KvL’s theory (2006) proposes that close-
up images represent intimate relationships between images and viewers, while medium
shots frame a social relationship and long shots have an impersonal meaning. However,
in this study, the analysis was limited to two types of distance, medium and long. Close
up images, which may not relate to education meaning, were not included, as some
studies report that these probably take on a different meaning in educational resources
and, more importantly, in pedagogical books (Lewis 2001; O’Toole 1994; Royce 2007; van
Leeuwen and Jewitt 2001). Moreover, Tahririan and Sadri (2013, 150) argue that ‘close up
shots are infrequent in picture-based textbooks, unless they appear on the front cover
and medium and long shots are prominent in such books as a way of revealing
character’. Of the 124 images that represent humans in the three EFL textbooks, 68
images (55%) were identified as long shots and 56 (45%) as medium. Therefore, the
results of frame size analysis indicate that the images are intended to convey an
objective and impersonal connection between them and the viewers to substitute
their thought and reflection. Figure 5 presents examples of frame size in the textbooks.
10 D. S. ELMIANA

Figure 3. Relevant images representing Indonesian cultural, historical and religious norms.
Sources: Kemendikbud

Figure 4. Non- relevant images of Indonesian cultural, historical and religious norms.
Sources: Kemendikbud
The second step is analysing the perspective of the images from a frontal eye-level.
The frontal level signifies viewers’ involvement and inclusion, and the eye-level perspec-
tive conveys power equality between images and the viewers (KvL 2006). This study
 PEDAGOGY, CULTURE & SOCIETY 11

Figure 5. Example of frame size analysis: long shot image (left) and medium shot image (right).
Sources: Kemendikbud

found that 17 (14 %) of 124 human images were represented in a frontal and eye-level
perspective, indicating that there is no power discrepancy between images and the
viewers, as students are able to make connection with the images. Figure 6 demon-
strates frontal eye-level perspectives in the textbook images.
The third step is modality analysis. To show the level of image credibility, two
categories were used, colour and contextualisation. In terms of colour, all images in
the three EFL textbooks use full colour saturation images. According to KvL theory
(2006), the absence of colour identifies particular meaning and a lowered level of
authentic image representation. The level of colour modality in the three EFL textbooks
is high. Regarding contextualisation, the study showed that 112 (51%) images contained
a background, but this was blank in 119 (48%) images. However, some images in the
textbook represented real life activities (see Figure 8). Thus, the analysis of images based
on contextualisation modality indicates that they represent authentic meaning in real
life settings.

Figure 6. Examples of frontal eye-level perspective in the textbook images.

Sources: Kemendikbud
12 D. S. ELMIANA

Figure 7. Examples of blank and background images.

Sources: Kemendikbud

Figure 8. Examples of real images.

Sources: Kemendikbud

(3) To what extent do the visual images in Indonesian senior high school EFL text-
books reflect the aim of foreign language learning?

Compositional mode
Text-image status was examined based on the relationships between images and their
corresponding text. As presented in Table 5, the percentage distributions of images
were informative (65% in Book I, 23% in Book II, and 12 % in Book III). The informative
type refers to images that deliver a blueprint of the answer to the question, and
picture-based exercises that help students to comprehend the use of images on the
text (KvL 2006). In addition, the percentage distribution of informative and illustrative
image types is slightly different in the three textbooks. Moreover, illustrative images
that help students to engage effectively with the exercises were found (45% in Book I,
 PEDAGOGY, CULTURE & SOCIETY 13

Table 5. Distribution and frequency of text-images.

Information Illustration Decoration
EFL textbooks N % N % N %
Book I 59 65 35 45 25 39
Book II 21 23 19 25 20 31
Book III 11 12 23 30 19 30

25% in Book II, 30% in Book III) and show that the image can emphasise assertions
made in the linguistic part of the text. Also identified in this study was the decorative
image type, which does not engage with the text or provide any information relating
to the exercises in the textbooks (KvL 2006). Mostly decorative visual images (39 %)
were in Book I, 31% in Book II, and 30% in Book III. Thus, the result of the analysis of
text- image suggests that images are essential in textbooks to carry the significant
information of the text.
In addition, information value was analysed in terms of the position or structuring of
the images. The size affects the position of the images in the textbooks: a small size
commonly fits in the left or right side of the page, while large images are usually at the
top or bottom of the page. From a total of 232 images, 88 (38%) had a left/right position
and 144 (62%) a top/bottom pattern. According to Unsworth ( in Tahririan and Sadri
2013, 154) ‘the ideal or real distinction in textbooks conveys specific meanings; the top
part deals with the more generalised, abstract, conceptual information, while the
bottom part deals with the specific, concrete, and observable information’. Therefore,
the positioning of images in the three senior high school EFL textbooks in Indonesia
underpins the conceptual meaning of the text.

Limitations
This study was conducted in accordance with its objectives but there were some
unavoidable limitations:

(1) This is the first study the researcher has conducted on visual images in textbooks,
and recognises that there is a need for a deeper understanding of how to analyse
these.
(2) Analysis of the pedagogical purposes of visual images in EFL textbooks, particu-
larly in Indonesia, is new and no studies on this could be found. Thus, a much
more comprehensive study or collaboration with other researchers is needed to
find different interpretations of visual images in textbooks.
(3) This study is only based on one method of data collection (e.g. analysis of visual
image). Thus, additional data collection could be needed, such as interviewing
teachers and students who are using these textbooks and working with these
visual images, as well as from classroom observations to scrutinize how visual
images can enhance language teaching and learning processes in classrooms.
14 D. S. ELMIANA

Conclusion
This paper has reported on and discussed the findings of our analysis of images in text
books informed by the visual grammar model of KvL (2006). It has provided an account of
the images in three senior high school EFL textbooks in Indonesia. The findings on the
representational mode established that the images portrayed realities and custom for
15–17 year-old students, and also depicted socio-cultural identities of Indonesian society.
Regarding gender bias and stereotypes, the research indicated that there were more
images of males than females (66% and 34% respectively). In relation to social roles,
males were represented as having a wider range of occupations than females; however,
job possibilities and activities showed greater gender balance. Moreover, the human
images depicted Indonesian cultural, historical and religious customs signified by characters
who wear a headscarf or hijab, as well as local fairy tales. Conversely, the choice of some
settings in the textbooks was not related to the places in Indonesia and there was a lack of
objects representing the latest technologies currently popular in Indonesian society.
In terms of interactive mode analysis, the study shows that the meaning of images
conveys an objective and impersonal connection between images and viewers to
substitute their thought and reflection. Moreover, there was no power discrepancy
between images and viewers; it was assumed that students would be able to make
a connection to the images. Furthermore, the analysis of images based on contextuali-
sation modality appeared to show that they have authentic meaning in a real-life
setting. In the compositional mode, the illustrative images showed the highest percen-
tage, indicating that they can help students to engage effectively with the exercises and
provide emphasis for the assertions made in the linguistic parts of the text. In addition,
the result of the analysis of text-image suggested that these are included in textbooks to
carry significant information in the text. Therefore, the image-structuring in the three
senior high school EFL textbooks in Indonesia provides conceptual and prominent
meaning within the text.
In short, this study concluded that EFL textbooks for senior high schools in Indonesia
meet the criteria of the pedagogical objectives. This current study can provide useful
information for textbook developers, illustrators, teachers and students. Developers and
illustrators need to be aware that their choice of visual images can supplement the
information provided by the text. They need to pay attention to the function of visual
images, whether as informative, illustrative, or decorative information. However, this
study has limitations, showing that these issues need to be examined more thoroughly.
There is an also need for future researchers or textbook developers to avoid any
imbalance in images of gender and to provide relevant images in relation to the
Indonesian context.

Acknowledgments
I would like to thank the Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP) for their support on
this study.
 PEDAGOGY, CULTURE & SOCIETY 15

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Funding
This work was supported by the Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP).

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