BRIDGING CULTURES IN BIPA LEARNING: LEVERAGING MULTICULTURAL LITERATURE TO BUILD TOLERANCE

Abstract

This study aims to investigate strategies for integrating multicultural literary texts within the Indonesian for Speakers of Other Languages (BIPA) curriculum, with careful consideration of the diverse cultural backgrounds of international learners. BIPA students come from nations with customs, cultural norms, religions, and belief systems distinct from those in Indonesia, highlighting the necessity for multiculturalism to be embedded in official educational policies. Such policies would facilitate an inclusive approach, accommodating religious, ethnic, and cultural diversity in BIPA instruction. Conventional reading methodologies, traditionally employed by educators, often fail to address the cultural biases inherent in texts, which may contribute to cultural dissonance and limit students’ critical engagement with Indonesian literature. By employing multicultural theory in education, educators can guide students towards a deeper understanding of both dominant and marginalized cultural representations within Indonesian literary works, thereby fostering greater multicultural literacy and enriching intercultural interactions among BIPA learners. The findings suggest that incorporating multicultural literature into BIPA curricula not only allows foreign learners to explore Indonesia's cultural heterogeneity but also strengthens cultural competence across both majority and minority contexts. This pedagogical approach supports the development of positive attitudes toward cultural and linguistic diversity, ultimately enhancing learners' intercultural competencies.