Representation of Speech Styles in Listening Dialogues of an Indonesian EFL Textbook: A Sociolinguistic Analysis Based on Joos's Framework

Abstract

Sociolinguistic competence requires learners to select language forms appropriate to particular social relationships and communicative situations. English textbooks are therefore important sources of modeled language variation, particularly in EFL contexts with limited exposure to diverse spoken registers. This study investigated the representation of speech styles in the listening dialogues of Pathway to English for SMA/MA Grade XI using Joos's (1967) five-style taxonomy. A descriptive qualitative design with content analysis was applied to 11 listening dialogues comprising 140 utterances. Each utterance was analyzed in terms of linguistic form, interactional purpose, participant relationship, and communicative setting, with frequency and percentage used as descriptive support. Four speech styles were identified: consultative (96 utterances; 68.57%), casual (32; 22.86%), formal (10; 7.14%), and intimate (2; 1.43%), while frozen style was absent. The findings indicate that the materials predominantly emphasize polite, interactive, and discussion-based communication. However, the limited representation of formal and intimate styles and the absence of frozen style suggest uneven sociolinguistic coverage. Supplementary materials may therefore be needed to broaden learners' awareness of highly formal, ceremonial, and relationship-specific language use.