CULTURAL CONTENT IN EFL: DENOTATIVE AND CONNOTATIVE MEANING OF LEXICONS OF AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES IN SUBAK SYSTEM IN BALI

Subak is a traditional system that manages agricultural activities in Bali, including irrigation and rituals from planting through harvesting. The agricultural activities lexicons used in the Subak system in Bali are inseparable from the agricultural rituals performed by Subak members. This descriptive qualitative study explored the denotative and connotative meanings of the lexicons of agricultural activities used in Subak Pangkung Kunyit, and their potential as cultural content for English learning materials. The findings indicated that 13 lexicons of agricultural activities were used in Subak Pangkung Kunyit, spanning pre-planting through harvesting. Those lexicons are Mapag Toya, ngendagin, ngurit, nandur, neduh, nyasihin, kekambuhan, ngiseh, mabyakungkungan, mluspusin, ngusaba nini, Manyi, and ngerasakin. Those lexicons have a denotation based on the literal meaning of the lexicons in the Balinese language. Meanwhile, the connotative meaning is influenced by the context of Subak's agricultural activities. Therefore, the denotative meanings of the lexicons of agricultural activities in Subak are rarely used by Balinese farmers, whereas their connotative meanings are commonly used. These findings suggest that Subak agricultural lexicons constitute culturally rich linguistic resources that can be integrated into EFL learning materials to promote cultural literacy, contextualized vocabulary learning, and learners’ awareness of local wisdom within English education.