Developing a Culturally Responsive Model for Teaching English Speaking through Toraja Culture to Non-Native English Learners

This study aims to develop a culturally responsive model for teaching English speaking through the integration of Toraja culture to non-native English learners. The study is grounded in the premise that English language instruction in many non-native contexts remains largely decontextualized from learners’ sociocultural backgrounds, resulting in limited engagement, reduced communicative confidence, and insufficient relevance to learners’ lived experiences. In response to this gap, the proposed instructional model incorporates Toraja cultural values, local expressions, traditional practices, and community-based contexts into speaking activities in order to promote meaningful language use and cultural connectedness. The study employs a research and development approach to design, validate, and refine the instructional model through pedagogical analysis, contextual material development, and expert review. The resulting model emphasizes culturally meaningful interaction, learner-centered participation, contextualized speaking tasks, and communicative practice grounded in local identity. The findings suggest that the integration of Toraja culture into English speaking instruction enhances learners’ motivation, participation, confidence, and communicative competence while also fostering cultural awareness and identity affirmation. This study contributes to the growing discourse on culturally responsive pedagogy by offering a localized instructional framework for English speaking education in non-native settings, particularly in rural and culturally rich educational contexts.