Developing Local Culture-Based EFL Reading Materials for the 21 st -Century Learning

The material specification is one aspect of teaching English at a vocational high school. Materials should be well-prepared to facilitate and promote students’ comprehension of concepts. This study aimed to develop instructional reading materials for Palembang – Tourism-Destination that are valid, practical, and potentially effective for students enrolled in a Travel Agent Study Program at one vocational school in Palembang, South Sumatera Province, Indonesia. The product was developed to meet the students’ needs. This research was a developmental study, with research phases including design, evaluation, and revision phases. Questionnaires, interviews, and reading comprehension tests were used to collect data. The data were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. A formative evaluation was conducted to determine the product’s validity, practicality, and potential impact. Experts evaluated the content, media, and instructional design for validity. The results indicated that the established product was extremely valid, scored an average of 3.65 for all evaluated elements. Practicality was rated highly in one-to-one and small-group evaluations, with average scores of 3.55 and 3.35. The results of the field test showed that the established texts had a high potential for impact, as 79.16 percent of students earned the required passing grade. As a result, it is reasonable to assume that the established product can be used in the classroom as the product for reading.


INTRODUCTION
Education in the twenty-first century places a premium on students' ability to thrive in the real world and assists them in developing their confidence in practicing such skills. With abundant information available, 21 st -century skills emphasize comprehending, exchanging, and intelligently using this information, particularly in English. Almost all experts believe that globalization is a multifaceted process that occurs as a result of the spread of products from the expanding global economy, politics, technological advancements (particularly in media and communication technology), environmental change, and culture (Oktaviani & Mandasari, 2020;Volckmar-Eeg, 2021). Therefore, to face globalization and compete in getting a good career in the future, students, especially vocational students, must be able to improve their English language abilities. Azizah et al. (2021) describe the importance of English in vocational high schools as overstated. It could necessarily be set up to compete for vocational high school jobs in Indonesia and worldwide following graduation.
The most effective way in learning a foreign language is to immerse oneself in the target language's culture (Ahangaran, 2020;Jumanova & Makhmudov, 2020;Klimanova & Hellmich, 2021). Numerous academics in Indonesia and worldwide have been fascinated by the subject of the use and demonstration of the benefits of indigenous culture in teaching English, as demonstrated by Barfield and Uzarski (2009), Yousef et al. (2014), Estuarso et al. (2017), Yang (2017), Fu (2018), and Sopian et al. (2019) in their studies. The fundamental goal of learning processes is classroom student success. In a classroom setting, input sources ranging from participants (lectures and class speeches) to audio-visual devices and printed materials are used to expose students to foreign languages (Andriivna et al., 2020;Budiman, 2020;Krishnan et al., 2020;Limberg, 2016). Meanwhile, culture has a significant impact on learning in the classroom (Sowden, 2007). Therefore, language and culture are the fundamental factors in classroom language instruction approaches.
According to Curriculum 2013, the most recent high school curriculum in Indonesia, cultures should be included in vocational school students' English material. According to Bao (2016) and Mukundan et al. (2016), it is critical to take into consideration the students' backgrounds when teaching materials were developed. Educational materials and activities should incorporate elements of the students' native culture to address their background, emotions, experiences, and culture (Bao, 2016;McKay, 2003;Tomlinson, 2012). Culture should be utilized, as language and culture are inextricably linked (Alakrash et al., 2020;Byram & Flemming, 1998;Kim, 2020;Turan & Akcay, 2021). Because language and culture are closely related, culture must be learned alongside language education. Today's foreign language education places a premium on culture transmission (İşcan & Baskin, 2021). Curriculum 2013 also focuses on local culture in teaching English. Based on Government Regulation No 32 concerning the National Education Standard (SNP), the curriculum framework of the educational institution shall be grounded in local culture and the aspects of its potential. Those citizens, including students, who have the responsibility to preserve, consolidate, and promote Indonesian culture are governed by State Regulation No. 5 of 2017.
Furthermore, reading is a crucial skill for English learners. It fosters general skills development and offers access to vital work and school information (Komiyama, 2009). However, OECD (2018) results revealed that Indonesian students read less than those from other countries. Indonesia ranks 72 out of 77 countries in reading skills. This value has frequently stagnated in the last 10-15 years. Figures reveal that teenagers in Indonesia still have low literacy compared to those of other countries.
Currently, there are various books that teachers can use to teach English. As a result, teachers may be made undecided about which themes and appealing cultural characteristics to use in their classes (Braik, 2014). On the other side, the government suggests that teachers be responsible for preserving Indonesian culture concerning religious values and local wisdom through the national education system by using government published books. Moreover, teachers have a significant role in integrating culture or the characteristics of culture into education and learning. Many textbooks are published and used, but few native cultural values are introduced in the books. The quality of books on the market does not fully meet students' needs, stressing the task of supplying knowledge or facts alone (Wena, 2014). Many researchers are interested in developing reading materials (Azizah et al., 2021;Elviana et al., 2020;Inderawati et al., 2018;Mahardika, 2018;Nafiah, 2020;Sopian et al., 2019). Previous studies aimed at developing EFL teaching materials, particularly reading resources. The researchers carried out their studies with specific designs to suit their demands at distinct levels of students and for particular goals. These studies demonstrated that the products provided were useful, valid, and relevant to students. Previous studies also showed that reading materials that meet the needs of the students are available, but the utilization of the local culture of the pupils is limited. Therefore, a selection and development of teaching materials geared to fulfill students' needs should be encouraged to promote learning goals. One of the strategies is material development. According to Tomlinson (2016), the development material is carried out to provide the students with appropriate teaching resources.
The National Education Standards Board (or Badan Standar Nasional Pendidikan) stated that vocational school curriculum is arranged to train students to get ready for work (BSNP, 2006). In other words, vocational high school places a premium on students' willingness to learn certain work skills, suggesting that students should learn English. The teachers should know the students' needs and which materials suit them when producing teaching materials Octaviana et al., 2021;Rhahima et al., 2021;Tenridinanti et al., 2021). In addition, English must be taught to inspire students to learn based on their major or course of studies in the 21 st century. The dearth of materials that fit students' needs and interests makes it difficult for teachers to support and enhance reading skills. Thus, suitable reading materials are needed according to the students' fields and interests. This is relevant to the idea of Hutchinson and Waters (1987), who believe that one language education technique is ESP, and it is based on the student's learning goal. Therefore, English is recommended for specific purposes to address the basic, specific, and relevant needs of students who fulfill important vocational or academic needs (Tsao, 2011).
For students of the Travel Agent Majors in Palembang vocational schools, incorporating students' local culture into English courses is helpful and important because it is essential that they can explain their own local culture, and it is hoped that students will develop cultural literacy and awareness of their own indigenous culture. Indonesian government regulations and educational curricula promote and codify indigenous cultures. However, English reading materials incorporating Palembang's indigenous culture is limited. Despite the availability of numerous English reading texts about Palembang's local culture in some books and on the internet, not all teaching materials are relevant for learners. The issue may arise if the materials do not correspond to the learners' English proficiency, do not meet curriculum requirements, are not contextualized in their study, or do not meet the needs of the learners. Nonetheless, students must read materials relevant to their fields of study and interests. Mukundan et al. (2016) asserted that the main point to successful reading is the precise preference and presentment of available materials. If the resources do not adequately address the needs of the learners, a slit must be bridged-one of the means involved in the materials development.
The writers highlighted several topics in this study through informal interviews. The students were given broad reading texts, some of which were connected to the common knowledge in the travel agents field. However, no recount text reading material represented Palembang's local culture, especially about tourism destinations. What they got were several reading texts that represented different cultures from the local culture of the students. Therefore, learners and educators will require some supplementary resources of English reading on the local culture of Palembang. Because of the requirements, there was a clear gap. As a result, the present study intended to design the learning material to bridge the gap between the scarcity of English reading resources about recount text reading material and the needs of students by utilizing the Palembang tourism destinations. The purpose of this study was to create recount text reading materials for travel agent major in vocational high schools which were valid, practical, and potentially effective. Therefore, the research questions were set as follows: 1) Was the developed recount text to the students of travel agent majors at vocational school valid? 2) Was the developed recount texts practical? 3) Did the developed recount texts have the potential effect on the students of travel agent majors at a vocational school in Palembang?

Material Development
Material development refers to work done by a teacher, writer, or other individuals to provide appropriate learning materials. Material development includes all procedures used by practitioners to create or use language acquisition resources, such as material assessment, adaptation, design, manufacturing, exploitation, and research (Arafah et al., 2021;Pikhart & Klimová, 2020;Volckmar-Eeg, 2021). Ideally, these processes should be considered and interact with material development (Mukundan et al., 2016;Tomlinson, 2012). Examples of sources or inputs classified as material development are textbook development, textbook writing, reading text, testing of technology-based materials, and many others. Although many commercial textbooks or materials on the internet can be used in teaching, it is crucial to recognize that not all available materials are relevant for students. Therefore, learning materials are one of the most important goals that must be considered during the teaching and learning process. According to Tomlinson (2011), materials can function in various ways, including informational, instructive, experiential learning, selection, and experimentation. Thus, educators can provide students with appropriate teaching materials that meet the student's needs and outlooks by developing materials (Tomlinson, 2016).
Concerning this, several previous studies have concentrated on material development. For example, Elviana et al. (2020) focused on Palembang local culture descriptive texts-based interactive multimedia development for teaching. Likewise, Herawati et al. (2020) developed the Islamic instructional descriptive reading material for the seventh grader, while Azizah et al. (2021) developed the reading materials of descriptive texts in English classes by the utilization of local culture. The finding of those studies revealed that (1) some local cultures used to produce the reading material, and (2) the development of reading material had high validity, practicality, and effectivity. It may then be stated that the development process should integrate local culture to produce high-quality reading materials. Meanwhile, Karademir et al. (2019) developed materials by converting offline materials to online counterparts.

The 21 st Century Learning
The challenge facing educators today is to prepare students to learn, live and thrive in the dynamic, cluttered, and chaotic information environment of the 21 stcentury learning world. Knowing how to learn from various sources of information is at the heart of what it means to be educated today. Students need to think, learn, create, search, evaluate, and use the information for thinking, learning, and creating. In addition, students need to see the connection between what they learn in school and the outside world that motivates and inspires them to do their best (Cai et al., 2021;Joraboyev, 2021;Williams & Williams, 2011).
Learning how to contribute today is the best strategy for a complex and changing future. All students have gained learning experience as they prepare for their future. Success does not appear to be the same as it once was. Successful people now expect a solid career and diverse skills to supplement their income. As teachers, we are responsible for encouraging students to pursue their dreams by educating them and providing them with the necessary knowledge and skills. Furthermore, learners perform best when their work is meaningful and impactful on the world.

Palembang's Local Culture
Indonesia is an archipelago consisting of 34 provinces with various cultural wealth. Local culture is the local values for cultivating the people in a naturally formed region and obtained from time to time through learning. Local culture may be in the form of art, tradition, thought, or customary law. This cultural wealth can be a valuable option for the country to introduce Indonesia to the outside world, one of which is Palembang's local culture. The existence of culture in the tourist area will give more value to the tourists who visit the place. We can also conclude that tourism and culture are information exchange activities and cultural symbols.
Culture will never be separated from tourism because culture has something to do with tourism. After all, it enhances destination attractiveness. Tourism aims to introduce and use the natural beauty and culture of the region. The more aspects of culture we explore, the more tourists will travel to Palembang. Tourism and culture have mutually beneficial relations (symbiotic mutualism). They lead to various benefits, namely increasing income, creating jobs, promoting national and international culture, and, indirectly, sustaining the culture in the area.
Tourism development has a positive and important impact on local culture. One of the impacts is that local culture can help teach English to non-native English speaker students (Florentino, 2014). Furthermore, the Ministry of Education and Culture in Regulation No 79 of the Year 2014 states that the inclusion of local content in the process of educational learning is intended to make students understand and love their regional natural, social, cultural, and spiritual environments and to conserve and develop their region's excellence and knowledge, which are helpful for themselves and their environment to promote the nation. Therefore, each academic unit or school should reflect the local culture and the surrounding community's features.

Recount Text
The recount text is one of the texts covered by the Indonesian high school curriculum, focusing on English language development in the senior high schools and vocational schools. A recount text contains references to previous events or experiences (Kosasih & Kurniawan, 2018). Furthermore, Knapp and Watkins (2005) defined recount text as a text that describes a series of events that have been experienced sequentially. Therefore, there would be a goal and purpose for recounting text events from the past.
According to Sitorus and Sipayung (2018), there are two types of recount text; personal recount and fictional recount. A personal recount text informs the reader of the personal experience of the author. The latter can be seen in a fictional account. It is a type of recount text that serves as a vehicle for presenting an imaginative story (Mediska & Adnan, 2019). Most reading genres taught to learners, particularly in vocational high schools, are descriptive texts (Azizah et al., 2021). The recount text is rarely used as essential reading material by teachers. This occurs because the types of recount text in the vocational high school books tell a lot about historical stories rather than students' experiences with local culture. The instructional reading materials developed for this study focused on recounting past experiences related to the students' local culture, particularly tourist destinations. In a study by Alakrash et al. (2020), the local resources were integrated into modules designed for students and educators. The students were given some texts that was influenced by the culture. The results showed that students' skills were highly improved. Based on the findings, it was recommended to develop language learning materials for EFL students using a local culture-based curriculum as the medium.

The Method of the Study
The design research method was used to create recount text reading material about Palembang's popular tourist destinations. As defined by Akker (1999), this study was a type of developmental research. Developmental research is a subset of applied research focusing on designing a product for a particular purpose. Additionally, Akker (1999) defines development research in three major stages: analysis, design, evaluation, and revision. During the analysis stage, a needs analysis was carried out to gather the information necessary to develop the products, in this case reading materials. Additionally, during the analysis phase, several analyses were conducted, including instructional analysis, needs analysis of the students, and the analysis of reading levels. The recount text reading materials about the tourist destinations of Palembang were created and designed during the design stage, considering the results of the analysis performed during the analysis stage. The text was modified to meet the study's requirements, and the study's outcome was the materials developed in response to the needs analysis. The materials were expected to meet the students' needs and interests. The author employed Tessmer's (1993) formative evaluation to enhance product quality during the assessment phase of this study.

The Subject of the Study
The research was carried out at a vocational high school vocational in Palembang. The subjects of this study were learners enrolled in the Travel Agent Study Program, as indicated in Table 1.

The Procedure of the Study
In this study, the researchers created recount text reading materials based on Akker's (1999) recommendations, which included three phases: analyzing, designing, and evaluating and revising. This study used three analyses: an instructional analysis, an analysis of student needs (based on the English educator's and learners' perceptions), and an analysis of students' reading levels. The school curriculum was used in the instructional analysis. The content curriculum of travel and travel agent study programs, syllabus, and English textbooks were used in teaching and learning. For the curriculum and syllabus, the objectives of learning English and subject content, levels of study, and content that must be studied were analyzed. It is also essential to analyze the textbook content regarding the topics discussed and reading materials to determine the content related to the culture provided in the textbooks.

Analysis phase
During the phase of analysis, the instructional problems and objectives, the learning environment, and the learners' prior knowledge and skills were elaborated. In addition, the instructional challenge, the characteristics of students, what the students planned to study, and how they achieved the goals of instructional and learning objectives were all identified during the analysis phase.

Design phase
The product prototype was designed through a paper-based design. The activities were: (1) the core competencies, basic competencies, indicators, and learning objectives were determined and written; (2) materials of recount text were written; (3) a reading comprehension test was constructed. Recount reading materials about tourist destinations of Palembang were developed based on the reading levels of students. The readability of the recount reading materials was calculated with Flesch-Kincaid. The calculation was done with web-based readability tools.

Evaluation and revision phase
The authors used Tessmer's (1993) formative evaluation strategy during this phase. The formative evaluation process included five stages: self-assessment, expert review, one-to-one evaluation, small group evaluation, and field test. The writers examined the content, structure, and media quality output during the self-evaluation stage. Following that, the components of the product's validity, which were content, construct, and media, were reviewed by an expert.

Data Collection
Questionnaires and a reading comprehension test were employed for data collection of the study. First, the questionnaires were examined by a senior instructor and two university professionals in this field. Next, in determining the validity and practicality, analyzing the student responses to the final product was conducted. Finally, a reading comprehension test was administered to establish the potential effect of the developed learning material.

Data Analysis
The data were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. The questionnaire and reading comprehension test data were quantitatively analyzed by the researchers. The qualitative method was used to comprehend and characterize the information gleaned from the interviews. During one-to-one and small-group evaluations, data was collected using a questionnaire based on expert reviews and student responses. The data were then enumerated and classified according to specific criteria to stipulate the validity and practicality of the product. During one-to-one and small group evaluations, the data obtained from the comments and ideas given by English teachers and students were examined to provide more information about the product practicality. Simultaneously, the reading comprehension test results were used to determine the product's potential effect. For example, if 79.16 percent of students earned the required passing grade of 60, the product might affect the students.

RESULTS
This section presents the findings at each research design stage, from analysis to assessment and revision.

Analysis Phase
Three analyses were performed to elicit knowledge about the tenth-graders: instructional, the level of reading and needs analysis. The following sections summarize the findings of each analysis.

Instructional analysis
The purpose of an instructional review was to determine the indicators and objectives of English learning for tenth-grade students in their second semester. The study focused on the Indonesian Curriculum 2013 used at the school. The reading materials produced were extracted from the core and basic competencies as stated in the curriculum-the recount text learning materials aligned with the basic competence 3.7 and 4.7.

Need analysis
A student need analysis was carried out to gather information about their reading material requirements, and the students' needs were obtained from the English teacher's point of view. The target situation analysis (TSA), deficiency analysis, present situation analysis (PSA), and strategy analysis were all part of the needs analysis. The student's perception was reflected in the percentage of responses to every question on the questionnaire. A questionnaire of 25 questions was distributed to 36 tenth-grade students. The following points was highlighted based on the findings of the students' needs analysis:  English was viewed as an important subject for the advancement of the students' field, subject matter, and profession.  English proficiency was determined to be at the beginner level for the students.  The students encountered some challenges in developing their reading comprehension skills.  The required writing assignments comprised recounted texts.  The most frequently occurring question types were multiple-choice and essay.  It was critical to integrate English reading materials with subject-matter materials.  English teachers supplemented their students' materials with texts from specific sources.  Students' knowledge of Palembang culture was superficial.  There was a dearth of English-language resources on Palembang culture.  Palembang local culture was incorporated into students' reading materials to increase their knowledge of the culture, advance their study program skills, encourage cultural awareness, and improve their skills in reading proficiency, particularly text comprehension.  The students require indigenous cultural tourism destinations in Palembang for their future in their working place.

Students' reading level analysis
The study was conducted to ascertain students' reading levels as the readability levels of the recount text corresponded to students' reading levels. The following are the results of the test. As seen from the distribution of reading levels above, students were already at the instructional stage (50 percent) at level 4. Due to the students' instructional category distribution at level 4, it could be assumed that their reading level was level 4. The IRI test result showed that the student's reading level was 4. Since most students were classified as instructional level 4, the reading text levels were 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

Design Phase
This study aimed to create a collection of recount text reading materials about Palembang's tourist destinations. The authors created and adapted the stories and the images which were found on the internet. Due to the implementation the Curriculum 2013, some information regarding tourist destinations has been written in the form of recount texts and used it in English classes. Most of them were texts translated into English from Bahasa Indonesia. These recount texts were reviewed by validators for compatibility after being translated, adapted, and developed. By using a Flesh Kincaid online tool, it was possible to check the readability levels of the texts.

Evaluation and Revision
Certain changes were required during one of the evaluation phases, and the product needed to be updated before proceeding to the subsequent evaluation phase. Tessmer's (1993) formative evaluation process was used in this phase, which covered self-evaluation, one-to-one evaluation, small group evaluation, and field test. The evaluation phase was conducted to elicit feedback from experts and students to improve quality and to ascertain the validity (via expert analysis), practicability (via one-to-one and small group evaluations), and potential effects of the texts (in field trial phase).

Self-evaluation
In this phase, the developed Palembang-tourist-destination recount text reading materials were evaluated. From the self-evaluation phase, it was easy to find the ungrammatical sentences, misspellings, and redundant words and revise them.

Expert review
Three validators checked the appropriateness of the texts in terms of content, construct, and media. It was intended to obtain expert feedback or suggestions on the developed texts to enhance its quality. Then, to determine the validity level of the texts, the average score from each validation sheet (validation sheet of content, construct, and media) was calculated, and the validity categorization interpreted the results. The results of the validity levels of the text are described in Table 3. The average score was used to determine the text overall validity. According to the results, the average score was 3.65, indicating a very high level of validity. As a result, the developed recount text reading materials for Palembang-tourist-destinations were both valid.

One-to-one evaluation
This procedure involved three students using and studying the established Palembang-tourist-destinations recount text reading materials. One student was with a high level of English proficiency, the second with a medium level of English proficiency, and the third with a low level of English proficiency.
The acquired scores were obtained and evaluated in the practicality category. The average score from three students on the total 15 items of the questionnaire was 3.55, indicating a high degree of practicality. Therefore, it can be concluded that the established Palembang-tourist-destinations recount text reading materials were useful and realistic. Table 3 shows the results of practicality in one-to-one evaluation.

Small group evaluation
The developed texts were distributed to nine tenth-grade students from one vocational school in Palembang, with three students having low English proficiency, three with medium English proficiency, and three with high English proficiency. Students who had engaged in one-to-one evaluations were no longer allowed to engage in small group evaluations.
The average score from nine students on the total 15 items of the questionnaire was 3.35, indicating a very high degree of practicality. Therefore, the established recount text reading materials about the Palembang-tourist-destinations were realistic and very practical. Furthermore, the total average practicality of one-to-one assessment and small group evaluation was 3.45, indicating a very high degree of practicality. Therefore, the established recount text reading materials about Palembang-touristdestinations were practical and classified as having a high practical standard. The results of the practicality test in small group evaluation were listed in Table 4.

Field trial
The field trial was intended to assess the potential effect of the developed texts. Therefore, students who participated in one-to-one and small group evaluations were excluded from the field trial. The researchers used multiple-choice questions to assess the product's potential effects on the students. Furthermore, recount texts about Palembang tourist destinations were offered to stipulate the potential effect of the developed texts on the students' passing grades.
This stage gave information about whether the developed texts could be implemented and had a potential effect or not. It was conducted in four meetings. The first until the third meetings focused on teaching the developed texts. A reading comprehension exam was given during the fourth meeting to measure the possible effect. Figure 1 depicts the results of the students' reading comprehension test performance. The reading comprehension test results show that 19 of the 24 students who took the field test attained the demanded passing grade of 60. As 79.16 percent passed, it can be concluded that the texts had a fair, effective level.

Analysis Phase
The final product was a collection of reading materials about tourist destinations in Palembang for the tenth-grade students majoring in travel agents. The prototype used Akker's (1999) model for analysis, design, assessment, and revision. During the research phase, three types of analyses were performed to collect information on the tenth-grade students: instructional analysis, student needs analysis, and student reading level analysis. The indicators and learning objectives of the instructional review required students to respond to recount texts about Palembang-tourist-destinations actively. The students would comprehend and appreciate local tourist destinations through the recount texts. As a result, the students might meet the learning objective of capturing and reflecting on the values of the recount texts. The teacher developed reading materials introducing local tourist destinations, particularly those in Palembang. Additionally, incorporating the students' native culture into the reading texts to meet their program-specific needs would provide some benefits. According to Sopian et al. (2019), Elviana et al. (2020), Nafiah (2020), and Azizah et al. (2021), providing culturally relevant resources could both encourage and improve students' reading comprehension. According to their findings, most students passed the reading comprehension test.
Teachers encountered obstacles while developing the materials, including a lack of references, a lack of skills in developing materials, difficulties in conceptualizing and writing the content, a lack of expertise in the students' field, confusion about which media to use, and time limitation (Gula, 2022;Metboki, 2018;Syamsinar & Jabu, 2015). Factors such as student participation, curriculum and context, resources and facilities, confidence and competence, digital right compliance, and time must be considered when designing materials (Howard & Major, 2004). Teachers must develop their confidence and expertise while managing their time effectively. They should make an effort and develop materials following Regulation No. 14 of the Republic of Indonesian Ministry of National Education (Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia, 2005). The capacity to generate resources is one of the needed teaching competencies. Most reading passages in the course books were irrelevant for the student's reading skills. Therefore, it was necessary to evaluate the readability of the reading texts developed to guarantee that they met the students' reading levels. Readability is the degree to which a text relates to its intended and actual readers (Wray & Janan, 2013). Culture is an unnoticed tool in English teaching methods that facilitates and accelerates English learning. Additionally, it broadens students' horizons through exposure to new practices, traditions, cultures, and languages. Teachers can achieve excellent results regarding their way of life if they address cultural factors while teaching (Jumanova & Makhmudov, 2020).

Design Phase
There were various steps in the design process of the final texts, i.e. generating indicators and objectives, acquiring information about Palembang's indigenous culture, summarizing, and writing descriptive reading materials, assessing reading levels, and developing the test of reading comprehension. In addition, the following operations were also included in the procedure: 1) Providing a detailed explanation for the developed texts. 2) Preparing the presentation materials.
3) Creating the cover for the generated texts.
The principles of good instructional design should be followed while creating reading resources. The resources for English language training should be real, relevant, and valuable to the students, as well as engaging, aesthetically pleasing, and motivating students to create their skills in learning (Howard & Major, 2004;Hutchinson & Waters, 1987;Mukundan et al., 2016;Richards, 2001;Tomlinson, 2012).

Evaluation and Revision
Following the completion of the design process, the product was evaluated and commented on self-evaluation. It was a one-of-a-kind formative evaluation method. At this point, the generated text language, structure, content, and presentation were inspected and updated for apparent problems. Three experts assessed the developed text content, instructional design, and media validity. The topics selected were all ageappropriate and at the students' readability level. The information on the chosen topics was real, proper, and beneficial to the students, particularly those pursuing a career as a travel agent. According to the students' comments, the generated texts were evaluated in one-to-one and small group settings and found to be useful, attractive, and applicable. The students also provided input on the final output. At a Palembang vocational high school, the generated texts were field-tested on its intended audience of the tour and travel major to see if it had a potential effect, was implementable, and was approved by the students. The developed texts were confirmed practical and usable based on the students' response following the field test. These texts were believed to have a potential effect based on the reading comprehension results. These findings appeared to be in line with the previous studies conducted by Inderawati et al. (2018), Mahardika (2018), Sopian et al. (2019), Elviana et al. (2020), Nafiah (2020), and Azizah et al. (2021).
Based on the results of development research that local culture and reading materials make a significant contribution to students' reading skills in the 21 st century learning through the development of teaching materials that are valid, practical, and useful. The implications of developing reading materials based on local culture are as follows. First, students taught reading based on local culture mean that they participate in preserving culture and customs. Second, vocational school students can also experience learning English that is relevant to their major. The last implication is that students learn English by reading recount texts about local tourist destinations in Palembang.

CONCLUSION
English reading materials for students majoring Travel Agent should meet the requirements of their course of study. One strategy is to include students' native culture elements in the reading materials. Incorporating indigenous culture into EFL is to teach students how to communicate in English about their own culture and beliefs effectively. Additionally, it is believed that incorporating local culture into readings helps students improve their reading skills. Based on the findings in the evaluation and revision phases, the established texts were deemed accurate, realistic, and potentially effective even though limitations were found during the research, the technique of data submission was virtually conducted. Additionally, this established product met the reading level of students and aided their content review. This leads to the conclusion that this study's established recount text reading materials, which incorporate Palembang's local culture, can be applied to Vocational High School Travel Agent Majoring students.
Since the focus of the study was only on recount text reading material development, there must be some other topics the future researchers can conduct, such as developing descriptive and procedure text concerning Palembang tourism destinations or developing listening, writing, and speaking skills by using tourism destinations, not only from Palembang but also from other cities in Indonesia or other nations in the world.