MALANG, October 3, 2025 – A research team from Universitas Negeri Malang (UM) is pioneering an innovative learning strategy named “Fielding Literature” to tackle a common challenge in English literature classes: helping students move beyond mere translation to achieve a deeper, more critical understanding of literary works.
The strategy is designed to bridge the cultural gap students often face when reading foreign texts. Instead of relying solely on textual analysis, “Fielding Literature” actively involves local cultural practitioners and resources, allowing students to compare and contrast the values and experiences in the literature with their own local context. This approach is grounded in Bourdieu’s field theory and Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, emphasizing real-world, experiential learning.
Prof. Yazid Basthomi, the lead researcher, explained the inspiration behind the study. “For over two decades of teaching, we’ve consistently observed one thing: students often try to understand a text based on language and syntax alone, as if understanding the words automatically reveals the deeper meaning,” he said.
“In reality,” Prof. Yazid continued, “language is merely the container, not the content or the meaning. This creates a cultural discrepancy between the student and the text. For example, when a text from Shakespeare’s era says ‘I’m going to the market,’ simply knowing the Indonesian translation (“Saya berangkat ke pasar”) doesn’t provide the intended depth. Remember, there were no ride-hailing apps such as “Gojek” nor even motorcycles yet in Shakespeare’s time—so how did people get to the market? What was the market like? What was available or unavailable there? Through ‘Fielding Literature,’ we hope students can experience the implicit cultural values in a text by engaging in relevant field activities.”
The research team is led by Prof. Yazid Basthomi and includes two faculty members from the Department of English, FS-UM, Prof. M Misbahul Amri and Dr. Mirjam Anugerahwati, a doctoral student in English Language Education, Mochamad Nasrul Chotib, and an international researcher, Dr. Mohd Nazri Latiff Azmi from Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Malaysia.
The “Fielding Literature” research is fully funded by Universitas Negeri Malang through a dissertation grant scheme for the 2025 period. For further information on this and other research projects, readers may visit the official media partners, kapanlagi.com and fimela.com.
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