<![CDATA[English learning in indigenous schools can be more meaningful when learners’ cultural knowledge is used as a resource for communication. At Lawang Kuni Indigenous School in Bima, local arts had not been systematically incorporated into English instruction. This study explored local artistic resources and developed a contextual learning model. An exploratory qualitative design was used with 15 purposively selected participants: one school administrator, two teachers or facilitators, ten students, and two cultural figures or community members. Data were gathered through observations, semi-structured interviews, and documentation, then analyzed through data reduction, display, interpretation, and triangulation. The findings identified tembe nggoli (traditional woven cloth), traditional dance, nggahi rawi music, and local stories as resources for vocabulary, description, oral presentation, listening, interpretation, and narrative work. These findings informed the development of the Local Art-Based English Learning Model (LAB-EL), comprising Cultural Exploration, Language Integration, Creative Cultural Project, and Reflection and Evaluation. Limited implementation across four sessions suggested that familiar cultural contexts provided students with accessible topics for English practice, although learners still needed vocabulary and sentence-level support. The qualitative evidence does not establish measurable gains in proficiency or communicative confidence. LAB-EL therefore provides a preliminary, contextually grounded framework for integrating English learning with local cultural knowledge; further implementation and systematic evaluation are needed.]]>
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