A Study of the Activities/Tasks in English Textbooks for Intermediate Classes from Communicative Language Teaching Perspective

Abstract

Textbooks of English are filled with numerous activities for developing different competencies. This study analyzes intermediate English textbooks for Grade 11 & 12 of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Textbook Board, Peshawar for determining the extent of incorporation of Communicative Language Teaching principles (CLT) in the textbooks. The English textbooks for grades 11 & 12 are analyzed to obtain data for the research. For evaluating the textbooks’ activities, a CLT based qualitative framework was adopted. The findings indicated that the textbooks do not incorporate all the principles of CLT. There is no balance among the four skills of language. Listening skill has been completely ignored. The textbooks lack focus on the functional aspects of the use of language in context. Based on the results, recommendations for further research are provided. The study has important implications in terms of modifications and revisions of activities for achieving greater congruency with the tenets of CLT.