Cognitive Levels in Saudi EFL Teachers’ and Textbook Questions

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the thinking levels of questions asked by EFL instructors for first year English Department students at Al-Imam Mohammad ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU).The study also aimed to analyze the cognitive levels of the comprehension questions demonstrated by the reading and writing textbook (Unlock, Reading and Writing 1) taught for first year English Department students at IMSIU. In addition, the study examined the extent to which the instructors’ questions and the book they taught differ in the proportions of lower- and higher- thinking level questions. The sample of the study consisted of 15 reading and writing classes taught by EFL instructors. Furthermore, all of the questions in the textbook (Unlock, Reading and Writing 1) were classified according to the Revised Bloom’s taxonomy (Anderson et al., 2001). Descriptive and inferential analysis was used to analyze the data. Furthermore, Chi χ2 cross tabulation was used to show the differences among the levels of thinking in the two textbooks. The findings showed that the majority of the first year teachers' questions are lower-cognitive levels (knowledge, comprehension and application). Furthermore, the results of the textbook analysis also showed that there was a tendency towards lower-level cognitive skills in the two textbooks under the study.