Evaluating an English Textbook for Application in Iranian EFL Academic Context

Abstract

This study was aimed at evaluating a textbook, namely Active Skills for Reading, Book 1 by Neil J. Anderson, which is currently used extensively in English as Foreign Language academic context of Iran. In doing so, a checklist developed by Ghorbani (2011) was adapted and applied in order to see to what extent this book conforms to the universally accepted standards of EFL textbooks. Data were collected based on the stipulated criteria which consider the relative realization of the general features of EFL textbooks adapted to the requirements of students. These merit scores were ranging from 0 to 2 showing total lack to perfect match of criteria to their realization in the textbook. Hence, the collected data were exported to SPSS version 20 in order to be descriptively analyzed. The findings for the seven extensive subheadings included in the checklist showed that 79 percent of the textbook under evaluation matched the common worldwide features of EFL textbooks. The results also indicated that the book is really appropriate in increasing the learners’ level of reading and vocabulary competence, along with improving the use of reading strategies for Iranian non-English major college students in General English Courses. It is hoped that textbook developers along with language instructors will take into consideration general features in their EFL textbooks by using appropriate checklists in order to come up with their desired textbooks.