Jordanian High School EFL Teachers’ and University EFL Instructors’ Perceptions of the Reading Comprehension Content in EFL Textbooks

Abstract

The study aimed to examine the attitudes towards the appropriateness and the difficulty level of the reading content in secondary stage EFL textbooks in Jordan and an introductory EFL textbook taught in the Jordanian universities. The study involved EFL university instructors, secondary EF teachers, secondary stage students, and freshmen university students. The researcher developed a questionnaire to survey students’ perceptions on the appropriateness of the reading material in the secondary stage and for preparing students to university level reading demands. The researcher also interviewed university EFL instructors and secondary EFL teachers to add more credibility to the findings of the study. The results of the questionnaire showed that the students viewed “the appropriateness of the reading content in AP11 and AP12 as “suitable”, their “preparation for the university reading level” and their “preparation with reading strategies and their experience with the reading content in NHWP” “fairly suitable”. Moreover, EFL teachers and instructors viewed the reading content in the three textbooks as generally easy but still difficult for the students. EFL teachers indicated that the majority of the students leave the secondary schools unprepared for the university. Similarly, the university EFL instructors indicated that the majority of the freshmen university students were usually unprepared for the reading demands at the university level.