Language Skills in English Course Books for HSC I and II, Prescribed by Baluchistan Textbook Board, Quetta

Abstract

Language is the fundamental trait of human beings through which they communicate with each other. Every human language has four primary skills of language: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Listening and reading are considered receptive skills, whereas speaking and writing are regarded as productive skills. An individual has to get mastery over all four skills to get command on any language. Textbooks are significant sources to educate students in all subjects. Similarly, in teaching and learning a non-native language, the use of textbooks is indispensable. To enable students’ competency in all four skills, ELT teachers take the help of textbooks in the classrooms. This study aims to find out the presentation of language skills in the textbooks that are used to teach the English language to HSC I and II in Balochistan, Pakistan. For this study, textbooks were analyzed for language skills by using a checklist prepared by Abdul (2013). It was intended to find out the skills that are focused on and the skills that are neglected in the textbooks. The study concluded that the textbook content is predominantly for reading and writing skills. Listening is ignored; however, some of the activities and exercises trigger the speaking skills of the students. It is, therefore recommended that the textbook content be modified and a balanced proportion of the language skills should be included to provide plenty of opportunities to practice all four skills in the classroom under teachers’ guidance.