Grammar Teaching in the EFL Classroom: An Analysis of Grammar Tasks in Three Textbooks

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to examine the grammar tasks in three EFL textbooks. Despite other tools available, the textbook remains an important instructional medium in the classroom. There are several reasons for analysing textbooks. First, it is important that the textbooks are good in order for the teaching to be effective. Second, it is important to investigate whether the textbook is in accordance with the current trends in language teaching. Third, a textbook analysis can suggest improvements with regards to the quality of the textbook. In this study, the textbook analysis is restricted to an examination of the grammar tasks. A quantitative examination of the number of grammar tasks in the textbooks, compared to the overall number of tasks, has been conducted. Furthermore, the quality of the grammar tasks according to a set of specific criteria has been examined. The findings are discussed in relation to the developments in the history of grammar teaching. And the conclusion suggests that the grammar tasks should be more communicative, more discourse-based, more varied with regards to task types, and include all cognitive stages.