An Analysis of the Tenth Grade English Language Textbooks Questions in Jordan Based on the Revised Edition of Bloom's Taxonomy

Abstract

This study aimed at identifying and analyzing the types and levels of questions available in the tenth grade English language textbooks which are used in Jordan during the academic year 2012-2013.The purpose of the analysis was to determine the distribution of the questions over the six levels of the new version of Bloom's Taxonomy of the cognitive domain.

The sample of the study consisted of the Tenth grade English language textbooks where the researcher analyzed (655) questions. A study analysis sheet was prepared and used in the classification of the questions according to the new version of Bloom's Taxonomy to achieve the purposes of the study.

The results revealed the following: most of the questions were within the first two levels; remembering and understanding (55.11%) , 16.18% for applying and less for the other levels 28.71% which reflected the preponderance of the low level question in the two investigated textbooks. The results revealed that the difference were in favor of the low level questions as the percentage was 51.9%.

In light of the results, the researcher recommended to improve the questions in the textbooks to cover the six levels of the new version of Bloom's Taxonomy and to train teachers and designers of curriculum to use and write questions following the new version of Bloom's Taxonomy.

Key words: tenth grade, new version of Bloom's Taxonomy, English language textbooks