National Curriculum and Textbooks: An Evaluation of English Textbook for Class X by Sindh Textbook Board, Jamshoro

Abstract

The use of English has been increasing due to new discoveries in science, modern technology, international trade and business, mass communication and world politics. Therefore, its use in education has been increased to make people communicate globally due to its status as lingua franca. Many of the countries in the world use English as medium of instruction in education. English textbooks are one of the important tools and teaching resources in any English language teaching program. They are inevitable part of teacher and learner life. That English textbook is considered the best which caters the language learning needs of students. All English textbooks may not fulfill the requirements of a course. There may occur various drawbacks. Therefore, English textbooks are analyzed, evaluated and revised regularly in order to check how much they fulfill the set objectives of language program and needs of students. In Pakistan, English is used as medium of instruction in many institutions but a very small percentage of population can speak it. Many reasons are behind failure of English language proficiency. Outdated and inappropriate English textbooks are one of those reasons. The current study evaluated 10^th class English textbook by Sindh Textbook Board, Jamshoro. Data was collected through checklist and thorough observation of language activities given in the textbook. Data is interpreted into charts and graphs. The findings show that the textbook is not free from flaws and has some drawbacks. It does not justify with the equal distribution with the language skills. Recommendations are given for the improvement of the quality of the textbook.    

Keywords: Textbooks; National Curriculum; competencies; benchmarks; students learning outcomes

DOI: 10.7176/JLLL/52-02