EAP Textbooks in Iranian Universities: The Subject of Pragmatic-Critical Spotlight

Abstract

Increasingly indispensible inquiry for international academic communication has appointed English for Academic Purposes (EAP) as one of the prime focuses of university curriculum designers. The structure of EAP textbooks and numerous need analysis studies have approved reading comprehension as the students' predominant English need in Iranian universities; however, little collective critical research has appraised the implementation of reading pedagogy in EAP textbooks. As a response, the present study investigated the materialization of reading instruction via reading activities in 30 EAP textbooks published in Iran premised on Johns and Davies' (1983) transition of Text As a Linguistic Object (TALO) to Text As a Vehicle of Information (TAVI) in EAP reading in tandem with Jeremy Harmer's (2007) Reading Principles as its valorized analytical points of departure. Furthermore, this study advocated weak antitextbook approach that supports the functionality of textbooks provided that they pedagogically and methodologically appropriate for a target context. As a caution, the results revealed 3 fundamental Principles were not invoked at all and the other 3 were partially considered in design of the activities with grave inefficiencies, which culminated in a dissatisfactory realization of TAVI and incapability in realizing pragmatic objectives of EAP university courses. This revelation demonstrates a cardinal demand for revising EAP textbooks in Iran incorporating a critical stance for enlightening the path of curriculum designers and practitioners.