Exploring Communicative Language Teaching Principles Alignment of English Textbook in Saudi Arabia Middle School

Abstract

This paper aims to analysis an English language textbook used in “middle school” (high school) in Saudi Arabia in-depth, to ascertain the type of pedagogy pushed by the teacher’s book. The criteria of analysis are adapted from Communicative Language Teaching (CLT). These criteria are used to analyses the textbook in terms of how communicative it is and personalised, how authentic, how meaningful; its degree of linguistic complexity; whether it is scaffolded, accuracy or fluency oriented; and how much of all each of these categories is in the textbook activities. The methodology of this paper is qualitative and presents only one aspect, textbook analysis, of a broader case study which forms part of a Ph.D. project that explores the factors behind the failure of implementation of CLT in Saudi Arabia. The results of this analysis show that in the textbook there is a careful balance between accuracy and fluency. There are some person, alised and meaningful activities, however most of the activities lack of authenticity which limits freedom for the students in using use the target language.

Issues with Communicative Language Teaching Implementation in Saudi Arabia Concerning the Government Policy, Teachers, and Students: Two Decades of Research

“…In today's global context, it is recognized that the English language has become the language of the world, and many countries have adapted their education policies to reflect the evergrowing need for the English language. Saudi Arabia introduced a new policy regarding the way the English language is taught in schools in the early 2000s as it became increasingly clear that the English language was to play an essential role in various fields of the Saudi Arabian economy (Alharbi, 2020). This new policy favours a so-called Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) approach whereby the focus is moved away from developing students' grammar accuracy and skills.…”

“…For this reason, learners are encouraged to use the target language in a variety of contexts and learn language functions (Al Asmari, 2015). Such an approach is student-centred and aims to improve listening, reading, writing, and speaking skills, while at the same time enhancing students' understanding of other cultures and helping them advance the target language for everyday use (Alharbi, 2020).…”

“…Learner-oriented classrooms mean a move from a teacher-centred curriculum toward a student-centred curriculum. Regarding the content of the curriculum, new strategies and techniques have been adopted that allow students to use the language purposefully and functionally in the classroom (Alharbi, 2020), while communicativebased activities support the natural growth of language ability (Farooq, 2015). The new curriculum also reflects the students' need for more space to use language, which should, in turn, help students develop their language competency.…”

“…In a CLT approach, learning materials are very important and, consequently, it is important that the textbooks that are being utilized in the classrooms conform to the CLT approach. The Saudi Arabian education system is very centralized and mostly based on teaching from the textbook (Ministry of Education, 2002), where the textbook can be viewed as the core of any ELT program and it plays an important role in teaching the language since it offers suggestions on the pedagogy, lesson content, and the manner of teaching (Alharbi, 2020). A study by Alharbi (2020) examines the level of conformity between the CLT approach and a textbook used in Saudi Arabia.…”

“…The Saudi Arabian education system is very centralized and mostly based on teaching from the textbook (Ministry of Education, 2002), where the textbook can be viewed as the core of any ELT program and it plays an important role in teaching the language since it offers suggestions on the pedagogy, lesson content, and the manner of teaching (Alharbi, 2020). A study by Alharbi (2020) examines the level of conformity between the CLT approach and a textbook used in Saudi Arabia. The findings suggest that the textbook used in secondary education in Saudi Arabia may restrict the main goals of CLT due to its relatively controlling nature.…”