Learnability and Pedagogical Implication: An Acquisition-Based Evaluation of English Textbooks in China

Abstract

This study conducts an acquisition-based evaluation of four primary-school English textbook series used on a nationwide scale in mainland China. The evaluation aims to determine whether the sequencing of grammatical structures in the four textbook series is compatible with the L2 learning sequence stipulated in Processability Theory (PT) (Pienemann, 1998, 2005).

L2 acquisition cannot occur without input, and textbooks serve as the primary form of input for learners, especially in the foreign language context. In China, learners of L2 English have little natural exposure to the target language. Textbooks are the main source of L2 exposure for L2 learners. Therefore, it is essential to write textbooks based on language acquisition principles.

Currently, the majority of evaluation studies on textbooks address the potential value of textbooks, the actual effects of textbooks on users, and the authenticity of dialogues or sufficiency of pragmatic information in the textbooks. Only a few studies adopt the SLA theories to evaluate textbooks. My study attempts to examine four sets of English textbooks from a SLA theoretical perspective, focusing on the sequencing of English morphology and key sentence structures.

The analysis began by documenting the morphological and structural items that the textbooks introduced as teaching objectives. These items were then categorized according to the PT-based L2 procedures for English. The outcome was compared to the sequence of the corresponding items in the processability hierarchy (Pienemann, 1998, 2005).

The results show that there is partial agreement between the sequencing of grammatical structures as teaching objectives in the four textbook series and the PT-based processability hierarchy. In general, the sequencing of grammatical structures in the initial stages is consistent with the learning sequence of L2 English stated in PT. However, several structures in the intermediate or high stages are taught in a deviant way against their sequencing in PT.

The deviant grading of the high-stage structures in the textbooks is possibly associated with the theme-based guidelines adopted in the textbooks. It appears that concerns with the utility of grammatical structures in a given context takes precedence over concerns for the natural L2 development. A number of suggestions are offered to textbook writers in terms of the role of input, the learners’ developmental readiness, and the issue of heterogeneity in L2 classrooms. Show more