EFL TEACHERS' PERCEPTIONS ABOUT THE EIGHTH AND NINTH GRADES ENGLISH TEXTBOOKS USED IN PALESTINIAN SCHOOLS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v9i12.4569Keywords:
EFL teachers, Palestinian schools, perceptions, textbooksAbstract
Investigating teachers' perspectives on language materials could help in developing them (Ellis, 1998). Based on Gaza EFL teachers' complaints about the English textbooks of eighth and ninth grades, the present study aimed to explore the teachers' perceptions about such textbooks. The researcher administered a quantitative questionnaire to 63 teachers teaching English to Gaza eighth and ninth graders in 31 schools. She also conducted focus-group interviews with 18 teachers selected from the 63 teachers. The results of the questionnaire indicated that the participants had positive perceptions of the textbooks. However, the interview analysis showed the problematic aspects of such textbooks, such as the irrelevance of some topics to students' interests and needs, irrelevance of some reading topics to students' content background knowledge, irrelevance of speaking exercises and activities to authentic use of English language, and lack of gradation in writing activities included in the eighth grade English textbooks. Finally, the researcher provided relevant implications
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