An Evaluation of English as a Foreign Language Textbooks for Secondary Schools in Angola

Abstract

ABSTRACT The objective of the present study was to analyze, evaluate, and critique the content of the currently used Angola Secondary Schools EFL textbooks on the basis of current theories of foreign language curriculum, and to determine how well these textbooks enable teachers to effectively teach English in their classrooms. This evaluation and analysis were conducted by performing a content analysis of the format and the content of the textbooks (reading passages, comprehension questions, exercises for vocabulary learning, and points of grammar). The Angola Secondary Schools employ two textbooks: One for Grade 7 and another one for Grade 8. Both textbooks were designed by the Ministry of Education of Angola under the National Institute for the Development of Education's supervision, and printed in its latest edition by Norprint Artes Graficas, in Portugal in 1996. For the data collection, a checklist was applied to the two Angolan EFL textbooks. The checklist was adapted from the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). A focus group, composed of six doctoral students in the field of English Language Teaching, used the checklist for evaluating the two textbooks and therein, obtaining the results. On this basis, the author analyzed, and subsequently, discussed the results. Among the limitations of this study are that it cannot be generalized to all the Angolan educational institutions since a number of private institutions use their own textbooks. In addition, the ACTFL's Standards used in the content analysis of this study were not created within a cross-cultural perspectives, and so it maybe difficult to say weather the ACTFL's Standards capture all the necessary components of such an analysis, especially when comes to issues of cultural awareness . Based on the results of this study, and on the current theories of curriculum, the two Angolan EFL textbooks were considered to be inappropriate for achieving the goals set forth by the Angolan Institute for the Development of Education. The two textbooks failed to comply with most criteria contained in the checklist. It is suggested that these two textbooks be replaced to accommodate the teachers' current practice in the classrooms. To this end, it is recommended that the Angolan authorities, in creating new EFL textbooks, follow the guidelines described from this study.