Evaluating Pragmatic Information in Algerian EFL Textbooks: The Case of ‘My Book of English, Year Three’

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to evaluate the pragmatic information in ‘My Book of English, Year Three’, a textbook used to teach English in Algerian middle schools. The study attempts to answer four research questions pertaining to the amount of general pragmatic information, speech act treatment, explicit metapragmatic cues, and metalanguage functions. The points of strength and weakness in the pragmatic input offered by the textbook under question were identified. To illustrate, a number of speech acts were explicitly mentioned and practised, though most of them appeared in conspicuous absence of adequate metapragmatic and sociopragmatic discussions. In our view, the present findings have important implications for EFL textbook-designers and teachers alike.