An Evaluation of the Teaching/learning of Academic/Scientific Texts in the Second Year Secondary School Textbook “Getting Through” from English for Specific Purposes Perspective

Abstract

The present study aimed at evaluating the extent to which scientific texts in the second year secondary school English textbook “Getting through” are capable of developing an adequate level of English for specific purposes (ESP) awareness among Algerian students. To achieve this aim, two research tools have been self-designed and implemented: a checklist and a teachers’ questionnaire. The questionnaire has been administered to twenty secondary school EFL teachers in four secondary schools in the province of Jijel. The checklist-based evaluation demonstrated that although scientific texts in the textbook under study are easy, accessible, manifesting the main aspects of academic discourse, adjusted to the level of the pupils, and adapted to teaching the four language macro-skills, these texts are inadequate for raising the required level of ESP’ awareness because of their insufficient number, their unauthentic language, their haphazard presentation, and their neglect of the need to cater for pupils’ autonomy in the production of the texts in question. These findings have been largely corroborated by those of the teachers’ questionnaire. In this regard, the analysis of the results generated by the questionnaire has revealed that although the majority of the respondents agree on the importance of teaching English for specific purposes (ESP) and scientific texts to Algerian secondary school pupils to raise their awareness towards the academic/scientific English discourse, the scientific texts in the textbook under study are not adequate for achieving this aim. Moreover, the results have shown that the majority of the respondents are experienced, aware about the differences between ESP and English for general purposes (EGP), use alternative scientific texts, and already use needs analysis in the design of their lessons. Overall, the findings revealed that the scientific texts in “Getting Through” are in need of urgent reform to respond adequately to pupils’ ESP needs. In this regard, the adoption of the genre-based approach in designing and teaching scientific texts to Algerian secondary school pupils appears to be the most appropriate.