An Evaluation of Vocabulary Learning Tasks in The Algerian Middle School Textbook My Book of English One

Abstract

The present research attempted to evaluate the vocabulary -related content in the Algerian first year middle school textbook of English „My Book of English „, which was introduced in 2016 by the Ministry of Education following the principles of the competency-based approach. In order to conduct this research, a checklist based on Cunningsworth‟s model (2005) was adapted and used. The results revealed that the vocabulary teaching component of the textbook was adequate as far as the three aspects in question are concerned. Moreover, the vocabulary teaching component of the textbook has been found suitable for absolute beginners‟ level. Furthermore, the analysis also revealed that vocabulary items have been well presented, adequately contextualized, gradually sequenced from the simple to complex, and equally distributed in all the sequences. In addition, the checklist-based analysis revealed that throughout the sequences of the textbook, visuals aids like pictures, images, maps have been used in a significant way to illustrate meaning.