The Language ELT Textbooks Speak

Filadelfia

Congreso; TESOL 2012 International Convention; 2012

TESOL

The textbook has been and continues to be the most visible and tangible element in any ESOL class. It is clear that it satisfies a need, has a purpose, and performs a function. Although some elements of textbooks such as instructions, photographs, and tables might be considered peripheral, they sometimes communicate in a conflicting manner. Our study approaches textbooks as semiotic artifacts, that is, as meaning-making systems, and is part of a larger research project conducted at the School of Languages of the National University of Córdoba, Argentina. This project seeks to explore different components of textbooks (such as the table of contents, title and subtitles of units, rubrics, and some graphic representations) through the application of systemic functional criteria.