An Evaluation of the Presentation and Practice of Grammar in Grade 9 English Language Textbook

Abstract

Language textbooks should equip learners with an understanding of and ability to use grammar so that they will be able to create their own utterance and use the language in a variety of pedagogical and social contexts. It is therefore of paramount importance that both form and meaning must be tangent as closely together as possible. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the presentation and practice of grammar in grade 9 English Language textbook and thereby seek information about how well form and meaning are taught together. The presentation and practice activities were described qualitatively in line with the purpose. The findings of the evaluation show that most of the presentation of grammar is not clear, detailed and contextualized. The practice activities are mechanical, form focused and decontextualized. Based on these findings, the paper concludes that the textbook is not likely to equip students with an understanding of and ability to use grammar to communicate their own ideas