Arab World English Journal (AWEJ) Volume 9. Number 1. March 2018 Pp. 365-387
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol9no1.26
Text Structure and Its Teaching Implications: An Analytical Study
Ala’a Mohammad Abu Hamameh
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Faculty of Education, Yarmouk University, Jordan
Dina Al-Jamal
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Faculty of Education, Yarmouk University, Jordan
Abdallah Baniabdelrahman
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Faculty of Education, Yarmouk University, Jordan
Abstract :
The way information is organized in a text enables students to read effectively. As such, the current study content analyzed the first and the second stage secondary English as a foreign language (EFL) textbooks taught at public schools in Jordan. This descriptive analytical research design was carried out to explore the means and frequencies of text structure types included in both textbooks and the extent of fairness in presenting these structures within the reading texts of both textbooks. The main aim of the study is to provide insights for both EFL teachers and book designers to expose students to varied types of text structure. A content analysis sheet for coding the material based on the criterion of inclusion was used. The reading passage was the unit of analysis. The analysis of the study revealed that the Jordanian secondary stage textbooks include a variety of text structure types that are not fairly distributed; nevertheless, the descriptive structure was the most frequent structure in both textbooks. Starting from this premise, the current study discussed the pedagogical implications of text structure teaching. Accordingly, the study recommends that book designers should integrate reading texts of varied text structure types without ignoring some structures in favor of others, also it recommends that EFL teachers should be trained to use text structure strategy in EFL reading classes.
Keywords: content analysis, implications, text structure, EFL
Cite as: Abu Hamameh, A. M., DAl-Jamal, D., & Baniabdelrahman, A. (2018). Text Structure and Its teaching Implications: An Analytical Study.
Arab World English Journal, 9 (1).
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol9no1.26