| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立政治大學 === 語言研究所 === 96 === Authenticity has been regarded as one of the essential principles in EFL/ESL teaching. It is emphasized that the content of the textbooks can realistically reflect the genuine meaning and function of the language used in real-life situations. Aside from the authenticity of text itself, more and more teachers and educators recognize the value of using authentic activities for teaching and learning purposes. The thesis aims to examine whether and how the language learning activities in our EFL textbooks pertain to authenticity. We explore what authentic learning activities in these textbooks are, and how they are different as found in different textbooks. By following a rating scale developed on the basis of Littlewood’s (2004) five activity types (non-communicative learning, pre-communicative language practice, communicative language practice, structured communication and authentic communication), we evaluate and compare the language learning activities provided in five sets of English textbooks frequently used in Taiwan in terms of their task authenticity.
The result of our analysis reveals that most language learning activities in the five commonly used sets of English textbooks are designed mainly for the practice of the linguistic forms. Few of the activities provide learners with the chance of exposure to real communication situations and applying their language skills in authentic ways. Even some of the textbook series don’t contain any authentic learning activities at all. It is clear that textbook writing in Taiwan still focuses on linguistic forms – a situation that has lasted for decades and more changes in textbook writing are needed in order to move forward to genuine communication.
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