Selecting ELL Textbooks: A Content Analysis of L2 Learning Strategies

Abstract

Although middle school teachers use a variety of ELL textbooks, many lack effective criteria to critically select materials that represent a wide range of L2 learning strategies. This study analyzed the illustrated and written content of 33 ELL textbooks to determine the range of L2 learning strategies represented. The researchers chose an intentional, convenience sample from each textbook to form the corpus they analyzed. They sought to answer the question: To what extent do middle school ELL texts depict frequency and variation of language learning strategies in illustrations and written texts? To measure the content, the researchers developed a coding instrument to track how frequently each of 15 language learning strategies was portrayed. They concluded that 6 of the 33 textbooks had a good to excellent range of L2 learning strategies in both illustrated and written representation. The study provides recommendations for teachers regarding selection of ELL textbooks appropriate for their students along with a sample coding instrument for their use