Do EFL Textbooks Develop Learner Autonomy and Responsibility?

Abstract

Learner Autonomy theories have demonstrated the significance of learner-centredness approaches in language education and much research has been published supporting the implementation of this police in classrooms. However, although this topic has been investigated from different angles, only a few scholars have investigated the role of textbooks in the promotion of autonomy. In this scenario, the purpose of this work is to fill this gap in the literature analysing a sample of EFL Textbooks and Grammar Books to observe if pre-packaged materials are powerful instruments in developing autonomy and responsibility in learners. By using pre-existing tables (Reinders, Nunan and Chamot), both an external (books’ sections) and an internal (exercises) evaluation of the books have been made, demonstrating that these types of material could be strongly improved. In fact, the book design does not encourage learner choices and metacognitive strategies are timidly and only implicitly fostered. For this reason, it can be concluded that EFL textbooks, and so EFL teaching, have not entirely embraced active learning yet.