English Language Textbook and Development of Oral Communicative Competence in Grade VIII Students of Public Sector Schools in Punjab

The researcher attempted to ascertain the extent to which the English language textbook, English for Class 8, endorsed by the Punjab Textbook Board is compatible with Pakistani learners’ language learning needs. The purpose of the study was to investigate the degree the prescribed textbook facilitates language acquisition, its meaningful application, and development of oral communicative competence. A qualitative approach was employed. The findings of this study reflect that the textbook does not cater to the target learners’ future academic and professional language needs because the incorporated activities do not focus on sociolinguistic and discourse- level aspects of the target language. Furthermore, many activities offer meaningless and discrete-point exercises which do not contribute to any oral skill development. There are limited opportunities to develop oral communicative competence. By incorporating adequate visual supplementary material the prescribed English language textbook can become an effective tool for developing oral communicative competence.