The representation of speech acts in EFL textbooks in Sweden : An investigation of greetings, requests and refusals in input and output and teacher insights

Abstract: The teaching of pragmatics is often neglected in foreign language classes despite the wellknown importance of pragmatic competence. No matter how well a learner masters thetarget language, errors of a pragmatic nature may lead to major communicative failure orturbulence. Both studies in language teaching and current language educational laws inSweden (following the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) pointtowards the necessity for the learner to be pragmatically proficient. Following these lines,textbooks are expected to mirror curricula and educational laws. The present study aimsto address this very issue and investigates the pragmatic content of ELT books in Swedenwith a specific focus on lower and upper secondary school (year 6, 9 and last year ofupper secondary school). The study has as its primary data set three ELT books from thesame publisher and extensively used in Swedish schools, namely Good Stuff Gold A,Good Stuff Gold D, and Blueprint C 2.0. The presence of pragmatic content isinvestigated through the method of content analysis of the textbooks focusing on threespeech acts - greetings, requests, and refusals. The first part of the study is complementedby semi-structured interviews complemented with two teachers of English in Sweden.The findings point to considerable differences in the representation of the three speechacts in the books, with regression from lower to higher levels, and the interviews with theteachers reveal that teachers' complementary activities often compensate for the lack ofpragmatic content in the books. The findings from the present study reveal shortcomingsof the selected textbooks omitting important information, something that might hinderstudents from developing communicative competence. The findings of the present studyhave the potential to inform the practices of teaching professionals in their efforts to teachpragmatic competence.