Teaching English in senior high schools in Togo: A textbook analysis and pedagogical implications

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is the latest language teaching paradigm that dominates language education programs worldwide. The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teaching in Togo has responded to communicative language teaching principles. In particular, the study sought to answer five research questions about the pedagogical orientation of the English teaching objectives and textbooks currently in use in Togolese senior high schools, and the match between EFL objectives and EFL textbooks. A content analysis research methodology was used for analyzing Togolese EFL textbooks and objectives. Analysis instruments were generated following Krippendoff's (1980) and Holti's (1969) theory of content analysis, and professional literature on CLT. The findings indicated that the English language teaching objectives for the Togolese senior high schools have a structural rather than a communicative pedagogical orientation, as does one series of Togolese textbooks. On the other hand, the textbook for grade 13 was found to be communicative but somewhat inappropriate for an EFL context. The study concluded that CLT was still part of the null curriculum in Togo. Pedagogical inferences were made, based on the fact that these textbooks and the objectives have been in use throughout Togo for more than a decade. It was argued that an evaluation of the English as a Foreign Language teaching system was overdue, and that the English teaching system in Togo needs increased professionalization in terms of staff development, curriculum, and instructional practices. Implications for the application of CLT in EFL contexts were discussed, and recommendations were made for a re-orientation towards an English as an International Language (EIL) conception of teaching, and an adaptation of emancipatory pedagogy for the teaching of English in the high schools and for the development of teachers. In addition, recommendations for further study and limitations of the study are described. The study also includes a bibliography and appendices.