Argumentum, Vol. 21 (2025), pp. 232–245.

Task Types of Reading Texts in EFL Textbooks

Edit Rácz

    Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary,

    Institute of English Studies, Department of Linguistics

    racz.edit@hotmail.com

    Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary,

    Institute of English Studies, Department of Linguistics

    adorjan.maria@kre.hu

DOI: 10.34103/ARGUMENTUM/2025/14

Abstract

The teaching of the reading skill in foreign language education has been researched widely. Yet only few academic papers focus on the categorisation of questions and tasks accompanying reading comprehension texts in English as a foreign language textbooks.

The paper presents the research conducted on the reading syllabus of the latest edition of a global EFL textbook series, Solutions. Based on Freeman’s (2014) taxonomy of comprehension question types, we give an account of our own research on the types of tasks found in the volumes under scrutiny. Our findings show that there are tasks belonging to each major category (Content, Language, Affect) of Freeman’s taxonomy.

We also argue that Freeman’s categorisation needs to be modified: the last one of the three major categories (Affect) is proposed to be renamed and supplemented with a new subcategory that we call ‘Creation’, whereby language learners are required to perform a high-level cognitive task based on the topic of the reading. This modification could allow for the inclusion of tasks that the selected textbook series calls ‘internet research’ and ‘project’, whose aim is to enhance learners’ involvement in the topic of the reading by asking them to search for data and collect relevant information about the topic.

Keywords: reading comprehension tasks, taxonomy, EFL, textbooks, content analysis

References

Anderson, L. W. & Krathwohl, D. R. (2001): A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives: complete edition. Addison Wesley Longman, Inc.

Alderson, J. C. (2000): Assessing reading. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511732935

Barrett, T. C. (1968): Taxonomy of cognitive and affective dimensions of reading comprehension [Unpublished manuscript]. In: Clymer, T. (1968): What is “Reading”?: Some current concepts. Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education 69(10), 7–29. https://doi.org/10.1177/016146816806901001

Bloom, B. S., Engelhart, M. D., Furst, E. J., Hill, W. H. & Krathwohl, D. R. (1956): Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals. Handbook 1: Cognitive domain. New York: Longman, 1103–1133.

Clymer, T. (1968): What is “Reading”?: Some current concepts. Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education 69(10), 7–29. https://doi.org/10.1177/016146816806901001

Freeman, D. (2014): Reading comprehension questions: The distribution of different types in global EFL textbooks. In: English language teaching textbooks: Content, consumption, production. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, 72–110. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137276285_3

Gray, William S. (1960): The major aspects of reading. In: Robinson, Helen M. (Comp. and ed.): Sequential development of reading abilities, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 8–24.

Hutchinson, T. & Torres, E. (1994): The textbook as agent of change. ELT Journal 48(4), 315–328. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/48.4.315

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Selected textbooks

Falla, T. & Davies, P. A. (2017a): Solutions. Third Edition. Elementary Student’s Book. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Falla, T. & Davies, P. A. (2017b): Solutions. Third Edition. Pre-Intermediate Student’s Book. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Falla, T. & Davies, P. A. (2017c): Solutions. Third Edition. Intermediate Student’s Book. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Falla, T. Davies, P. A. Kelly, P. Wentholt, K. & Wheeldon, S. (2017): Solutions. Third Edition. Upper-Intermediate Student’s Book. Oxford: Oxford University Press.