The official EFL textbook in cameroonian technical schools and the needs of dressmaking students: an evaluation of interactions in English lère

Abstract

The present paper examines the contents of the Premiere textbook of EFL in order to find out if it fits the needs and interests of the students of the technical fields such as bespoke tailoring and dressmaking. Over the years, the indifference of technical students towards English has been a topical issue and still raises debates nowadays. The aim of this paper is to show that the existence of a single book for all Premiere classes can account for the lack of interest in English generally observed in technical schools. Emphasis is laid on the analysis of themes, the reading passages and the selection of pictures in Interactions in English Ière. In other words, this research attempts to show that the official textbook of English for francophone technical education is not tailored to the needs and interests of the learners. The research methodology consisted in reading and analysing the selected corpus in a bid to find out if its content pleases the intended audience made up of dressmaking students. The EFL students and teachers were also interviewed in order to probe their attitudes towards the selected English book. The paper ends with suggestions on how to improve on the English book for that specific set of students. The aim is to raise more awareness in the educational circle, create more motivation in the target learners and ameliorate their performances in English.