Analyzing the Readability Level of the English Textbooks Used in Jordan

Abstract

Because of the significance of the textbooks in the teaching and learning processes, it is essential to revise them permanently. This study investigated the readability level of the 12^th- grade English textbooks and also examined if the reading texts used in <em>Action Pack 12</em> were suitable linguistically for the 12^th -grade students. This study adopted the qualitative descriptive design by using the Fry Graph to calculate the readability level. The researchers chose randomly 20 texts out of 36 texts as a sample of the study. The results revealed that 80% out of the 20 texts were under the level of the 12^th-grade students in Jordan. Also, the results indicated that 15 % of the texts were invalid and only 5% of the texts were within the 12^th-grade students<strong>'</strong> level. The findings also indicated that <em>Action Pack </em>12 was suitable linguistically for 12^th-grade students. Several recommendations are put forth.