ESP Textbook Evaluation: The Case of Kuwaiti Students of Business Administration

Textbooks are considered an essential component of classroom materials. Teachers usually examine a wide range of textbooks offered in the book market to determine an appropriate one that fits the pedagogical demands. Textbooks’ evaluation is, therefore, important to determine and improve their suitability for students’ needs. Specifically, in teaching English for Specific Purposes (ESP), textbooks play a significant role in enhancing students’ learning of specialized English skills and using such skills to address occupational needs. This study was undertaken to evaluate the quality of the Business Result Second Edition (2017) textbook and its suitability for the needs of students majoring in Business Administration (BA) at the College of Business Studies (CBS) in Kuwait. An evaluation checklist was utilized to examine five factors (subject matter, linguistic issues, exercises and activities, course objectives, and layout of materials and visuals). Participants included 10 English language teachers who taught the ESP course at CBS. Results indicated that despite having some disadvantages, the textbook was relatively suitable for the course. The findings of this study can be adopted by the curricula designers at CBS to improve or modify the textbook in question.