Critical Discourse Analysis of Sindh textbooks. “A case study of English textbook of 9th class”

1. Topic: Critical Discourse Analysis of Sindh textbooks.
“A case study of English textbook of 9th
class”
By
GHULAM QADIR SARIO
BS IV LINGUISTICS
2k12eng/147
Submitted to MadamNazish Memon

2. Abstract
School education is dependent on
textbooks. There are some parameters to know the
standard of education is strongly based on textbooks.
Surprisingly to say that in our Pakistani society children
spend their most of time in reading textbooks therefore
they are deprived of creating new reforms. Further to say
that textbooks are like platform where both teacher and
students meet their possibilities what to teach or what to
learn. I have chosen 14th
lesson “Nursing” from the
textbook of English (Compulsory) class IX with the help of
Critical discourse analysis. My aim is to find whether
there are appropriate methods of teaching English as
second languageand also to find out ideological messages
either they leads to indoctrination or education. After
critically analyzing the text of English textbook I got
following findings as outdatededitions, less pedagogical
practices, non-visual vocabulary teaching, focusing on
beliefs and faith rather than knowledge, repetition of
same events in different textbooks, narrow teaching
approaches and Material used as full of dogmatize, bias
and demarcation against fellow citizen. The findings also
clearly show that Sindh textbooks as compare to others

3. don’t fulfil requirements of teaching English as second
languageat secondary level but believe in grading.
Introduction
The developed countries are those who
believe in education which is backbone of building nation
and enriching the economic corridors. The famous
PolitianGandhi while emphasizing the need and
importance of education, said: “Education is central way
to generate awareness among people of being
Independent”. The root learning comes from school
education. School education entirely depend upon
Curriculum because it is way to teach accordingly.
In Sindh province three different
textbooks are being taughtto students from KG-12. The
following are Sindh textbook board, English textbooks and
Oxford University Press. Surprisingly Sindh textbooks
board (STB) are taughtin Sindhi medium government
schools and private non-elite English medium schools in
colleges wherever English textbooks and OUP books are
preferred in very elite schools and colleges as English
medium. There is total absence of equalizationof
education and therefore regional disparities arise. English

4. book of 9th
class is very junk of STB. On which I am here by
do critical discourse analysis.
Either the diction used in Class IX is
worthy or just fulfilling the requirement of material. Still it
will not be enough to fetch only manner of content but a
part of it, use of vocabulary according to level of students
or not. From the English 9th
book I have chosen the lesson
fourteen “Nursing”. While reading this lesson there are so
many observations emerged in my mind which I will share
further so on. It includes comprehension, composition
and communication. I also put my huge efforts to know
how they have added exercises and their effects on
student. Do students are really enjoying or just grading.
Further yet to be analyzedhow much amount of space
has be reserved for teachers to prevail task and activities
students.
It will be deeply concerned some of
that most important problems in Sindh textbooks. The
followings are mention as outdated editions, less
pedagogicalpractices, non-visual vocabulary teaching,
focusing on beliefs and faith rather than knowledge,
repetition of same events in different textbooks, narrow
teaching approaches and Material used as full of
dogmatize, bias and demarcation against fellow citizen. I

5. will also mention vision and critical thoughtsof different
analysts, columnist, authors and critics. We could have
some more proofs and claims about related topics.
Literature review:
it is really broad topic to work on
therefore I have gone through so many articles, research
papers and even discuss with some teachers. Why does
Sindh textbook board always fail to meet the challenges
of new era? Today western people are busy like bees to
explore the inventions and discoveries in Nano Science,
like experimenting over time-machine, thirsty to reach
other plants, making chip less display screens, small
robots etc. You are witness to see difference of their work
and compare our textbooks, just like we are still confuse
to make difference between curriculum and syllabus. As I
mentioned above School education is totally dependent
upon “Curriculum”. Syllabus, being a part of the
curriculum, contains facts, concepts, generalization,

6. principles etc. (InternationalJournal of Research in
Linguistics and Social & Applied Sciences Volume 1: 2012).
Syllabus is being followed accordingly by teacher for
students in classroom. But textbooks instruct the teacher
what to teach or what not!
Curriculum is entire preplanning policy for
enduring betterment and progress in education.
“Curriculum involves all areas of learning which the school
has responsibility” (Lee, J.M). Every school is dependent
on textbooks because these are great sources of showing
reflection of society, promote culture, introduce customs
and heritage to new generations. “Textbooks are actually
the parameters to know the standard of education.
Because, only the textbooks can decide what a teacher
has to teach and what a student has to learn. And the
wrong use of the textbooks can be harmful in the long
term not only for the student and for the teacher but for
the scope of education as well” (American educationists
Wesley and Sheetle (1989).
Languageis medium of communication, it is also powerful
tool to rule over the world. Unfortunately in Sindh
textbooks there are biases and less pedagogies strategies.

7. There are so many different analysts, columnist, authors,
critics and linguists. Naming as Rubina Saigol, A.H Nayyar,
Tariq Rehman, K.K Aziz, Pervaiz hoodbhoy and Ahmed
Salim. They all generally differentiate between education
and indoctrination. All we learn from Sindh textbooks
such indoctrination, believing islamization, patriotism and
bigotry against citizen. But we must have step in
education where everyone believe what is right! By
describing the issues from multiple and critical points of
views where opposing views can be fairly represented.
Textbooks are designed in way that there can have only
route learning rather than conceptual and critically
analyzing. “As textbooks are published every year so,
therefore, it was necessary to critically analyze the most
recent ones to see whether they contain ideological or
biased material.”(Muhammad Tahir Yaqoob 2011).
Textbooks are only stuff where students
mostly spend their time to study specially in our Pakistani
society. Taking this as serious, textbooks should be
enriched with authentic materials as well as teaching
strategies. Textbook is an additional aid to teacher
because he or she must not be dependent on it. On other
hand textbook is also helping hand too for affective
teacher. . Prof. Syed Sajid Hussain worked over the

8. characteristics of good textbooks. He read many books
and collected the list of the following characteristics of
the good textbooks:
1. They meet all the challenges of Curriculum.
2. They are facilitativetowards the completion of
purposes of education.
3. They must define a certain school of thought.
4. They must be according to the cognitive level of
desired group or grade of students.
5. They match to intellectual requirements of the
students.
6. They must have progressive strategies
7. They must define different people of a community
belong to different ideology.
8. They use literalism and naturalism in their contents.
9. They must contain some knowledge and be helpful for
grooming and the development of personalities of the
students.
10. Their material should be given along with the visual
representation.
11. They must relate with certain pedagogy approaches.

9. These are following are some principles to use textbooks.
They would be helpful, if applied skillfully:
1. A teacher should be well lesson planned and well-
versed in the text material before she goes to the
classroom.
2. A teacher should know what to teach rather than how
to teach. Because, inside the class, she has to teach in one
or the other way, which depends upon the context and
receiving capabilities of the students.
3. Teaching through examples is not the other way to
teach but it is the only way to teach. A teacher should
keep-on mentioning examples from the textbooks and
from other reference books, magazines, newspapers etc.
4. Textbooks can be utilized as a best source of learning
new vocabulary and for making notes.
5. Textbooks must be used along with the audio-visual
aids.

10. In the Education Policy of Pakistanof 1970, it was
approved and later-on extended in all the Education
Policies and Conferences that,
1. Begin with the name and praise of Almighty Allah in the
Textbooks of all the Subject of all the Classes
2. Islam and Ideology of Pakistan as Every chapter must
be started with concepts given by
3. There must be given ample examples for the sake of
explanation in every chapter and in every book.
(Abdul SattarGopang, Sheeraz Illyas Shaikh, Dr.Saleha
Parveen & Dr.Mohammad KhanSangi) International
Journal of Research in Linguistics and Social & Applied
Sciences) Volume 1, 2012.
Critical Discourse Analysis:
The good textbooks fulfil the
targets of curriculum, neglect indoctrination and inspire
towards education. And if it is textbook of English, it must
focus on following areas: 1) lessons may stimulates
interest of students in the subject of English. 2) In
composition, exercises represents technical usages rather
predicating ways. 3) It may contains very simple words

11. that students can comprehend the passage as knowing
process of reading comprehension. 4) The content should
be as beautifully written as students could write good
paragraphincluding unity, order and variety. 5) Exercises
must be audio-visual aids that students could improve
their languagerather than just marking the answer.
Languageof textbook reflects the personality of student.
The textbooks should be included with certain school of
thought that may be helpful for the development of
personalities of the students. Now the questions arises
here, do English textbook of 9th
class contain the same
elements as same mentioned above? I am very much
close to proof the failure of Sindh textbooks after
analyzing a lesson from it.
The topic of lesson is “nursing”. I match the above
principles of good textbook than with this lesson.
I found, this lesson does not fulfil the required
characteristics. The half of the part of the lesson is
reserved for praising Islam rather than social reforms
happened in our society. And the other half of the lesson
describes the personality of Florence Nightingale. Now it
is quite difficult to judge either lesson is about nursing or
biographyof Florence Nightingale. This lesson is written in

12. ordinary style that hardly anyone can get motivated.
There is only one example given of Florence Nightingale.
It would have been so interesting if they had taken added
more examples. At the end limited exercise are given that
are hardly been able to test the comprehension.
Composition should be emphasized more at this level that
students may not hesitate while using grammar. Here
they focus on tenses rather other parts of speech and
their usage. The title of lesson is less attractive. Some
students might understand the meaning of nursing as it is
only female job. It is very strange that there is no single
picture which may illustrate taking care of people.
Exercises should contain skill learning and their activities
that students can enjoy and get interested in English
subjects.

13. Findings:
I got many results from Sindh
textbooks as it include the contents related to culture,
religion, nationalism, us and them, gender, and English. It
does not analyzethe contents related to politics,
environment, health, geography, general knowledge,
morality and science and technology. They give more
focus on limited content which cause the producers of
parrots – rote learning non
Critical students. They only focus on how to teach but not
on what to teach. There is no equalizationof education in
Sindh. Poor people send their children to government
schools in Sindhi medium who are taught religious and
patriotic content through these textbooks. Middle class
parents get their children admission in non-elite schools
and rich class have rich choice to send in elite schools in
total English medium. Critical thinking is neglected in
textbooks. It is primary task to make curriculum so
affective which avoid the content of indoctrination but
encourage freedom of expression.

14. Conclusion
Thus, it is proved with critical
discourse analysis that Sindh textbooks do not fulfill the
requirements of secondary level students who need to
learn English as a Second language, not as a subject.
There is absence of real occurrence of events therefore
we remain in doubts either to agree or not. They have put
such ideologies whom we are deprived of our own
society, customs and traditions but make us belief on
religion, nationalism, and militaristic and gender biased.
Sindh text books encourage teaching English as subject
where only focus on grading rather than teaching
languageskills. There is no space left for creativity of
students but limited with certain exercises from
textbooks. Age of 9th
class students is young therefore
pictorial as well interesting lessons should be added to
enhance their skill of writing as well as reading with the

15. help of visual vocabulary. It is time to stand against these
outdated textbooks and demand for latest version with
real-life teaching approaches.