The presentation of speech acts in ELT textbooks

The aim of this thesis study is to examine the speech acts included in the B1 and B2 level English as a foreign language textbooks which are approved by the Board of Education and used in formal education institutions in Turkey in the 2022-2023 academic year. Based on this aim, the frequency of occurrence of different speech acts in national English as a foreign language textbooks was revealed and then the obtained data were interpreted within the framework of the predetermined criteria. These criteria had been determined on the basis of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. The data collected by this research showed that the total number of exercises in the textbooks and the number of exercises that include speech acts are low, the variety of speech acts is limited, and the three textbooks used in Turkey are not compatible with B1 and B2 levels. Although national and international textbooks were compatible in terms of the types of speech acts and the frequency values of some speech acts, they were incompatible in terms of total number of speech acts, range of speech acts, number of exercises and giving pragmatic explanation about or examples of different ways to perform speech acts in the target language. The results of the research showed that the textbooks used for teaching English as a foreign language in Turkey are insufficient with regard to teaching speech acts. It is foreseen that this finding can cause the students who use these textbooks to experience some difficulties like applying the knowledge they have acquired in the classroom about the use speech acts to the outside of the classroom, developing the pragmatic and communicative competence necessary for successful communication, using speech acts accurately and appropriately in different contexts, and deciding which speech acts is the most appropriate to use in different contexts.