A comparative evaluation of writing activities in the New Istanbul and Face2face textbook

In this study, the writing activities in the Yeni İstanbul (A1-A2) textbooks, which are widely used in teaching Turkish as a foreign language, and the Face2face Elementary books, which are frequently prefferred in teaching English as a foreign language, were comparatively analyzed. The aim of the study is to reveal the quantitative distribution of the writing activities in both sources, to examine their compatibility with the unit topics, and to determine the extent to which they align with the of A1-A2 writing proficiency descriptors outlined in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Fort his purpose, the document analysis method was employed, and the writing activities in the textbooks were examined. The data obtained were presented in tables and subsequently evaluated in terms of content. The study revealed the similarities and differences between the two books in terms of the number of writing activities, topic relevance, and compliance with the CEFR. As a result of the research, it was found that the number of writing activities in the Face2face Elementary books was quantitatively higher compared to the Yeni İstanbul A1-A2 textbooks. However, it was observed that the writing activities in the Yeni İstanbul books were more evenly distributed across the units. In terms of topic relevance, the evaluation showed that the writing activities in both books largely corresponded to the unit topics. Regarding compliance with the CEFR A1-A2 writing descriptors, the Yeni İstanbul books demonstrated a higher level of conformity. It is believed that this study will contribute to material development, lesson planning, and curriculum design in writing instruction.