An Analysis of the Grade 5th English Textbook By Cambridge University Press in The Light of 4Cs Skills of 21st Century Learning

Abstract

The present study was aimed at assessing a fifth-grade textbook, Global English, by Cambridge, as per the four basic competencies defined in the 21 st century skills model, which is also known as the 4 Cs critical thinking, creativity, communication and collaboration. The qualitative content analysis method was used to determine the extent to which these skills are incorporated in the contents of the textbook, which includes lessons, activities, exercises, and evaluation activities. The study revealed that the textbook is successful in encouraging critical thinking through the use of comprehension questions, reflection and problem-solving tasks, which challenges the students to read and interpret texts. To develop creativity, writing projects, story-telling and imaginative activities are used, which allow pupils to express their original ideas. Although the textbook offers a chance to enhance reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills with the help of conversations, discussions, and the presentation-based tasks, the limitation of the use of open-ended questions is also one of the main weaknesses. Most of the activities involve structured or close-ended answers, limiting the ability of the students to express them independently and inhibiting more basic critical analysis. Moreover, there is a lack of priority to cooperation skills since the activities that allow group work and peer interaction concerning communication are significantly fewer. The paper finds that the Global English Class 5 textbook is in line with major factors in the 4Cs model, but it still needs to be enhanced in order to achieve a well-rounded and complete growth of all the four skills. The study is informative to curriculum developers, textbook writers and teachers in order to enhance the English language textbooks to meet the new educational requirements.