Words and topics in ELT textbooks for young EFL learners

Textbooks are the main pedagogical resource used by teachers of English as a foreign language in many countries. Quantitative and qualitative differences in the lexicon and topics covered by ELT textbooks may generate inequalities in an objective diagnostic evaluation. This study examines the content words and topics included in four ELT textbooks in order to determine whether there are convergences or divergences in the learners’ input exposure and whether the topics adhere to the educational policies of primary education in Spain. The results showed differences in the amount of vocabulary input and significant variation in textbooks’ most frequently-used content words. Likewise, the representation of the topics differed from one textbook to another, and the common topics often differed in focus and, consequently, in the content words used to introduce the theme. The findings have implications for education and research since, depending on the textbook used, learners are exposed not only to a different amount of input but also to a diversity of ideas, facts, and ‘worlds’ projected by the different content words found in textbooks of the same course level.