Abstract:

Although technological developments have brought diversity to educational activities, textbooks used in mother tongue teaching continue to be important all over the world. These books continue to develop by being rearranged with all kinds of innovations. However, mother tongue teaching textbooks vary in structures and perspectives from country to country, from language to language. This study was conducted in order to determine in what ways and how often the basic skill areas are utilized in mother tongue teaching textbooks in Turkey and England, and to demonstrate the similarities and differences between them. For this purpose, 3rd, 4th and 5th grade Turkish textbooks and English Now 2 textbooks, used in England for the same levels, were examined in accordance with the document analysis model. The activities in the textbooks used for mother tongue teaching in both countries were examined, and these activities were digitized and interpreted according to skill areas. Although the rates of activities on the reading skill are similar in the textbooks of the two countries, visual reading activities are more common in the English textbooks, and texts are accompanied by maps, diagrams, cartoons, drawings, figures and instructions in them. While the activities on oral communication skills, namely speaking and listening, are at a desired level in the English textbooks, they were found to be insufficient in the 3rd and 4th grade Turkish textbooks. The rates of activities on the writing skill are close to each other in the textbooks of both countries. While conventional writing activities are preferred in the Turkish textbooks, structured writing activities that include guidelines are utilized in the English textbooks.

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