Pragmatics Based Textbooks: Do They Fulfil the Needs of Teachers and Students?

Secondary students must master not only grammar and text organization, but also pragmatic competence in the target language in order to achieve communication competence. The ability to express meaning beyond language rules is referred to as pragmatic competence. Teachers should provide materials that are appropriate for both the learning goals and needs of the students. This study aimed to determine the types of textbooks that teachers and students require. It was a mixed-methods study with a sample of 41 teachers from Semarang secondary schools. The data were gathered using a Google Form and were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. It was discovered that 56.1% disagreed that the textbooks they used contained situational context and communicative language for everyday use. 61% strongly agreed that to be effective textbooks should use communicative language in everyday situations and introduce various expressions based on the context. There was a significant gap between the types of textbooks required and the textbooks in use at the time. The majority of respondents believed that secondary textbooks or pragmatics-based textbooks should include information on the importance of pragmatics. These needs have not been met by existing textbooks. To summarize, teachers require a gamechanging textbook. The researchers therefore encourage other researchers and educators to create textbooks that can support the students’ expected outcome of being able to communicate comprehensively in English. Keywords: English textbooks, communicative competence, pragmatic analysis, secondary schools