Evaluating the Real-World Relevance of Palestinian Secondary School English Language Materials: A Qualitative Study from Southern Hebron

Abstract

The effectiveness of English language teaching (ELT) materials depends largely on their ability to connect classroom learning with learners’ real-life experiences. This study evaluates the real-world relevance of the English for Palestine secondary school materials, including the Student’s Book, Reading Plus Book, and Teacher’s Guide, within the educational context of Southern Hebron, Palestine. Employing a qualitative evaluative design, the study utilized systematic content analysis supported by a researcher-developed Real-World Relevance Evaluation Checklist comprising five domains: contextual alignment, authenticity of language, cultural representation, communicative value, and learner engagement. The checklist was validated through expert review and demonstrated high inter-rater reliability (Holsti coefficient = .94–.97).

The findings reveal that although the instructional materials provide meaningful communicative activities and authentic language tasks, they only moderately reflect learners’ lived experiences. Authentic real-life contexts and communicative language use were the strongest dimensions, whereas local cultural representation remained comparatively limited. The analysis further indicates that Grade 12 materials contain a higher proportion of abstract and examination-oriented content than Grade 11 materials, reducing opportunities for contextualized language learning. Teachers consequently assume an essential mediating role by adapting textbook content to meet learners’ social and cultural realities.

The study introduces the Contextual Relevance Gap Model, explaining the discrepancy between curriculum intentions and classroom implementation. It concludes that strengthening local contextualization while maintaining global perspectives would improve learner engagement, authenticity, and communicative competence. The findings provide practical implications for curriculum developers, textbook writers, policymakers, and English language teachers seeking to develop more contextually responsive instructional materials.