A critical assessment of teaching materials used in the first two years of English teaching in government schools and in primary teacher training colleges in Iraq for the training of teachers of English (Post World War 1 to 1970)

Soon after World War I the British authorities opened primary\ud and other schools in Iraq. Arabic replaced Turkish as the medium of\\ud instruction, and English was introduced as the only foreign language.\ud English textbooks were imported from Egypt, India and Syria.\ud Later, books for English-speaking children found their way intoIragi\ud schools. English syllabuses were drafted and approved textbooks recommended,\ud both undergoing rapid changes by a process of trial and error.\ud The training of teachers for English teaching got under way\ud in the-late thirties and in due course specialist committees were formed\ud and new English language textbooks written for Iraq, these remaining\ud in use for over two decades till 1970.\ud This thesis will present a critical assessment of all the\ud various English language teaching and teacher training materials used\ud in Iraq for some 50 years.\ud In the main three techniques will be employed:\ud 1) the assessment of the texts by internal evidence, eg appropriateness\ud of stated or implicit aims, quality of linguistic grading, relevance\ud to the learners' needs and backgrounds, etc.;\ud 2) comparison of the texts with others used in similar circumstances\ud elsewhere and with the widely accepted tenets of progressive\ud language teaching methodology;\ud 3) the evidence of contemporary comments in inspectorial reports,\ud committee minutes, etc. in the author's possession or elsewhere.\ud By these means it is hoped to demonstrate the contribution\ud of the Iraqi experience to the problems of the teaching and learning\ud of English as a foreign international language