The Level Of Soft Skills Inclusion In The 6th Grade English Textbooks

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the level of soft skills inclusion in the sixth-grade English textbooks.

The Study adopted the descriptive method. To achieve the objective of the study a content analysis was used, of the English textbooks (We Can 5-6, In 2023 renamed We Can 3), for the academic year 1444. The tools used for collecting data, prepared by the researchers, were a content analysis card of the soft skills that should be included in the sixth-grade English textbooks, and an exploratory questionnaire which was distributed to 261 Saudi Arabia's 6^th-grade English teachers. The main tool was a list of soft skills that should be included in the sixth-grade English textbooks, after verifying the tool's validity and reliability, it was converted to a content analysis card and was statistically analyzed by extracting the frequencies and percentages.

The study found the following results: (1) Determining a list of soft skills that should be included in the content of the English language textbooks for the 6th grade. It consisted of 3 main areas of skills, 7 related subskills, and 30 indicators. (2) The number of subskills that were included in the content of We Can 3 textbooks reached 899 skills, of which 346 were related to the field of personal skills, 220 were related to the field of social skills, and 333 were related to the field of cognitive skills. (3) The personal skills were the highest included in the content of the activities of the We Can 3 textbooks with a percentage of 38%, followed by cognitive skills with a percentage of 37%, and finally, social skills with a percentage of 24%. (4) Personal skills were included in We Can 3 textbooks with 346 indicators and a percentage of 38%, followed by cognitive skills with 333 indicators and a percentage of 37%, and finally, social skills, with 220 indicators and 24% percentage. (5) Based on an exploratory questionnaire given to Saudi English teachers by the researchers, it is evident that the sixth-grade English textbooks have a low rate of soft skills.