Sessions

Teaching Reported Speech: Are EFL Texts Adequate?

Reported speech is a key language skill but it is often dealt with in a superficial manner in EFL textbooks or skipped altogether. This presentation reports on a survey of 220 EFL speaking textbooks’ coverage of reported speech. The survey identifies and enumerates a number of shortcomings. Participants should come away with a better understanding of the importance of reported speech, the inadequacies of textbooks, and the necessity of going beyond the textbook content.