1. . Textbook Analysis .
UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DE MINAS GERAIS
FACULDADE DE LETRAS
COURSE: The Communicative Approach
PROFESSOR: Deise Prina Dutra
STUDENTS: Augusto Braga, Rafael França & Samia Costa
JUNE / 2007
Textbook analyzed: American Headway 3 by Liz and John Soars - Oxford University Press
American Headway 3 is considered an upper intermediate-level textbook, and it is divided in 12 units. We’ve decided to analyze sections of Unit 12 whose title is “Life's Great Events!” and whose main grammar focus is on reported speech.

2. The whole unit is related to the same grammar topic - the structure and the use of reported speech. As every unit in the book, unit 12 is divided into different sections. Although each section is connected with the same linguistic item, they present different themes and subjects.
The unit starts talking about marriage, presenting some warm-up questions and a listening activity in which students listen to a conversation going on at a wedding. The first activity focusing on grammar is called "Grammar Spot”, a blue box present in every unit of the book. It is totally focused on form. By answering some questions, students are able to systematize the new structures and come up with grammar rules.

3. 1st Grammar-focused Activity

4. In the same section, there is another activity whose main focus is on grammar. This activity integrates grammar and listening. Students are supposed to complete some conversation lines and then listen to the dialog to check their answers. Although the listening part is very short, students are asked to pay special attention to stress and intonation of sentences in the reported speech.
The main focus of this activity is on form and the use of different verb tenses in reported speech structure. It can be considered a grammar exercise since the command (“Complete the lines...”) goes straight to the point, requiring little use of language in a communicative way. There is no reference to socio-cultural aspects or to genre.

5. 2nd Grammar-focused Activity

6. The following section of the unit is named “Go to Jail. ”
The following section of the unit is named “Go to Jail!”. It is composed by two activities and integrates reading and writing skills. Firstly, there is a newspaper article which students are supposed to read and perform a simple task connected with the pictures. Then, in activity 2, students have to rewrite sentences using the structure for the reported speech. It can be considered a grammar task since the command requires some communicative use of the language. There is a task involved – students must find out who speaks each of the sentences.
This activity focuses on both function and usage, though it does not emphasize use very much. Although it deals clearly with the newspaper genre, there is no focus on it. There is no reference to socio-cultural aspects either. It may relate to students’ needs once students are able to notice how they should use the language for the specific purpose of reporting somebody else’s speech.

7. Section of Unit 12