Evaluating Q: Skills for Success as a Glocal ESL Coursebook in the Saudi Context: A mixed-method inquiry

Abstract

Global vs local coursebook has been the debate when it comes to evaluating and choosing an ESL coursebook. Glocal coursebook could ease the tension between them. Thus, this paper investigates Q: Skills for Success as a potential glocal coursebook in the Saudi context. In doing so, a mixed method approach was used to find how glocal Q: Skills for Success is through analysing the coursebook and taking the stakeholders’ perspectives into account. The results suggested that Q: Skills for Success has the potential of being a glocal coursebook since it has global, cross cultural features, and few local aspects. However, Q: Skills for Success scores low in the glocality continuum because the local features were marginalised, the outcomes are limited and not in line with the intended outcomes, and the native speaker is still the point of reference. In addition, the added local features could be considered as appropriating the book to the targeted market and that is one feature of global coursebooks which might suggest that this book could not described as glocal, but it has the potential to be one.