This article is an original contribution to knowledge in that it explores English teachers’ and educational supervisors’ attitudes to using school textbooks and authentic materials in Saudi boys’ schools. Specifically, it aims to determine the preferred teaching materials (either textbooks or authentic materials which are not usually recommended in the current textbooks (or which are additional to the contents of the current textbooks) from the participants’ points of view. A mixed-research approach — quantitative and qualitative — was used to investigate the favoured teaching materials, while the contrastive research approach allowed both types to be evaluated. The results showed that the participants had positive attitudes to using authentic materials and that most teachers preferred them to school textbooks. The study contributes to the debate over how best to teach English as a Foreign Language, and concludes with the recommendation that school textbooks should include authentic materials in order to improve learners’ communicative competence.
Keywords: Communicative Competence, Makkah., Saudi boys’ school, authentic materials, textbooks
