Towards the validation of a scale for measuring the load of form focus and meaning focus of textbook activities in foreign language teaching
Foreign Language Teaching is targeted at the attainment of implicit language knowledge by means of form focused and meaning focused instruction (FFI and MFI) This study is aimed at devising and validating a scale with psychometric techniques that measures the degree of FFI and MFI of textbook activities. Specifically, the objectives of this article are twofold. The first objective is to study the concurrent criterion validity of the application of the scale by 5 applied linguists and 5 English as a Foreign Language (EFL) secondary school teachers on 15 randomly selected authentic EFL textbooks. The external criterion is the holistic assessment of the FFI and MFI loads of these activities on a continuum from 0 to 10. The second objective is to study the inter rater reliability scores of both types of assessments (holistic and scale based) Results show very satisfactory concurrent criterion validity and inter rater reliability. Future lines of research are suggested.