In South Africa, reading comprehension remains a significant educational challenge, with PIRLS data revealing that many Grade 4 learners struggle to read for meaning in any official language. This issue is especially critical for English First Additional Language (EFAL) learners, who transition to English as the language of learning in under-resourced schools where textbooks often serve as the main instructional material. This study explores how a selected Grade 4 EFAL textbook supports or hinders reading comprehension development.

The research addresses two questions:
(1) To what extent does the textbook support learners’ reading comprehension? and
(2) Which textbook features promote or impede comprehension?

The study is grounded in Barrett’s Taxonomy of reading comprehension and Schema Theory, employing a qualitative content analysis approach. Eighteen reading passages from the textbook were analysed across six key features: text complexity, text variety and genre, comprehension questions, vocabulary support, visual and graphic aids, and background knowledge activation. Text complexity was also assessed using readability formulas, including the Flesch-Kincaid and Gunning Fog indexes. Findings show that the textbook’s support for reading comprehension is inconsistent. While pre-reading activities and visuals were generally present and relevant, major shortcomings were identified. One-third of the texts were above Grade 4 readability level, making them potentially too difficult for EFAL learners. Literal comprehension questions dominated (100%), while higher-order questions such as inference (28%), evaluation (17%), and appreciation (11%) were underrepresented. Vocabulary support was minimal, with few definitions or reinforcement tasks, and background knowledge activation was often culturally irrelevant or insufficient. Additionally, narrative texts dominated, with limited inclusion of informational or procedural texts needed for cross-curricular literacy development.

The study concludes that, although the textbook contains helpful elements, it lacks adequate scaffolding to meet the cognitive and linguistic needs of EFAL learners. The findings highlight implications for textbook developers to align content with learners’ reading levels and curriculum goals; for teachers to supplement texts with strategies promoting deeper comprehension; and for policymakers to improve textbook evaluation processes. Further research is recommended to compare multiple textbooks and to examine how teachers implement these resources in real classrooms.

Keywords: Reading comprehension, English First Additional Language, Grade 4 learners, textbook analysis, Barrett’s Taxonomy.