Textbooks suitable for the English Conversation Laboratory Classes in Taiwan are like a vast open sea that bewilders almost all EFL teachers and students alike. This paper attempts to reign in this seemingly boundless sea of textbooks by classi1ing them on the basis of language skills. Textbooks can be segregated into four main categories: those that focus on 1.) listening skills; 2.) speaking skills; 3.) listening and speaking skills; and 4.) integrated language skills. Each of these four main categories is further analyzed by eight components, namely: editing purposes, types of English, modes of language, student roles, activities/contents, topics, users/students, and levels of difficulty. The classification and analyses made in this paper, it is hoped, can contribute to a deeper understanding and a wiser selection of textbooks suitable for the EFL language laboratory class.
