Although the teaching of English at Junior Certificate level in Malawi secondary schools has only recently been introduced, some problems have been created by the introduction of the prescribed textbook, "A New Introduction to English Literature." This report opens with a critical review of the textbook, citing certain irrelevancies in subject matter and pointing out areas of difficulty, such as vocabulary problems and topics incomprehensible to young students who do not share the background or viewpoints of the textbook authors. Questionnaires were submitted to teachers and students in 30 secondary schools, eliciting their attitudes about the use of the prescribed textbook. Responses revealed the following criticisms: (1) the difficulty level of the book is high; (2) the book is too divorced from the students' cultural background; (3) the addition of literature to the curriculum at this level is at the expense of teaching other needed language skills; (4) examinations (involving the book's contents) do not reflect the stated aims of the literature studies; and (5) there is a lack of continuity in the content of literature represented in the textbook and subsequent literature studies at a higher level. (JD)