With the introduction of the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) approach, the equal importance of all four language skills (reading, speaking, writing and listening), as well as of grammar and vocabulary in the second language (L2) classroom has been recognized. This was especially important for vocabulary which was often neglected in previous approaches. Since ESL textbooks are the most used teaching material, it is important that their vocabulary component is in accordance with the latest SLA research on vocabulary learning. Recently, Croatia implemented a curriculum reform “Škola za život” to modernize the Croatian educational system. To achieve its aims, the reform introduced new textbooks that supposedly follow the most recent trends in language teaching. The major aim of this thesis was to evaluate the newly approved ESL textbook and compare it to a previously used one to establish whether it offers a more modern learning experience to L2 English learners. The textbooks were analyzed according to their ratio of core vocabulary and their manner of vocabulary activities organization. While the analysis of the ratio of core vocabulary showed that the majority of words encountered in both textbooks were high-frequency words, it was established that the newly approved ESL textbook has a culturally more diverse content. Similarly, both ESL textbooks exhibited a schematic style of vocabulary activities organization. However, the newly approved ESL textbook makes a bigger attempt at bringing the students to use the target language instead of just knowing it through the inclusion of a greater number of fluency-development activities.