Post by Otaku on Mar 3, 2008 13:41:00 GMT 8
A Hawaiin university student did a study where he compared a Japanese English textbook with the equivolent in Korea. Here's what they found.
3rd Grade Junior High School English Textbooks
Both countries emphasize communicative ability. MEXT (2003) states, gFor children living in the 21st century, it is essential for them to acquire communication abilities in English as a common international language.h Given this objective, the textbooks avoid grammatical explanations. They both introduce common expressions by stating how to say X in English rather than analyzing the structure of the expressions. The Korean textbook is organized by functions while the Japanese textbook is structure-based.
The text volume and difficulty. The difference in the amount of material covered is striking. The number of pages in the Korean textbook is twice as many as in the Japanese textbook. Moreover, the reading passages in the Korean textbook are three times longer than those in the Japanese textbook. In the Korean textbook, there are a number of activities introduced, while the Japanese textbook introduces activities in a separate activity book, which is up to the teacher to use or not.
The lexico-semantic and syntactic difficulty between the two textbooks is distinct. The Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level for the last lesson in the Korean textbook was 7.1, while the Japanese textbook only reached 4.1. In the last lesson of the Korean middle school textbook, some of the vocabulary (ex. therefore and predict) and syntactic structures (ex. reduced adverbial clauses and passive progressives) are covered in the first year of high school in Japan.
The differences in the amount and the complexity of input may be due to differences in the onset of English education. In Korea, English education starts from the 3rd grade in elementary school. While in Japan, English education is required starting in junior high school, but may be introduced upon the teacherfs discretion in elementary school. The new Courses of Study allows foreign language conversation to be performed in elementary schools as part of Japanese education for international understanding during the gPeriod for Integrated Study,h but the focus will be on cultural understanding and not on language instruction (MEXT, 2003).
Content
Both countries acknowledge the importance of nurturing their own culture. MOE (2000) states that one of their goals for middle school education is to gfoster an attitude to take pride in and develop tradition and culture.h MEXT (2003 b) also states that the role of English is as a medium to link the country with the rest of the world and to develop the nation. Thus, both textbooks try to cultivate ethnic identity by introducing how their people play an active part in the global community and how onefs culture can be explained in English. For example, both textbooks have a section where students compare their lifestyles to those of students from other countries, identifying points of similarity and difference. In terms of organization, the Korean textbook is tightly organized by theme and functions. The same theme is observed from different perspectives, which makes it easier for students to conceptualize and deepen their understanding of the content. In contrast, the Japanese textbook introduces various topics that are not tightly knit.
Task/activity
The tasks in the Korean textbooks include a pre-task, a during-task, and a post-task. In contrast, the process of tasks is not well handled in the Japanese textbook. As mentioned earlier, teachers have to fill in those gaps between tasks. Most of the tasks used in both textbooks are display questions (fill-in-the blanks/chart, true or false questions, and matching statements). Since one of the educational goals for both countries is to be able to express onefs thoughts and feelings effectively, both Korean and Japanese textbooks incorporate one task that will give students a chance to express their opinions about a topic. However, from the studentsf sample work in the Korean textbook, the expected outcome of the task is so open that the linguistic outcome of the task would seem to vary considerably.
1st year High School English Textbooks
By comparing the summary charts of the Korean and the Japanese high school textbooks, some major differences with respect to volume/difficulty, task types, and content became apparent.
Text volume and difficulty
One of the main differences between Korean and Japanese high school textbooks lies in their syllabus types. While the Korean textbook is function- and grammar-based, the Japanese textbook is primarily structured around themes and grammatical features. Therefore, detailed explanations and terminology of the target grammar can be found in the Japanese textbook, but not in the Korean textbook. As for the amount of material, the Korean textbook is almost twice as thick as the Japanese one, as a result the Korean textbook contains more activities, language input, and illustrations.
Task/activities
Another distinction is the amount of input and output integrated into the language activities. The Korean textbook dedicates five pages before a reading section in order to have the students listen to and produce the target functions and structures. Therefore, in each lesson we can see a structured sequence from comprehension to production in the Korean textbook. The Japanese textbook, on the other hand, has separate lessons for reading and for communicative activities. Though there is oral introduction as schematization prior to reading activities, no input-output sequence concerning the target structures can be found.
Of more interest is the quality of activities. The Korean textbook is more rigid and mechanical in the language used. For example, key sentences that include the target functions and grammatical structures appear in all the listening activities, while model dialogs are provided in order to guide studentsf interaction in most of the speaking tasks. There is little room for students to express thoughts in their own words. In contrast, the Japanese textbook allows a wider variety of structures in both input and output, even though the number of activities is considerably smaller than the Korean textbook. In other words, even though both Korean and Japanese textbooks take a synthetic approach to English teaching, the Korean textbook has more control over the language use, whereas the Japanese one is less rigid in the sense that it is organized around structures but still allows various language constructions in comprehension and production activities.
The reading section is also different in that Japanese textbook simply asks vocabulary, structure, and comprehension questions after each reading, while the Korean textbook posits questions concerning not only reading comprehension and new language but also text style or authorfs intentions. It seems that the Japanese textbook tends to facilitate studentsf understanding of the reading texts and to help them memorize new vocabulary and structures, in contrast to the Korean textbook which trys to improve studentsf comprehension, language skills, and reading strategies.
Regarding the length of reading texts, the initial lesson of the Korean textbook (588 words) is longer than the first lesson in the Japanese textbook (513 words). However, the volume of reading texts in the Japanese textbook increases toward the last lesson (Lesson 8 has 793 words), whereas in the Korean textbook, the last lesson (546 words) is shorter than the first one. Although the Korean reading texts are shorter in length, the are more difficult to read than the Japanese texts as indicated by the Flesch Kincaid Grade Level (8.6 in the Korean textbook, 6.8 in the Japanese textbook).
Content
The Japanese textbook integrates different races, ethnicities, cultures, and peoplefs names. This implies the idea of English being a world language. In contrast, illustrations and pictures in the Korean textbook show that people primarily perceive native speakers as gWhites Americansh. However, regardless of the distinction in their perceptions of race or ethnicities, the language in both textbooks is dominated by American English. The use of American English in both Korea and Japanese textbooks probably results from the tendency to consider American English, which is economically and politically predominant in todayfs world, as gmodel languageh, in spite of the increasing recognition of various types of English, cultures, and races around the world.
www.hawaii.edu/sls/uhwpesl/25(1)/TakedaChoiMochizuki&Watanabe.doc
3rd Grade Junior High School English Textbooks
Both countries emphasize communicative ability. MEXT (2003) states, gFor children living in the 21st century, it is essential for them to acquire communication abilities in English as a common international language.h Given this objective, the textbooks avoid grammatical explanations. They both introduce common expressions by stating how to say X in English rather than analyzing the structure of the expressions. The Korean textbook is organized by functions while the Japanese textbook is structure-based.
The text volume and difficulty. The difference in the amount of material covered is striking. The number of pages in the Korean textbook is twice as many as in the Japanese textbook. Moreover, the reading passages in the Korean textbook are three times longer than those in the Japanese textbook. In the Korean textbook, there are a number of activities introduced, while the Japanese textbook introduces activities in a separate activity book, which is up to the teacher to use or not.
The lexico-semantic and syntactic difficulty between the two textbooks is distinct. The Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level for the last lesson in the Korean textbook was 7.1, while the Japanese textbook only reached 4.1. In the last lesson of the Korean middle school textbook, some of the vocabulary (ex. therefore and predict) and syntactic structures (ex. reduced adverbial clauses and passive progressives) are covered in the first year of high school in Japan.
The differences in the amount and the complexity of input may be due to differences in the onset of English education. In Korea, English education starts from the 3rd grade in elementary school. While in Japan, English education is required starting in junior high school, but may be introduced upon the teacherfs discretion in elementary school. The new Courses of Study allows foreign language conversation to be performed in elementary schools as part of Japanese education for international understanding during the gPeriod for Integrated Study,h but the focus will be on cultural understanding and not on language instruction (MEXT, 2003).
Content
Both countries acknowledge the importance of nurturing their own culture. MOE (2000) states that one of their goals for middle school education is to gfoster an attitude to take pride in and develop tradition and culture.h MEXT (2003 b) also states that the role of English is as a medium to link the country with the rest of the world and to develop the nation. Thus, both textbooks try to cultivate ethnic identity by introducing how their people play an active part in the global community and how onefs culture can be explained in English. For example, both textbooks have a section where students compare their lifestyles to those of students from other countries, identifying points of similarity and difference. In terms of organization, the Korean textbook is tightly organized by theme and functions. The same theme is observed from different perspectives, which makes it easier for students to conceptualize and deepen their understanding of the content. In contrast, the Japanese textbook introduces various topics that are not tightly knit.
Task/activity
The tasks in the Korean textbooks include a pre-task, a during-task, and a post-task. In contrast, the process of tasks is not well handled in the Japanese textbook. As mentioned earlier, teachers have to fill in those gaps between tasks. Most of the tasks used in both textbooks are display questions (fill-in-the blanks/chart, true or false questions, and matching statements). Since one of the educational goals for both countries is to be able to express onefs thoughts and feelings effectively, both Korean and Japanese textbooks incorporate one task that will give students a chance to express their opinions about a topic. However, from the studentsf sample work in the Korean textbook, the expected outcome of the task is so open that the linguistic outcome of the task would seem to vary considerably.
1st year High School English Textbooks
By comparing the summary charts of the Korean and the Japanese high school textbooks, some major differences with respect to volume/difficulty, task types, and content became apparent.
Text volume and difficulty
One of the main differences between Korean and Japanese high school textbooks lies in their syllabus types. While the Korean textbook is function- and grammar-based, the Japanese textbook is primarily structured around themes and grammatical features. Therefore, detailed explanations and terminology of the target grammar can be found in the Japanese textbook, but not in the Korean textbook. As for the amount of material, the Korean textbook is almost twice as thick as the Japanese one, as a result the Korean textbook contains more activities, language input, and illustrations.
Task/activities
Another distinction is the amount of input and output integrated into the language activities. The Korean textbook dedicates five pages before a reading section in order to have the students listen to and produce the target functions and structures. Therefore, in each lesson we can see a structured sequence from comprehension to production in the Korean textbook. The Japanese textbook, on the other hand, has separate lessons for reading and for communicative activities. Though there is oral introduction as schematization prior to reading activities, no input-output sequence concerning the target structures can be found.
Of more interest is the quality of activities. The Korean textbook is more rigid and mechanical in the language used. For example, key sentences that include the target functions and grammatical structures appear in all the listening activities, while model dialogs are provided in order to guide studentsf interaction in most of the speaking tasks. There is little room for students to express thoughts in their own words. In contrast, the Japanese textbook allows a wider variety of structures in both input and output, even though the number of activities is considerably smaller than the Korean textbook. In other words, even though both Korean and Japanese textbooks take a synthetic approach to English teaching, the Korean textbook has more control over the language use, whereas the Japanese one is less rigid in the sense that it is organized around structures but still allows various language constructions in comprehension and production activities.
The reading section is also different in that Japanese textbook simply asks vocabulary, structure, and comprehension questions after each reading, while the Korean textbook posits questions concerning not only reading comprehension and new language but also text style or authorfs intentions. It seems that the Japanese textbook tends to facilitate studentsf understanding of the reading texts and to help them memorize new vocabulary and structures, in contrast to the Korean textbook which trys to improve studentsf comprehension, language skills, and reading strategies.
Regarding the length of reading texts, the initial lesson of the Korean textbook (588 words) is longer than the first lesson in the Japanese textbook (513 words). However, the volume of reading texts in the Japanese textbook increases toward the last lesson (Lesson 8 has 793 words), whereas in the Korean textbook, the last lesson (546 words) is shorter than the first one. Although the Korean reading texts are shorter in length, the are more difficult to read than the Japanese texts as indicated by the Flesch Kincaid Grade Level (8.6 in the Korean textbook, 6.8 in the Japanese textbook).
Content
The Japanese textbook integrates different races, ethnicities, cultures, and peoplefs names. This implies the idea of English being a world language. In contrast, illustrations and pictures in the Korean textbook show that people primarily perceive native speakers as gWhites Americansh. However, regardless of the distinction in their perceptions of race or ethnicities, the language in both textbooks is dominated by American English. The use of American English in both Korea and Japanese textbooks probably results from the tendency to consider American English, which is economically and politically predominant in todayfs world, as gmodel languageh, in spite of the increasing recognition of various types of English, cultures, and races around the world.
www.hawaii.edu/sls/uhwpesl/25(1)/TakedaChoiMochizuki&Watanabe.doc