A quantitative analysis of the English textbooks of five Asian EFL countries: With a focus on the present perfect tense

Fujiwara Yoko

Nakamura Tomoko

Ozasa Toshiaki

Studies in Language and Textbook Analysis

In this paper we would like to make a quantitative comparison of the English textbooks in Thailand, Mongolia, China, Korea, and Japan from a synchronic perspective. The textbooks were analyzed in terms of the present perfect tense. The investigation has revealed insights into the nature of the EEL textbooks in the five countries. The findings of this investigation can be summarized as follows. First, among the textbook series analyzed in the present study, every series introduced the present perfect for the first time to the second year students in junior high school. However, the five countries were divided into two groups in terms of whether the present perfect tense appears in the textbooks frequently or only occasionally after it was first introduced to the students. In the Thai textbook series, the present perfect does not appear again until senior high school after it is first introduced in Book 2, and therefore we can say that it is limited to a certain unit. However, in the other four countries, the present perfect can be found in several units after it is first introduced to the students. In this context, very few examples of the present perfect can be found in the English textbooks in Thailand. The country with the next fewest examples of the present perfect is Mongolia. As for Japan, in the beginning part of Book 3 the present perfect tense can be found many times, and the last part again involves many examples of them as a review. The Chinese and Korean textbook series contain the largest number of examples of present perfect use. Especially, the reading and exercise sections contain many examples of the present perfect tense. This quantitative data should help shed light on the nature of EFL textbooks and the teaching of English as a foreign language (TEFL).

eng

University of Strathclyde Publishing

Weir, G. R. S., & Ozasa, T. (Eds.), Studies in Language and Textbook Analysis, 2008, University of Strathclyde Publishing isPartOf