How are teaching materials used in English classes in Taiwanese junior high schools

Research Project

Project/Area Number	23730817
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Research Field	Education on school subjects and activities
Research Institution	Akita University
Principal Investigator	WAKAARI Yasuhiko 秋田大学, 教育文化学部, 准教授 (30451652)
Project Period (FY)	2011-04-28 – 2015-03-31
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 2014)
Budget Amount *help	¥1,170,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥270,000) Fiscal Year 2014: ¥260,000 (Direct Cost: ¥200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥60,000) Fiscal Year 2013: ¥260,000 (Direct Cost: ¥200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥60,000) Fiscal Year 2012: ¥260,000 (Direct Cost: ¥200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥60,000) Fiscal Year 2011: ¥390,000 (Direct Cost: ¥300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥90,000)
Keywords	教材 / 台湾 / 中学校 / 内容中心教授法 / 教材使用
Outline of Final Research Achievements	This study focuses on a Taiwanese junior high school adopting the content-based instruction and examines the curriculums and teaching materials adopted there. As a result of the investigation, the study revealed that there are major differences or likely to be differences between the school under study and Japanese public junior high schools in the following areas: (1) teaching objectives; (2) class size; (3) balance on four skills; (4) the amount of input in English in classes; (5) English skills of teachers of English; (6) the amount of content contained in English textbooks and the way the teaching materials are used in classes. The investigation suggested that, in order for Japan to survive in the globalized world, English langauge teaching in Japan needs to be improved in the above-mentioned areas.