2004 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
A quantitative analysis of the English textbooks of the Meiji, Taisho and Early Showa Eras
| Project/Area Number |
15520358
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Foreign language education
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| Research Institution | Hiroshima University |
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Principal Investigator |
OZASA Toshiaki Hiroshima University, Graduate School of Education, Professor, 大学院・教育学研究科, 教授 (30041007)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
UMAMOTO Tsutomu Hiroshima Prefectural Univ., Faculty of Management, Associate Professor, 経営学部, 助教授 (40213483)
MURAKAMI Naoko (MOTOOKA Naoko) Hiroshima Prefectural College of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health and Welfare, Associate Professor, 保健福祉学部, 助教授 (30280184)
MATSUOKA Hironobu Yasuda Women's University, Faculty of Current Business, Professor, 現代ビジネス学部, 教授 (10249576)
NAKAMURA Tomoko Hiroshima International University, Faculty of Human and Social Environment, Associate Professor, 人間環境学部, 助教授 (30352016)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2003 – 2004
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| Keywords | Textbook / Quantitative analysis / Meiji Era / Taisho Era / Early Showa Era / Vocabulary analysis / Grammar analysis / Readability |
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| Research Abstract |
The purpose of this study is to quantitatively analyze the English textbooks of the Meiji, Taisho and early Showa eras (1968-1940). In 2004 one set of the five Books of Girls Pacific Readers (Kairyudo, 1938), authored by Sawamura, was digitalized. The digitalized file was put into the textbook English corpus, which consisted of the digitalized texts of 14 sets of the English textbooks that were used in Japan during the span of 140 years. The textbook corpus was quantitatively analyzed in terms of (1)tokens, (2)types, (3)new types, (4)token/new type ratio, (5)Flesch Reading Ease, (6)Flesch Kincaid Grade Level, (7)passive sentences and (8)nominative relative pronoun. The results of these analyses shed light on some aspects of the development/change of the English textbooks of Japan over the 140 years. In particular, the comparison of the quantitative indices of the 14 sets of the textbooks revealed that the new words and tokens of the textbooks were drastically decreased over the 140 years and that, in contrast, the new type/token ratio was drastically increased. These findings were combined with the findings of the qualitative analysis and a comprehensive interpretation and evaluation was conducted on the process of the development/change of the English textbooks of Japan over the span of 140 years.
The findings of these analyses were published in Ozasa and Erikakwa eds. Historical Study of English Textbooks (2004, Jiyusha, in Japanese). They were also published in seven national and international journals and orally presented in eleven national and international conferences.
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Research Products
(12 results)
