JALT2025 - Tokyo

Affirmative Modal Adverbs in English Textbooks Used in Japan

Nov 1, 2025, 5:35 PM

30m

National Olympics Memorial Youth Center / 国立オリンピック記念青少年総合センター

Research-oriented Presentation (30-minutes) Materials and Assessment Room 410

Speaker

Ms Yuka Takahashi (Yamaguchi University)

Description

Modal adverbs such as definitely and absolutely promote dialogue by conveying affirmation. This study analyzed 2023 English textbooks, focusing on affirmative modal adverbs and comparing them with past editions and data from the Corpus of Contemporary American English. The study found that while hedging modal adverbs like maybe appear in junior high school textbooks, affirmative ones are rarely used at this level. Introducing such adverbs early is considered crucial for enhancing students’ expressive abilities.

Summary

Modal adverbs such as definitely and absolutely promote dialogue by conveying affirmation. This study analyzed 2023 English textbooks, focusing on affirmative modal adverbs and comparing them with past editions and data from the Corpus of Contemporary American English. The study found that while hedging modal adverbs like maybe appear in junior high school textbooks, affirmative ones are rarely used at this level. Introducing such adverbs early is considered crucial for enhancing students’ expressive abilities.