Speakers
Description
This study quantitatively analyzes how speaker-oriented and frequency adverbs are treated in junior high English textbooks in China and Japan, focusing on modal and evaluative adverbs that require improvement in Japanese textbooks. The results show that Chinese textbooks contain about five times as many target adverbs and include a wider range of language activities. While the introduction order of adverbs is similar, conjunctive adverbs appear from the beginning in the instructions of Chinese English textbooks.
Abstract section 2: Contribution/research questions
- How are speaker-oriented and frequency adverbs introduced in Chinese junior high school English textbooks?
- How are modal and evaluative adverbs treated in language activities in Chinese junior high school English textbooks?
Abstract section 5: References
Bellert, I. (1977). On semantic and distributional properties of sentential adverbs. Linguistic Inquiry, 8(2), 337–351.
Jackendoff, R. (1972). Semantic interpretation in generative grammar. MIT Press.
Abstract section 3: Content/method
The treatment of adverbs in Chinese junior high school English textbooks published by People’s Education Press, widely used in China in 2025, was examined and quantitatively analyzed, and compared with the 2023 Japanese English textbook data. The target adverbs include frequency adverbs and subcategories of speaker-oriented adverbs: evaluative, modal, conjunctive, domain, and pragmatic adverbs. Their frequency, distribution across genres, methods of introduction, and presentation in language activities were compared.
Abstract section 1: Relevance
Speaker-oriented adverbs are considered beneficial for communication; however, in Japanese English education, only frequency adverbs are explicitly addressed in the national curriculum guidelines. In a previous study, the author examined the treatment of speaker-oriented and frequency adverbs in Japanese English textbooks and found that, among the adverbs important for English education, such as conjunctive, modal, and evaluative adverbs, the treatment of modal and evaluative adverbs requires improvement. Since these adverbs are mainly introduced at the junior high school level, this study compares the presentation of adverbs in Chinese and Japanese junior high school English textbooks.
Abstract section 4: Outcomes/results
A total of 1,130 target adverbs were extracted from the Chinese junior high school English textbooks examined, more than five times the number found in Japanese textbooks. Chinese textbooks include a wide variety of activities, including modal adverbs, and are written almost entirely in English, resulting in a larger vocabulary. Adverbs were used repeatedly rather than appearing only once. As in Japanese textbooks, they were generally introduced in the order of frequency, conjunctive, modal, and evaluative adverbs, although conjunctive adverbs such as then appeared from the beginning because instructions are written in English.
| Title | Adverbs in Chinese and Japanese Junior High EFL Textbooks |
|---|---|
| Teaching Context | Junior/senior high-school |