A Comparative Study Of Contents In Chinese And Korean Elementary School English Textbooks

The purpose of of this study is to analyze the contents of the English textbooks which were published for5th and6th graders in China and Korea. This study aims to provide suggestion for improvement of English textbooks in two countries. In order to achieve this purpose, material, vocabulary, communication skills, illustration, and grammar were analyzed in elementary English books from the5th grade and6th grade.The results of the study were as follows. First, the most number of introduced materials in Chinse and Korean textbooks were <personal life>. Second, the most number of introduced words in China and Korea were common words, and they have some vocabularies about culture of English countries. There were no cultural words of Korea in the English textbooks which were published in China, and no cultural words of China in the English textbooks which were published in Korea. Third, expression of cartoon and expression of realistic were shown in Chinese English textbooks. On the other hand, English textbooks which are published in Korea contained photo of heritage sites, Korean own food, and family of foreign country. Fourth, most of the dialogues happen between child and child in English books. This is intended to provide easy situations for students but it is required that more dialogues happen between the child and parents.In conclusion, English textbooks have to include a variety of interesting and useful contents for the students. The contents are relatively well presented and should be presented through a greater variety of ways. Cultural contents should be adapted appropriately in the English textbooks.