Language Forms & Activities Required for Communication Used in Middle School English Textbooks Based on the 2015 Revised National Curriculum
This study attempts to examine the distributions and characteristics of language forms and learning activities necessary for communication used in the middle school textbooks based on the 2015 revised national curriculum. To this end, 12 textbooks were analyzed and compared by grades and 4 textbooks by different publishers. The results are as follows: 1) Of the 38 language forms required for communication in middle school textbooks, 23 forms were commonly addressed in all the textbooks, while 12 forms were optional or missing, which may cause problems in articulated learning. 2) Even in the same language form, the level of difficulty increases as the grade goes up, which follows spiral curriculum. 3) Some language forms were omitted in the list presented in the 2015 revised curriculum, where only examples were presented without explanation. Explicit explanations need adding with elaborately classified examples. 4) Although the activities in the textbooks focus more on language acquisition than language use, they are well-organized to practice core language forms focusing on meaning in a controlled manner and gradually apply them to real life situations.