Contraction in Korean and Japanese Secondary Level English Textbooks

Contraction in Korean and Japanese Secondary Level English Textbooks

  Language learning materials reflect instructional methodology of a certain place and time. Learners in an EFL context are relatively highly dependent on materials which attempt to fill the void of the absence of native speaker interaction and insufficient exposure to the target language. In the present study, register？an aspect of communicative competence？is analyzed in Korean and Japanese EFL contexts. Secondary level textbooks are analyzed for register instruction and portrayal by investigating the presence of contractions. The types of contractions (be, auxiliary, not) used and whether contraction reflects register differences between speech and writing are examined. Results show that be verb contraction is used the most and that register somewhat delineates speech and writing. In general, the Korean and Japanese textbooks do not seem to appropriately reflect differences in speech and writing through the use of contractions. The findings obtained here imply that these EFL textbooks seem to be underutilizing contractions as an indicator of register variation. Implications point to more accurate and context-bound use of register to enhance instruction of formality at the secondary level in EFL contexts.