A Comparative Study of the Metadiscourse Analysis in EFL Textbooks in Japan and China

中日英語教科書之元話語分析

本研究旨在從元話語（metadiscourse）的觀點來分析中日英語教科書中編者是如何向學習者傳達與學習有關的資訊。本研究基於Crismore（1983）元話語的分析框架對中日四個出版社的國中一年級英語教科書進行分析，進而展示出教科書中的元話語是如何幫助和影響學習者對學習內容以及對學習要求的理解。分析方法主要是從資訊元話語、態度元話語、母語與目的語的使用、附錄以及中小學連結五個方面來展開。分析結果表明，雖然中日英語教科書同屬於英語作為外國語的教科書範疇，但是二者在元對話的使用方面呈現出不同風格與特徵，從而揭示出二者在教科書設計理念方面的不同價值取向。在對教科書元話語分析結果的闡釋中，本文參照了中日兩國國家英語課程標準的有關方面來展開論述。

The purpose of this study is to examine the use of metadiscourse in seventh-grade English textbooks in Japan and China in the context of calls for more learner-friendly textbooks. Four textbooks were selected for metadiscourse analysis to determine what kinds of metadiscourse are used to facilitate or affect learner understanding of propositional content. Focusing on metadiscourse’s pedagogical function, Crismore’s (1983) metadiscourse typology for textbooks and other relevant elements were taken into account. The findings imply that although both Japan and China are categorized as EFL countries, their English textbooks display different characteristics in terms of metadiscourse usage, reflecting the different ways in which learning materials are designed and developed. In order to interpret these findings, the impacts of national curricula are discussed.