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

The purpose of this study is to examine the use of metadiscourse in sev-enth-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.