This study examines the intermediate to advanced-level textbooks for learners of Japanese as a foreign language (JFL) that are currently available in Japan and the United States. Beginning-level textbooks currently used at the tertiary level in Japan and the US tend to be similar in terms of content covered and sequence of materials. both grammar and vocabulary. However, textbooks used for third and fourth year students vary in focus (i.e., content-based or skill-based) and in the way materials are presented. As more intermediate and advanced-level textbooks for Japanese instruction become available for use at the college level, it may prove helpful to have a pool of knowledge regarding the emphases and characteristics of each, so that instructors can more easily choose appropriate texts when teaching intermediate and/or advanced-level courses in Japanese language.
For this study, we focused on four universities in the US, and two universities in Japan, and examined the textbooks used for third- and fourth-year- level Japanese language courses. We introduce a method for textbook comparison. This method compares textbooks using a matrix and associated generic algorithm that allows for choosing text for appropriate teaching situations. Information for each text is entered into the matrix and describes attributes such as grammar, vocabulary, organization and sequencing, type of exercises, use of visual aids, authenticity, and cultural information. Although the algorithm does not rank text, it does allow for more informed choice of text based on particular locations within the matrix for attributes of each text. We use this system to examine differences in text choices that reflect different emphasis within each language program or language class. It is possible that such a system may be used as a first step in narrowing the choices for appropriate text selection by Japanese instructors who teach intermediate to advanced-level Japanese courses.