Abstract

Education for intercultural understanding is very important in the process ofEnglish teaching at junior high school, high school, and universities. This paper analyzes the new English textbooks of junior high school approved by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology from the perspective of intercultural understanding. First, it looks at (1) the variety of the countries referred to in the textbooks, (2) the types of cultural materials included, and (3) the extent of materials intended to promote understanding of Japanese culture. Then, it discusses some of the materials concerning the Japanese culture from the viewpoints of students, current state of affairs, and so on. Finally, based on the data, it compares the new materials with the old ones and shows how the new textbooks have changed. The results of the research indicate that the new textbooks contain more materials concerning English-speaking countries as well as those concerning Japan to promote students’ understanding of their own culture than did the old textbooks.