Abstract
It is true that, nowadays, more attention has been paid to global education. However, taking on account of the already crowded school curriculum, there seems to be no introduction of global education as a new school subject. Therefore, as a second best policy, we have to explore subject-based approaches to global education, that is, how global education concepts can be infused effectively and sufficiently into an existing subject. I am of the opinion that English education in Japan should take more responsibility for global education, and that the contents of English textbooks should be improved in accordance with the new movement towards a global-oriented society. Global education has some important concerns and interests, of which global environmental issues will be specifically addressed in this paper. First, I will show how English textbooks now in use deal with global environmental issues. Second, after considering their contents from the viewpoint of environmental education, I will explore their contents from a global point of view. In the conclusion, I will offer some suggestions for improving the contents of textbooks.
