A Comparison of English Textbooks of Iran, Japan, and Sri Lanka by Correspondence Analysis

Abstract

This paper explores the differences of the English textbooks for the seventh graders in Iran, Japan, and Sri Lanka in Asia. Specifically, the seventh graders’ textbooks were analyzed using a readability tool and Correspondence Analysis (hereafter, CA). An analysis of the data suggests that, in terms of readability and content, there were both similarities and differences between the three textbooks.  More precisely, regarding readability, the English textbook of Japan is closer to the level of English textbook of Iran, but the level of textbook of Sri Lanka is much higher than the other two textbooks.  Also, concerning the content including vocabulary, CA shows that basically the three textbooks are different from each other.