I'm not an expert of the English language, nor do I pretend to know which English grammar should be taught at what age. That being said, when red flags go up in my mind, something is usually not exactly right. Japan's public schools only have the option to use 7 different textbooks. For the most part, these textbooks teach the same grammar but how they go about teaching it is a mystery to me. I am currently mapping out the grammar points in 3 of Japan's English textbooks and it is a pain in the ***. It's still a work in progress but you can check them out if you want by clicking
HERE. I have had to tweak and change the bold and underlined parts of the example sentences because they weren't grammar points. Here's two examples:
1. My teacher taught
me how to sign.
2. Do you
want her
to call you back?
As to the first sentence, 'me how' is not a grammar point, and the second sentence is teaching a desire along with the infinitive. While this at face value doesn't seem that bad, the students usually only have a jello grasp of this grammar point. These aren't strong examples but it's the best I can pull right now. My brain is fried with immersing myself in these textbooks.
Some other examples of weird styles of teaching is the question words are not taught together, katakana-English is seen as a pronunciation guide and passive voice is taught in basic English classes.
The Japanese attack English teaching from the standpoint of what is and is not acceptable in the Japanese langauge. Meaning, the passive voice is okay, so it is taught in basic English classes in Japan.
You understand what I'm saying or is this all just coming out jumbled?