I'm using the new edition of New Horizon. Grammatically there is nothing wrong (usually) with it but the conversations are so absurd I frequently send them off in emails to my friends for a few laughs. There is a severe lack of natural flow in nearly every single page that contains a dialogue or text.

Yep exactly right. We can't focus on important stuff that the kids might take time to get a handle on because we have to keep pushing forward with the textbook. Can't play games or activities that go outside the textbook. We do the best we can (I even managed to sneak some phonics into my classes) but without a fix to the systemic problems, it's just going to continue the endless cycle. And that textbook would be the first thing I burned....RRRRRRRAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGEEEEEEE at the thought of having to use it everyday.

Thanks very much for posting this. I knew the rumours about Japanese degrees were not worth the paper they are written on but wow, this is just mind blowing to see it confirmed. I am very happy I have not decided to do any post-graduate stuff while I'm here in the country. I totally agree with your comments about homework and the school system. I'm an ALT at a junior high school here and I see massive, fundamental flaws in the way English language education is taught. Yet, nothing seems to be nor will be done about it. It's very sad to see this also exists in other ares of the education system.