Read about Graham Grant. Fill in the gaps with no more than three words Today we have with us Graham Grant. Graham is now working in England teaching Japanese after two years teaching English in Japan. We want to find out from him about life in a Japanese school.

- Graham we all know education is important in every country but they say that in Japan it is even more important, is this true?

- Well, yes I think it is true for lots of reasons, but I think there is one main reason.

- What is that?

- It’s the Japanese attitude to jobs.

- Surely a good job is important to most people

- Yes of course, but in this country, Britain for example, many people expect to and perhaps want to try more than one job in their lives. You can try lots of things until you find the right job. In Japan it’s different, most jobs are for life. People usually stay with the same company from the time they leave school or University until they retire. So the children must do well at school to get a good job when they leave, because after that it’s too late.

- Doesn’t this mean they have to work hard?

- Yes it does. The hard work starts at twelve when they leave primary school and move to Junior high school.

- What happens then?

- Well, the atmosphere is different from Primary School, it’s less relaxed and more competitive. There are about forty pupils in each class and discipline is quite strict. The pupils sit in rows and before each lesson they stand up and bow to the teacher, just as all Japanese people bow to each other when they meet. Politeness and respect are very important in Japan. The teacher talks, the children listen and take notes. They don’t ask questions, it’s considered rude to question a teacher.

- It sounds different to many English schools.

- Yes it is. And another difference is that they go to school on Saturdays too, so they have six days of school a week. They also go to special extra schools in the evening, so they are busy most of the time and they have three or four hours homework every night.

- They must love the holidays.

- Yes they do, but they don’t have much holiday. They go back to school because that’s when they have club activities: sport clubs, art clubs, and English clubs.

- This is all really interesting Graham but it’s time for a final and important question: Do they like school?

- Well, yes that’s a question I often asked them and they all said the same: yes we like school because we have no time to be bored and we love all the club activities.

- Very interesting I think English schools could learn something from Japan. Thank you for talking to us Graham. I must ring home now and check my daughter is doing her homework and isn’t watching television.

In Britain people want to try more 1in their lives.
In Japan most jobs are for life. The children start to work hard 2when they leave primary school.
The atmosphere in Junior high school is less relaxed and 3.
There are about forty students in each class and discipline is 4.
Japanese students don’t ask questions because it’s considered rude to 5.
They go to extra classes in the evening and they have 6hours homework every night.
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