Despite the known fact that English is largely not understood in Japan, Japanese are very enthusiastic about learning foreign languages, chiefly English.
English lesson in official education starts from junior high school when the students are age 13.
Private English learning is very common and popular.
Parents are keen to raise their children English-friendly.
However, the result is as known; Japanese in general does not really understand English.
The reason why has been controversial over the years; some attribute to the teaching system which weights much in grammar than practical speaking English.
Some say because Japanese are afraid of feeling embarrassed by speaking English awkwardly.
For the most of the people, simply there is hardly any chance of using English in the daily life
Any kind of information is provided in Japanese as enough as people feel nothing is in short.
Under such circumstance, it's understandable, in a sense, that some people question what for English has to be learned.
People understand that learning English is necessary apart from whether they need it soon or not. That is where English teaching industry flourishes.
English schools are all over the country.
A lot more lessons are given over the internet. Among all those, the authentic mode of learning language shall be through radio and TV programmes.
English lesson over the radio started airing in 1925.
During the war, it was suspended under the ban on the use of foreign languages.
However, once the war ended, an English learning text was published only a month after the war-end, which achieved a million seller. Radio English lessons were soon resumed.
Currently, 11-language courses are on air on the radio, and 9 languages are on TV.
There is also a programme of learning Japanese targeting foreigners.
