Some people who have a look at the Genki English curriculum simply say “It’s full of questions!” Well, yeah! That’s the side effect of basing it on what kids use when they talk to me, they’re always asking questions.

You can of course take the opposite view and instead of teaching what the kids want to ask, you could always concentrate on language that lets the kids express themselves. After all in this day and age it’s not who you know, it’s who knows you!

But if you read any of the books about getting on in life, especially classics like “How to make friends and influence people” or anything by Larry King etc., one of the key bits of advice is to ask questions and be interested in the answers. Everyone’s favourite topic is themselves. If you ask anyone a question that allows them to talk about themselves, they’ll jump at the chance and love you for it. Don’t you think?

And of course we all know people who never ask any questions and never take any interest but just go on and on and on about anything and everything. A guaranteed way to send anyone to sleep!

So that’s why I’m quite happy having so many questions in the curriculum. It’s stuff the kids really want to say and if it helps them gain an extra social skill or two then I’m very happy!

PS. I’ve just updated the video on the Japanese curriculum page, it’s now a lot easier to understand for classroom teachers!