Using The Daily Yomiuri in the Classroom
Written by Writer on Friday, October 17th, 2008
Using The Daily Yomiuri in the Classroom
Simon Goddard Weedon / Special to The Daily Yomiuri
This month we look at the topic of happiness. The activities focus on getting factual information from the article, then applying the topic and questions to your own life.
88% say they’re happy
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Eighty-eight percent of people are happy, and 10 percent are unhappy, according to a recent survey conducted by The Yomiuri Shimbun.
The latest survey is the sixth on the subject of happiness conducted by the Yomiuri since 1979. In each of the six surveys, the percentage of “happy” responses has been between 87 percent and 92 percent.
When asked, “When are you happy?” 29 percent of respondents answered, “When something good happens,” and 69 percent answered, “When nothing bad happens.”
Seventy-six percent of respondents answered, “Many people judge whether they are happy by comparing themselves to others,” when asked about how Japanese judge their happiness.
The survey was conducted on Sept. 6 and 7, targeting 3,000 potential respondents in 250 areas throughout the country via door-to-door interviews.
Of the 3,000 respondents, 1,835 gave valid answers. Forty-seven percent of respondents were men and 53 percent were women. Ten percent of respondents were in their 20s, 15 percent were in their 30s, 16 percent were in their 40s, 21 percent were in their 50s, 23 percent were in their 60s and 16 percent were 70 or over.
Twenty-two percent of the respondents are in Tokyo’s 23 wards and ordinance-designated cities, 18 percent are cities with a population of more than 300,000, 25 percent are cities with a population of more than 100,000, 24 percent are cities with a population of less than 100,000 and 11 percent are towns and villages.
The survey also showed changes in people’s perceptions of where happiness lies.
Seventy-one percent of the respondents said they felt happy when their efforts are evaluated more highly than the results of their efforts, and 25 percent said they felt happy when their results were evaluated more than their efforts.
Sixty-eight percent of men would rather be evaluated by their efforts, and 28 percent would rather be evaluated by results. Seventy-four percent of women would rather be evaluated by their efforts and 22 percent said they would rather be evaluated by results.
Thirty-one percent of respondents in their 20s and 30s said they would rather be evaluated by results. This was the highest among any age bracket. Conversely, 76 percent of respondents over 70 said they would rather be evaluated by their efforts. This was the highest percentage of any age bracket.
Overall, 69 percent of people answered that they would be happier if they made great efforts, while 28 percent answered they would not.
More women–71 percent–than men–67 percent–responded that people would be happy if they made great efforts.
Thirty-two percent of people in their 60s answered they did not think making a great effort would make people happy. This was the most negative group of any age bracket.
When asked if they thought Japan is a country where people can live happily, 64 percent of people answered affirmatively. Thirty-four percent of people answered negatively. The age brackets that recorded the most affirmative answers were respondents in their 40s and those over 70, with 68 percent of those respondents answering affirmatively.
(The Daily Yomiuri, Sept. 29)
STUDENT ACTIVITIES
Vocabulary matching
Match the definitions to the underlined words in the article
1. said yes
2. people who answer questions
3. what people think about something
4. the people who live in a town, city or country
Information Gathering
The article is full of numbers and details. Try to answer these questions as quickly as possible from the information given.
1. How many people didn’t answer “happy” or “unhappy”?
2. When are most people happy?
3. How many people gave useful responses to the survey?
4. How many respondents were over 60?
5. Who focuses more on results than on effort, men or women?
6. Which age group was most negative about Japan as a place to live happily?
7. Do most people think that it’s possible to live happily in Japan?
8. Do you think it’s easy to be happy in Japan?
Language Transfer
Make a survey based on the questions mentioned in the article. For example, “When are you happy?” Now interview your classmates and compare your class to the survey results.TEACHER’S NOTES
Vocabulary matching
This quick activity covers the less common vocabulary used in the article.
Answers: said yes=answered affirmatively; people who answer questions=respondents; what people think about something=perceptions; the people who live in a town, city or country=population
Information Gathering
Answers:
1. Two percent. (Although not directly stated in the article, 2 percent is the number remaining after the 88 percent happy and 10 percent unhappy are counted.)
2. “When nothing bad happens.”
3. The number who gave useful responses (”valid answers”) was 1,835.
4. Thirty-nine percent
5. Men
6. People in their 60s
7. Yes. (This answer was given by 64 percent.)
8. This question is designed to elicit students’ personal responses. However, some students may still look for the answer in the article!
Language Transfer
The focus here is for the students to make simple questions based on the article, then carry out a similar survey.
Possible questions include: How do Japanese people judge happiness? How do you like to be evaluated? Could you try harder to be happy? Is Japan a country where people can live happily?
Weedon has 12 years’ experience teaching English in Japan. He is the cofounder of “E” English School in Oita and the coordinator for ETJ-Oita. Contact him with any questions about the ideas in this column at e-english-school@vega.ocn.ne.jp - (Oct. 16, 2008)
