Land of the Rising Sum — IELTS Reading Answers

Section B

“Lower secondary schools in Japan cover three school years, from the seventh grade (age 13) to the ninth grade (age 15). Virtually all pupils at this stage attend state schools: only 3 per cent are in the private sector. Schools are usually modern in design, set well back from the road and spacious inside”

Section B sets out the structure of lower secondary schooling — three years from age 13 to 15, with 97 per cent in state schools and modern buildings.

Section C

“Everyone has their own copy of the textbook supplied by the central education authority, Monbusho, as part of the concept of free compulsory education up to the age of 15 Besides approving textbooks, Monbusho also decides the highly centralised national curriculum and how it is to be delivered”

Section C shows Monbusho supplying textbooks, approving them, and deciding the centralised national curriculum — the heading about central control of education.

Section D

“Lessons all follow the same pattern”

Section D opens with 'Lessons all follow the same pattern', so the heading is about the uniform, repeated format of classroom lessons.

Section E

“Teachers say that they give individual help at the end of a lesson or after school, setting extra work if necessary. In observed lessons, any strugglers would be assisted by the teacher or quietly seek help from their neighbour Parents are kept closely informed of their children’s progress and will play a part in...”

Section E describes individual help, extra work, parents informed and sent to Juku — support for slower pupils, which is the heading's idea.

Section F

“So what are the major contributing factors in the success of maths teaching”

Section F asks 'what are the major contributing factors in the success of maths teaching', so its heading concerns the reasons behind that success.

There is a wider range of achievement amongst English pupils studying maths than amongst their Japanese counterparts.

“not only did Japanese pupils at age 13 have better scores of average attainment, but there was also a larger proportion of ‘low’ attainers in England, where, incidentally, the variation in attainment scores was much greater”

'The variation in attainment scores was much greater' in England directly means a wider spread of achievement than among Japanese pupils. YES.

The percentage of Gross National Product spent on education generally reflects the level of attainment in mathematics.

“The percentage of Gross National Product spent on education is reasonably similar in the two countries, so how is this higher and more consistent attainment in maths achieved”

Spending is 'reasonably similar in the two countries', so it cannot explain Japan's higher attainment; the claim that spending reflects attainment is contradicted.

Private schools in Japan are more modern and spacious than state-run lower secondary schools.

“Virtually all pupils at this stage attend state schools: only 3 per cent are in the private sector. Schools are usually modern in design, set well back from the road and spacious inside”

The text says schools are 'usually modern in design... spacious inside' but never compares private with state schools, so the comparison is not given.

Teachers mark homework in Japanese schools.

“Pupils mark their own homework: this is an important principle in Japanese schooling as it enables pupils to see where and why they made a mistake, so that these can be avoided in future”

'Pupils mark their own homework' directly contradicts the claim that teachers do the marking, so the answer is NO.

Maths textbooks in Japanese schools are

1. Acheap for pupils to buy.
2. Bwell organised and adapted to the needs of the pupils.correct
3. Cwritten to be used in conjunction with TV programmes.
4. Dnot very popular with many Japanese teachers.

“The impression is that the logical nature of the textbooks and their comprehensive coverage of different types of examples, combined with the relative homogeneity of the class, renders work sheets unnecessary”

Option B's 'well organised and adapted to pupils' needs' paraphrases the textbooks' 'logical nature' and 'comprehensive coverage of different types of examples'.

When a new maths topic is introduced,

1. Astudents answer questions on the board.
2. Bstudents rely entirely on the textbook.
3. Cit is carefully and patiently explained to the students.correct
4. Dit is usual for students to use extra worksheets.

“After the homework has been discussed, the teacher explains the topic of the lesson, slowly and with a lot of repetition and elaboration”

'Slowly and with a lot of repetition and elaboration' equals careful, patient explanation, which is option C.

How do schools deal with students who experience difficulties?

1. AThey are given appropriate supplementary tuition.correct
2. BThey are encouraged to copy from other pupils.
3. CThey are forced to explain their slow progress.
4. DThey are placed in a mixed-ability class.

“Teachers say that they give individual help at the end of a lesson or after school, setting extra work if necessary Parents are kept closely informed of their children’s progress and will play a part in helping their children to keep up with class,”

Individual help, extra work and 'Juku' private evening tuition all amount to supplementary tuition, making option A the match.

Why do Japanese students tend to achieve relatively high rates of success in maths?

1. AIt is a compulsory subject in Japan.
2. BThey are used to working without help from others.
3. CMuch effort is made and correct answers are emphasised.correct
4. DThere is a strong emphasis on repetitive learning.

“Education is valued greatly in Japanese culture; maths is recognised as an important compulsory subject throughout schooling; and the emphasis is on hard work coupled with a focus on accuracy”

'Hard work coupled with a focus on accuracy' matches option C's much effort and emphasis on correct answers.