Substitute teaching survival English: The topic was returns, complaints, refunds, and exchanges, stuff like that. I tried to get them talking in groups, but they were all staring at me silently. Finally one student said she didn’t understand what theywere supposed to be doing (the English level in the class was much lower than I had been used to). I asked whether she had ever bought the wrong thing and needed to return it to the store. She said no, in Japan the shopkeepers are so nervous they double check that everything is exactly what you want.
I asked what if you got it home and it was broken. She said oh no and showed the class how sales people test each item in front of you before you take it home. I asked what about if you got it as a present and you don’t like it. The whole class was aghast at the idea of returning or exchanging a present. It would have been comic if I had known them, but as a sub it was miserable. They had no concept of the topic. I told them they needed to learn to start complaining like Americans.