The Japanese have nursery schools/day cares for very young children, but not many people seem to use them because most mothers either do not work or have relatives who can watch their children. The children are not "taught" at these schools.

Next are the "pre-schools" for ages 3 to 6. Common hours at these schools are 8:30 am to 4:00 pm. Most children go to kindergarten regardless of whether or not there is a parent at home. The children are "taught" at this level.

The first formal school for Japanese children is elementary school, which they attend from the ages of 6 to 12 years old. This is comparable to primary schools in western countries. Until recently, English language education did not begin until the first year of junior high school. However, in April 2002, English teaching began to be introduced at the elementary school level. Although the number of schools with such programs is still relatively low, it is increasing all the time. Rising numbers of ALTs are now invited to teach English classes and/or help with English clubs at elementary schools.

Junior high school is where the majority of ALTs start to come into the picture. Students formally begin to learn English at 12 years old (the first year of junior high). English is a compulsory subject for all three years of junior high and all students must take a senior high entrance examination near the end of the third year. A significant portion of this test is devoted exclusively to English. This test will determine which senior high school the student may attend. If the student fails this test (rare, but not unheard of), they cannot advance to senior high school. This does not mean that the test is easy. In order for a student to get into a good senior high (which is very important if they wish to go to university or secure a higher level job), their test score must be very high, so competition can be pretty tough. Many students go to cram schools in the evening in order to prepare for this exam.

For the majority of students, senior high school is next. Here again, the students are taught English for all three years. There are several types of high school in Japan Ð academic, commercial, technical, agricultural, fishing etc. and the competition to get into these schools varies. The fiercest competition is usually for entrance to public high schools (i.e. those run by the prefectural government). These schools tend to be more academic than the private schools (although there are exceptions in both cases) and therefore they are usually the goal of junior high students wishing to go to university. Senior high ALTs are assigned to teach in these public schools rather than in any private schools. The Òentrance examinationÓ for those students who wish to continue to the university level takes place in the third year of senior high school. Again, competition in these exams is tough.

The school year is composed of three terms: the first term is from the beginning of April until the middle of July, the second term starts at the beginning of September and goes until the latter part of December, and the final term begins in January and ends in March.