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Japan is struggling to make sure it has enough proficient English speakers when it hosts the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2020.
And the classic BBC comedy series Fawlty Towers is being deployed by some teachers in an attempt to give Japanese students an example of spoken English - rather than focusing on written language and grammar.
Japan's government and businesses want to use the Olympics to boost tourism and global trade and to present a positive image of Japan to the world.
So the government needs to ensure a supply of English speakers to be Olympic volunteers and work in the accommodation, tourism, and retail industries.
There is also a demand for professionals, such as doctors and nurses, to speak to visitors or competitors in English.
Japan's government has been working to bridge this English language gap.
The subject is now taught in school from when students are eight or nine years old and remains compulsory for the next seven years.
University students and school teachers have been sent on trips abroad to learn English, and many universities are giving language lessons to prospective Olympic volunteers.
There are even proposals to create an "English village" in Tokyo, populated entirely by English-speakers, where learners could immerse themselves in the language.
But early indications are that progress has been slow, and the country still comes surprisingly far down global rankings of English proficiency.
Japan is struggling to make sure it has enough proficient English speakers when it hosts the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2020.
And the classic BBC comedy series Fawlty Towers is being deployed by some teachers in an attempt to give Japanese students an example of spoken English - rather than focusing on written language and grammar.
Japan's government and businesses want to use the Olympics to boost tourism and global trade and to present a positive image of Japan to the world.
So the government needs to ensure a supply of English speakers to be Olympic volunteers and work in the accommodation, tourism, and retail industries.
There is also a demand for professionals, such as doctors and nurses, to speak to visitors or competitors in English.
Japan's government has been working to bridge this English language gap.
The subject is now taught in school from when students are eight or nine years old and remains compulsory for the next seven years.
University students and school teachers have been sent on trips abroad to learn English, and many universities are giving language lessons to prospective Olympic volunteers.
There are even proposals to create an "English village" in Tokyo, populated entirely by English-speakers, where learners could immerse themselves in the language.
But early indications are that progress has been slow, and the country still comes surprisingly far down global rankings of English proficiency.
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