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This podcast is designed to give English students extra practice by discussing events, history, culture and language.
Hello, hello! Welcome to the VivaLing English podcast, the podcast where we travel the world... from your headphones! I’m your host, Kari, and today, we’re going back to school! But not just any single school - schools around the world.
Let’s go!
First, let’s play a quick game called“True or False?” I think it’s explanatory, but
I’ll say a sentence about school in a different country, and you guess true or false. Ready?
In Japan, students clean their classrooms themselves.
What do you think? True or false?
That’s TRUE!
In many Japanese schools, there are no janitors. Students clean the classroom, hallways, and even the bathrooms! I guess it teaches responsibility and teamwork. Cool, right?
In Germany, students start school at 10 AM and finish at 9 PM.
Hmm… what’s your guess?
That’s FALSE!
Most German students start school around 8 AM and usually finish before 2 PM. But there’s something interesting — they get a big paper cone called a Schultüte on their first day of school. It's full of sweets and school supplies!
In Kenya, students often walk for hours to get to school.
True or false?
That’s TRUE.
In rural areas, some children walk long distances — sometimes 5 to 10 kilometers — to reach school. Education is very important, and they work hard to get there every day.
How many did you get right? Let’s keep going! Now let’s learn some school vocabulary and expressions, but listen carefully because there’s a quiz at the end!
WORD 1: Grade This has two meanings! One — It’s your level in school. For example: “I’m in 5th grade.” Two — It’s your result on a test. Like: “I got a good grade in math!” (
WORD 2: Recess
It is very often small children’s favorite class. Recess is break time at school — a time to play and relax between classes and occurs often on the school playground.
EXPRESSION 1: Hit the books This means to start studying hard. For example: “My test is tomorrow. It’s time for me to hit the books!”
EXPRESSION 2: Teacher’s pet This is a student who always wants to please the teacher. Sometimes it's a good thing... sometimes, not so much! For example: “Ben is the teacher’s pet. He always tattles on the other students.” That means to tell the teacher the naughty things the other kids are doing.
Okay. Quiz Time. I’ll say a sentence with a missing word, and you guess the word. Ready?
I’m not surprised you failed your exam. I told you to ______, but you played video games instead. That’s right — hit the books!
2. Childen don’t like rainy days because they must have _____ in the gymnasium instead of outside.
Correct — It’s recess!
Let’s finish today with a rapid-fire round of cool school facts! Can you guess the missing word?
In Finland, students get very little ____________, but the country has one of the best school systems in the world!
HOMEWORK
In South Korea, students go to school _________days a week, and many go to private classes after school.
SIX
In ________, students often eat a three-course meal at school lunch — with cheese!
FRANCE
In Brazil, school often starts at _________, and many students go home by noon.
7 AM
So, what do you think? Would you like to go to school in another country?
You learned school expressions today, played a quiz, and traveled the world — without even packing your backpack.
But don’t worry, you or someone you know will need a backpack very soon.