An online survey in the weekly “be between” feature in the Asahi Shimbun took up the subject of whether adults were engaged in learning or study. Out of 1,915 valid responses to the question, “Are you currently learning something?”, only 34% replied yes, compared with 66% who said no. The most popular activities mentioned by respondents are yoga or Pilates (97 replies), followed by English conversation or simply English (95), singing in a chorus (46), dancing (43), calligraphy (42) and cooking (41). The main motivation for such efforts was given as self-improvement and/or upward mobility in one’s job.
Among those who said no, however, 83% admitted to having studied in the past. The main reasons they weren’t doing so any more included: “It costs too much” (588 respondents); “No time for study” (486); “Can’t think of anything I want to learn” (337); and “Too difficult at my age” (218).
To the question, “Was there something you tried but failed to learn?”, while 545 people gave negative replies, in second place, with 461 votes, was English conversation and English.
The survey also asked, “If you could revert to childhood, what would you learn?”, the top answer, with 661 votes, was—you guessed it—English conversation or English.
A 27-year-old Tokyo female noted with satisfaction that not only did she obtain certification as a yoga instructor, but her newly acquired English skills came in handy as well. “I was able to get hired by the company where I wanted to work”, she told the pollster.