The Reading / Listening - High Heels - Level 1

Women in Japan are fed up with wearing high heels to work. Japanese actress Yumi Ishikawa started a movement to end this. The movement has the hashtag KuToo - a combination of the Japanese words that mean "shoe" and "pain". Ms Ishikawa tweeted that companies in Japan should not require women to wear high heels. She started an online petition. It asks Japan's government to stop employers requiring women to wear high heels.

Ishikawa's tweet is spreading across China and South Korea. She told a magazine: "If there are so many people who feel the same as me, why not start some sort of movement." Many women complain about sore feet, back pain and other issues. A visually impaired woman who has to wear high heels at work said it is difficult for her to keep her balance in high heels. Over 70 per cent of women who work in Tokyo wear high heels once a week.

Try the same news story at these levels:

    High Heels - Level 0 High Heels - Level 2   or  High Heels - Level 3

Sources
  • http://time.com/5548873/japan-kutoo-high-heels-metoo/
  • https://www.nippon.com/en/news/yjj2019022501075/more-women-in-japan-complaining-of-being-forced-to-wear-heels.html
  • https://japantoday.com/category/features/lifestyle/high-heel-requirement-for-japanese-women-at-work-sparks-online-movement


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice, drag and drop activities, crosswords, hangman, flash cards, matching activities and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Phrase Matching

Paragraph 1

  1. Women in Japan are
  2. Yumi Ishikawa started
  3. a combination of the
  4. companies
  5. require women
  6. She started an online
  7. Japan's
  8. employers requiring women to
  1. petition
  2. to wear high heels
  3. wear high heels
  4. Japanese words
  5. government
  6. fed up
  7. a movement
  8. in Japan

Paragraph 2

  1. Ishikawa's tweet is spreading
  2. people who feel the same as
  3. back
  4. A visually impaired
  5. it is difficult
  6. keep her
  7. 70 per cent of women
  8. wear high heels
  1. pain
  2. who work in Tokyo
  3. for her
  4. once a week
  5. across China
  6. woman
  7. me
  8. balance in high heels

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Women in Japan are (1) ___________________ wearing high heels to work. Japanese actress Yumi Ishikawa started (2) ___________________ end this. The movement has the hashtag KuToo - (3) ___________________ the Japanese words that mean (4) ___________________. Ms Ishikawa tweeted that companies in Japan (5) ___________________ women to wear high heels. She started an online petition. It asks Japan's government to stop employers requiring (6) ___________________ high heels.

Ishikawa's tweet (7) ___________________ China and South Korea. She told a magazine: "If (8) ___________________ many people who feel the (9) ___________________, why not start some sort of movement." Many women complain about sore feet, back pain (10) ___________________. A visually impaired woman who has to wear high heels at work said it (11) ___________________ her to keep (12) ___________________ high heels. Over 70 per cent of women who work in Tokyo wear high heels once a week.

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

WomeninJapanarefedupwithwearinghighheelstowork.Japaneseactr
essYumiIshikawastartedamovementtoendthis.Themovementhasth
ehashtagKuToo-acombinationoftheJapanesewordsthatmean"sho
e"and"pain".MsIshikawatweetedthatcompaniesinJapanshouldnotre
quirewomentowearhighheels.Shestartedanonlinepetition.ItasksJap
an'sgovernmenttostopemployersrequiringwomentowearhighheels.
Ishikawa'stweetisspreadingacrossChinaandSouthKorea.Shetoldam
agazine:"Iftherearesomanypeoplewhofeelthesameasme,whynotst
artsomesortofmovement."Manywomencomplainaboutsorefeet,bac
kpainandotherissues.Avisuallyimpairedwomanwhohastowearhighh
eelsatworksaiditisdifficultforhertokeepherbalanceinhighheels.Over
70percentofwomenwhoworkinTokyowearhighheelsonceaweek.

Student survey

Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

(Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

Discussion — Write your own questions

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

(a) ________________

(b) ________________

(c) ________________

(d) ________________

(e) ________________

(f) ________________

(g) ________________

(h) ________________

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

(i) ________________

(j) ________________

(k) ________________

(l) ________________

(m) ________________

(n) ________________

(o) ________________

(p) ________________

Free writing

Write about this topic for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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Answers

(Please check your answers against the article above.

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