The Reading / Listening - Japanese Walking - Level 3

Japan is often reported as having the longest life expectancy. Japanese people live to be an average of above 84 years old. Many people say this is because of the country's healthy diet. Another reason could be how people walk. Japanese people walk a lot. This has started a new fitness trend on TikTok, called "Japanese Walking". It involves walking quickly for three minutes and then slowing down for three minutes. Walkers repeat this pattern five times. Health experts say Japanese walking is good for posture, blood circulation, lowering blood pressure, and reducing stress. It has also been linked to a lower risk of dementia. Doctors also say it can help people live longer.

Japanese people might not know about the term "Japanese Walking". To them, it is just walking. Researchers at Shinshu University in Matsumoto, Japan came up with the name in 2007. They conducted a study on high- and low-intensity walking. The recent worldwide popularity of the walking method is due to videos made by Eugene Teo, an Australian fitness coach and social media content creator. He wanted people to follow a simple exercise routine that had an easy-to-remember name. His videos have had 10 million views on TikTok and 17 million views on YouTube. He said he wanted "to make fitness advice and scientific jargon a lot more accessible".

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Japanese Walking - Level 0,  Japanese Walking - Level 1   or  Japanese Walking - Level 2

Sources
  • https://www.msn.com/en-in/health/other/japanese-walking-experts-say-wellness-trend-can-boost-strength-fitness-and-heart-health/ar-AA1Jyeuh
  • https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/japanese-walking-method-benefits_uk_68873afbe4b0b306e5bb55da
  • https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/2025-07-31/japanese-walking-wellness-trend


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Warm-ups

1. WALKING: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about walking. Change partners often and share your findings.
2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, talk about these topics or words from the article. What will the article say about them? What can you say about these words and your life?
       Japan / life expectancy / average / healthy diet / fitness trend / walking quickly /
       worldwide / popularity / videos / TikTok / fitness coach / exercise routine / jargon
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. EXERCISE: Students A strongly believe walking is the best form of exercise; Students B strongly believe it isn't. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. GOING FOR A WALK: What are the good and bad things about going for a walk in these places? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

Good Things

Bad Things

In your neighbourhood

 

 

In a shopping mall

 

 

Along a beach

 

 

In the mountains

 

 

In a city

 

 

In a park

 

 
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ESL resource book with copiable worksheets and handouts - 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers / English teachers
See a sample

5. EXERCISE: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "exercise". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. THE BEST AGE: Rank these with your partner. Put the best age to be at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • 10
  • 16
  • 20
  • 30
  • 40
  • 60
  • 80
  • 100

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. life expectancy a. A sickness that makes people forget things and think less clearly.
      2. fitness b. Something that becomes very popular or common for a time.
      3. trend (noun) c. People who know everything about something.
      4. involve d. How long a person is expected to live.
      5. experts e. The way you position your body when standing or sitting.
      6. posture f. How healthy and strong your body is.
      7. dementia g. Be a part of something or include something.

    Paragraph 2

      8. term (noun) h. A way of doing something.
      9. conducted i. Because of something.
      10. intensity j. Special words used by a group that are hard for others to understand.
      11. method k. Done or carried out (for example, a test or study).
      12. due to l. Something you do the same way regularly.
      13. routine (noun) m. How strong or hard something is.
      14. jargon n. A word or name used for something.

 

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

  1. Japan now has the world's longest life expectancy for men and women.   T / F
  2. Both men and women in Japan live to be 84 years old.     T / F
  3. Japanese walking means walking quickly for 10 minutes non-stop.     T / F
  4. Health experts say Japanese walking is good for blood pressure.     T / F
  5. Japanese people might not know the term "Japanese walking".     T / F
  6. The term "Japanese Walking" is over 200 years old.     T / F
  7. A "Japanese Walking" video has been viewed 10 million times on TikTok. T / F
  8. A fitness coach wants exercise to be full of scientific jargon.     T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

  1. diet
  2. reason
  3. trend
  4. lowering
  5. risk
  6. term
  7. came up with
  8. simple
  9. advice
  10. jargon
  1. thought of
  2. reducing
  3. word
  4. cause
  5. hints
  6. technical language
  7. craze
  8. chance
  9. easy
  10. food

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

  1. having the longest
  2. Japanese people live to be an average
  3. This has started a new fitness
  4. Walkers repeat this
  5. linked to a lower risk
  6. They conducted a study on high- and low-
  7. The recent worldwide popularity
  8. social media content
  9. fitness
  10. scientific
  1. of dementia
  2. intensity walking
  3. pattern five times
  4. creator
  5. trend on TikTok
  6. jargon
  7. life expectancy
  8. advice
  9. of the walking method
  10. of above 84 years old

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
involves
diet
risk
slowing
blood
trend
expectancy
pattern

Japan is often reported as having the longest life (1) ______________________________________________. Japanese people live to be an average of above 84 years old. Many people say this is because of the country's healthy (2) ______________________________________________. Another reason could be how people walk. Japanese people walk a lot. This has started a new fitness (3) ______________________________________________ on TikTok, called "Japanese Walking". It (4) ______________________________________________ walking quickly for three minutes and then (5) ______________________________________________ down for three minutes. Walkers repeat this (6) ______________________________________________ five times. Health experts say Japanese walking is good for posture, (7) ______________________________________________ circulation, lowering blood pressure, and reducing stress. It has also been linked to a lower (8) ______________________________________________ of dementia. Doctors also say it can help people live longer.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
due
term
routine
intensity
accessible
creator
came
advice

Japanese people might not know about the (9) ______________________________________________ "Japanese Walking". To them, it is just walking. Researchers at Shinshu University in Matsumoto, Japan (10) ______________________________________________ up with the name in 2007. They conducted a study on high- and low-(11) ______________________________________________ walking. The recent worldwide popularity of the walking method is (12) ______________________________________________ to videos made by Eugene Teo, an Australian fitness coach and social media content (13) ______________________________________________. He wanted people to follow a simple exercise (14) ______________________________________________ that had an easy-to-remember name. His videos have had 10 million views on TikTok and 17 million views on YouTube. He said he wanted "to make fitness (15) ______________________________________________ and scientific jargon a lot more (16) ______________________________________________".

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) Japan is often reported as having the ______
     a.  longest life expecting
     b.  longest life expectant see
     c.  longest life expectancy
     d.  longest life expects any
2)  Many people say this is because of the ______
     a.  country's healthy diet
     b.  country's healthy dietician
     c.  country's healthy dietary
     d.  country's healthy dye it
3)  Another reason could be how people walk. Japanese people ______
     a.  walk a loads
     b.  walk a lots
     c.  walk a lot
     d.  walk allot
4)  It involves walking quickly for three minutes and ______
     a.  then slow in down
     b.  then slow wing down
     c.  then slowing down
     d.  then slows in down
5)  good for posture, blood circulation, lowering blood pressure, ______
     a.  and reducing stress
     b.  and reduction stress
     c.  end reducing stress
     d.  and reducing stressed

6)  Japanese people might not know about the ______
     a.  team "Japanese Walking"
     b.  terms "Japanese Walking"
     c.  termed "Japanese Walking"
     d.  term "Japanese Walking"
7)  They conducted a study on high- and ______
     a.  low-intensify walking
     b.  low-intensity walking
     c.  low-intensely walking
     d.  low-intense city walking
8)  The recent worldwide popularity of the walking method is ______
     a.  dew to videos
     b.  duel to videos
     c.  due to videos
     d.  due two videos
9)  He wanted people to follow a simple exercise routine that had an easy-______
     a.  to-remembers name
     b.  to-remembered name
     c.  to-remembering name
     d.  to-remember name
10)  make fitness advice and scientific jargon a ______
     a.  lot many accessible
     b.  lot most accessible
     c.  lot much accessible
     d.  lot more accessible

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Japan is often reported as having (1) __________________________________________________ expectancy. Japanese people live to be (2) __________________________________________________ above 84 years old. Many people say this is because of the country's healthy diet. Another reason could be how people walk. Japanese people walk a lot. This has started a (3) __________________________________________________ on TikTok, called "Japanese Walking". It involves walking quickly for three minutes and then (4) __________________________________________________ three minutes. Walkers repeat this pattern five times. Health experts say Japanese walking is (5) __________________________________________________, blood circulation, lowering blood pressure, and reducing stress. It has also been linked to a (6) __________________________________________________ dementia. Doctors also say it can help people live longer.

Japanese people might not know (7) __________________________________________________ "Japanese Walking". To them, it is just walking. Researchers at Shinshu University in Matsumoto, Japan (8) __________________________________________________ the name in 2007. They conducted a study on high- and low-intensity walking. The recent worldwide popularity of the walking (9) __________________________________________________ to videos made by Eugene Teo, an Australian fitness coach and social media content creator. He wanted people to (10) __________________________________________________ exercise routine that had an (11) __________________________________________________ name. His videos have had 10 million views on TikTok and 17 million views on YouTube. He said he wanted "to make fitness advice and scientific (12) __________________________________________________ more accessible".

Comprehension questions

  1. What is the average age that Japanese people live to?
  2. How much does the article say Japanese people walk?
  3. How many times do people walk slowly with Japanese walking?
  4. What might Japanese walking be good at lowering?
  5. What might "Japanese walking" lead to a lower risk of?
  6. Who might not know about the term "Japanese walking"?
  7. When did the term "Japanese walking" originate?
  8. Why is "Japanese walking" now so popular worldwide?
  9. How many views has a Japanese walking video had on YouTube?
  10. What kind of language did a fitness coach want to be more simple?

Multiple choice quiz

1) What is the average age that Japanese people live to?
a) 92
b) 89
c) 85
d) 84
2) How much does the article say Japanese people walk?
a) 3 km
b) a lot
c) 13 km
d) It depends.
3) How many times do people walk slowly with Japanese walking?
a) two
b) three
c) four
d) five
4) What might Japanese walking be good at lowering?
a) height
b) gasoline bills
c) blood pressure
d) pollution
5) What might "Japanese walking" lead to a lower risk of?
a) headaches
b) backache
c) car crashes
d) dementia

6) Who might not know about the term "Japanese walking"?
a) joggers
b) non-Japanese people
c) Japanese people
d) children
7) When did the term "Japanese walking" originate?
a) 2007
b) 2006
c) 2008
d) 2010
8) Why is "Japanese walking" now so popular worldwide?
a) because of Japanese food
b) because of Pokémon
c) because of videos on social media
d) People want to be fit.
9) How many views has a Japanese walking video had on YouTube?
a) 10 million
b) 17 million
c) 13.5 million
d) just over 20 million
10) What kind of language did a fitness coach want to be more simple?
a) scientific jargon
b) technical jargon
c) medical jargon
d) computer jargon

Role play

Role  A – 10
You think 10 is the best age to be. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their ages. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these ages (and why): 20, 50 or 100.

Role  B – 20
You think 20 is the best age to be. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their ages. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these ages (and why): 10, 50 or 100.

Role  C – 50
You think 50 is the best age to be. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their ages. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these ages (and why): 20, 10 or 100.

Role  D – 100
You think 100 is the best age to be. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their ages. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these ages (and why): 20, 50 or 10.

After reading / listening

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words...

'live'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • and 'walking'.

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • • Share your findings with your partners.

    • Make questions using the words you found.

    • Ask your partner / group your questions.

    2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

    •Share your questions with other classmates / groups. •Ask your partner / group your questions.

    3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

    4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

    5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

    • life
    • 84
    • lot
    • involves
    • three
    • lower
    • term
    • came
    • low
    • due
    • easy
    • jargon

    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 - Japanese Walking

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

    1. What did you think when you read the headline?
    2. What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'walking'?
    3. What do you know about the life expectancy in your country?
    4. What age do you want to live to?
    5. Why do you think Japanese people live so long?
    6. How healthy is your diet?
    7. What unhealthy things do you do?
    8. How much walking do you do every day?
    9. How good is walking as a form of exercise?
    10. Why might walking reduce stress?

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

    1. Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
    2. What do you think of when you hear the word 'live'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. How is Japanese walking different to normal walking?
    5. What do you do to keep in shape?
    6. How good are the keep-fit videos on TikTok and YouTube?
    7. What exercise do you think you'll be doing when you are 70?
    8. What do you think of exercise?
    9. What exercise are you going to do in the next week?
    10. What questions would you like to ask health experts about walking?

    Discussion — Write your own questions

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

    (a) ________________

    (b) ________________

    (c) ________________

    (d) ________________

    (e) ________________

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

    (f) ________________

    (g) ________________

    (h) ________________

    (i) ________________

    (j) ________________

    Language — Cloze (Gap-fill)

    Japan is often (1) ____ as having the longest life expectancy. Japanese people live to be an average (2) ____ above 84 years old. Many people say this is because of the country's healthy diet. Another reason could be (3) ____ people walk. Japanese people walk a lot. This has started a new fitness trend on TikTok, called "Japanese Walking". It involves walking quickly for three minutes and then slowing (4) ____ for three minutes. Walkers repeat this pattern five times. Health experts say Japanese walking is good for posture, (5) ____ circulation, lowering blood pressure, and reducing stress. It has also been linked to a lower risk of dementia. Doctors also say it can help people (6) ____ longer.

    Japanese people might not know about the term "Japanese Walking". To them, it is (7) ____ walking. Researchers at Shinshu University in Matsumoto, Japan came (8) ____ with the name in 2007. They conducted a study on high- and low-intensity walking. The recent worldwide popularity of the walking method is due (9) ____ videos made by Eugene Teo, an Australian fitness coach and social media content creator. He wanted people to (10) ____ a simple exercise routine that had an easy-to-(11) ____ name. His videos have had 10 million views on TikTok and 17 million views on YouTube. He said he wanted "to make fitness advice and scientific (12) ____ a lot more accessible".

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     reported     (b)     resorted     (c)     retorted     (d)     reposted    
    2. (a)     at     (b)     by     (c)     of     (d)     as    
    3. (a)     what     (b)     that     (c)     how     (d)     such    
    4. (a)     along     (b)     on     (c)     in     (d)     down    
    5. (a)     blood     (b)     bloodless     (c)     bloody     (d)     bloods    
    6. (a)     life     (b)     live     (c)     living     (d)     lively    
    7. (a)     justice     (b)     adjust     (c)     justly     (d)     just    
    8. (a)     down     (b)     up     (c)     on     (d)     in    
    9. (a)     for     (b)     by     (c)     to     (d)     on    
    10. (a)     chase     (b)     follow     (c)     stalk     (d)     walk    
    11. (a)     memorandum     (b)     memorial     (c)     memory     (d)     remember    
    12. (a)     wagon     (b)     jargon     (c)     dragon     (d)     octagon

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. having the longest life ncaypetcxe
    2. live to be an grveaae of above 84
    3. because of the country's healthy tdei
    4. Japanese walking is good for eprutos
    5. ldboo circulation
    6. a lower risk of nmeeatid

    Paragraph 2

    1. They duetcdcon a study
    2. low- stnyinite walking
    3. The recent worldwide rytpiuolap
    4. follow a simple exercise onietru
    5. scientific ojangr
    6. a lot more sclbseceai

    Put the text back together

    (    )     creator. He wanted people to follow a simple exercise routine that had an easy-to-remember
    (    )     diet. Another reason could be how people walk. Japanese people walk a lot. This has started a new fitness
    (    )     down for three minutes. Walkers repeat this pattern five times. Health experts say Japanese walking is good
    (    )     for posture, blood circulation, lowering blood pressure, and reducing stress. It has also been linked
    (  1  )   Japan is often reported as having the longest life expectancy. Japanese people live to be an average
    (    )     Japanese people might not know about the term "Japanese Walking". To them, it is just
    (    )     method is due to videos made by Eugene Teo, an Australian fitness coach and social media content
    (    )     name. His videos have had 10 million views on TikTok and 17 million
    (    )     of above 84 years old. Many people say this is because of the country's healthy
    (    )     study on high- and low-intensity walking. The recent worldwide popularity of the walking
    (    )     to a lower risk of dementia. Doctors also say it can help people live longer.
    (    )     trend on TikTok, called "Japanese Walking". It involves walking quickly for three minutes and then slowing
    (    )     views on YouTube. He said he wanted "to make fitness advice and scientific jargon a lot more accessible".
    (    )     walking. Researchers at Shinshu University in Matsumoto, Japan came up with the name in 2007. They conducted a

    Put the words in the right order

    1. Another   walk   reason   could   be   how   people   .
    2. This   trend   new   started   fitness   a   has   .
    3. Experts   for   say   walking   Japanese   posture   is   good   .
    4. It's   risk   a   linked   dementia   lower   to   of   .
    5. Doctors   longer   help   can   live   say   it   people   .
    6. Japanese   term   the   might   people   not   about   know   .
    7. The   walking   popularity   recent   method   the   worldwide   of   .
    8. He   routine   simple   follow   to   people   wanted   a   .
    9. His   had   million   videos   10   views   have   .
    10. He   advice   accessible   fitness   make   to   wanted   more   .

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    Japan is often reported / reposted as having the longest life expectancy. Japanese people live to be the / an average of above 84 years old. Many people say this is because of the country's healthily / healthy diet. Another reason could be how people walk / walking. Japanese people walk a lot. This has started a new fitness trend / trendy on TikTok, called "Japanese Walking". It involve / involves walking quickly for three minutes and then slowing / slowed down for three minutes. Walkers repeat this pattern five times. Health experts say Japanese walking is good for / to posture, blood circulation, lowering blood / bloody pressure, and reducing stress. It has also been linked to a lower risk of dementia. Doctors also say it can help people life / live longer.

    Japanese people might not know about the term / terms "Japanese Walking". To them, it is just walk / walking. Researchers at Shinshu University in Matsumoto, Japan came up / down with the name in 2007. They conducted a study on height- / high- and low-intensity walking. The recent worldwide popularity of the walking method is due for / to videos made by Eugene Teo, an Australian fitness / fit coach and social media content creator / creation. He wanted people to follow a simple / sample exercise routine that had an easy-to-remember name. His videos have had 10 million views on TikTok and 17 million views on YouTube. He said he wanted "to take / make fitness advice and scientific jargon a lot more access / accessible".

    Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct. Look up the definition of new words.

    Insert the vowels (a, e, i, o, u)

    J_p_n  _s  _ft_n  r_p_rt_d  _s  h_v_ng  th_  l_ng_st  l_f_  _xp_ct_ncy.  J_p_n_s_  p__pl_  l_v_  t_  b_  _n  _v_r_g_  _f  _b_v_  84  y__rs  _ld.  M_ny  p__pl_  s_y  th_s  _s  b_c__s_  _f  th_  c__ntry's  h__lthy  d__t.  _n_th_r  r__s_n  c__ld  b_  h_w  p__pl_  w_lk.  J_p_n_s_  p__pl_  w_lk  _  l_t.  Th_s  h_s  st_rt_d  _  n_w  f_tn_ss  tr_nd  _n  T_kT_k,  c_ll_d  "J_p_n_s_  W_lk_ng".  _t  _nv_lv_s  w_lk_ng  q__ckly  f_r  thr__  m_n_t_s  _nd  th_n  sl_w_ng  d_wn  f_r  thr__  m_n_t_s.  W_lk_rs  r_p__t  th_s  p_tt_rn  f_v_  t_m_s.  H__lth  _xp_rts  s_y  J_p_n_s_  w_lk_ng  _s  g__d  f_r  p_st_r_,  bl__d  c_rc_l_t__n,  l_w_r_ng  bl__d  pr_ss_r_,  _nd  r_d_c_ng  str_ss.  _t  h_s  _ls_  b__n  l_nk_d  t_  _  l_w_r  r_sk  _f  d_m_nt__.  D_ct_rs  _ls_  s_y  _t  c_n  h_lp  p__pl_  l_v_  l_ng_r.

    J_p_n_s_  p__pl_  m_ght  n_t  kn_w  _b__t  th_  t_rm  "J_p_n_s_  W_lk_ng".  T_  th_m,  _t  _s  j_st  w_lk_ng.  R_s__rch_rs  _t  Sh_nsh_  _n_v_rs_ty  _n  M_ts_m_t_,  J_p_n  c_m_  _p  w_th  th_  n_m_  _n  2007.  Th_y  c_nd_ct_d  _  st_dy  _n  h_gh-  _nd  l_w-_nt_ns_ty  w_lk_ng.  Th_  r_c_nt  w_rldw_d_  p_p_l_r_ty  _f  th_  w_lk_ng  m_th_d  _s  d__  t_  v_d__s  m_d_  by  __g_n_  T__,  _n  __str_l__n  f_tn_ss  c__ch  _nd  s_c__l  m_d__  c_nt_nt  cr__t_r.  H_  w_nt_d  p__pl_  t_  f_ll_w  _  s_mpl_  _x_rc_s_  r__t_n_  th_t  h_d  _n  __sy-t_-r_m_mb_r  n_m_.  H_s  v_d__s  h_v_  h_d  10  m_ll__n  v__ws  _n  T_kT_k  _nd  17  m_ll__n  v__ws  _n  Y__T_b_.  H_  s__d  h_  w_nt_d  "t_  m_k_  f_tn_ss  _dv_c_  _nd  sc__nt_f_c  j_rg_n  _  l_t  m_r_  _cc_ss_bl_".

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    japan is often reported as having the longest life expectancy japanese people live to be an average of above 84 years old many people say this is because of the countrys healthy diet another reason could be how people walk japanese people walk a lot this has started a new fitness trend on tiktok called japanese walking it involves walking quickly for three minutes and then slowing down for three minutes walkers repeat this pattern five times health experts say japanese walking is good for posture blood circulation lowering blood pressure and reducing stress it has also been linked to a lower risk of dementia doctors also say it can help people live longer

    japanese people might not know about the term japanese walking to them it is just walking researchers at shinshu university in matsumoto japan came up with the name in 2007 they conducted a study on high and lowintensity walking the recent worldwide popularity of the walking method is due to videos made by eugene teo an australian fitness coach and social media content creator he wanted people to follow a simple exercise routine that had an easytoremember name his videos have had 10 million views on tiktok and 17 million views on youtube he said he wanted to make fitness advice and scientific jargon a lot more accessible

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    Japanisoftenreportedashavingthelongestlifeexpectancy.Japanesep
    eoplelivetobeanaverageofabove84yearsold.Manypeoplesaythisisbe
    causeofthecountry'shealthydiet.Anotherreasoncouldbehowpeople
    walk.Japanesepeoplewalkalot.ThishasstartedanewfitnesstrendonTi
    kTok,called"JapaneseWalking".Itinvolveswalkingquicklyforthreemi
    nutesandthenslowingdownforthreeminutes.Walkersrepeatthispatte
    rnfivetimes.HealthexpertssayJapanesewalkingisgoodforposture,bl
    oodcirculation,loweringbloodpressure,andreducingstress.Ithasalso
    beenlinkedtoalowerriskofdementia.Doctorsalsosayitcanhelppeoplel
    ivelonger.Japanesepeoplemightnotknowabouttheterm"JapaneseW
    alking".Tothem,itisjustwalking.ResearchersatShinshuUniversityin
    Matsumoto,Japancameupwiththenamein2007.Theyconductedastu
    dyonhigh-andlow-intensitywalking.Therecentworldwidepopularityo
    fthewalkingmethodisduetovideosmadebyEugeneTeo,anAustralianfi
    tnesscoachandsocialmediacontentcreator.Hewantedpeopletofollow
    asimpleexerciseroutinethathadaneasy-to-remembername.Hisvide
    oshavehad10millionviewsonTikTokand17millionviewsonYouTube.H
    esaidhewanted"tomakefitnessadviceandscientificjargonalotmoreac
    cessible".

    Free writing

    Write about Japanese walking for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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    Academic writing

    Walking is the best form of exercise.  Discuss.

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    Homework

    1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.
    2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about this news story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
    3. WALKING: Make a poster about walking. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. JAPANESE WALKING: Write a magazine article about educating children to take up Japanese walking from elementary school. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against this.
    Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).
    5. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.
    6. LETTER: Write a letter to an expert on walking. Ask him/her three questions about it. Give him/her three of your opinions on walking. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

    A Few Additional Activities for Students

    Ask your students what they have read, seen or heard about this news in their own language. Students are likely to / may have have encountered this news in their L1 and therefore bring a background knowledge to the classroom.

    Get students to role play different characters from this news story.

    Ask students to keep track of this news and revisit it to discuss in your next class.

    Ask students to male predictions of how this news might develop in the next few days or weeks, and then revisit and discuss in a future class.

    Ask students to write a follow-up story to this news.

    Students role play a journalist and someone who witnessed or was a part of this news. Perhaps they could make a video of the interview.

    Ask students to keep a news journal in English and add this story to their thoughts.

    Also...

    Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for:

    • News
    • Warm ups
    • Pre-reading / Post-reading
    • Using headlines
    • Working with words
    • While-reading / While-listening
    • Moving from text to speech
    • Post-reading / Post-listening
    • Discussions
    • Using opinions
    • Plans
    • Language
    • Using lists
    • Using quotes
    • Task-based activities
    • Role plays
    • Using the central characters in the article
    • Using themes from the news
    • Homework

    Buy my book

    $US 9.99

    Answers

    (Please look at page 26 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

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