While all elementary schools in Japan are scheduled to start teaching English this April, other parts of Asia and Europe have been doing it for years.
They are teaching English earlier, longer and with more advanced content. Some even have teachers who are specialists in teaching the language.
According to the education ministry, South Korea began teaching English in elementary schools in 1997. China and Taiwan started in 2001, and Germany and France followed suit in 2004 and 2005, respectively.