Critical Incident #1

Masao is learning English with Mr. Thomas. One day, Mr. Thomas pointed Masao and asked a question in English. Since Masao was not sure what Mr. Thomas meant, he didn't respond quickly. Instead, he asked Yoshio, who was sitting next to him, what their teacher had meant. When Mr. Thomas saw Masao talking to Yoshio in Japanese, Mr. Thomas started to get angry and said to Masao, "Masao, stop talking to Yoshio in Japanese and answer my question immediately." Masao couldn't understand why Mr. Thomas got angry with him. He just wanted to make sure if he had understood Mr. Thomas's question correctly before he would answer it. Can you guess why Mr. Thomas got angry with him?

1. Mr. Thomas thought that Masao was not serious enough to study, because Masao was talking with Yoshio without answering the question.

2. Mr. Thomas got angry because Masao spoke Japanese in his class. Mr. Thomas didn't want his students to speak any Japanese in his class.

3. From Mr. Thomas's point of view, it was Masao, not the other boys, who was asked to answer his question and who was responsible for the answer. However, Masao asked his classmate for help. Mr. Thomas considered Masao's behavior as cheating.

4. Mr. Thomas got angry because Masao didn't respond quickly. Quick response is very important in English class.