1. Lower-proficiency English students at a high school in Tochigi Prefecture were asked to pronounce the word "poison" for a class exercise, causing concerns among parents that their children were being ridiculed.
2. Teachers have apologized, stating they had no intention of insulting or insinuating anything negative about the students and had simply chosen "poison" due to its ease of pronunciation for Japanese speakers.
3. The incident has sparked discussion about the importance of considering the psychological aspect of language learning, particularly when it comes to self-esteem and avoiding early discouragement, in lesson design.