The yr was 1992 . People were doing confutable Wayne and Garth impressions . Ross Perot kept popping in and out of the presidential race . And far away in Japan , a man by the improbable name of Fernandez Verde combined English speech communication instruction with awkward aerophilous movements to create the early dayspring TV showEikaiwa taisō Zuiikin ' English , which rough translate toEnglish Conversation Gymnastics Exercises Voluntary Muscles English . The 24 - instalment serial aired at 5 a.m. on Fuji Television alongside other low - budget alternative computer programming .
The premise ofZuiikin ' Englishwas simple . aboriginal Japanese loudspeaker system could learn conversational English more easily if they connect language with front , a theory backed up by cognitive inquiry . Verde also believed that dissimilar culture should target unequalled sets of muscle for maximum learning — the lower back and leg muscles , in the case of the Japanese . ( This seems to be Verde ’s own idea , though we question what muscularity Americans would be assign . )
Each themed episode began with a abbreviated introduction by Verde , followed by a subtitle skit bring out English phrases and a " commonly used " English condemnation , like " How dare you say such a thing to me ? " or " It ’s your fault that this happened . " The sentence was then intonate repeatedly by a trio call the Zuiikin Gals , who perform singular movements to go along with each word .
But await , it ’s comic than it fathom .
Eventually the lessons branched out into pop culture … and even Spanish .
Alas , Zuiikin ' Englishwas broadcast too too soon to capture an consultation . Or rather , a even audience . Fuji Television presently cancelled the program , but start record rerun in 2005 . In its second run , the show became an international sensation . Its bizarre lesson still confuse and amuse us today .
