In Japan, it is rare to have a pencil with an attached eraser. An eraser company by the name of Momo has successfully lobbied the Japanese government to make it illegal based on safety concerns. Other countries are little behind the times, unaware of the number of eraser/eye related injuries that happen everyday in the classroom.
Upon hearing of the eraser situations in other countries, most students are unable to grasp the concept. This may be remedied by visual demonstrations. The teacher should bring some cellophane tape into the class along with several pencils of different sizes, one eraser, and a sharp knife. In the classroom, have the student cut the eraser into smaller pieces and tape them to the ends of the pencils; one piece per pencil. Once the activity is finished, have the students hold all of the pencils and say “These are American pencils”, and have the student repeat.
It is conductive to the learning process to have the student apply their knowledge. You can do a roleplay with the student where they wish to buy some American pencils, but you only cell Japanese pencils, cellophane tape, sharp knives, and erasers. The student will instruct you how to create American pencils and then purchase all of them.