June 5, 2014　=========
☆ account for　　～の割合を占める
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When you say that something “accounts for” a part or portion of something, you are explaining how much that part is of another thing. Does that make sense?! An example would be better… “English speakers account for 87% of the population.” In other words, 13% of the population of the place being talked about doesn’t speak English.
Here are some other examples:
Drunk drivers accounted for 19% of fatal accidents in 2012.
Home births account for less than 1% of all births.
Illegal software sales in China accounts for more than 80% of all software sales!
As you can see, it is usually used when talking about statistics. Can you use it in a sentence to talk about English learners in Japan for example?
Bye,
Chris