2010年ESL之日常生活 10 A Parent-Teacher Conference

10 A Parent-Teacher Conference

GLOSSARY

parent-teacher conference – a special meeting between a student’s parentsand teacher when they discuss how well (or poorly) the student is doing in school

* At the parent-teacher conference, they found out that their daughter hadn’tbeen doing her homework for the past two weeks.

to go beyond (something) – to discuss or deal with something else in additionto what is expected; to go further into something

* At this company, we go beyond our customer’s expectations and try to givethem the best service possible.

report card – a piece of paper given to each student every quarter or every termshowing his or her grades in all classes

* Miyuki’s report card had three As, two Bs, and one C.

standardized test scores – the number of points received on tests that aregiven to all students at the same grade level, used to compare their performance

* Do universities consider students’ standardized test scores from tests taken inelementary school?

attentive – paying attention; listening to and caring about what another personsays

* Daniel wishes his wife were more attentive. He feels like she doesn’t even hearwhat he’s saying most of the time.

hard worker – a person who tries very hard to do what is expected or required; aperson who is dedicated and committed to doing his or her work well

* Pauline isn’t our brightest employee, but she is a very hard worker and alwaysdoes her job well.

to hand in – to submit; to turn in; to give a document or form to someone withauthority, usually so that it can be graded or evaluated

* Don’t forget to hand in your essays by the end of the day.

homework – assignments that should be completed at home after school andgiven to the teacher by a certain time and date

* Even the kindergarten teacher gives her students homework, asking them topractice writing letters and numbers.

portfolio – a collection of the work that one has done during a particular periodof time, especially for artists, models, and students

* This artist’s portfolio contains some beautiful watercolor paintings.

to work on – to try to improve something; to try to become better at something ordo something better

* Janice is going to France this summer to work on her French.

to misbehave – to behave inappropriately; to do things that are against therules; to act in unexpected and unacceptable ways

* The teacher becomes very frustrated when his students misbehave by talkingand playing games during class.

to lose (one’s) temper – to become very angry and lose control of one’s actionsand words

* When the employee came in late for the fifth day in a row, his boss lost hertemper and shouted, “You’re fired!”

social skills – the ability to interact with other people in positive ways and makefriends

* People who work in teams need to have strong social skills so that they canmaintain good relationships with their co-workers.

academics – related to education at a school, especially to education intraditional areas like writing, reading, math, history, and science

* When James’ academics began to suffer, his parents told him to stop playingso many sports so that he would have more time to study

subject – one area of knowledge studied in school, such as English, math,history, science, a foreign language, music, and more

* Biology used to be my favorite subject in school, but now I prefer chemistry.

cooperatively – collaboratively; doing things together with other people, offeringto help them get something done

* If those two companies could find a way to work together cooperatively, they’dboth be more profitable.

to get ahead – to be successful, especially to be more successful than otherpeople

* Ash is studying several computer programming languages to get ahead in hisjob.

improvement – something that has become better

* We’ve seen a great improvement in our sales figures over the past year, withrevenue increasing by more than 250 percent.

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COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. According to Ms. Vasquez, what does Marco need to work on?

a) His listening skills.

b) His study skills.

c) His interpersonal skills.

2. What does Mr. Polo agree to do?

a) He’ll punish Marco.

b) He’ll put Marco in extra classes.

c) He’ll talk to his son about working with others.

______________

WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

to work onThe phrase “to work on,” in this podcast, means to try to improve something, orto try to become better at something: “My coach said I should work on increasingthe strength in my upper arms.” The phrase “to work out” means to do exercise:

“Last night I worked out in the gym for more than two hours, so today I’m reallysore.” The phrase “to work (something) out” can mean to reach an agreementwith another person or to find a solution: “Let’s talk about what’s happening andsee if we can work out a solution.” The phrase “to work under (someone)”

means to work for someone, or to have someone as one’s supervisor: “It must beso hard to work under someone as demanding as your boss is! How do you doit?”

subjectIn this podcast, the word “subject” means one area of knowledge studied inschool, such as English, math, history, science, a foreign language, or music: “Allstudents have to take the same core subjects like they can decide which other classes they want to take each quarter.” The word“subject” also means something that is being discussed or covered: “Thiscontroversial law has been the subject of much discussion.” The phrase “tochange the subject” means to change topics or to begin talking about somethingelse: “This is so boring! Let’s change the subject.” The phrase “a touchysubject” is something that one doesn’t want to talk about because it is verypersonal or directly affects oneself: “Her weight is a very touchy subject.”

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CULTURE NOTE

A parent-teacher conference is a great opportunity for parents to have a “one-onone”

(personal; individual) discussion with their child’s teacher when he or she isfocused only on that student’s performance, instead of on all the children in theclassroom. Parents can “get more out of” (benefit more from) a parent-teacherconference by “making a list” (writing things down) of all the things they want toask the teacher about before the meeting begins. They can also ask their child ifhe or she wants them to discuss anything “in particular” (specifically) with theteacher.

Teachers say that some parents become very “defensive” (defending oneself; notable to accept criticism or negative comments) when they hear what the teacherhas to say. It is important to remember that the teacher “has the student’s bestinterests at heart” (wants to do what is best for the student). If parents can listen“with an open mind” (willing to hear what is being said, without makingjudgments) and allow the teacher to give for his or her opinion, then parents canget a more complete and “accurate” (close to the truth) picture of how their childis doing in school.

Teachers suggest that parents “jot down” (write down quickly or informally) notesabout what was discussed, so that they don’t forget anything later. Instead ofwaiting, it is better if parents can talk with their child and tell him or her what wasdiscussed in the meeting. If the teacher identified things that need to be workedon, the parents and child can create a plan for improvement and “follow up”

(have another meeting or discussion) with the teacher in a few weeks or months.

______________Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – c; 2 – c

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 582: A Parent-Teacher Conference.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast number 582. I’m your host, Dr.

Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development inbeautiful Los Angeles, California.

Go to our website at eslpod.com. Download a Learning Guide for this episodethat contains more information to help you improve your English even faster.

This episode is called “A Parent-Teacher Conference.” It’s a dialogue betweenMs. Vasquez and Mr. Polo. One is a teacher, one is a parent; they’re talkingabout the parent’s son and are going to be using a lot of vocabulary that youwould hear if a parent were talking to a teacher about how his or her daughter orson was doing in school. Let’s get started.

[start of dialogue]

Ms. Vasquez: Hello, Mr. Polo. I’m Ms. Vasquez. Please have a seat.

Mr. Polo: Thank you.

Ms. Vasquez: In this parent-teacher conference, I want to go beyond Marco’sreport cards and his standardized test scores to talk about his generalperformance in the classroom.

Mr. Polo: That’s great. I want to know how he’s doing.

Ms. Vasquez: Marco is a good student. He’s attentive in class, a hard worker,and hands in his homework on time. Here’s his portfolio, if you want to take alook at his classroom work.

Mr. Polo: This is great. Are there any areas he needs to work on?

Ms. Vasquez: Marco is a good student, but he does sometimes misbehave. Heoften has disagreements with other students and loses his temper. I think heneeds to work on his social skills.

Mr. Polo: Well, I don’t think that’s the most important thing, do you? Hisacademics are the most important and he seems to be doing well in his subjects.

Ms. Vasquez: It’s true that academics are important, but learning to workcooperatively with other people is important, too, if he wants to get ahead in life,don’t you think?

Mr. Polo: I’ll have a talk with him. I’m sure you’ll see an improvement.

Ms. Vasquez: I appreciate you taking this seriously. Again, Marco is a goodstudent and it’s a pleasure to have him in my class.

Mr. Polo: I’m glad to hear that. Good-bye.

Ms. Vasquez: Have a good afternoon.

[end of dialogue]

Ms. Vasquez begins our dialogue; she’s the teacher. She says, “Hello, Mr. Polo.

I’m Ms. Vasquez. Please have a seat.” Typically, teachers would probably callparents “Mr.” or “Mrs. (Something),” not their first name unless they knew eachother already. Similarly, the parent would probably call the teacher “Mr.

(Something)” or “Mrs. (Something)” or “Ms. (Something).” Mr. Polo says, “Thankyou.” Ms. Vasquez asks him to “have a seat,” to sit down. She says, “In thisparent-teacher conference, I want to go beyond Marco’s report cards and hisstandardized test scores and talk about his general performance in theclassroom.” A “parent-teacher conference” usually is something that schools willdo (I’m talking about kindergarten through 12th grade – through high school)about two or three times a year; some schools do it four times a year. This isone night when the teachers come to school, and the parents go and can talk totheir student’s teacher. The idea is that the parent can get a better idea abouthow their son or daughter is doing by talking directly to the teacher. When I wasteaching high school and junior high school we would have these parent-teacherconferences. I absolutely hated them because, of course, all the parents thinkthat their sons and daughters are perfect, and that if they’re not learningsomething it’s because you aren’t doing a good job teaching rather than the kidplaying video games five hours every night. But, we’ll get back to the dialogue.

Ms. Vasquez says, “I want to go beyond Marco’s report cards and hisstandardized test scores.” “To go beyond (something)” is a phrasal verbmeaning to discuss or deal with something in addition to what is expected, to go further into something than expected. Normally, a teacher talks about a student’sreport cards for example. A “report card” is a piece of paper – in the old days –where you show how the student is doing every “term,” every part of the schoolyear. Sometimes two times a year, usually four times a year, you give thesereport cards to the student. The student takes them home and shows theparents, that will tell the parent how the student is doing in the different classesthat the son or daughter is taking. Hopefully, the child doesn’t change the reportcard somewhere between school and home! Nowadays, I suppose, it’s all donethrough the Internet or Twitter – I…I don’t know. “Standardized test scores” arethe scores – the marks, if you will – that a student receives on a test, a nationaltest typically, that all students at his or her grade level take. So these are teststhat usually private companies develop, and they give them to thousands or tensof thousands students – perhaps millions of students – and it allows you tocompare how much this student knows compared to the average student.

Standardized test scores; these are very important especially now in Americaneducation.

Well, Ms. Vasquez wants to go beyond the report cards and the standardizedtest scores to talk about Marco’s general performance in the classroom. Mr. Polosays, “That’s great. I want to know how he’s doing.” Oh, really? Ms. Vasquezsays, “Marco is a good student.” Probably lying! She says, “He’s attentive inclass, a hard worker, and hands in his homework on time.” “To be attentive”

means that you listen to what someone is saying, you pay attention to them. A“hard worker” is someone who tries very hard to do what is expected or requiredof them. “To hand in” is a two-word phrasal verb meaning to give usually a pieceof paper or a document or a form to someone in authority, often for it to beevaluated. So we talk about how students turn in their homework. They give thepiece of paper to their teacher. The teacher then looks at it, grades it (sees if it iscorrect or not), and then gives it back to the student. So, Ms. Vasquez is sayingthat Marco is attentive in class, a hard worker, and hands in his “homework,” theassignments he does outside of school – at home, or the library, or wherever.

“Homework” is one word.

Ms. Vasquez says, “Here’s his portfolio, if you want to look at his classroomwork.” Portfolios have been become popular in American schools in the last 20years. What happens is the student hands in different assignments – differentthings that he or she is required to do, and the teacher keeps all of thesetogether in one place to be able to show them to the parent to be able to evaluatethe student at the end of the term – the end of the semester, the three or fourmonths of school. That’s a portfolio. “Portfolio” has other meanings in Englishthat are not found in this Learning Guide.

Mr. Polo, looking at this portfolio, says, “This is great. Are there any areas heneeds to work on?” “To work on” is a two-word phrasal verb meaning to try toimprove something, to become better at something. “To work” has a number ofdifferent phrasal verbs connected to it; take a look at the Learning Guide, whereyou will find those meanings.

Ms. Vasquez says, “Marco is a good student, but he does sometimesmisbehave.” “To misbehave” means to act inappropriately, to not do what youare told or expected to do. It’s a word we use especially with children, whetherthey’re at home or at school. So Ms. Vasquez now is starting to tell the truth.

She says Marco “often has disagreements with other students and loses histemper.” “To lose your temper” (temper) means become very, very angry withsomeone; maybe you start hitting them or fighting with them even. But, Ms.

Vasquez doesn’t want to say that, she puts it very politely – very nicely, says thathe loses his temper. “I think he needs to work on his social skills.” “Social skills”

refers to the ability to be able to have conversations with other people, to bepositive, to make friends; those would be good social skills to have.

Mr. Polo says, “Well, I don’t think that’s the most important thing, do you?” It’snot the most important thing for his son. Of course, Mr. Polo doesn’t have to bethe teacher and have this misbehaving student in his classroom. Mr. Polo saysthat Marco’s academics are the most important – the most important thing – andhe seems to be doing well in his subjects. “Academics” refers to traditional areasin school – traditional classes: reading, writing, math, history, science,podcasting. Mr. Polo says that Marco seems to be doing well in his “subjects,” inthe classes that he is taking. “Subject” has a couple of different meaningshowever, and those are in the Learning Guide.

Ms. Vasquez says, “It’s true that academics are important, but learning to workcooperatively with other people is important, too, if he wants to get ahead in life,don’t you think?” “Cooperatively” means that you are able to do things with otherpeople without getting angry. You’re able to do them in such a way as that it is apositive experience and result. American schools, again in the last 25-30 years,have used cooperative learning groups to get children – students – to learn howto work together; it’s a very popular approach. Ms. Vasquez says that Marconeeds to work cooperatively with other people if he wants to get ahead in life.

The phrasal verb “to get ahead” means to be successful, especially moresuccessful than other people.

Mr. Polo says, “I’ll have a talk with him (meaning I will talk to him about this in aserious way). I’m sure you’ll see an improvement.” An “improvement” is thingsgetting better. Ms. Vasquez says, “I appreciate you taking this seriously. Again,Marco is a good student and it’s a pleasure to have him in class.” “It’s apleasure” means it’s nice to have him in class. She’s lying, of course! Mr. Polosays, “I’m glad to hear that. Good-bye.”

Now let’s listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.

[start of dialogue]

Ms. Vasquez: Hello, Mr. Polo. I’m Ms. Vasquez. Please have a seat.

Mr. Polo: Thank you.

Ms. Vasquez: In this parent-teacher conference, I want to go beyond Marco’sreport cards and his standardized test scores to talk about his generalperformance in the classroom.

Mr. Polo: That’s great. I want to know how he’s doing.

Ms. Vasquez: Marco is a good student. He’s attentive in class, a hard worker,and hands in his homework on time. Here’s his portfolio, if you want to take alook at his classroom work.

Mr. Polo: This is great. Are there any areas he needs to work on?

Ms. Vasquez: Marco is a good student, but he does sometimes misbehave. Heoften has disagreements with other students and loses his temper. I think heneeds to work on his social skills.

Mr. Polo: Well, I don’t think that’s the most important thing, do you? Hisacademics are the most important and he seems to be doing well in his subjects.

Ms. Vasquez: It’s true that academics are important, but learning to workcooperatively with other people is important, too, if he wants to get ahead in life,don’t you think?

Mr. Polo: I’ll have a talk with him. I’m sure you’ll see an improvement.

Ms. Vasquez: I appreciate you taking this seriously. Again, Marco is a goodstudent and it’s a pleasure to have him in my class.

Mr. Polo: I’m glad to hear that. Good-bye.

Ms. Vasquez: Have a good afternoon.

[end of dialogue]

The scriptwriter for this episode is definitely a hard worker, Dr. Lucy Tse.

From Los Angeles, California, I’m Jeff McQuillan. Thank you for listening. Comeback and listen to us next time on ESL Podcast.

English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr. Lucy Tse,hosted by Dr. Jeff McQuillan, copyright 2010 by the Center for EducationalDevelopment.