English for Parents: Speak with Your Child’s Teacher | Vocabulary, Questions, Tips

Hi, I'm Rebecca from engVid, and welcome to this lesson on English for Parents.

In this more practically-oriented video, I'm

going to explain to you some of the things

that you could keep in mind when you're

preparing for a parent-teacher interview, okay?

Or a parent-teacher conference.

These are some tips that will help you to

prepare before you go and while you're there,

and also to understand the teacher more easily

when he or she starts to explain about what's

going on with your child, okay?

So let's get started.

So first of all, before you go, talk to your child, okay?

Depending on your relationship with your child,

maybe your son or daughter tells you a lot

about what's going on in school, and maybe not.

And also understand, of course, that school

is much more than just the academic subjects;

it's also the social environment, and so on.

All of this matters, so try to get as much information from your child about how he or

she is feeling in school, if they're having any special difficulties, if they're having

a hard time, if anybody's bothering them, is anything going on, okay?

As much as possible, it will help you to

participate more fully in that conference, okay?

Next, prepare some questions in advance.

And why should you do that?

Because maybe there are some words, some vocabulary

that you're not familiar with in English,

but if you think of your questions in advance,

you have enough time to look it up online,

find the translation, and then you'll have the words that you need to ask the teacher

some questions.

Maybe you don't have the exact grammar, but

at least if you've used the right vocabulary

or the right words, then the teacher will understand what you're trying to ask about,

okay?

So do that.

It will help you, it'll help you feel more

confident, and it'll help the teacher to know

that you're really trying and caring, even

if your English isn't perfect, but you really

care about your child enough to want to participate fully, okay?

Next, also, in most English-speaking schools,

you are expected to share your concerns, okay?

Teachers appreciate it when you share your concerns.

It's not only what the teacher is going to tell you about your child, it's also what

you can share with the teacher about your child, okay?

So be a little more open, share any worries or concerns about how they're doing, okay?

How's Johnny doing in math, or how's Susan doing in gym?

You know, she's having a hard time this year.

Feel free to share those concerns, okay?

Now, here are some actual sentences and questions

that you might want to use during your conference,

okay?

So, first of all, be very open, and friendly, and polite to the teacher.

It's always good and diplomatic to start off with a thank you.

You know, thank you very much for helping Johnny.

I really appreciate it.

Johnny really likes your class, he feels so comfortable in your class, he enjoys being

in your class, something like that.

And thank you so much for helping him, I really appreciate it, okay?

You can use this sentence again and again in all kinds of situations.

I really appreciate it.

I really appreciate your helping Johnny.

I really appreciate everything you're doing to help Johnny.

It means so much to us.

Thank you so much, okay?

Be sincere, that sincerity comes through, doesn't matter what, especially when we're

talking about our children, right?

Okay.

Next.

If you don't understand something that the

teacher is saying or said, you just ask politely.

Could you please repeat that?

I'm sorry, I didn't...

I didn't understand or I don't understand what that means.

Could you explain what that means?

Or could you slow down, please?

I'm trying to follow you, I can't follow.

Could you please slow down?

Could you please repeat that?

Okay?

Something like that.

If you use "could you please" before the verb, then that will help you, okay?

Next, you can also ask the teacher, what could I do to help?

What can I do to help Johnny in math?

What can I do to help Johnny feel more comfortable in English?

What can I do?

Okay?

The teacher will appreciate that you're a

parent who cares, who wants to help, who wants

to support that child's success.

And that way, both you and the teacher will come together as partners in helping your

child to succeed in the class.

Okay?

Now, next, I'm going to go through some important

expressions and phrasal verbs in particular

that teachers often use to describe a child's performance in a classroom.

So, let's look at that next.

Okay.

So now, here are some things a teacher may say to you at a parent-teacher meeting.

I'm going to read through it all, and then I'll

go back and I'll explain all of the points,

especially what's written in blue, which are the phrasal verbs.

Phrasal verbs, again, are just verbs and prepositions

that have a slightly different meaning when

used together.

So, let's see first what you understand.

Overall, Johnny is keeping up with the rest of the class.

He's certainly not falling behind.

Sometimes, when I call on him, he clams up or

tenses up, so I give him more time to catch

on or for my question to sink in.

In general, I'd say Johnny's coping with all the changes.

I don't think he feels left out.

In fact, he has several friends and joins in all our class activities.

Okay?

So, this is something that you may be very likely to hear, okay?

Or certainly some of these expressions, if not all together like that, okay?

And not only would the teacher possibly be using

these expressions, you, once you understand

them, can also use these expressions, okay?

So, let's go back now and understand them one by one.

So, overall, Johnny is keeping up with the rest of the class.

So, to keep up with someone or with, in this

case, the rest of the class, means to stay

at the same level, the same place as others, okay?

Not behind, but to stay and achieve the same as others, okay?

That means to keep up with someone.

Let's suppose there are two runners, okay, who are in a race, and they are both in the

same position, okay?

Not one behind and one ahead, but in the same

place, so they're keeping up with each other,

okay?

Like that.

Next, he's certainly not falling behind.

So, as we explained, let's say all the students

are here or the students are here, and he's

in the same place.

He's not behind them.

He's at the same level as them, whether you want to call that level here or here, okay?

He's at the same level as them.

He's not falling behind them.

Next, sometimes when I call on him, to call

on someone, means when I ask him a question,

right?

Teachers often do that.

"Johnny, what do you say?

Mark, what do you think?"

Okay?

So, what a teacher is doing at that point is calling on various students, okay?

It means to ask them questions.

So, sometimes when I call on him, when I ask

him a question, he clams up or tenses up.

So, to clam up means to become quiet, become silent.

Now, probably Johnny might be doing that because

he's nervous or he's scared or he doesn't

know the answer.

It doesn't just happen to Johnny if he's new in the school.

It happens to lots of kids and has happened to all of us when we're in school because

sometimes we get a little nervous when the attention is on us.

So, what does it mean to clam up?

It means to become quiet or silent.

So, sometimes he clams up or tenses up.

So, tense up means to become, like, stressed, okay?

Nervous, afraid, okay?

So, that's what that means.

Let's continue.

"So, I give him more time to catch on."

To catch on means to understand, alright?

Did you catch on?

It means, did you understand?

So, I give him more time to catch on, understand, or for my question, to sink in.

This is a phrasal verb which means to be understood, to really be absorbed, okay?

To sink in means, like, okay, you understand,

and then you get it, and then you get it a

little bit more, and now it has sunk in means

it's gotten inside you, okay, and you have

understood it well, okay?

That's the meaning of "to sink in".

In general, I'd say, "Johnny's coping with all the changes."

So, to cope with something means to deal successfully,

to manage successfully with something, okay?

Means to cope.

Usually, we cope with a change, we cope with

a challenge, we cope with a difficulty, okay?

That's when we say somebody is coping with it.

I'm managing, managing well, managing successfully, okay?

Next, I don't think he feels left out, okay?

So, what does it mean to be left out?

Let's suppose that all the children are playing here, and Johnny's over here.

In that case, Johnny would be left out, right?

But that means he's separate from them, he's

apart from them, he's not being included in

their activities.

That's being left out, but if Johnny is there

along with all the other kids, and everybody's

playing together, then you can say that he's not left out, okay?

He's part of the group.

So, he feels...

I don't think he feels left out.

In fact, he has several friends, okay?

He has many friends, and joins in all our class activities.

To join in means to participate, okay?

So, again, join in, participate.

Be part of it, okay?

Be part of the class activities.

Left out, not a part of it.

To cope with something, to deal with something successfully.

To sink in means to really get it, to really understand something.

To catch on means to understand it, to grasp it, okay?

To tense up means to become kind of stressed and nervous.

To clam up means to become silent.

To call on someone means to ask someone a question, and ask them to speak.

To fall behind means to get...

Not stay at the same level as the others, but to go...

To be working at a slower pace, okay?

And to keep up with others is to stay at the same level with others, okay?

So, here we've just reviewed about ten, I think there are, phrasal verbs, which you

might very well hear at a parent-teacher meeting, okay?

And also in general, you can hear them in

different situations, and certainly in academic

situations, okay?

So, I really wish you all the very best.

I admire my students so much, especially the

parents, because what happens after some time,

or especially after a few years, is their children become their teachers in English,

and you might be experiencing this already, and it's a real challenge and I so admire

all the parents who have moved to a new country,

who are immigrants, and who are supporting

their families in the best ways they can, and I'm very honoured to be able to do that

for you, okay?

All the best with your English, and all the best with your families and your new life.

Bye for now.