Arriving late to class

Listen to the conversation between two students to practise and improve your listening skills.

Do the preparation task first. Then listen to the audio and do the exercises.

Preparation

Transcript

Student 1: Sorry. Sorry, excuse me. I'm just … just coming to sit over here. Phew. Hey. How's it going? So, what have I missed?

Student 2: Nothing. He just started around five minutes ago.

Student 1: Did he say anything about the mid-term?

Student 2: What?

Student 1: About the mid-term tests. Did he say anything about when he was going to hand them back?

Student 2: He's almost finished marking them, he said. We get them next Tuesday.

Student 1: I'm sorry, I didn't catch that. When do we get them?

Student 2: Tuesday. Next Tuesday.

Student 1: OK. Got it. Sorry. What page are we meant to be on?

Student 2: Page 34.

Student 1: Page … 34. Oh, wait. I don't have my textbook. Can I … share with you? Wow. This is hard stuff.

Student 2: Mmm.

Student 1: What does SEO mean?

Student 2: What?

Student 1: SEO. This is all about SEO but he hasn't said what it means.

Student 2: Search engine optimisation. How to appear on internet searches.

Student 1: Internet searches. Right. Right. OK.

Student 2: He said what it meant.

Student 1: What?

Student 2: He explained it before you got here.

Student 1: Oh. Right. OK.

Student 2: Can you be quiet? I'm trying to listen to the lecture.

Student 1: So am I. Sorry. Sorry, one more question. What does this have to do with the American Revolution?

Student 2: What?

Student 1: I don't get it. Why is he talking about search engines in a course on the American Revolution?

Student 2: What are you talking about? This is a class on software engineering.

Student 1: You mean, it's not Early American History?

Student 2: You're in the wrong class.

Student 1: Oh, wow. Now it all makes sense. I'm so sorry.

Student 2: It's fine.

Student 1: Here, I'll just … excuse me. I'm in the wrong class. Excuse me. Thanks. Sorry.

Task 1

TrueOrFalse_MjMzMzg=.xml

Task 2

ReorderingHorizontal_MjMzMzk=.xml

Discussion

When you don't understand something in class, what do you do?

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Language level

B1 Intermediate

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I think I would raise my hand and I would ask the teacher. But sometimes most students can hesitate or shame by asking.

If I don't get something said, I ask for saying that again. "Hey could you say that again please ?"

Hi Danbraga,

Yes, that's right :)

Have a look at this video to see more phrases like this: https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/skills/speaking/beginner-a1/checking-understanding

Best wishes,

Jonathan

The LearnEnglish Team

I try to make an effor to understand the class but if I'm in trouble I just write the topic in a post-it and when I go back home I just search or whatch some videos on YouTube to find a solution. I used to ask some friends but I think it might be annoying and I don't want to distract them.

Usually, I ask for help from my colleagues. Or when I can understand the lecture, or I'm not in the mood to be concentrated I record the lecture and then I listen to it at the house. And also I take notes of important things and revise them at home. But most of the time I prefer to study on my own, I can understand lessons better and master them, lectures I see as an obligation, not necessary. My introvert type doesn't allow me to raise my hand and to ask a question in front of other students.

I'm kind of shy, so usually when I don't understand something, I write it down on my notebook with a big exclamation mark and then either at break time or when I'm back home, I go through my notes and if I still can't get it ,I search it on the Internet. Most of the time, I end up understanding it, if not I ask for it in the next class.

If I can't understand what the teacher says, I would ask some friends in the class after the class end.

It's a funny story but I spent over five years in University understanding almost nothing. Still don't know why I chose this specialization. I hadn't any obsession with radio engineering. So, I mostly pretended that I understand what lecturers said and hoped to pass exams. Considering that I graduated from university, I did that successfully. Anyway, it was hard years though. We studied lots of difficult subjects and exams were tough. But, after I finished my study, I realized that I can achieve any goal I want to. That was a fundamental experience that helps me again and again.

Hi everyone, When I didn't catch what teacher said, I asked him say again. Sometimes I couldn't get their words so I asked him help me to make sense for it .

Arriving late to class

Preparation

Transcript

Task 1

Task 2

Discussion

Language level

Online courses