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 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.
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
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?
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.
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 your helping Johnny.
I really appreciate everything you're doing to help Johnny.
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.
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.
Okay?
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?
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.
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
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
Not one behind and one ahead, but in the same
place, so they're keeping up with each other,
okay?
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
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.
Next, sometimes when I call on him, to call
on someone, means when I ask him a question,
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
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?
"So, I give him more time to catch on."
To catch on means to understand, alright?
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?
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
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?
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 the class activities.
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
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
All the best with your English, and all the best with your families and your new life.