Classroom Language

Useful stuff in the classroom a binder a ruler scissors a glue stick glue (noun / verb) a stapler staple(s) (noun / verb) a hole punch punch (verb) tape (noun / verb)

Phrasal Verbs - Homework hand out = distribute Ex: The teacher handed out the homework at the end of class. hand in = submit Ex: Please hand in your homework before you leave. hand back = to return homework after correcting it Ex: The teacher handed back the homework and encouraged us to correct our errors.

Phrasal Verbs – Student behaviour slack off = to do nothing instead of working; to avoid work or effort Ex: He failed his course because he always slacked off. He’s a slacker!

goof off = to play; to do stupid things instead of working Ex: Two guys in my chemistry class were goofing off and mixing different chemicals and they caused an explosion.

skip out = to miss class without a proper reason Ex: She skipped out (of her class) for two days while her friend was visiting.

drop out = to quit a class or a program Ex: He started a computer class but dropped out because it was too easy.

kick out / boot out = to be removed from somewhere due to bad behaviour Ex: He was kicked out of the program because he was absent too many times. Ex: He got booted out of the nightclub after getting drunk and trying to start a fight.

Phrasal verbs – In class keep up = to progress at the same speed as the others in the group Ex: The other people in my math class are really smart so the teacher is moving really quickly and it’s hard for me to keep up.

fall behind = to not progress at the same speed as others in the group Ex: She was sick for a couple of days so she fell behind.

catch up = to get to the same position as the others in a group after falling behind Ex: She joined the class a couple of days late but she worked hard, did the homework she’d missed and was able to catch up.

Other phrasal verbs related to school go off = to ring; to make a sound Ex: My alarm clock goes off every morning at 6:30 am. sleep in = to wake up late, by accident or on purpose Ex: She slept in because she didn’t hear her alarm go off.

do over = to do something again in order to improve it Ex: I misunderstood the homework assignment so I have to do it over. go over = to review something in order to improve understanding Ex: The teacher is going to go over the grammar in class tomorrow because a lot of students are still confused about it.

Common errors – non-count nouns homework Ex: We have a lot of homework. / We have a lot of homeworks. Vocabulary Ex: We have studied a lot of vocabulary. We have learned a lot of items of vocabulary. / We have studied a lot of vocabularies. Note: The vocabularies of French and English have a lot of similar words.

Vocabulary: Literal vs. Figurative meanings Words often have both a literal (true) meaning and a figurative meaning. Ex: literal – Four people were killed in the accident. Ex: figurative – My dad would kill me if I scratched his new car.

Avoid use of language that is… ambiguous = confusing Ex: I’m glad I’m a man and so is she. (Is she glad or is she a man?) redundant = repeating the same idea Ex: She’s smart and clever. (You’re saying the same thing twice.) awkward = just doesn’t sound right Ex: I always don’t do it. → I never do it. unclear = hard to understand Ex: I’m very not happy because much money to have. What?????

Important questions Pronunciation Spelling How do you pronounce it? How do you spell it?

More important questions Meaning Translation What does it mean? How do you say it in English?

Still more important questions Differences Another word for… What’s the difference between notice & realize? What’s another word for confused?

Focusing on the lesson stay on track / task = to continue to focus on the task Ex: Okay everyone, let’s try to stay on task. get off track / task = to fail to focus on the task Ex: We were discussing cloning and got off track and started talking about AI. get back on track / task = to return one’s focus to the intended task Ex: We’re a little off track here. Let’s get back on track, everyone.

How was your test? to ace a test = to do an excellent job on a test Ex: Wow, that test was easy. I totally aced it. to blow a test = to do a bad job on a test Ex: I studied the wrong material and completely blew the test.

Cheating He cheated on the test. He cheated off my paper. plagiarize = to copy someone else’s words and say they are your own She plagiarized several sections of her essay.

Some other useful classroom words a typo = a typing mistake Student: Why does this sentence say “you walks?” Teacher: Oh, sorry, that’s just a typo. It should say, “you walk.” usage = how a word or expression is used. Sometimes, a word appears to be appropriate in a given context but it just doesn’t work. The reason is related to usage. Sometimes we just don’t use certain words together but there is no specific reason. collocation = words that frequently appear together Ex: We can say, “a tall mountain” and a “tall man.” However, we can say a “high mountain” but we cannot say a “high man.” The reason is that high is not a collocation for man. As another example, we make a contribution but we do not do a contribution. absent = adjective (not a verb) Ex: He was absent for a couple of days with a bad cold.

Happy learning everyone!