Conversations in Class A2_book1

Sounding Natural

Situation 2

Consider the following situations.

If you can’t answer because you don’t know how to say something in English, just ask how to say the word (or sentence) in English.

Situation 1

If you don’t understand something your conversation partner (or your teacher) says, you should ask for help straightaway. Say that you don’t understand, or ask for the meaning of the unknown word. Your teacher can answer with a sentence, with gestures, with a drawing, or give you the Japanese translation. If you ask for help, the conversation can continue. That’s much better than being stuck in silence.

Do you live by yourself?

Hmm. How do you say “ gakusei ryô ” in English?

Do you live by yourself?

Variation • What's “ gakusei ryô ” in English?

Sorry, I don't understand "by yourself".

Do this in class too!

This Golden Rule is a very basic and important part of daily conversations. But it also applies to English classes. When your teacher asks you a question, it’s best to make sure that you don’t remain silent for more than a few seconds, because your silence could be taken in a nega tive way. If you use one of the strategies outlined above, you will help the class to move along, even if you have not understood the question or don’t know how to answer. Your teacher will definitely prefer that to being stuck in uncomfortable silence.

Variation • What does "by yourself" mean? • What do you mean?

If you haven’t understood a phrase, you may have dif ficulty repeating it. In that case, ask your conversation partner to repeat their question, and listen carefully so that you can repeat it. Your pronunciation doesn’t need to be perfect. It is enough if the word or phrase is recognizable.

Do you live by yourself?

Sorry?

Do you live by yourself?

Sorry, I don't understand "by yourself".

Variations • Pardon? • Sorry, I didn't get that.

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The Golden Rules