Lesson Feedback
Student Name: Mr. Christophe DEPEYRE Company Name: ITRON Course Name: Business English 3 Lesson#: Lesson 24 Lesson Date: September 16, 2016 (FRI)
Lesson Objectives: ˜=You were successful. r=Needs work; see comments. ü=Omitted; see comments.
1. Learn some tips on how caregivers of the elderly can take care of themselves. ˜ 2. Discuss issues of death and aging. ˜ 3. Discuss the pros and cons of caring of an elderly loved one. ˜ 4. Find out what makes a home for the elderly a good one. ˜ 5. Review the superlative form of adjectives. ˜
Speaking and Listening Skills
Problem: When referring to the topic of aging, you said: “It’s very very heavy…”
Solution: “It’s very serious…” Also: “It’s a very serious issue.” And: “It’s a very heavy responsibility.”
Problem: “It depend your position and your work.”
Solution: “It depends on your position and your work/job.”
Problem: “It’s your mission* …”
Solution: The noun ‘mission’ sounds a little odd in this context. Instead, it’s more common to use these words: “It’s your responsibility/duty …”
To go over sentence examples with ‘mission’: http://www.merriam- webster.com/dictionary/mission .
Problem: “I’m not impact about these things.”
Solution: “I’m not impacted by these things.”
Problem: “When your parents became old and lose their autonomy…”
Solution: “When your parents become old and lose their autonomy…” This noun is also very common in this context: “When your parents become old and lose their independence…”
1 Problem: “You have specialized house…”
Solution: “You have nursing homes…” This phrase is common in this context: “You have nursing homes that offer specialized care.”
For related vocabulary, try this website: https://www.medicare.gov/nursinghomecompare/Resources/Nursing-Home- Alternatives.html .
Problem: Grammar: Verb tense. Also, missing adverb. “…live the rest of their lives as they could…”
Solution: “…live the rest of their lives as comfortably/independently as they can…”
Problem: Vocabulary: Choice of verb. “You took this choice…” And: “I took an example…”
Solution: “You made this choice…” And: “I gave an example…”
Problem: Vocabulary. You asked about these words: frail, living will, and befall.
Solution: Here are some definitions with examples: Frail (adj.) = having less than a normal amount of strength or force: very weak: easily damaged or destroyed. For example: He looked awful frail the last time we saw him. Living will = legal: a document in which you say what medical decisions should be made if you become too sick or injured to make those decisions. Medical: document in which the signer requests to be allowed to die rather than be kept alive by artificial means in the event of becoming disabled beyond a reasonable expectation of recovery. For example: He signed a living will before attempting to climb Mt. Everest. Befall = of something bad or unpleasant: to happen to (someone or something): to happen especially as if by fate. For example: The drought was only one of many hardships to befall the small country.
Problem: When talking about cultural attitudes toward the elderly in Africa, you said: “You are an old…you are a sage man.”
Solution: The phrase ‘sage man’ sounds a little odd. Also, ‘sage’ is usually used as a noun, for example: “When you are old in Africa, you are considered a sage.” This adjective is more common with the noun ‘man’: “In Africa when you become older, you are respected as a wise man.”
Problem: Grammar: Incorrect preposition. “For my point of view…”
Solution: “From my point of view/perspective…”
Problem: “…each two advertise is for how decrease the aging…”
Solution: “Every other advertisement/ad is for how to decrease the effects of aging.”
Related vocabulary: Slow the aging process, stay/look young, fountain of youth.
2 Problem: “We have more communication about this…”
Solution: What you said was fine. But here’s another way to express the same idea: “Nowadays we talk more openly about this.”
Problem: “…refuse to became old…”
Solution: “…refuse to become old…” Also: “… really dread becoming/getting old…”
Related verbs: Accept, deny.
Problem: “It is easy to don’t make effort.”
Solution: “It is easy to not make an effort.”
Problem: Pronunciation. You struggled a little with this word: isolated.
Solution: Here’s the phonetic spelling: \ˈīsəˌlādəd/. 1st syllable gets the stress. Try to practice in a sentence: Many elderly people become very isolated in our society.
Problem: Grammar: Unnecessary preposition. When talking about what you most require of caregivers, you said: “…have to trust on the people…”
Solution: “…have to trust the people…” You can also use some adjectives: “The caregivers must be trustworthy and compassionate.”
Problem: Grammar: Lack of possessive pronoun. “You enter into intimate life…”
Solution: “You enter into their intimate life…” Also: “Since the caregiver often deals with intimate matters, they should be very respectful of a person’s privacy.”
Problem: Grammar: Missing key word. When talking about unethical/dishonest caregivers or nursing homes, you said: “You will have duped…”
Solution: “You will have been/gotten duped/fooled/tricked/cheated…”
Problem: When talking about how to avoid burnout, you said: “…keep the good distance…”
Solution: “You need to maintain/keep a proper distance…” Also: “You need to somehow maintain balance …”
Problem: Grammar: Incorrect use of pronoun. “…living only for you…”
Solution: Instead use the reflexive pronoun: “…living only for yourself …”
Problem: Pronunciation: Stress patterns in long words.
3 Solution: To practice word stress, try to sort words into groups according to their word stress. For example, the following words all have the primary stress on the 3rd syllable: Ven e ZUE la, en ter TAIN ment, o ver WHELM ing, and con sti TU tion.
To review common stress patterns in English, try this website: http://esl.about.com/od/speakingenglish/a/8wspatterns.htm .
Vocabulary Tip: Collocations. To review collocations & see many examples: http://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/collocations.htm To take more challenging business collocation quizzes, try this website: http://www.better-english.com/strongcoll.htm . *Blog related to this topic with lots of useful vocabulary: http://www.timegoesby.net/weblog/2010/06/fear-of-getting-old.html .
Problem: Listening: Especially connected speech.
Solution: There is a strong tendency in English to simplify and link words together in the stream of speech, in order to help the language flow rhythmically. This makes it hard to understand people when they speak at natural speed. Here’s a common example: I am going to go for a hike in an hour = “I’m gonna go for a hike in an hour.” In this sentence, ‘in an hour’ would actually sound like 1 word with 2 very short syllables and 1 long syllable. To review, try this website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/features/connected.shtml . For more pronunciation tips & practice drills, try this website: http://www.tedpower.co.uk/l1french.html . To review key differences between French & English, try this website: http://esl.fis.edu/grammar/langdiff/french.htm . To listen to short audios that include a text: http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1212/121231-relatives.html .
To review the grammar point: https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/adjectives- superlative.htm .
This website has lots of short audios on many topics: http://www.esl-lab.com/index.htm .
Additional Comments: It’s always good talking with you. You spoke confidently and were able to express complex ideas. You also did well when expressing opinions and sharing your observations and experiences. In the future, try to review collocations (words that go well together) and focus on learning words in phrases rather than one by one. Also, if possible try to listen to a short audio on a topic that really interests you. I hope this evaluation is helpful. If you have any questions about this evaluation or the English language, feel free to send me an e-mail.
Sincerely, Dave Coates, English Instructor
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