Discussing School Performance & Teacher Feedback
Parents reviewing a child's school report card or discussing feedback received from a teacher during a parent-teacher conference, addressing academic progress, behavior, or social development.
Dialogue
Listen and follow along with the conversation
Vocabulary
Essential words and phrases from the dialogue
parent-teacher conference
A meeting between parents and a teacher to discuss a child's progress in school; useful for talking about family involvement in education.
academically
Relating to school subjects and studies; use this adverb to describe performance in learning areas like math or reading.
grasping
Understanding or learning something quickly; often used with 'concepts' to show how well someone learns ideas.
rushes
Does something too quickly without care; common in discussions about habits like reading or homework.
pay attention
To focus on something carefully; a phrase parents use when advising kids on school behavior.
distracted
Unable to concentrate because of other things; describes common child behaviors in class or at home.
well-behaved
Acting in a good, polite way; used to praise children's conduct in school or social settings.
reinforce
To strengthen or support something, like practicing skills at home; helpful for parenting tips on improvement.
excel
To do very well or be outstanding; often used to encourage children in their studies or activities.
Key Sentences
Important phrases to remember and practice
How's Emily doing? Any major surprises?
This is a casual way to ask about someone's progress and if there's unexpected news; useful in family discussions. It uses present continuous 'how's ... doing' for ongoing status and 'any' for open questions.
She's doing quite well academically, especially in math.
Expresses positive performance with 'quite well' for emphasis and 'especially' to highlight a strong area; great for reporting good news. 'Academically' is an adverb modifying the verb.
She sometimes rushes through the passages and doesn't always pay attention to the details.
Describes occasional problems using 'sometimes' and 'doesn't always' for frequency; useful for discussing challenges. Note the negative structure with 'doesn't' for habits.
She suggested we continue with the sight word practice at home.
Reports advice from someone else using 'suggested' in past tense; practical for sharing teacher recommendations. 'Continue with' shows ongoing action.
Emily is generally well-behaved, but sometimes she gets a little distracted.
Balances positive and minor issues with 'generally' (usually) and 'but' for contrast; common in feedback talks. 'Gets distracted' uses present simple for repeated behavior.
So, overall, a positive report with a couple of areas to focus on?
Summarizes the main points using 'overall' for general view and 'a couple of' for a few items; good for confirming understanding. It's a question tag for agreement.
If we just reinforce the reading and remind her to stay focused, she'll continue to excel.
A conditional sentence with 'if' for future actions and 'will' for prediction; useful for parenting plans. 'Reinforce' and 'excel' show support leading to success.
We'll talk to Emily tonight about it. Maybe we can set up a reward system for her reading practice.
Plans future actions with 'will' and suggests ideas with 'maybe'; practical for family decisions. 'Set up' is a phrasal verb meaning to establish something new.