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University Classes
Listen to the Entire Lesson
In this lesson, we are going to learn about the
terminologies you need to know when you talk about classes with your peers.
There are several sections I will break this up into:
Registering for classes
Grades in class
Professors and different curriculum
Dropping out/Withdrawal
First, let's talk about registering for classes.
Questions
" Did
you register yet?"
" When
do you register for classes?"
" When
does registration start for next semester?"
" How
do you register for classes?"
" Where
is the registration office?"
" What
classes are you registering for?"
" What
classes are you going to take?"
" What
classes do you want to take?"
Ways to answer these questions
" I
haven't registered yet."
" I
register next Tuesday."
" Registration
starts 4 weeks before the next semester."
" You
register on-line. Go to the website, and click on register."
" The
registration office is in Schmidt Hall. That's right across the street from the
statue."
" I'm
not worried about getting into psychology 101, but I think the physics class
will be full by the time I register."
" If
all things go well, I plan on registering for English composition, chemistry,
and calculus."
" I
really want to take computer programming, but I'll have to see if it is full or
not."
Regular comments about registering
" I
hate registering for classes. All the classes I want to take are always full."
" Being
a sophomore sucks because we register last."
" Seniors
have the first pick so registering is easy for them."
" If
I get all the classes I want to take, I'll be so happy."
" Registration
was great this time. I got all the classes I wanted."
" Registering
for classes is such a big headache."
University Classes - Grades
Grades in Classes
Talking about grades is all dependent on if you open up about these things or
not. I know some people are very secretive about their grades, and others like me
freely talk about grades. So make sure you are close friends with the person
you are talking to about grades.
Grades are different depending on school. Some schools give letter grades that
translates into number grade. Other schools strictly give number grades only.
The difference is in letter grades, you cannot get a 3.5. You either get a B+,
which is a 3.3, or an A- which is a 3.7. However, in number grades, the
instructor can give a 3.4, 3.5, or 3.6.
" What
did you get in English?" If you are talking about the
subject, you do not need to say grade. But if not, you can ask, " What
grade did you get in English?"
" I
can't believe I got a 3.1 in biology. What did you get?"
" How
was your GPA this semester?" GPA stands for Grade Point
Average.
" How
were your grades this quarter?"
" Did
you do well this semester?"
" Did
you screw up your grades this semester?"
" What
was the lowest grade you ever got?"
" What
is your overall GPA?"
" How
are your grades?"
" What's
your accum?" This is short for accumulated.
This is asking what your overall GPA is.
I'll give examples for both specific and general answers.
" In
English, I got a B+."
" I
got a 2.9 in English."
" I
did similar to you."
" I
got a 3.4 this semester."
" If
I didn't get the C+ in Biology, my GPA would have been awesome this semester."
" My
grades were ok."
" I
did average this quarter."
" My
accum is 3.6 right now. I really want to get over 3.75."
" My
overall GPA is 2.94. I need to get a 3.4 next semester to bring my GPA above
3.0."
" My
GPA sucks."
" I
did pretty good this semester." Although
grammatically this is incorrect, spoken English allows such errors. If you want
to be grammatically perfect, you will need to say, " I
did pretty well this semester."
University Classes - Professors and
Curriculum
" How
is Professor Johnson?"
" Is
Professor Smith an easy grader?"
" What
is Professor Lee like?"
" Would
you take another class from Professor Jackson again?"
" How
many exams did you have to take in Sociology 121?"
" What's
the curriculum for Chemistry 101?"
" Do
you have to give any presentations in journalism class?"
" What
do you do in poetry class?"
If somebody asks you these types of questions, you can answer like the
following:
" Professor
Johnson is so uptight. He's always lecturing and never allows students to ask
any questions."
" Professor
Johnson is a brilliant professor. I learned so much from him."
" No
way. He is such a hard grader. I was expecting a 3.7, but it turns out that I
got a 3.1. Can you believe that?"
" His
grading system is messed up. He grades according to how much he likes you."
" He's
a difficult grader."
" He's
an easy grader."
" So
far, I have taken 2 classes from Professor Jackson. I'm going to take every
class he offers."
" I
wouldn't recommend Professor Jackson. His classes are so boring."
" He's
an idiot. He doesn't know anything."
" There
were just two exams... the midterm and the final."
" There
is an exam ever other week. It was hard, but at least it prevented me from
cramming."
" The
curriculum is pretty basic. We have two days of lecture, two days of lab, and
one day of discussions. Every now and then we have a quiz, but it's pretty
routine."
" In
journalism, we have to give a presentation 3 times during the course. I didn't
mind it, but a lot of other students were complaining."
" We
had two presentations, but they were pretty easy. It was the writing that was
hard."
University Classes - Dropping Out /
Withdrawal
There are two ways to leave a class. You either drop
out, or you withdrawal. Dropping out usually means you are going to get a
failing grade and you don't care about it. But primarily, dropping out refers
to leaving college life altogether. So if you intend to say that you dropped
out of a class, you should use withdrawal. There are several time periods for
withdrawal. The first week, there is no penalty. The second week up to the
first month, a W will show up on your transcript. And finally, withdrawal after
the half way point will give you a failing grade. But this is dependent on each
school policy. So learn the withdrawal format of your school. I was using the
dates mentioned above only as an example. Let's learn some sentences to say
these kinds of things.
" I
dropped out of my chemistry class."
" I
withdrew from my biology class."
" I
had too many classes as it is, so I dropped out of my statistics class."
" I
couldn't keep up with the schedule, so I dropped out of that class."
" I
couldn't understand the material, so I withdrew."
" I
hated the professor, so I just withdrew."
If you need to ask questions about withdrawal, these may help:
" When
is the last day to withdrawal?"
" If
I withdrawal now, will it show up on my transcript?"
" Does
a withdrawal look bad on the transcript?"
" How
do I drop out of a class that I don't want to take anymore?"
" What
is the procedure to withdrawal from class?"
" How
do I withdrawal from a certain class?"
Other things you might want to say when discussing this topic...
" Are
you sure you want to drop out of that class. You only have 4 more weeks. At
least you can get the credit."
" If
I stay in that class, I'm going to screw up my GPA."
" The
best I can do is a C in this class. I don't want a C on my transcript. I'm
going to withdrawal from the class."
" If
you get a bad grade, can't you just re-take the course?"
" Even
if I retake the course, both grades are used. This school has a different
system where re-taking the course doesn't really help."
University Classes - Interactive
Practice
Click on Listen
All and follow along. After becoming comfortable with the entire conversation,
become Person A by clicking on the Person A button. You will hear only Person B
through the audio file. There will be a silence for you to repeat the sentences
of Person A. Do the same for Person B. The speed of the conversation is native
speed. Use the pause button if the pause between each sentence is too fast for
you. After practicing several times, you will be able to speak as fast as a
native.
1
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Listen All |
Person A |
Person B
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A: "Hey
John, did you register for classes yet?"
B: "I register this Friday."
A: "What classes do you plan on taking?"
B: "I really want to take the communication class, but I don't know if
it will be available."
A: "Is that class really that popular?"
B: "Yeah. I tried to get in last semester, but it was full by the time I
registered."
A: "What other classes are you going to take?"
B: "I still need to take English 201, but I really don't like
writing."
A: "I took that class already. There is a lot of writing, but it's not
that bad."
B: "Oh really? Who was the instructor? There are like 4 different
instructors to choose from."
A: "I had Professor Mahoney."
B: "Is he an easy grader?"
A: "I'm not sure if he is or not, but I thought he was definitely
fair."
B: "Do you mind if I ask you what you got?"
A: "Not at all. I got a 3.8."
B: "Well, what did you get in English 101 last year?"
A: "I got a 4.0 in that class."
B: "Well, I can't compare to you. I got a 3.1 in English 101. That means
if you got a lower grade in English 201, it must be harder."
A: "It's not what it appears. I actually tried harder in the 101 class.
If I put as much effort into the 201 class, I would have received the same
grade."
B: "Oh. That helps. Thanks."
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2
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Listen All |
Person A |
Person B
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A: "Hey
Mike. I forgot about registration. I'm a day late, so all the classes are
mostly full. What do you think I should do?"
B: "You're screwed. You can't do anything about that. You have to hope
that you get some classes that will be useful."
A: "Do you think going to the registration building will help at
all."
B: "No. They will tell you the same thing in a worse way."
A: "Did you register yet?"
B: "Of course. Registering for classes is not something you want to
miss."
A: "What classes do you think are still open?"
B: "Well, I know psychology 101 is a big class, so there will always be
seats in that class. You can also get into Sociology."
A: "That's helpful. Thanks. But what do you think about philosophy. I
wanted to take that class this semester."
B: "I took that class last year. The professor is really cool, so if you
go to his office, you can have him sign a card that will let you in even if
the class is full."
A: "He does that?"
B: "I guess that's because so many people drop out of that class."
A: "That makes sense. I think I'll do that. Thanks for all the
help."
B: "No problem man."
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3
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Listen All |
Person A |
Person B
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A: "Did
you get your grades yet?"
B: "Yeah. My whole GPA is screwed up now."
A: "Why? What happened?"
B: "Well, I bombed my econ final and ended up with a 1.7."
A: "Ouch. You must be very disappointed."
B: "Well, it's my fault because I didn't study as much as I should
have."
A: "Why don't you re-take the class next year?"
B: "That's what I plan on doing unless I keep screwing up. How did you
do this semester?"
A: "I didn't do that well either. I ended up with a 3.2 this semester.
That drops my total GPA to 3.45."
B: "My GPA is pretty similar to yours. I have a 3.1 now because of the
stupid econ class."
A: "What was your GPA before this semester?"
B: "I was sitting happy with a 3.4."
A: "Why did it go down so much?"
B: "Let's just say I screwed up more than my econ class."
A: "What happened to you?"
B: "I started playing StarCraft and ended up wasting a lot of
time."
A: "You better stop slacking off."
B: "You're right. I'm not going to play games during school
anymore."
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4
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Listen All |
Person A |
Person B
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A: "Did
you ever take History 231?"
B: "Yeah. Last semester."
A: "Who was the professor?"
B: "It was Professor Johnson."
A: "I have him this semester. What do you think about him?"
B: "He's a terrible instructor and demands a lot, but fortunately, he's
an easy grader."
A: "What did you end up getting?"
B: "I got an A-. Sounds good, but none of my test scores were that high,
so I don't know how I got a decent grade."
A: "That's probably because he grades on a curve."
B: "Are you enjoying the class so far?"
A: "I hate it and I was about to withdrawal. But after hearing your
experience, I think I will tough it out."
B: "Yes. Definitely stay in the class. You will get a better grade than
your test scores. He does that deliberately to make all the students study a
lot."
A: "Thanks for letting me know. I feel relieved now."
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5
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Listen All |
Person A |
Person B
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A:
"Hi Mark."
B: "Oh, hi Stacy."
A: "How was your summer vacation?"
B: "I worked over the summer at a restaurant. Have to make tuition money
right? What did you do?"
A: "I took summer school. I withdrew from two of my classes last year so
I wanted to make them up."
B: "So are you officially a junior now?"
A: "Yeah. And I have 5 credits to spare. I only needed to take 10
credits over the summer, but I took 15 because the price was the same."
B: "That makes sense. So where is Nicole?"
A: "She dropped out of school completely."
B: "Really? Why?"
A: "She worked at a startup company as an intern and since the business
did well, they asked her if she wanted to work full time."
B: "Wow. She's so lucky. She doesn't have a degree and she already has a
job."
A: "It sounds good now, but I'm traditional. I want the degree, so I
wouldn't have accepted the offer."
B: "Do you know how much they are paying her?"
A: "I don't know. But I bet it must have been a good offer, or she
wouldn't have accepted it."
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