Interactive Practice - College related
1. Person A Person B
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."
2. Person A & Person BA: "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."
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."
4 Person A Person B
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."
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."
Labels: English conversation