📙 Part 2: Describe a time you helped a child

This episode's vocabulary

To revolve around something/someone (phrasal verb) - to have someone or something as the main or most important interest or subject.

Plaster (noun) - a small piece of sticky cloth or plastic that you use to cover and protect a cut in the skin.

Instance (noun) - a particular situation, event, or fact, especially an example of something that happens generally.

Nature connectedness (noun) - the extent to which individuals include nature as part of their identity.

To summon (verb) - to increase your courage or strength, especially with an effort.

Self-confidence (noun) - the belief that you can do things well and that other people respect you.

Counter-intuitive (adj.) - something that is counter-intuitive does not happen in the way you would expect it to.

Regardless (adverb) - despite; not being affected by something.

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Questions and Answers

M: Give it to us. Off you go.

R: Well, I'm a teacher. So my entire employment revolves around helping children, whether it's creating accessible and supportive materials, or putting plasters on various cuts that they've managed to get during the course of the day. One particularly memorable instance of me doing my job was probably when we were doing outdoor learning in the forest at one of my most recent placement schools. The idea was that the students would head out and learn how to do things outdoors and bring together all of their learning and play, and generally have a good time and develop their sense of nature connectedness. So there's lots of advantages to this kind of thing. There's a variety of structures out there to play on, this is in the forest, and one set is like a log shed where wood is stored, and the kids usually play on the roof and jump off from there. I'm making it sound dangerous, but it's really not, it's actually quite safe. One particular student, though, was having difficulty summoning the courage to jump and didn't actually seem to know how to do it safely. So I lifted myself up next to her. And we watched how the other students did it. And I asked her to look at how these other students bent their knees when they landed to avoid getting hurt, and how they pushed themselves off the side. And I reassured her that this would happen almost automatically, and she just had to try. So I started by helping physically by holding her hand, and then we progressed to just her holding my fingers and she got there. In the end, it was important to help her in order for her to develop the self-confidence to do things by herself. And since she wouldn't be able to always ask for help with this in later life. It's, well, it helps in the sense as well. I suppose that ultimately that's the teacher's job to foster independence and community feeling. Which seems a little counter-intuitive. Now that I think about it. Regardless, I'm still glad that I did it. And well, it is my job after all. So if I hadn't done it, I wouldn't be doing my job.

M: And what about the girl? How did she feel about it?

R: I think she was pretty happy that she was able to do it by herself in the end.

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Discussion

M: Hey! Oh, such a lovely story! Rory story. Hey-hey! Yeah, dear listener, for you maybe it's a difficult or like a strange topic. "Describe a time when you helped a child". Well, we all have seen children. Right? So maybe there was a situation when you know, some child was asking you to give them some, I don't know, sweets, so a present or to help them to do something. So, right. Could you please now remember this moment when you helped a child? Maybe you helped your child? Right? So yeah. And Rory deals with children. So he's been dealing with children pretty much what, for how long? Rory, how long have you been teaching?

R: Dealing with children...

M: Dealing with children. I deal with computers, I deal with cars. Rory deals with children.

R: I don't deal with children, I love... Like you deal with something that is, what's the word, that needs to be managed, that you don't necessarily want to be around. I like being around children. I don't think they necessarily like being around me, but that's their problem. So I've been a teacher for... How long ago was 2014?

M: Oh, a long time ago.

R: It's like eight or nine years. So a long time.

M: Oh, wow. Right. And then Rory said that my entire employment revolves around helping children. And then he gives examples. So I create accessible and supportive materials. I put plasters on various cuts. So cuts is when you cut your hand. So I put a plaster, this thing to protect...

R: This thing. Sticky material, probably.

M: Medical sticky material to protect our body. So put plasters on different cuts and the bodies. And then you say that one particularly memorable incident was that blah, blah, blah. You see, so like one particular memorable situation or incident, right? That something happened.

R: I just realized that it should have been incidents. But I don't think it matters here, to be honest, because it's all about a time when something happened.

M: And then Rory told us about some outdoor learning experience. Students would head out to the forest, and they would learn how to do things outdoors. And the idea was to bring them together, to have a good time and develop their sense of nature connectedness.

R: We talked about nature connectedness.

M: Right. To be connected to nature.

R: Yes.

M: Right? So dear listener, you should develop your sense of nature connectedness.

R: Apparently, all you need to do in order to do this is stand outside for approximately 20 minutes.

M: Hmm. Okay.

R: And already like then the benefits begin, like you feel calmer, more relaxed, the stress hormones go away. So it's all, it's good for you. Please go out, take the podcast outdoors and go for a walk in the forest.

M: To develop your sense of nature connectedness.

R: I would like to point out this whole story is about a particular incident of me doing my job. But even if you're not a teacher, you could use some of the vocabulary. Here like, if we talk about helping, like being accessible and supportive. I think just about everybody has put a plaster on a cut at this point. So if you didn't want to talk about when you help somebody doing other things, you could at least talk about a time when you put a plaster on a child's cut leg or something like that.

M: Yeah, yeah. True. Yeah. So I was helpful. I was supportive. Yeah, I was accessible for help. Right. And then you said like, one student or one child, one particular child was having difficulty doing something. Right? So maybe you were somewhere and then like, oh, one particular child was having difficulty with blah, blah, blah, right? And then you said, oh, then I helped them. A child could be them. You could say I helped him or her, or I helped them. Or you can say a little boy was having difficulty doing something. And then I helped them. I reassured her that this would happen. So I reassured her. I told her what?

R: Well, something to calm them down.

M: Yeah, I calmed them down, I reassured her, I supported her, I held her hand. So for example, I started helping her by holding her hand. So you can say how you helped the child. And she got there in the end. Hey! And then it was important to help her in order for her to develop the self-confidence. So children developed their sense of nature connectedness. And also, Rory helped her to develop her self-confidence.

R: And then rounding off at the end, regardless, I'm still glad I did it.

M: It is my job after all to help all children, our little people. What helped you organize this answer?

R: Well, that's a good question, isn't it? Because the introduction wasn't, I'm going to tell you about a time when I helped a child. No, it's like, one particularly memorable incident or one particularly memorable instance, or incidents of me doing something, and then launching into it, and then to introduce what you did, and I said, so I lifted myself up next to her, but you could say, so I'd went and got a first aid kit. So I did this. And then rounded off that part like she or he got there in the end after I helped them. And then to introduce feelings or the part towards the end, it was important to do this in order for something else to happen. And then rounding off, like I said before, regardless, I'm still glad I did it. It is my job after all, but you could say, I'm so glad I did it, because it's nice to help other people.

M: Yeah, dear listener, so please make sure that you have this situation, right? So an easy situation would be like a child was, I don't know, doing something and then the child fell down and you helped the child, you put a plaster on the cut, or you reassured the child, you kind of supported them, you held their hand while they were crying because they fell over. So this would be like a typical situation, right? Or, for example, you taught a child how to ride a bicycle, something kind of easy. Okay? That something that you could talk about. And yeah, use some nice words. Can we use another synonym for help? Like I helped her.

R: Supported.

M: Supported.

R: Aided.

M: Aided. Yeah. A bit formal, or I helped her out. To help out.

R: Yeah, help out is a good one.

M: Or you can say I gave her a hand.

R: I was just thinking that, give someone a helping hand.

M: Yeah. Thank you very much for listening! Make sure you do have your story. When you gave a helping hand to a child. We're gonna go back to you with our speaking part three. And we're going to be talking about volunteering. So to be a volunteer. To do work for free.

R: We'll see you next time.

M: Bye!

R: Bye!

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