📙 Part 2: Describe your first day at school

This episode's vocabulary

Vagueness (noun) - the quality of not being clearly expressed, known, described, or decided.

Anxious (adj.) - worried and nervous.

Overwhelming (adj.) - feeling sudden strong emotion.

To overtake (verb) - to go past something by being a greater amount or degree.

Blur (noun) - something that you cannot remember or understand clearly.

Wind up (phrasal verb) - to find yourself in an unexpected and usually unpleasant situation, especially as a result of what you do.

Ironic (adj.) - interesting, strange, or funny because of being very different from what you would usually expect.

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Questions and Answers

R: This will be a little bit difficult to answer, since I had my first day at school about 25 years ago. So there'll be a lot of vagueness and gaps and knowledge and gaps in my memory as well, now that I think about it. However, I can at least provide some basic details. Like I said before, my first school was just up the road from where I lived, though we still drove there. Perhaps to save time because my parents basically took us to school and then drove straight to work in the mornings. I remember feeling anxious the whole time, since it was a pretty big step going from my home to the school, even though it was so close by, I would be without my parents and have to meet all these new people. So it was rather overwhelming actually, now that I think about it. As for what exactly happened that day, I remember being told to take a tray. They were like these long boxes without any lids, where we would keep all of our school things. So I took one, but it wasn't one with my name on it. They left that part out of the instructions. So there was a whole issue overtaking the things out and putting them back and what have you. Aside from that, the rest of the time there was a blur and the finer details escaped me now. I just remember really hating it and never wanting to go back. And of course, I wound up going there for the next 12 years of my life. It was the start of a long and problematic relationship with educational establishments and institutions. Well, large institutions in general, to be honest, I'm not a big fan of. It's maybe a shame because if that first day hadn't been so rubbish and perhaps I'd been a little bit better prepared for it, things might have been very different. However, my life seems to have turned out quite positively in the end, regardless. It's all rather ironic because I'm a teacher now, although, admittedly, I'm a teacher that hates going to school. So make of that what you will.

M: And have your friends had similar experiences?

R: To be honest with you, I haven't actually asked them.

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Discussion

M: Hey! Thank you, Rory, for your school story! Cool school story. Right, dear listener, your first day of school. Do you remember it? If you don't, you should imagine. Imagine your first day at school, okay? So you imagine your ideal first day at school and just talk about it or you can steal Rory's answer, okay? And just repeat everything Rory told us about his first day at school. So you started off with a little introduction. This will be a little bit difficult to answer, since I had my first day at school about 25 years ago. So dear listener, you can say that oh, my first day of school was about 30 years ago, 40 years ago, 10 years ago or my first day at school was, I don't know, five years ago. No, that means that you are what? Six years old taking IELTS? I don't think it's possible. Yeah. And Rory told us that that's why, because it was so long ago, there will be a lot of vagueness and gaps in knowledge, because Rory doesn't remember what he had 25 years ago.

R: I just don't remember the fine details.

M: So the answer could be vague. Not precise, not specific. And there are gaps in knowledge, because Rory forgot things or deleted them on purpose. But you said that at least I can provide some basic details. And then it's a good idea to say where the school was. So my first school or the school I went to was just up the road from where I lived. Or it was far away from my home or my school was a 10-minute walk from my house. So you drove there?

R: No, I was driven there.

M: Really? It was just there and still, you used a car? What? For 1 minute?

R: Petrol was cheaper 25 years ago. And mum and dad needed to drive to work, so it was just on their way, it's convenient.

M: Oh, okay. I remember feeling anxious. So this is a good structure. Because the story is in the past. Your first day of school was in the past. I remember doing something. I remember feeling great, I remember feeling anxious and, dear listener, this is the first day at school. Like your first day in school. Yes, so I remember feeling anxious or I remember feeling nothing, I remember feeling, I don't know, excited.

R: Well, you could say I don't remember what I felt.

M: Yeah, it was a big step going from my home to school. So Rory used to be at home all the time and then he started going to school. Wow! What a step! I would be without my parents. So at that moment, Rory was thinking that he would be without his parents, he would be alone by himself at this school and he would have to meet all these new people. So all these strange Scottish boys and girls, who were different from Rory. And dear listener, do you remember that Rory was a handful, he was a difficult child, he was an unsettled child, difficult to deal with, yeah? So it was rather overwhelming. Rory, what did you mean when you said it was rather overwhelming?

R: It was just too much, like going on on the first day. Like, I didn't think I was well prepared for going to school at all.

M: Oh, okay. So you didn't go to any preschool classes or preschool groups, no? So you jumped from home straight to school?

R: Um, I went to nursery. But even then, I didn't like nursery. Like, I feel... Obviously, my parents did their best, but I don't think that they did a great job getting me ready for school, to be honest with you.

M: Oh, okay.

R: I think they just assumed like, that everything would be just fine and it wasn't just fine.

M: Oh, wow. Interesting. Maybe that's why you were a little bit, you know, difficult to deal with. Right. So, you see, this is the vocabulary, dear listener. On the first day of school, I was overwhelmed. It was rather overwhelming, it was too much. I remember feeling anxious, I remember feeling excited, it was overwhelming. I wasn't ready for this, yeah? So what happened on the day? So we say on that day. Preposition. On the first day of school, I did this and that. On that day I remember being told to take a tray. A tray? At a cafeteria?

R: No, no. A tray like... They're like drawers that you take out of, I guess, cabinets and it's where pupils keep their things.

M: Yeah, you see, dear listener. So still, I remember doing something. So here Rory was told to do things. So some people told him to do things. So that's why the passive voice, I remember being told to do this, I remember being taken to cafeteria, I remember being beaten on my first day at school by some bullies. I remember being told off by the teacher. So maybe the teacher told you off, you know, they kind of shouted at you. Why didn't you remove your shoes? Get your shoes in order... Do this and that. So maybe they told you off. Teachers told Rory to take this tray and Rory took another tray. So he took the tray that didn't have his name on it. So you took somebody else's tray?

R: Yes.

M: Nice.

R: By accident.

M: You kind of, you started making trouble from the get-go. Huh, Rory?

R: Basically, yes.

M: And then aside from that, right? So kind of moving on to other things. The rest of the time there was a blur. And this a nice expression like, okay, I don't remember anything about that day. It was 20 freaking five years ago.

R: It's probably longer than that now. 25 years ago I was eight years old, so it would have been 29, 28 years ago. Oh, my God, I'm so old...

M: Wow. How old am I? So you can say the rest of the time was a blur. The rest of the day was a blur. A blur? Like I don't remember anything. It was vague, I can't remember any details, yeah. The finer details escape me now. So like little, specific details about this day escape me now. So I don't have it now, I don't remember. And then again, this structure, I just remember hating it. And Rory hated school from the very first day, yeah? So I just remember crying there, I just remember missing my parents, I just remember again, I don't know, eating a nice cake or I remember meeting a great person, my best friend. And Rory never wanted to go back. Wow. On your first day and really? Kind of like you remember this, that you kind of this hatred that you had for school?

R: Yeah, I've never liked school.

M: Interesting.

R: I work so much better teaching outside of school, it's funny. Well, I even said it's ironic because I'm a teacher that hates going to school. I like teaching lessons and classes, but I don't like going to school.

M: And then Rory used his favourite phrasal verb "to wind up doing something". In the past it's I wound up going to this school for the next 12 years of my life. 12 years? I went to school for 11 years. Interesting.

R: Well, Russian students start school later, I think.

M: And then he continues kind of this moaning about his school years. It was the start of a long, problematic relationship with educational establishments and institutions. So a school is an educational establishment. A school is an institution, which Rory hated. You might remember from the previous episodes that Rory changed what? Two schools, yeah?

R: Yeah, I've changed primary schools one time, from one to the other and then I grew up and had to go to high school. And I stayed in high school. But I didn't like any of them. Like I just thought it was awful.

M: And then our favourite strategy. Which strategy, Rory?

R: Oh, is it the conditional?

M: Hey! The third conditional, because the story is in the past. So again, if that first day hadn't been so rubbish. Rubbish like horrible. So again, it's about the past, unreal past. So for Rory, this day was horrible, it was rubbish. So if that first day at school hadn't been rubbish, but it was. I would have been happier, yeah? But I wasn't. And also like, if I had been a bit better prepared. The third conditional. But Rory was not prepared for school. Rory was just thrown into a school. So if I had been better prepared for it, but I wasn't, things might have been very different. But things were not different, things were horrible. You see, again, the third conditional with might. Rory, could you say the full sentence again? And we will listen to your pronunciation.

R: If that first day hadn't been so rubbish and perhaps, if I'd been a little bit better prepared for it, things might have been very different. However, my life seems to have turned out quite positively in the end, regardless.

M: Sweet. And again, my life seems to have turned out positively. We need to use the past, this present perfect. Infinitive, perfect infinitive. My life seems to have turned out positively because we talk about the past, right? That's why we need this have turned. And then, like, Rory finishes off with, it's all rather ironic because I'm a teacher now. Yay! I just went back working in the school. You know, Rory, maybe, kind of, you hated working in a school, because you hated going to school.

R: Probably. Yeah. But if you're like me and you're a student that hates going to school and you want a teacher that also hates going to school, then drop me a line on Instagram and maybe we can book some classes for you.

M: Yeah. So make sure you use this construction. I remember going to school, I remember hating it, I remember doing something. And also, I hate going to school, also -ing. So I hate being at school, I hate. Or I hated, yeah? Doing this. Tell us how you structured this answer? What linking words, what natural linking words did you use?

R: Well, it was a whole load of phrases that we've seen in the past. So I was saying, like I said before, my first school was up the road, so I'm calling on my answer from part one to reinforce what I've said there. And then, talking about how I felt and then moving on into the actual day, !s for what exactly happened on the day. And then moving forward from that, talking about the details. Aside from that, just saying in addition or something also to bear in mind. And then wrapping up that section with "and of course, I wound up going there". So just introducing the end of the situation, which wasn't great, but it has to be done. And then wrapping up with my usual if that first day hadn't been so rubbish. Conditional sentence.

M: Sweet. Thank you very much, Rory, for your emotional school story!

R: Thank you, Maria!

M: Too cool for school. And we'll get back to you in speaking part three, where we talk about schools, jobs and young people. Bye!

R: Bye!

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