📙 Part 2: Describe your first day at school that you remember

This episode's vocabulary

State primary school (noun) – a government-funded school for young children. → I went to a state primary school called Grange.

Up the road (phrase) – located nearby. → The café is just up the road from my office.

Anxiety (noun) – a feeling of worry or fear. → I felt a horrible sense of anxiety on my first day.

Separation anxiety (noun) – distress caused by being apart from familiar people or places. → Many children feel separation anxiety on their first day of school.

In hindsight (phrase) – thinking about a situation after it has happened. → In hindsight, I realise the problem was just a misunderstanding.

Personality clash (noun) – when two people’s characters don’t get along. → We had a personality clash and struggled to work together.

Stressful (adjective) – causing worry or tension. → It was a stressful time for me.

Positive start (phrase) – a good beginning of an activity or period. → The project had a positive start thanks to careful planning.

Tray (noun) – a flat container for holding or carrying items. → I picked the wrong tray for my books.

Labelled (adjective) – marked with a name or description. → All the boxes were clearly labelled.

Embarrassing (adjective) – making you feel shy or ashamed. → It was embarrassing to make such a mistake.

Blur (noun) – something unclear or hard to remember. → That day is just a blur in my memory.

Familiar (adjective) – well-known or easily recognised. → I was familiar with some parts of the building.

Confusion (noun) – a state of not understanding something. → The directions caused a lot of confusion.

In hindsight (phrase) – looking back and understanding something differently. → In hindsight, I could have handled it better.

Curriculum (noun) – the subjects studied in a school or course. → The curriculum includes maths, science, and history.

Classroom (noun) – a room where students are taught. → The classroom was decorated with colourful posters.

Classmate (noun) – someone who is in the same class as you. → I made friends with my new classmates.

Break time (noun) – a short period of rest during the school day. → We always played football during break time.

Homework (noun) – schoolwork done outside class. → I had a lot of homework on my first day.

Questions and Answers

Maria: You should say where the school was, how you went there, what happened that day, and how you felt on that day.

Rory: Oh god, well, this must have been about 28 years ago or something now. I went to a state primary school called Grange, at least initially. It was just up the road from where I grew up, so it was easy enough to get to on foot or by car. I think that particular day I got dropped off by car and went in with my mum. To be honest, I don't remember the fine details very well, just this horrible sense of anxiety. In fact, that might have been the separation of anxiety from being away from my parents and my home for the first time ever. Unfortunately, I didn't really like my first primary school teacher and we didn't get along very well. In hindsight, I wouldn't say she was a bad person; it was just like a, I don't know, personality clash in a stressful situation. So it wasn't a very positive time in my life.

However, I got through it in the end. I don't think, well, I don't remember it, but my mother says I picked the wrong tray to keep all my books and everything in when I entered the classroom. I'm not sure how I managed that, since everything was labelled, but it must have been a bit embarrassing. For me, it all went by in a bit of a blur, like meeting new people, attempting to make new friends, and learn about the school and finding my way around. I'd been to the nursery there, so I was at least familiar with some parts of the building, but not the bit that was the primary school, which might have added to the confusion.

If I could go back and do everything all over again, I think I'd have tried to have a more grown-up attitude about the whole thing, but of course, that's easy to say in hindsight, isn't it? Obviously, when you're, what, five or six years old, then it's not the easiest thing to do. So, I shouldn't be so harsh on myself.

Discussion

Maria: So, dear listener, describe your first day at school. Remember, your very first day. The first time you went to school. Yay!

Rory: Well, it says the first day at school that you remember, so even if you don't remember the very first day, it could be a later time. Especially if you're old, like me.

Maria: Or you can just talk about the very first day you ever went to school. Even if you don't remember, you can imagine and lie and steal some of Rory's ideas. The story should be in the past. So, we use I went, I saw, I did, and you can also use past perfect. If you're not sure when it was, you can say: Hmm, this must have been about 30 years ago. It must have been. So, probably it was about 30 years ago. So, hmm, this must have been, must have been, must have been about 30 years ago. I went to a state primary school. So, when we start school, we usually first go to primary school. And we say, I went to primary school, not I studied in primary school, but I went there, because go to school. I went to a state primary school, or I went to a private primary school, like not owned by the state, for example. It was close to where I grew up, or it was just up the road from where I grew up. So, Rory's school was right next to his house. So, it was just like very close to where I grew up. It was very easy to get there on foot, on foot, so Rory walked to school. Or it was very easy to get there by car.

Rory: I think most people travel to school by foot or on foot, and if not, then they take the bus, don't they?

Maria: Or you can say, I took a bus to school, I went there by car, I went there on foot, or I had to take the metro, for example. It was very far away.

Rory: I should also say, it's a state school. These schools have different names in different countries. So, for example, in my school, this was a state school. That means it's controlled by the government. Some people go to private schools, which are controlled by independent bodies that are paid, usually by the parents. However, they might be called different things in different countries. Some schools are called private schools. However, in the UK, private schools are also called public schools, which could be very confusing. So, just make sure that whatever your school is called, however it translates to English, that you get it right, because that could be a disaster if you miscommunicate the wrong idea.

Maria: Yeah, that's true. If you're not sure, then you just say, like, I went to a usual school. That's all. And you can say that I went there with my mom, I went there with my parents, I got dropped off by car. So, if you went there by car, like, my parents dropped me off. So, they took me, they put me in their car, and they dropped me off at school. So, I got dropped off by car. You can say that you don't remember specific details. Like, to be honest, I don't remember the fine details very well. Fine details, like little details.

Rory: The really small ones, like the names of all the people you met that day, or what the weather was like. I don't remember any of that. I just remember the feelings.

Maria: Yeah, but remember, like, the task says, describe your first day at school that you remember. So, you can't say, like, to be honest, I don't remember anything. Like, you do remember the day, but you don't remember the fine details very well. Something you still remember. And you can be honest with the examiner, like, say, like, you know, like, to be honest with you, I don't really remember the fine details very well.

Rory: Especially in my case. It was a long time ago.

Maria: But I do remember this horrible sense of anxiety. When you are anxious, you are nervous. And usually, when you go to school for the first time, you don't know what to expect, so you have this feeling of anxiety, nervousness, this uncomfortable feeling. Or you can say, I was anxious about my first day at school.

Rory: And speaking of anxious, we could talk about separation anxiety, which is just fear of being away from your parents or of your caregiver. It's a good collocation to have.

Maria: Or maybe you are super happy, so you say, like, yeah, I was super excited. I wanted to go to school. I was positive about it. I didn't have any fear. And actually, for me, it was a milestone, like an important event in my life. Unfortunately, I didn't really like my first primary school teacher.

Rory: However, you could change that. If you had a positive experience, you could say, fortunately, I got on really well with my primary school teacher or my first teacher. Again, these schools that we initially go into might have different names. As far as I know, it's either primary or elementary school to talk about the first one. But there might be other ones. I don't know.

Maria: Yeah, so you can say, like, I really enjoyed my first primary school teacher. We got along well, like we had good relationships, or we didn't get along well. Then, when you are remembering things, you can say, in hindsight, I can't say, like, she was a bad person. Like in hindsight, like when I look back at what was going on, like how I understand the situation now, how do you usually use it?

Rory: Well, there are a couple of ways you can use it. It could be in hindsight or with hindsight. There will be a small difference in meaning. But the whole idea is you are looking back on the situation and just realising that now that I understand what I do, this is my understanding of the situation. So, for example, maybe you thought that you had a very good day at school or a very good first day at school, but in hindsight, maybe it was very stressful or you had an argument with someone, but in hindsight, you realised that actually both of you were wrong.

Maria: It was like a personality clash. So our little Rory and his first primary school teacher had a personality clash.

Rory: Yes, it's hard to believe.

Maria: You can also say that it was a stressful day for me, like I was stressed out, my parents were stressed out, or it went well, or like this day wasn't a very positive start, or it was a very positive start to my school years. It wasn't a very positive time in my life, or it was like...

Rory: It was a great start!

Maria: Yeah, it was a great start. School years were the happiest or one of the happiest years in my life. Then you can talk about a certain situation, like what moment you remember, like what happened. Maybe as I entered the classroom, everybody noticed me. I started talking, well, something that you remember. Rory told us about this tray situation that Rory picked the wrong tray as he entered the classroom.

Rory: I should say, a tray is like a container for all of your personal things. It's a bit like American high school students have. Only they have a locker, which is bigger, I think, and is outside. Our trays are in the classroom.

Maria: And you can say that, oh, I did something and then it was embarrassing or I was embarrassed, because usually little kids do something stupid or silly and then like it's awkward. So it was a bit embarrassing. I was embarrassed when I, I don't know, spilled my juice all over the place or broke somebody else's toy or got into a fight with the boys or girls. Yeah, and if you don't remember, you can say for me it all went by in a blur. So if something is a blur, blur…

Rory: It's fast and difficult to remember.

Maria: It went by in a blur, like I didn't understand it clearly. Like I met new people. I attempted to make friends. I learned about the school. I kind of learned my way around the school. Like I found my way around to my classroom. Yeah, but usually like parents take you to the classroom, yeah? So you can kind of name the activities like, oh, it was in a blur, meeting people, making new friends, learning about the school, listening to the teacher, and disliking my teacher. All sorts of things happened.

Rory: What other things can happen on your first day at school?

Maria: Fights.

Rory: Was this a part of your first day in school?

Maria: No, actually, I don't remember any fights.

Rory: What do you remember?

Maria: I don't, I don't remember anything at all. Like seriously, nothing, just zero.

Rory: So Maria would struggle with this task.

Maria: Yeah, I would just like imagine stuff, you know, like I was excited on my first day at school. I was wearing my lovely dress and I was carrying some nice flowers, roses, like pink roses. So everything is like made up. Yeah, and like you can say that I was introduced to our school rules and routines. I was taken to different classrooms. So there was this excursion at school, like they showed us different rooms and what do you call it, cafeteria, where we would have snacks. And I met different teachers. I met new people. And we played a game outside, for example. It was fun. So we did some painting, for example. Yeah, we had lunch. I had a lovely cake.

Rory: You did?

Maria: No, no, it's all made up. I don't remember anything from my own first day at school.

Rory: I thought it was coming back to you.

Maria: No, no, no. It's interesting. Do you remember your first day at school? I don't.

Rory: Trauma. It's all suppressed memories.

Maria: I don't think something bad happened. Well, probably. I don't know. Yeah, or for example, like I was confused because there were many people, like everybody. I didn't know anybody. I lost my parents. I was confused. I started crying. And like, how old were you, Rory?

Rory: Five or six years old, I think. Like I said, this is a very long time ago.

Maria: You see, kind of like five years old. Wow, what can you remember when you're five? Excellent. Thank you very much for listening, dear listener. Try to remember your first day at school. If not, lie, imagine, and just talk about the usual things that happen. Or unusual things that happen to impress the examiner, perhaps. Why not? We'll get back to you in our next episode. Bye!

Rory: Bye!

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