Praise and encouragement
How do you feel when you are praised? When was the last time you praised someone? Have you ever been praised or encouraged by your teacher? Have you had any achievements recently?
Vocabulary
  • Praise (verb) – to express approval or admiration. → The teacher praised the student for improving his writing.
  • Elated (adj) – very happy or proud. → She felt elated after receiving the award.
  • Recognise (verb) – to acknowledge someone’s achievement or presence. → The manager recognised his contribution to the project.
  • Compliment (verb) – to say something nice about someone. → I complimented her on her presentation.
  • Effort (noun) – physical or mental energy used to do something. → He made a real effort to finish the task on time.
  • Achievement (noun) – something done through effort or skill. → Passing the exam was a major achievement.
  • Encourage (verb) – to give support or confidence. → Parents should encourage their children to try new things.
  • Pose (noun) – a way of standing or sitting, often for effect. → She held the yoga pose for a full minute.
  • Overjoyed (adj) – extremely happy. → He was overjoyed when he got the news.
  • Deadline (noun) – the latest time something must be completed. → The team worked late to meet the deadline.
  • Drive (noun) – strong motivation to achieve something. → She has a strong drive to succeed in her career.
  • Recognition (noun) – public acknowledgement of someone's efforts or status. → The artist finally received recognition for his work.
  • Milestone (noun) – a significant event or point in development. → Getting his first job was a major milestone in his life.
  • Self-confidence (noun) – belief in your own abilities or value. → Public speaking boosted her self-confidence.
  • Consistency (noun) – the quality of always behaving or performing in a similar way. → His success is the result of hard work and consistency.
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Questions and Answers
Maria: How do you feel when you are praised?

Rory: The same as most people, I imagine, pretty elated and pleased with myself. It's nice to be recognised for something, especially when you've made quite a big effort.

Maria: When was the last time you praised someone?

Rory: Well, I do it in my work all the time with my students since they're pretty smart people. And it's always nice when they use something we've spoken about in our classes. Outside of that, I think it must have been the other day at the gym. I was showing my friend how to do a headstand and he got it in one go. That was amazing to see. So I definitely complimented him on the effort there.

Maria: Have you ever been praised or encouraged by your teacher?

Rory: Well, I imagine I might have been in the past, but not now. Oh, actually, that's a lie. I was. I remember it very clearly now. My yoga teacher complimented how I managed to pull off a particularly difficult pose. That was nice. Actually, I was pretty overjoyed about it.

Maria: Have you had any achievements recently?

Rory: I got a Band 9in my IELTS test for speaking. That was pretty brilliant, especially after all the work I put into it. Aside from that, I managed to get all my work organised so I could meet various deadlines. That's not something with a certificate at the end of it, but given everything I need to do, that's quite something. Or at least I think that's quite something.
Discussion
Maria: Yay. So, dear listeners, encouragement. Encouragement means words…

Rory: …words we use to tell people they did a good job or they did something right.

Maria: Yeah. Like we praise people, we encourage people. When you praise someone, you say like, yeah, well done, you, good job. So we express our admiration and approval of their achievements. So I praise him for his honesty, for example. And that's why some questions could be about achievements. What have you achieved? Have you had any achievements? Or like “praise someone for something”, right, for doing something. I feel pretty elated when I'm praised. So elated means happy, extremely happy and excited. Actually, elated is a C2 word, yay, Band 9 word. So I feel elated by the praise. I'm ecstatic, you can also say. I feel ecstatic, I'm over the moon, I'm super happy and I feel pleased with myself. So it's nice to be recognised. So when people praise you, it means that they appreciate what you are doing, they recognise…

Rory: Tell you you did a good job.

Maria: Yeah, they kind of recognise your effort and achievements. The last time somebody praised me. So the last time when someone told you, like, you've done a good job or well done you. And then you can use like, oh, I think it must have been last week when I was at the gym. Like probably it was when I was at the gym. So it must have been…

Rory: …or it might have been.

Maria: …last week at the gym or it must have been the other day at the gym or at school, at university. So kind of, I think probably it was. And then what were you doing? I was doing sports, I was swimming, I was doing a test and then something was amazing. Your friend did a good job and then you praised them, you encouraged or encouraged them.

Rory: Or you gave them encouragement.

Maria: I gave my friend some encouragement, yeah. And then the situation when you've been praised. So I've been praised or I've recently been encouraged by my teacher. My teacher praised me. And also we can use some models with the present perfect. I might have been praised last week or at the gym, or at school, like maybe they praised me at school. So I might have been praised last week, actually.

Rory: But we're not sure. Yes, we should be… Well, we shouldn't worry too much about sounding uncertain, if you know, amazing. But it will not affect your score if you say that you're not sure, because this is how people communicate these ideas in real life. Plus I think past models like must have been are pretty advanced, right?

Maria: Yeah. Oh, yeah. Band 9. Totally. So kind of like, have you ever been praised by a teacher? Well, I think so. I might have been at school when my teacher said that or when my teacher complimented how I did this task. So to compliment someone is a nice synonym, to praise. And we use this word as a noun, a compliment. So we pay compliments to people and to compliment.

Rory: Compliment.

Maria: Compliment. Yes. Actually, it's a C2 word.

Rory: Oh, very nice.

Maria: Hmm. Yeah. So kind of pay compliments to people and as a verb, to compliment somebody on something. So he complimented me on…
Rory: …my vocabulary.

Maria: …my cooking, for example. On my vocabulary. Yeah. So praise or express admiration for someone. Yeah. And my yoga teacher complimented how I managed to pull off a particularly difficult pose. So I managed to do it. I managed to pull it off. Nice. I was pretty overjoyed about it. Full of joy. I was over the moon. I was elated. Remember, dear listener? Yeah. Super excited. If the question is in the present perfect, you can also use the present perfect. For example, have you had any achievements recently? Yes, I have. And then explain more. I got a Band 9 in my last IELTS test for speaking. Yay. I've put a lot of effort into it. I've put a lot of work into it. And then some other examples could be in the past simple. I managed to get all my work organised. Or I managed to buy a new car. I managed to pass my exams. I managed to graduate from university. All right? And Rory, do you know any people who dislike praise?

Rory: Not off the top of my head. Maybe they have difficulty handling compliments, but I don't know if that's exactly the same thing.

Maria: But is it the same like, praise and compliments?

Rory: They're similar, although I suppose they're different words. So there must be a difference in meaning there.

Maria: If you like someone's cooking and you say, wow, I really love your lasagna. So you complimented a person on his cooking. And we have a joke, dear listener. About praising. Rory, are you ready for the joke?

Rory: I don't know. Am I ready?

Maria: It's a rhetorical question. You don't have to answer. So the joke is about medicine. Dear listener. All right? So drugs, medicine, tablets, you know, yum, yum, yum, pills. So the question is, Rory, you don't answer the question. Okay? So the joke is like a question and then an answer. So you just…

Rory: You just do as you're told.

Maria: You react with your voice to the joke. What medicine is praised for being a murderer?

Rory: I have no idea.

Maria: A painkiller. Rory, you don't answer the question. What did I tell you?

Rory: I didn't. I said I don't know.

Maria: No, but this is the answer to the question. You don't answer the question.

Rory: Okay, boss.

Maria: Off ya. So dear listener, again, again, the joke. What medicine is praised for being a murderer? A painkiller. Did you get it? So a murderer is a person who just kills other people. A murderer murders other people. So what medicine is praised for, they praise this medicine, oh, well done, pills, for being what? For being a murderer. A painkiller. A painkiller kills your pain. So this medicine is praised for being a murderer. Rory, come on, it's funny. Come on.

Rory: Yes, it's hilarious. Well done. Some praise for your joke.

Maria: Oh, Rory doesn't like my jokes.

Rory: I don't like that joke.

Maria: Thank you very much for listening. We'll get back to you in our new episodes. Bye.

Rory: Bye.
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