Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Chihiro: Hey, everybody! I’m Chihiro. Are American Doctors' Offices Just a Pain in the…Neck?
Ryan: Hey, everyone, Ryan here!
Chihiro: In this lesson, you'll learn how to explain your symptoms.
Ryan: This conversation takes place at the doctor's office.
Chihiro: The conversation is between Drew and the doctor.
Ryan: The doctor will be speaking formally and Drew will be speaking casually.
Chihiro: Okay, here’s the dialogue.

Lesson conversation

Doctor: Hello, have a seat, how are you feeling today?
Drew: Well, I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather these past few days. At first I thought it was just a bad hangover, but it doesn’t seem like I’m recovering.
Doctor: What kinds of symptoms do you have?
Drew: Well, I have a dull headache and I can’t seem to keep anything down. If I do, then it slips right out.
Doctor: Okay, do you smoke?
Drew: No, I quit a year ago
Doctor: Any other drugs?
Drew: Apart from the occasional drink, no.
Doctor: Really?
Drew: Really.
Doctor: Okay, please lift up your shirt. Let’s have a listen to your heartbeat and check your blood pressure. But first, say ‘ah’
Drew: ‘ahhhh’
Ryan: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly.
Doctor: Hello, have a seat, how are you feeling today?
Drew: Well, I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather these past few days. At first I thought it was just a bad hangover, but it doesn’t seem like I’m recovering.
Doctor: What kinds of symptoms do you have?
Drew: Well, I have a dull headache and I can’t seem to keep anything down. If I do, then it slips right out.
Doctor: Okay, do you smoke?
Drew: No, I quit a year ago
Doctor: Any other drugs?
Drew: Apart from the occasional drink, no.
Doctor: Really?
Drew: Really.
Doctor: Okay, please lift up your shirt. Let’s have a listen to your heartbeat and check your blood pressure. But first, say ‘ah’
Drew: ‘ahhhh’
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Ryan: Chihiro, do you tell your doctor everything?
Chihiro: Well, everything is a lot! So I tell the doctor about the things that are related to that particular visit, but everything else I don't usually mention.
Ryan: Good, Chihiro. Because it's important that you are able to tell the doctor your symptoms and to tell the truth so that the doctor can diagnose you correctly.
Chihiro: Yes, some people find this difficult to do, but all information at the doctor's office is strictly confidential, and therefore you don't have to worry about the doctor telling people your symptoms.
Ryan: That's right, so just think of it as something for your own good. Tell the doctor about the medication you are taking, any allergies you might have, and anything else that concerns you.
Chihiro: Also, many visits will most likely consist of a heartbeat check, a blood pressure check, and the back of the throat check. These seem to be the standard three.
VOCAB LIST
Chihiro: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson.
: The first word we shall see is:
Ryan: hangover [natural native speed]
Chihiro: sick feeling some time after drinking too much alcohol
Ryan: hangover [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Ryan: hangover [natural native speed]
: Next:
Ryan: to recover [natural native speed]
Chihiro: to become healthy again
Ryan: to recover [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Ryan: to recover [natural native speed]
: Next:
Ryan: symptom [natural native speed]
Chihiro: change in body that shows that something is not healthy
Ryan: symptom [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Ryan: symptom [natural native speed]
: Next:
Ryan: dull [natural native speed]
Chihiro: something that is not severe or extreme
Ryan: dull [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Ryan: dull [natural native speed]
: Next:
Ryan: headache [natural native speed]
Chihiro: a pain of the head
Ryan: headache [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Ryan: headache [natural native speed]
: Next:
Ryan: heartbeat [natural native speed]
Chihiro: action of the heart pumping blood
Ryan: heartbeat [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Ryan: heartbeat [natural native speed]
: Next:
Ryan: blood pressure [natural native speed]
Chihiro: force required for blood to flow through the body
Ryan: blood pressure [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Ryan: blood pressure [natural native speed]
: Next:
Ryan: to quit [natural native speed]
Chihiro: to stop doing something
Ryan: to quit [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Ryan: to quit [natural native speed]
: Next:
Ryan: occasional [natural native speed]
Chihiro: sometimes and not regularly
Ryan: occasional [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Ryan: occasional [natural native speed]
KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES
Chihiro: Let’s have a closer look at the usage for some of the phrases from this lesson.
Ryan: Drew tells the doctor that he is,
Chihiro: "feeling a bit under the weather."
Ryan: This means that he is feeling sick. You can use this phrase to tell people that you are not well without telling them exactly what you have.
Chihiro: Now you might be thinking how this idiom came about. And there are more than one explanation, but I personally like the nautical origin. One about the sailors being sent under the deck or the main floor when they were sick so that they were away from the weather to recover.
Ryan: Interesting. But now, it has nothing to do with the weather.
Chihiro: Right. Okay, the next phrase is one by Drew again.
Ryan: "I can't seem to keep anything down"
Chihiro: And,
Ryan: "it slips right out."
Chihiro: What he is saying here is that he is vomiting and he also has diarrhea. "Keeping food down" means to not throw it up again, and "slipping out" means that his bowel movements are not normal...to say the least. As in he's running to the bathroom every few minutes.
Ryan: Mmm... very straight forward explanation. And we have one more for you this lesson. The doctor tells Drew to,
Chihiro: "say 'ah,'"
Ryan: Which means that Drew has to open his mouth and say "ah" so that the doctor can look at the back of his throat. Doctors will say this to patients often, and then they will use a disposable wooden stick to hold down your tongue.
Chihiro: Right, try to keep your food down when they do this.

Lesson focus

Chihiro: Okay, the focus of this lesson is vocabulary for symptoms. Since communicating your symptoms to your doctor is important, we've put together a list of some pains you might have that you can tell your doctor. We’ll start with the things that are common and use the verb “to have”.
Ryan: The following 4 use the word "ache" which means "to feel pain"
Chihiro: So, headache, stomachache, earache, backache all use this word.
Ryan: And the sentence combination is "I have a headache"
Chihiro: "I have a stomachache"
Ryan: "I have an earache"
Chihiro: "I have a backache"
Ryan: For those of you who are following along with the lesson notes, you can see how ache is spelled a-c-h-e. Avoid the temptation of pronouncing this “aich.”.
Chihiro: Good point, that's a common mispronunciation. With other parts of the body you can just say that it hurts or that it's sore. For example, "my arm hurts" or "my leg is sore" You don't usually say "I have an armache" or "I have a legache".
Ryan: A common one is "I have a sore throat"
Chihiro: Yes, something that is very unpleasant. If you're feeling hot, you can say, "I have a fever". Or if you can't breathe through your nose you can say "I have a stuffy nose".
Ryan: And like Drew, if everything slips right out, then you can say that you have diarrhea.
Chihiro: Okay, let's see, let's go on to things that you feel.
Ryan: You can use the verb "to feel" to express something that you are aware of.
Chihiro: For exanple, when you feel tired you can say "I feel drowsy." this is when you don't feel fully awake
Ryan: Or if you feel like everything is spinning you can say "I feel dizzy."
Chihiro: And, if you feel like you don't have much strength and you can't think straight you say, "I feel lightheaded."
Ryan: If you're like Drew and you can't keep anything down, you might "feel nauseous."
Chihiro: Maybe you're having difficulty breathing, which would mean that you are "short of breath."
Ryan: If you are physically not as strong as you usually are you can say "I feel weak."
Chihiro: Or if you feel like you haven't slept enough you may "feel tired." You can also say that and it can imply that you're not sick, but just need some rest.
Ryan: And the general one for whatever we've missed. "I feel pain in my... and then you describe the location of pain."
Chihiro: So you can say, "I feel pain in my big toe"
Ryan: Or "I feel pain in my knee"
Chihiro: Now, you probably want to describe the kind of pain to the doctor as well. You can use these adjectives.
Ryan: A pain can be "sharp", meaning that it is a lot of pain or severe.
Chihiro: It can be "a dull pain" which means that the pain is there but not extreme
Ryan: It can be "a throbbing pain" which describes a pain that has a beat
Chihiro: Or simply "a strong pain" which is a lot of pain
Ryan: A pain can also have a burning feeling, when it feels very hot. In which case you could say "I feel a burn in my stomach" or whatever area.
Chihiro: Now remember, it's important that the doctor knows when the symptoms started and whether you take any other medications. If the doctor doesn't ask you and you think it's important, go ahead and tell the doctor yourself.
Ryan: If the doctor prescribes you some medicine, you can ask questions about the medication if you don't feel comfortable about it. You can write down things you want to tell the doctor before you go in so that you're sure you won't forget.
Chihiro: And ask the doctor to speak slowly if you’re having trouble understanding. Otherwise, make sure you bring a book or iPod so that you have something to do in the waiting room.
Ryan: Ahh, that's a very important point, you could be waiting for a while!

Outro

Chihiro: Okay, that just about does it for today. We’ll see you soon.
Ryan: Bye for now.

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