DIALOGUE
In this lesson, your tutor will help you go over this topic: jobs. First, read the following dialogue out loud with your tutor, then switch roles and try again.
Dorothy and Kevin are talking about their jobs.
Dorothy: Kevin, do you work a lot of overtime?
Kevin: Yes, I do. However, my salary doesn’t include overtime.
Dorothy: Have you ever been unemployed?
Kevin: Yes, one time. I was laid off from my job.
Dorothy: Have you ever been fired from a job?
Kevin: I have never been fired, but I resigned from a job to take another one.
Dorothy: Do you prefer a desk job or one where you are active?
Kevin: Since I’m a white-collar worker, I usually have desk jobs, but I don’t like sitting a lot.
Dorothy: Have you ever been a blue-collar worker?
Kevin: Before my current job, I was a warehouse worker. I earned an hourly wage. We were always busy, but I didn’t like it.
VOCABULARY
Go over the following vocabulary and expressions with your tutor. Read the word/expression and definition out loud, and your tutor will go over anything you do not understand. Practice creating a sentence or two to make sure you know how to use the word/expression properly.
Vocabulary/ Expressions
| overtime | (n) additional work beyond normal hours
He has too much to do so he is going to work overtime. |
| salary | (n) an amount of money an employee is paid monthly or yearly
Her salary is $50,000 per year. |
| unemployed | (adj) not having a job
He has been unemployed for three months. |
| laid off (past tense) Lay off | (v – phrase) to stop employing someone, usually because there is no work to do
The company laid off 50 workers. |
| fired | (v) to remove someone from a job, usually because they did something wrong or badly
I was fired from my job for being late too many times. |
| resigned | (v) to give up a job in a formal or official way
She resigned from her job to take care of her children. |
| desk job | (n) a job that someone does while primarily sitting
Being a construction worker is not a desk job. |
| white-collar worker | (idiom) a person who works in an office type position
White-collar workers usually sit at a desk to work. |
| blue-collar worker | (idiom) a person who does manual labor for work
You can find a lot of blue-collar workers in factories. |
| hourly wage | (n) to make money at work by the hour
His hourly wage is $15.00 per hour. |
EXERCISE
Practice answering the following questions with your tutor. You can use the sample answers to help come up with your own answer.
- Why do some companies lay off their workers?
- Sometimes companies lay off their employees because they don’t have enough work for them.
- Sometimes a company lays off its workers to cut costs.
- Your answer:
- What are some reasons that people get fired?
- An employee can be fired if they have poor work performance.
- A company can fire an employee if they do not get along with their co-workers.
- Your answer:
- What are some desk jobs?
- Accountants have desk jobs.
- Receptionists work from a desk.
- Your answer:
- What are some jobs that blue-collar workers do?
- An auto mechanic does manual labor.
- A construction worker is considered a blue-collar worker.
- Your answer:
- Why would someone resign from their job?
- Someone could resign from their job if they are sick and cannot work anymore.
- I would resign from my job for a better job.
- Your answer:
CONVERSATION
Use the following questions as a guideline to form an interesting conversation with your tutor. Feel free to diverge from these suggestions if anything interesting comes up.
- Do you like to work overtime? Why or why not?
- What’s your job? Describe what you do at work.
- Do you like, or dislike your job? Why?
- Should workers get paid for overtime? Why or why not?
- What is your dream job? Why?
WRAP-UP
Go over any new expressions or vocabulary that you learned today.
