Talking to your child's teacher in English

For a lot of the women who come to us, this is the real reason. Not a job, not travel. A ten-minute meeting twice a year where their child is sitting beside them, watching.

One of our students, Geeta, wrote to us after one of these meetings. She had been chatting with her daughter in English and her daughter was surprised. That is the whole thing, really.

What the teacher will ask

Parent–teacher meetings are more predictable than they feel. Almost every one includes some version of:

• How is she doing at home?
• Does she complete her homework on time?
• Is she reading at home?
• Do you have any concerns?

Four questions. You can prepare all four this evening.

Answers you can borrow

How is she doing at home?

She is doing well. She is happier this term than last term.

She is fine at home, but she gets tired by evening.

Does she complete her homework?

Yes, she does it before dinner most days.

She needs reminding, but she finishes it.

Is she reading at home?

She reads a little. I want her to read more.

Yes, we read together at night.

Do you have any concerns?

Yes. She finds mathematics difficult and I cannot help her with it.

I am worried she is quiet in class. Is she speaking up?

That last kind of sentence is worth practising, because it is the one that matters. You are not there to perform English. You are there to advocate for your child.

Questions worth asking

A parent who asks questions is taken more seriously than one who nods. Three good ones:

What can I do at home to help her?

Which subject is she struggling with most?

How is she with the other children?

If you lose the thread

Say so. In English:

Sorry, could you say that again slowly?

I did not understand. Can you explain it once more?

This is not a weakness. Asking someone to repeat themselves is what confident people do — it is the person pretending to understand who ends up lost.

The part nobody tells you

Your child is watching, and what she takes away is not whether your grammar was correct. It is whether her mother sat in that chair and spoke for her.

That is worth doing imperfectly.