Series ID: EDKS-BASIC-ZH-0022 · Lesson No.022 · 零基础英语第二十二课 · Pre-A1 → A1

Work and School | 工作与学校

What time does class start? What do I need to do? When is this due? Can you explain it again?
几点上课？我需要做什么？什么时候截止？可以再解释一次吗？

School and work share a surprising amount of beginner English. Both have people, schedules, rooms, instructions, tasks, questions, deadlines, breaks and feedback.

学校和工作看起来不同，但基础英语系统很相似：人物、时间表、地点、任务、指令、截止时间、休息、问问题和确认完成。

Chinese Edition Hub · 中文版入口 · ← Lesson No.021 · Yesterday and Past Time

The work-and-school map | 工作与学校路线

student, teacher, classmate
employee, manager, colleague
class, lesson, course
job, work, office, classroom
subject, project, task, homework, assignment
start/finish/break
instructions: read, write, open, close, send, upload
need to / have to / can / can’t
deadline / due date
submit / hand in / send
meeting / appointment / class schedule
absent / present / late
clarification and examples
asking for feedback
Mandarin 上课/上班/作业/交 vs English choices

1. Student | 学生

I’m a student.
She is a university student.
The students are in class.

2. Teacher | 老师

My teacher is patient.
The teacher is explaining the task.

3. Classmate | 同学

Anna is my classmate.
I study with my classmates.

classmate means someone in the same class or learning group.

4. Employee | 员工

He is an employee.
The company has fifty employees.

5. Manager | 经理

My manager is in a meeting.
Can I speak to the manager?

6. Colleague / coworker | 同事

She is my colleague.
I work with three coworkers.

colleague and coworker are both common.

7. School | 学校

go to school
be at school
school day

Standard English often says go to school without the when referring to school as an institution/activity.

8. Office | 办公室

go to the office
work in an office
office meeting

9. Classroom | 教室

The classroom is on the second floor.
There are twenty desks in the classroom.

10. Class | 班级 / 课

My class starts at nine.
I’m in Class A.
We have English class today.

class can mean the group or the scheduled teaching session.

11. Lesson | 一节课 / 教学单元

Today’s lesson is about questions.
The lesson starts at ten.

12. Course | 课程

an English course
a six-week course
I’m taking a beginner course.

A course is usually larger than one lesson.

13. Subject | 科目

English
Mathematics
Science
History

Example: My favourite subject is English.

14. Job vs work | job 和 work

I have a job. — countable role/position
I have work to do. — uncountable activity
I work in a bank. — verb

Do not say a work when you mean a job in ordinary beginner English.

15. What do you do? | 你做什么工作？

What do you do?
I’m a teacher.
I work in finance.

This common question often asks occupation, not “What are you doing right now?”

16. What do you study? | 你学什么？

What do you study?
I study English.
I study engineering.

17. Start | 开始

Class starts at nine.
Work starts at eight thirty.
The meeting starts in ten minutes.

18. Finish | 结束

Class finishes at ten.
I finish work at six.
What time does the meeting finish?

19. Break | 休息

We have a break at eleven.
Let’s take a short break.
lunch break

20. Schedule / timetable | 时间表

class schedule
work schedule
meeting schedule
check the timetable

British English often uses timetable for school or transport schedules.

21. Task | 任务

What is the task?
I finished the task.
This task is difficult.

22. Homework | 家庭作业

do homework
finish homework
check homework

homework is normally uncountable: some homework, not “a homework”.

23. Assignment | 作业 / 任务

an assignment
two assignments
submit an assignment

assignment is countable and may be used in school, university or work contexts.

24. Project | 项目

school project
work project
group project

Projects are often larger and longer than one small task.

25. Deadline | 截止时间

What’s the deadline?
The deadline is Friday.
I have a deadline tomorrow.

26. Due | 到期 / 应交

When is this due?
It’s due on Friday.
The assignment is due tomorrow.

due is a very useful school/work word.

27. Submit | 提交

submit the assignment
submit the form
Where do I submit this?

28. Hand in | 交作业

hand in your homework
When do I need to hand this in?

hand in is common in school contexts.

29. Send | 发送

send the file
send the email
Can you send it again?

30. Upload | 上传

upload the file
upload your homework
Where do I upload this?

31. Download | 下载

download the file
download the worksheet

32. Open / close | 打开 / 关闭

Open your book.
Close the window.
Open the file.
Close the app.

The same verbs can work with physical and digital objects.

33. Read / write | 读 / 写

Read the question.
Write your answer.
Read the email.
Write a short report.

34. Listen / speak | 听 / 说

Listen carefully.
Speak slowly.
Listen to the recording.
Speak to your partner.

35. Click / select | 点击 / 选择

Click the link.
Select the file.
Click “Submit”.

Digital task instructions often use imperative verbs.

36. What do I need to do? | 我需要做什么？

What do I need to do?
You need to read the text and answer five questions.

This is a powerful general instruction question.

37. Need to | 需要做

I need to finish this today.
You need to bring a pen.
We need to send the file.

38. Have to | 必须 / 得

I have to leave at five.
We have to submit this today.
She has to wear a uniform.

have to often expresses necessity or requirement.

39. Don’t have to | 不必

You don’t have to print it.
We don’t have to come tomorrow.

don’t have to means not necessary, not prohibited.

40. Can / can’t | 可以 / 不能

You can use a dictionary.
You can’t use your phone during the test.

Context may express permission or ability.

41. Can I…? | 我可以……吗？

Can I ask a question?
Can I leave early today?
Can I use this computer?

42. I don’t understand the task | 我不明白任务

I don’t understand the task.
I don’t understand this question.
I don’t understand the last instruction.

Specific confusion is easier to repair than silent confusion.

43. Can you explain it again? | 可以再解释一次吗？

Can you explain it again?
Could you explain this part?
Can you show me an example?

44. Example | 例子

Can you give me an example?
Here is an example.
Use this as an example.

45. Which part? | 哪一部分？

Which part do I need to do?
Which question?
Which file should I open? — recognition language

46. Present / absent | 出席 / 缺席

She is present today.
He is absent today.
Who is absent?

present here means attending, not a gift.

47. Late | 迟到

I’m sorry I’m late.
Why are you late?
The meeting started late.

48. Leave early | 早退

I need to leave early today.
Can I leave at four?

49. Meeting | 会议

I have a meeting at ten.
The meeting is in Room 4.
Can we move the meeting?

50. Feedback | 反馈

Can you check this?
Is this correct?
What should I improve? — recognition language
Thank you for the feedback.

51. Finished / not finished | 完成 / 未完成

I’m finished.
I finished the task.
I’m not finished yet.

I’m finished describes state; I finished describes completed action.

52. Mandarin transfer: 上课 | English structure changes

我九点上课。 → My class starts at nine. / I have class at nine.
我在上课。 → I’m in class.

Do not force 上 into one English verb.

53. Mandarin transfer: 上班 | go to work / be at work

我八点上班。 → I start work at eight.
我去上班。 → I go to work.
我在上班。 → I’m at work / I’m working.

54. Mandarin transfer: 作业 | homework vs assignment

家庭作业 → homework
一个作业任务 → an assignment

homework is uncountable; assignment is countable.

55. Mandarin transfer: 交 | submit / hand in / send

交作业 → submit/hand in homework
交文件 → submit/send the file depending on process

English chooses the action based on the delivery method.

56. Reading practice A: class instructions | 阅读 A

The English class starts at nine. The teacher gives the students a short reading task. They need to read one page and answer five questions. The assignment is due on Friday. Mei does not understand Question 4, so she asks, “Can you explain this question again?” The teacher gives an example.

What time does class start?
What do students need to read?
How many questions?
When is the assignment due?
What does Mei ask for?

57. Reading practice B: office task | 阅读 B

David starts work at 8:30. His manager asks him to update a file and send it before lunch. David opens the document but cannot find one number. He asks his colleague for help. After checking the data, he finishes the file and sends it at 11:15.

When does David start?
What is the task?
When must he send it?
What problem does he have?
What time does he finish?

58. Reading practice C: changed deadline | 阅读 C

Anna’s project was due on Thursday, but the deadline changes to Friday. She checks the message twice and asks, “Friday at five, correct?” Her manager confirms. Anna updates her calendar and tells her teammate.

What was the first deadline?
What is the new deadline?
How does Anna confirm?
What does she update?

59. Writing practice: instruction list | 写任务指令

Write five simple instructions:

open something
read something
write something
send/upload something
finish by a time

60. Speaking practice: clarification | 澄清口语

Learner: Sorry, I don’t understand the last part.
Teacher/Manager: Which part?
Learner: Do I need to send the file today?
Teacher/Manager: Yes, before five.

61. Error clinic | 常见错误诊所

Error	Better English	What broke?
I have a work. ✗	I have a job. / I have work to do. ✓	job vs work
I have many homeworks. ✗	I have a lot of homework. ✓	uncountable noun
When this due? ✗	When is this due? ✓	be missing
Where I submit? ✗	Where do I submit this? ✓	do question
I need finish. ✗	I need to finish. ✓	need to + verb
I don’t have to not come. ✗	I don’t have to come. ✓	unnecessary double negative

62. First weak link diagnosis | 第一个卡点诊断

I know school/work nouns but not task verbs → action vocabulary.
I understand task but not deadline → due/deadline/time.
I know instructions but cannot clarify → repair questions.
I mix homework/assignment → countability/meaning.
I know task but cannot report completion → finished/submitted/sent.
I can read instructions but not follow digital ones → click/select/upload/send.

63. Retrieval lab | 提取练习

几点上课？ → ______
几点下班？ → ______
我需要做什么？ → ______
什么时候截止？ → ______
在哪里提交？ → ______
请再解释一次。 → ______
可以给我一个例子吗？ → ______
我还没完成。 → ______
我必须今天发送。 → ______
我不需要打印。 → ______

Suggested answers: What time does class start? / What time do you finish work? / What do I need to do? / When is it due? / Where do I submit this? / Please explain it again. / Can you give me an example? / I’m not finished yet. / I have to send it today. / I don’t have to print it.

64. Ten-minute daily practice | 每天十分钟

2 min	people and places	人物地点
2 min	task verbs	任务动词
2 min	schedule/deadline	时间截止
2 min	clarification	澄清
2 min	one task role-play	任务口语

65. Seven-day training cycle | 七天训练

Day 1	people/places	人物地点
Day 2	class/work schedule	时间表
Day 3	task/instruction verbs	任务
Day 4	deadline/due	截止
Day 5	need to/have to/can	要求权限
Day 6	clarify/example/feedback	澄清反馈
Day 7	one-minute school/work task	综合输出

66. Self-test: 30 questions | 30 题自测

Translate: 学生。
Translate: 同事。
Explain class vs lesson vs course.
Explain job vs work.
Translate: 作业。
Translate: 一个作业任务。
Ask when class starts.
Ask when work finishes.
Ask what you need to do.
Ask when something is due.
Ask where to submit.
Translate: 上传文件。
Translate: 下载文件。
Translate: 截止时间。
Translate: 会议。
Translate: 我必须今天完成。
Translate: 我不需要打印。
Ask permission to leave early.
Say you don’t understand the task.
Ask for an example.
Correct: I have a work.
Correct: many homeworks.
Correct: When this due?
Correct: Where I submit?
Correct: I need finish.
Give one digital instruction.
Give one classroom instruction.
Give one deadline sentence.
Give one clarification dialogue.
Describe one school/work day in five sentences.

Answer key | 答案

1 student; 2 colleague/coworker; 3 group/session/larger programme; 4 countable position vs activity/verb; 5 homework; 6 an assignment; 7 What time does class start?; 8 What time do you finish work?; 9 What do I need to do?; 10 When is it due?; 11 Where do I submit this?; 12 upload the file; 13 download the file; 14 deadline; 15 meeting; 16 I have to finish today; 17 I don’t have to print it; 18 Can I leave early?; 19 I don’t understand the task; 20 Can you give me an example?; 21 I have a job / work; 22 a lot of homework; 23 When is this due?; 24 Where do I submit this?; 25 I need to finish; 26–30 answers vary.

67. For parents and teachers | 给家长和老师

Teach work and school through task completion, not occupation vocabulary alone. A learner needs to understand what to do, when to do it and how to ask when something is unclear.

For Mandarin speakers, contrast job/work, homework/assignment, and the different English verbs used for 交: submit, hand in and send.

Use short authentic-looking instructions, calendars and fictional task sheets. Avoid real confidential workplace documents or student records.

Reward clarification. Asking “Which part?” or “When is this due?” is productive communication, not failure.

68. Final real-world challenge | 最终真实任务

Describe your fictional role as student or worker.
Give a daily schedule.
Understand five task verbs.
Ask what you need to do.
Ask when something is due.
Ask where to submit it.
Use need to/have to/can correctly.
Ask for an explanation and example.
Report that a task is finished.
Complete a one-minute work/school task dialogue.

Next: Lesson No.023 | 下一课

Modern school and work run through phones and messages. Next, learn calls, texts, contact details, missed calls, voicemail, short messages, confirmation and message repair.

Lesson No.023 · Phones and Messages · 电话与信息

Reference floor: British Council A1 Elementary · British Council A1–A2 Vocabulary · Cambridge English Vocabulary in Use: Elementary.

Small Group Tutorials

How to Learn Basic English (Chinese Edition) | Lesson No.022 | Work and School | 工作与学校