Canadian Culture and Customs for New Students

Canadian Culture and Customs for New Students

Unit 2 Lesson 2

Lesson Topic: Going to the Doctor

Lesson Overview:Students will learn key vocabulary, expressions, and concepts to enable them to communicate effectively when they need to visit a doctor. They will study vocabulary to describe external parts of the body and identify common illnesses, and learn phrases to describe symptoms and pain. This knowledge of terms and strategies will help them communicate with doctors and other medical staff in a health care setting.

Objectives:

Language Learning Objectives:

Use a variety of verb tenses to describe symptoms of illness

Understand and apply modals used to give advice

Understand the difference in meaning between ‘have’ and ‘feel’ when talking about symptoms of illness

Concept Objectives:

External parts of the body

Common illnesses

Pain scales

The roles of patient and doctor

Strategies Objectives:

Use turn-taking strategies to manage or maintain conversation (explaining, asking questions and adding to comments, giving extra information.)

Actively initiate dialogue and respond in discourse by using a variety of language functions (eliciting and reporting information, describing actions, giving advice, making suggestions and making recommendations.)

Materials:

Handouts: Blank body map / Going to the Doctor: Describing Your Symptoms / Going to the Doctor: Describing Your Pain / Going to the Doctor: Vocabulary and Expressions Doctors Use / Practice Role Play Dialogue

Information cards for the Doctor Visit Role Play Activity / Role play rubric

Local medical clinic brochures

Activities:

Labelling a body map

Completing a practice role play for visiting the doctor, talking about medical concerns and concluding the visit.

Creating a role play dialogue with a partner

Teaching Phase:

Part 1: Warm up

• Bring up visuals from Select MD Clinic website at
• Show some of the photographs from the clinic. Ask students to explain what they see in the photos (i.e. waiting room / doctor examining patients / nurses etc.) Record responses on the whiteboard.
• Ask students to share some of the reasons people visit the doctor. Record some of the responses on the whiteboard board.
• Ask why it is important to be able to talk about the body, illnesses and pain when we go to the doctor. Record some of the responses on the whiteboard.

Part 2: Teaching new language, concepts, and strategies

• Transition to body map activity. Bring up body map on projector screen. Distribute handout with blank body maps to students.
• Ask students to work with a partner and label as many parts of the body as they know. Circulate and monitor for correct spelling and pronunciation of vocabulary.
• Take up student work by recording their labels on the projector sheet. The following body part names should be noted:

Head / forehead / jaw / cheek / ears / nose / mouth / eyes

Neck / shoulders / upper back / arms / elbow / wrist / hand / fingers

Chest / abdomen / hips / groin

Upper legs / knees / lower legs / ankle / feet / toes

• Practice pronunciation of the various words. Ensure that students are producing the words correctly.
• Transition to talking about illnesses. Ask students to name some common illnesses. Record the answers on the board. Ask students how we would talk about the symptoms of the illnesses. Explain meaning of symptoms if necessary.
• Distribute the worksheet “Going to the Doctor: Describing Your Symptoms.” Ask students to look at the photographs and the names of the illnesses. Have they had these illnesses in the past?
• Display visual on projector. Work through the names of the illnesses. Have students repeat pronunciation of each term. Check for accuracy.
• Work through a few expressions in the table. Ask students about the difference between “have” and “feel” – HAVE + noun = I have a fever. / FEEL + adjective = I feel tired.
• Students work on Practice Activity at the bottom of the worksheet. Circulate and monitor production.
• Transition to talking about pain. Ask students if they have ever had pain when they were sick. Ask why it is important to be able to tell the doctor about pain. How did they describe their pain? Record answers on whiteboard.
• Distribute worksheet- Going to the Doctor: Describing Your Pain. Display the Pain Scale diagram on projector. Work through sample questions. Analyze pain scale diagram.
• Have students work on Discussion Activity at the bottom of the worksheet. Circulate and monitor for use of expressions from Pain Scale.
• Transition to Vocabulary and Expressions Doctors Use. Display table on projector. Introduce the list of commonly used words and expressions that students might hear at an appointment with the doctor. Have students pronounce the words clearly. Check to confirm understanding of each term/expression.
• Transition to use of modals to give advice. Draw attention to last row in table. Take a few minutes to review forms of modal auxiliaries: MODAL + base verb form. Review modals for giving advice on table.

Part 3: Practice/reinforcement and extension of new learning

• Transition to Paired Activity. Give students a dialogue with a sample role play. The role play contains a dialogue between a patient and a doctor. Circulate and monitor pairs for correct pronunciation.
• Transition to Role Play Activity. Introduce role-play activity. Students will work in pairs for this task. Distribute role play cards to pairs of students. One student will play the role of patient; one student will play the role of doctor. Students can write out dialogues to follow for the role play. Allow for practice time as well. The role play should consist of about 8-9 turns (same as practice roleplay). Students are going to perform the dialogue in front of the class.

Part 4: Closure

• Recap on main points: key terms / importance of describing symptoms and pain / listening to advice / need to trust your doctor
• Distribute brochures for local clinics for student use.

ACTIVITY 1: Identifying Body Parts

Label the parts of the body on this body map.

Key for Labelling Body Map (add other points from list in lesson plan)

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GOING TO THE DOCTOR: DESCRIBING YOUR SYMPTOMS

Look at the pictures below. Have you ever had these illnesses? How did you feel?

Image adapted from J. Richards (2000). New Interchange Intro. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 73.

EXPRESSIONS TO TALK ABOUT THESE HEALTH PROBLEMS

ILLNESS / DESCRIBING SYMPTOMS
Backache / I have a pain in my lower/middle/upper back.
I can’t sit properly.
I can’t walk properly.
It hurts when I bend over.
Earache / I have a constant pain in my ear.
There is a burning feeling in my ear.
My ear feels sore.
It hurts when I swallow.
Headache / I have a pain in the top/ back / front of my head.
I can’t eat anything.
My eyes hurt when I look at the light.
I feel tired.
Stomachache / I don’t want to eat anything.
I am vomiting.
I have a pain in my stomach.
Toothache / It hurts when I chew food.
I can’t drink cold or hot drinks.
I have a pain in my jaw.
Cold / I feel hot.
I’m blowing my nose all the time.
My nose hurts.
My throat hurts.
I feel sleepy.
Cough / My chest hurts.
I cough at night.
I spit up mucus when I cough.
Fever / My temperature is high.
My temperature is 37 / 38 / 39 degrees.
I feel ill.
My body feels cold.
Flu / I feel hot and cold.
I have a headache.
My body hurts.
I feel tired.
Sore Eyes / I have a pain in my eyes.
My eyes are watery.
My eyes are red.
Sore Throat / I have a burning pain in my throat.
I can’t swallow.
I can’t eat any food.
I feel hot.
My throat is red.

PRACTICE ACTIVITY:

Work with a partner for this activity. Partner A should not look at this worksheet.

Partner B Choose an illness. Use the expressions to describe the illness. Your partner has to guess your illness. Change roles.

GOING TO THE DOCTOR: DESCRIBING YOUR PAIN

If you go to a clinic or hospital, the doctors and nurses will ask you about your pain. They might ask these questions:

Where does it hurt?

How long have you had this pain?

Do you feel the pain all the time, or does the pain come and go?

Could you describe your pain to me?

Sometimes the doctor or nurse will show you a chart like the one below. The doctor or nurse will ask you to choose the face that describes your pain. They might ask these questions:

On a scale of 0 to 10, how bad is your pain?

Which face describes your pain?

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DISCUSSION ACTIVITY:

Think about a time when you were sick or you had an injury. Tell your group members about your experience. Use the pain scale diagram to describe your pain.

Going to the Doctor: Vocabulary and Expressions Doctors Use

Your doctor may use some of these words and expressions. Write the explanation for each word and expression in the table.

Word or Expression / Explanation of the Word or Expression
Prescription
Pharmacy / drug store
Antibiotic
Painkiller
Dosage
Cough medicine
Ointment
Virus
Infection
Injection
Referral
Take once a day / twice a day / three times a day
Take every 4 hours / every 6 hours / every 8 hours
MODALS:
You should ___
You must ____
You have to ____
You need to ____

Practice Role Play Activity

With a partner, practice reading the role play. Exchange roles.

Doctor: Good morning, (student’s name). I’m Dr. Grant. I understand you’re having some problems.

Patient: Yes, Dr. Grant. I have a bad stomach ache.

Doctor: When did your stomachache start?

Patient: I felt sick yesterday morning, and I feel worse today.

Doctor: Do you have any other symptoms?

Patient: Yes. I was vomiting this morning.

Doctor: Let me take your temperature. Hmm. You have a fever.

Patient: I feel very hot right now.

Doctor: I’ll check your stomach. Could you please lie down on the table?

Patient: Okay.

Doctor: Do you have any pain in your abdomen?

Patient: Yes. I have a pain in my lower abdomen.

Doctor: How would you describe the pain on a scale of 1 to 10?

Patient: I think it’s about 4.

Doctor: I’d like you to go to the hospital this afternoon. You should have an X-ray of your abdomen. I will ask the receptionist to make the appointment. Can someone drive you to the hospital?I’ll ask the receptionist to give you the directions to the hospital.

Patient: Is this a serious problem, Doctor?

Doctor: I don’t know right now. You have a pain in your abdomen and a fever, so we have to make sure it’s not serious. Don’t worry about anything right now. I will call the hospital myself later this afternoon. I will call you as soon as I get your results.

Patient: Thank you, Doctor Grant. I’ll wait for your call. I just want to feel better.

Information Cards for Doctor Visit Role Play

PATIENT ROLE PLAY CARDS / DOCTOR ROLE PLAY CARDS
PATIENT CARD
My problem: A sore throat
When the problem started: Two days ago
How I feel: hot / hurts to swallow / can’t sleep / hurts to eat / DOCTOR CARD
Diagnosis: Throat infection
Prescription: antibiotic / take 3 times a day
Advice: rest at home / drink a lot of water / rinse throat with warm water and salt / call office in 2 days
PATIENT CARD
My problem: A stomachache
When the problem started: Yesterday morning
How I feel: Can’t eat anything / stomach hurts / vomiting / DOCTOR CARD
Diagnosis: stomach virus
Prescription: Medicine for vomiting
Advice: Don’t need antibiotics / rest / drink water / call if you have temperature
PATIENT CARD
My problem: A headache
When the problem started: Last night
How I feel: Couldn’t sleep / bad pain in my eyes / light hurts my eyes / DOCTOR CARD
Diagnosis: migraine headache
Prescription: Extra strength Tylenol every 8 hours
Advice: rest / avoid strong light / call if headache gets worse
PATIENT CARD
My problem: A toothache
When the problem started: Yesterday morning
How I feel: Jaw is sore / can’t eat / throbbing pain / DOCTOR CARD
Diagnosis: infected tooth
Prescription: antibiotic / Extra strength Tylenol
Advice: secretary will call dentist for appointment tomorrow
PATIENT CARD
My problem: A sore ear
When the problem started: Three days ago
How I feel: Hot / ear is sore / headache / DOCTOR CARD
Diagnosis: ear infection
Prescription: antibiotic / Tylenol / ear drops
Advice: put in 2 ear drops every 8 hours
PATIENT CARD
My problem: A rash on my arm
When the problem started: Last week / after going on a hike with the homestay family
How I feel: Itchy / burning / DOCTOR CARD
Diagnosis: poison ivy
Prescription: skin cream
Advice: keep the skin dry / wear long pants and long sleeved shirts on a hike

Visiting the Doctor Role-Play Rubric

Student: ______Role: Doctor _____ Patient _____

Rating / Demonstrated Competence
4 / Uses a wide variety of descriptive vocabulary and expressions appropriate to health care context.
Uses a variety of structures with only occasional grammatical errors.
Speaks with little hesitation that does not interfere with communication.
Few errors in pronunciation of key terms.
3 / Uses a variety of descriptive vocabulary and expressions appropriate to health care context.
Uses a variety of structures with more than occasional errors.
Speaks with some hesitation that does not interfere with communication.
Some errors in pronunciation of key terms.
2 / Uses some descriptive vocabulary and expressions appropriate to health care context.
Uses a variety of structures with frequent errors or uses basic structures with only occasional errors.
Speaks with some hesitation that interferes with communication.
Several errors in pronunciation of key terms.
1 / Uses basic vocabulary and expressions appropriate to health care context.
Uses basic structures with frequent errors.
Speaks with much hesitation that greatly interferes with communication.
Cannot pronounce key terms- interferes with communication.

Comments: ______

(Rubric adapted from O’Malley and Valdez-Pierce, 1996)