EFE learning modules / School & Classroom Language

School & Classroom Language @ Practicing teacher-student communication, understanding classroom phrases, and following academic instructions.

Common Expressions Back to Catalog

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Hit the books

/ሒት ዘ ቡክስ/

በትጋት ማጥናት

To study very hard.

በጣም በትጋት ማጥናት።

In Practice

"I need to hit the books for my final exam."
"He hits the books every weekend at the library."
Fluent Tip

Commonly used when a student needs to start studying seriously.

Pass with flying colors

/ፓስ ዊዝ ፍላዪንግ ከለርስ/

በጣም ከፍተኛ ውጤት ማለፍ

To pass an exam or a test very successfully.

ፈተናን በታላቅ ውጤት ማለፍ።

In Practice

"She passed her math test with flying colors."
"If you study hard, you will pass with flying colors."
Fluent Tip

Used to describe achieving high grades.

Put your thinking cap on

/ፑት ዩር ቲንኪንግ ካፕ ኦን/

በጥልቀት ማሰብ መጀመር

To start thinking seriously or creatively about a problem.

ስለ አንድ ችግር በቁም ነገር ወይም በፈጠራ ማሰብ መጀመር።

In Practice

"We need to put our thinking caps on to solve this math problem."
"Put your thinking cap on and give me a better idea."
Fluent Tip

Used by teachers to encourage students to think harder.

Learn by heart

/ለርን ባይ ሃርት/

በቃል መያዝ

To memorize something perfectly.

አንድን ነገር ፍጹም በሆነ ሁኔታ በቃል ማስታወስ።

In Practice

"I had to learn the poem by heart."
"She learned all the formulas by heart."
Fluent Tip

Used for rote memorization of facts or poems.

Bookworm

/ቡክወርም/

መጽሐፍ ወዳድ

Someone who spends a lot of time reading.

ንባብ የሚወድ እና ብዙ ጊዜውን በሚያነብ የሚያሳልፍ ሰው።

In Practice

"Sarah is a real bookworm; she reads three books a week."
"I was a bookworm when I was in elementary school."
Fluent Tip

Used to describe a person who loves reading.

Teacher's pet

/ቲቸርስ ፔት/

የአስተማሪ ተመራጭ ተማሪ

A student who is favored by the teacher.

በአስተማሪው ዘንድ ልዩ ትኩረት ወይም ፍቅር የሚሰጠው ተማሪ።

In Practice

"Nobody likes him because he is the teacher's pet."
"She always sits in the front row like a teacher's pet."
Fluent Tip

Often used pejoratively by other students.

Crack a book

/ክራክ ኤ ቡክ/

መጽሐፍ ገልጦ ማጥናት

To open a book to study (usually used negatively).

ለማጥናት መጽሐፍ መክፈት (ብዙውን ጊዜ ካለመጥናት ጋር ተያይዞ ጥቅም ላይ ይውላል)።

In Practice

"He failed the test because he didn't even crack a book."
"You should crack a book once in a while."
Fluent Tip

Used to emphasize the lack of effort in studying.

Draw a blank

/ድሮው ኤ ብላንክ/

ጭንቅላት ባዶ መሆን

To be unable to remember something.

አንድን ነገር ማስታወስ አለመቻል።

In Practice

"I drew a blank when the teacher asked me the answer."
"During the exam, she completely drew a blank."
Fluent Tip

Used when a student forgets information during a high-pressure situation.

A for effort

/ኤ ፎር ኤፈርት/

ለጥረት የሚሰጥ አድናቆት

Giving someone credit for trying even if they failed.

ምንም እንኳን ባይሳካላቸውም ለሞከሩት ጥረት እውቅና መስጠት።

In Practice

"Your answer was wrong, but I'll give you an A for effort."
"It wasn't a great presentation, but A for effort."
Fluent Tip

Used by teachers to encourage students who struggle but try hard.

Copycat

/ኮፒካት/

ሌላን ሰው የሚቀዳ ተማሪ

A person who imitates or copies another's work.

የሌላውን ሰው ስራ የሚገለብጥ ወይም የሚመስል ሰው።

In Practice

"Don't be a copycat; do your own homework."
"She was accused of being a copycat in the art class."
Fluent Tip

Common in elementary schools to discourage cheating.

Skip class

/ስኪፕ ክላስ/

ክፍል መቅረት

To not attend a class without permission.

ያለፈቃድ ከክፍል መቅረት።

In Practice

"If you skip class too often, you will fail."
"They decided to skip class and go to the movies."
Fluent Tip

Informal term for truancy.

School of thought

/ስኩል ኦፍ ዝውት/

የአስተሳሰብ መንገድ

A particular way of thinking or a set of ideas.

የተወሰነ የአስተሳሰብ ዘይቤ ወይም የሃሳቦች ስብስብ።

In Practice

"There is a new school of thought regarding language learning."
"Which school of thought do you follow in sociology?"
Fluent Tip

Used in academic discussions about theories.