A parent-teacher conference is a short meeting where a parent and a teacher talk about a child's progress at school. American teachers usually start with strengths, then talk about concerns gently, so the important message can be hidden in soft phrases like "he's still working on it." Many learners also translate directly and say "How is my son's study?", "He is weak in math," or "Give him more homework, please." In this lab you will hear one invented conference and decode every exchange, so you understand the soft language and can ask clear, polite questions. In this episode: • How to listen • The scene, first half • The scene, second half • Key phrases from the scene • Comprehension questions • Practice • Self-check questions with answers Key phrases from this episode: How's he doing? — how is his progress? (neutral) a pleasure to have in class — a joy to teach (polite) He's come a long way — he has improved a lot (neutral) struggling a little — having some difficulty (soft) tends to rush — usually goes too fast (neutral) turning in homework — giving homework to the teacher (neutral) missing assignments — homework not given in (neutral) What can we do to help? — a cooperative question (polite) touch base — talk again briefly (casual) on track — making normal progress (neutral) keep up the good work — continue doing well (neutral) Season 2 · Real American English: the complete spoken course for learners worldwide — accent, everyday grammar, prepositions, articles, phrasal verbs, idioms, slang and real conversations at home. Listen, repeat out loud, then take the 52-question quiz. Audio voiced with AI from an original script by Dr. Rashmi R Nair.