Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast number 891.
Checking on the status of an application.
This is English as a Second Language podcast episode 891.
I'm your host, Dr Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.
Our website is eslpod.com.
Why go there?
Well, so you can become a member of ESL Podcast and download the Learning Guide for this episode.
This episode is about someone who is waiting to hear some news about an application that she sent to an organization to become a member of some program.
Let's get started.
Here's the mail.
Did I get anything?
No, sorry.
Are you expecting something?
Yeah, I'm waiting for a decision letter about my application to the McHugh program.
I should hear any day now.
Have you thought about calling and checking on the status?
I'm sure it was just awaiting approval.
There is no chance it'll be rejected.
You're an ideal candidate for And you're sure to get good news in a day or two.
I hope you're right.
In the meantime, I'm on pins and needles.
Every time the mail carrier walks by, my heart skips a beat.
I am keeping it in perspective.
If I don't get into this program, it's only the end of my career, my dream, and my future.
That's all.
Leo says to Denise, Here's the mail.
Here are the letters and packages we received from the post office.
Denise says, did I get anything?
Did anything arrive or come for me?
Leo says, no, sorry.
Are you expecting something?
Are you waiting for something?
Denise says, yeah, meaning yes.
I'm waiting for a decision letter about my application to the McHugh Institute. program.
A decision letter would be a letter saying whether you were accepted into the program or not.
It might be a letter saying whether you were accepted into a university or a.
A decision letter could be about applying for a job and telling you whether you got the job or not.
This is a case where Denise is applying for some program.
We're not exactly sure what the program is.
McHugh Program.
So it's probably a good program with that kind of name.
Denise says...
She's waiting for a decision letter about her application.
Application is when you submit or you send in certain documents, certain pieces of paper that have information about you and why you want to, in this case, be part of this program.
Denise says, I should hear any day now.
To hear, H-E-A-R, in this case means to receive a response, to receive an answer.
We might also say to hear back.
Have you heard back from your sister?
You might say, no, I wrote her a letter last week, or I sent her an email, more likely.
But she hasn't responded to me.
I haven't heard back.
Denise says I should hear, meaning I should get a decision, any day now.
Any day now means very soon, in the very near future.
We're not sure exactly when, but it will be in a very brief amount of time.
Any day now.
Leo says, have you thought about calling and checking on the status?
To check on something means to investigate it, to make sure it's okay.
Status, S-T-A-T-U-S, refers to the condition of something, the situation that something is in.
So to call and check on the status would be to call the organization and ask about your application.
Were you accepted?
Were you rejected?
And so forth.
Denise, in fact, did call.
She said, I called last week and my application was still under review.
To be under review means it's being considered.
They're thinking about it.
They're looking at it carefully.
It's under review.
Under review is normally used for some sort of official process, some sort of official consideration by an organization or by someone important.
Denise was told that a decision about whether she will be accepted into the program or not was still pending.
Something that is pending, P-E-N-D-I-N-G, is something you haven't decided yet.
You're waiting for a final answer.
It's still pending.
You don't know if it's yes or no.
Leo says, I'm sure it was just awaiting approval.
Approval is when you say yes to something.
Awaiting means that it is waiting for.
In this case, awaiting approval means that it's going to be approved.
Really, they've already decided that they just haven't gone through the formal process of approving it.
That's the implication that Leo is trying to give here.
Leo says there is no chance it is not even possible.
It will be rejected.
It will fail. be denied.
They will say no.
Leo's saying that's not even possible.
You're the ideal candidate and you're sure to get good news in a day or two.
Ideal, I-D-E-A-L, in this case means perfect, the best.
Candidate refers to someone who is trying to get into a program or get into a job.
You could have a job candidate.
You could have a program candidate, someone trying to get into a program.
You can also have a candidate for public office.
We have presidential candidates every four years here in the United States, two men or two women, or a man and a woman.
It's always been two men, up to this point, who want to be president.
They are candidates for the presidency.
They are candidates for that political office.
Denise is not a political candidate.
She's a candidate for this program.
She's trying to get into the program.
Leo says she's an ideal candidate and she is sure to get good news soon.
Sure to means it will happen.
It will definitely happen.
There's no doubt about it.
Denise says, I hope you're right.
I hope you are correct.
In the meantime or until I find out, The expression to be on pins P-I-N-S and needles N-E-E-D-L-E-S means to be very nervous, to be worried about something.
I'm on pins and needles waiting to see whether my girlfriend will say yes.
Yes, of course, to marrying me.
That's just an example.
I'm already married, so I don't have a girlfriend.
But before I was married, I had a girlfriend, and I asked her to marry me.
Not just marry, but marry me.
And after I asked her, I was waiting for her answer.
I was on pins and needles.
She said yes, of course.
That's why she's my wife.
Anyway, back to our story.
Denise says that she's on pins and needles waiting for a decision about whether she will be accepted into the McHugh program.
She says every time the mail carrier walks by, my heart skips a beat.
A mail carrier is the person who brings the letters to your house or to your office every day.
We used to call them mailmen because they were all men, but now there are women who also carry mail and some people didn't like the term mailmen, so they changed it to mail carrier.
A carrier is anyone who carries something, who brings something from one place to another.
Denise says that when the mail carrier walks by, when he or she comes to her house and Her heart skips a beat.
To say that your heart skips a beat means that you are very excited.
You are waiting for something to happen.
That's the expression, my heart skips a beat.
I'm very excited.
I can't wait.
I'm almost sick with anticipation.
Leo says, I know this is important to you, but you've got to keep it in perspective.
To keep something in perspective means to be realistic, to be calm, to be rational, not to get too excited about it.
Leo says it's not a life or death situation.
A life or death situation would be a situation where you are either going to live or die, where you could die if something goes wrong.
Leo is saying here that getting into this program is not a life or death situation.
You won't die if you don't get into it.
Denise says, I am keeping it in perspective.
If I don't get into this program...
It's only the end of my career, my dream, and my future.
That's all.
Denise is making a joke here.
She's saying, oh, yes, I'm not getting too excited.
But she says, if I don't get into this program it will be the end of my career, the end of my work life.
It will be the end of my dream and it will be the end of my future.
So, of course, she really has not kept it in perspective.
She thinks it is a life or death situation, a very serious situation.
If she doesn't get into the McHugh program.
Well, Denise, I wish you luck.
Not everyone can get into the McHugh program.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
Here's the mail.
Did I get anything?
No, sorry.
Are you expecting something?
Yeah, I'm waiting for a decision letter about my application to the McHugh program.
I should hear any day now.
Have you thought about calling and checking on the status?
I called last week and my application was still under review.
I was told that a decision was still pending.
I'm sure it was just awaiting approval.
There is no chance it'll be rejected.
You're an ideal candidate and you're sure to get good news in a day or two.
I hope you're right.
In the meantime, I'm on pins and needles.
Every time the mail carrier walks by, my heart skips a beat.
I know this is important to you, but you've got to keep it in perspective.
It's not a life or death situation.
I am keeping it in perspective.
If I don't get into this program, it's only the end of my career, my dream, and my future.
That's all.
She is the ideal person to be... our scriptwriter.
I refer, of course, to the wonderful Dr. Lucy Say.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thank you for listening.
Come back and listen to us again right here on ESL Podcast.
English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr Lucy Say, hosted by Dr Jeff McQuillan.
Copyright 2013 by the Center for Educational Development.
Thank you.
