Using an Instruction Manual This is English as a Second Language podcast number 449.
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.
Go there to download a learning guide for this episode that contains all of the vocabulary definitions, sample sentences, additional definitions, cultural notes, comprehension checks and a complete transcript of everything we say on this episode.
This episode is called Using an Instruction Manual.
It's going to talk about some common vocabulary in using common machines and electronics that you would find in your average home.
Let's get started.
No, you don't need to do that.
I know how to do the installation.
But don't you want to hear about the different functions and specifications?
There'll be time for that after everything is hooked up and we program the machine.
Okay, but the manual says that you shouldn't plug in the power supply until you're done with the installation.
I won't.
Hmm, where is the port for this cord?
Do you want me to look it up in the manual?
There's a troubleshooting section.
No I can figure it out myself.
Look at this.
It's a diagram of the controls, and this section has illustrations on how to use the different modes.
Do you want me to read it to you while you're hooking it up?
No.
Now give me that manual.
I work alone.
Our dialogue begins with Aretha saying oh, here's the instruction manual, this small book that comes with many machines, that gives you instructions, tells you how to use the machine.
Aretha says, I'll read the section or the part on getting started.
Carl says, no, you don't need to do that.
I know how to do the installation.
Installation is when you have to take the machine and connect it perhaps to another machine or do something with it so that it will be ready for you to use.
Some people like to try to do things by themselves without the instruction manual.
Other people like to read the manual first before trying to connect the machine or use the machine.
I am one of those that likes to read the manual completely before I use something.
My wife is the opposite.
She likes to just start using it and figure it out on her own.
Aretha says to Carl, but don't you want to hear about the different functions and specifications?
A function is something that a machine or a program on a computer does.
It's what it does.
For example, the function of a camera is to take pictures.
Cameras can have special functions for taking pictures when there isn't a lot of light in the picture.
Specifications refer to detailed information about a product, usually measurements of some sort how tall it is, how wide it is, how much power it uses, and so forth.
Specifications for a computer would tell you how much memory it has, how fast the processor is, how big the screen is, if it has a screen, and so forth.
Carl says there'll be time for that after everything is hooked up.
He's saying that he can look at the instruction book after he has the machine hooked up.
To hook up a machine is a two-word phrasal verb meaning to connect it, to plug the cables or other connections that it requires.
Usually you need to give it power, so you need to connect it to some sort of power source, plugging it into the wall, for example, to get electricity.
There are other parts of hooking things up.
If you are hooking up A computer, you may connect it to a printer or to a monitor, a screen that you can look at.
The verb to hook up has several different meanings in English.
Take a look at our learning guide for some additional explanations.
Carl says that they can program the machine.
To program means specifically for a piece of electronics to...
Provide instructions to the machine about how you want it to operate.
For example, if you buy a video recorder, you may have to program the time for your local time so that it will record television programs when you want it to.
Carl says that there'll be time for looking at the manual after everything is hooked up and we program the machine.
Aretha says okay, but the manual says that you shouldn't plug in the power supply until you're done with the installation.
To plug in is a two-word phrasal verb.
Usually referring to providing electricity for an electronic machine or device.
So in most places, houses and buildings, there are what we call electrical outlets, O-U-T-L-E-T-S.
And those are places where you can plug in a machine.
The actual outlet is different in different countries.
Europe, for example, uses a different kind of electrical outlet than the United States.
It also uses, in many countries, a different power setting.
So if you try to plug in your machines, say an electronic toothbrush, into a wall in Europe...
You might ruin your machine because the electricity is different, the kind of electricity that is provided.
This is what I did once when I visited another country, and I ruined my electric toothbrush.
So I speak from experience.
The power supply is a source of electricity for a piece of electronics and electrical machine.
Often computers will have special transformers, an electrical device that make sure that the machine is getting the exact correct amount of power.
Notice that Aretha is reading the instructions, and of course Carl isn't interested.
He says I won't, meaning I won't plug in the power supply until he's finished with the installation.
Carl then says, where is the port for this cord?
A port, P-O-R-T, here refers to a small hole where you put a certain cord, cable, or wire into.
It's the place where you connect a cable to a machine.
Port has a couple of different meanings in English however, so take a look at the learning guide for a complete definition of this word.
A cord is just another name for a cable, a long wire that connects two things together.
Usually, when we are talking about the power supply, we refer to that as the cord.
When you plug something into the wall, to an outlet, that's usually called the electrical cord.
The wires that connect different parts of the computer or your computer to your printer, for example.
That would be called a cable.
Aretha asks Carl, do you want me to look it up in the manual?
There's a troubleshooting section.
Troubleshooting refers to giving people help solving their problems, usually technical problems that they have with a machine or a computer program.
Carl says, no, I can figure it out myself.
I can get the answer by myself.
I don't need the manual.
Aretha says, look at this.
It's a diagram of the controls, and this section has illustrations on how to use the different modes.
Aretha is showing Carl the instruction manual, and in the manual there is a diagram.
A diagram is a drawing.
Usually that shows you where things are or where things are supposed to go which cable goes to which port, for example.
The section in the instruction manual also has illustrations.
Illustrations again, are a kind of drawing that gives you specific information, a picture of what it is that you should be doing with your machine.
A diagram is more like a set of lines that show where things are connected.
An illustration is usually something more three-dimensional, a picture of something.
It is, however, usually a drawing.
It's not an actual photograph.
Aretha says there are illustrations on how to use the different modes, M-O-D-E-S.
A mode is one way that you can use a piece of machinery, a piece of electronic machinery.
Aretha asks, do you want me to read it to you while you're hooking it up?
Carl, of course, doesn't.
He says no.
Give me that manual.
I work alone.
I don't work with other people.
I'm this way.
As are many people, I find it difficult to work on something such as a computer or a machine with someone else trying to help me.
I work alone.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
Oh, here's the instruction manual.
I'll read you the section on getting started.
No, you don't need to do that.
I know how to do the installation.
But don't you want to hear about the different functions and specifications?
There'll be time for that after everything is hooked up and we program the machines.
Okay, but the manual says that you shouldn't plug in the power supply until you're done with the installation.
I won't.
Hmm, where's the port for this cord?
Do you want me to look it up in the manual?
There's a troubleshooting section.
No, I can figure it out myself.
Look at this.
It's a diagram of the controls, and this section has illustrations on how to use the different modes.
Do you want me to read it to you while you're hooking it up?
No.
Now give me that manual.
I work alone.
I don't work alone on this podcast.
The script for this episode was written by Dr Lucy Say and of course, there are other people who help us in producing the podcast.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thank you for listening.
Come back and listen to us next time on ESL Podcast.
English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr Lucy Say, hosted by Dr Jeff McQuillan.
Copyright 2009 by the Center for Educational Development.
