quick que

[howsmyenglish]

Dear reader, imagine you're learning a language. You're using a book. The book is full of exercises of all sorts and the instructions are plain as day. You see an instruction and don't even stop to think, you know immediately what to do and how. Which order would sound better to you?

(A) Practice – Write answers and read the dialogue: Who is this and who is that?
(B) Practice – Who is this and who is that? Write answers and read the dialogue.

what follows is an exercise like:

1. Who is this? -> (Paige) This is Paige.
2. And who is that? -> (Anton) ...
3. Who are these? -> (Kevin and Rosamunde) ...

Which of the instructions (A or B) sound better to you?
(Please don't comment on the exercise itself, it doesn't make sense in English, but does in the target language!)

And another question: how would you call someone who studies in the same (university language) class as you do?
You're asked to talk to them in class. How?

Talk to your neighbor? classmate? something else?

Comments

[iddewes]

I would say classmate or neighbour if you are asking them to talk to the person next to them.
I think the second sentence looks clearer to me.

[howsmyenglish]

Thanks!

[fauxklore]

I think B sounds clearer.

I'd probably go with classmate. Unless there is some particular partnership intended between two specific classmates at a time, but that seems unusual in language classes in my experience.

[howsmyenglish]

Thanks!

[hamsterwoman]

I also prefer order (B)!

"Write answers" sounds like it's missing something, though... "write out the answers" maybe?

Classmate or neighbor make sense for picking an exercise partner in an in-person class, but I'd go with "classmate" because "neighbor" relies on context, and what if the people using the textbook are studying over Zoom or something.

I guess you could also go with the even more generic "find a partner and practice X"

[howsmyenglish]

Thanks!

"Write answers" sounds like it's missing something, though... "write out the answers" maybe?
Answer the questions?

[hamsterwoman]

"Answer the questions" sounds more natural to me, yeah.

[thanatos_kalos]

I'd go with choice A and call them 'classmates.' :)

[howsmyenglish]

Thanks!

Looks like we're alone in liking A though :/

[thanatos_kalos]

Ah well. :) We both have experience teaching languages, though, so... ;)

[howsmyenglish]

But my partner, who has even more experience than I do, also likes B! I'll have to give in..!

[thanatos_kalos]

Nah. Do what you think is best! :)

[howsmyenglish]

Have to be honest. I told them I'd ask here and use what the majority says.
Sigh.
:D

[thanatos_kalos]

Ah well. :/

[conuly]

And another question: how would you call someone who studies in the same (university language) class as you do?
You're asked to talk to them in class. How?

Talk to your neighbor? classmate? something else?

In general, I would say "classmate". However, if the instructor is telling us to partner up with the person nearest us I would expect to hear "neighbors".

In K - 12 education we were also sometimes told we could "visit with our neighbors", that is, chit-chat because the teacher had run out of instructional material before the end of the period. We weren't expected to leave our seats to do this chit-chatting, nor get too noisy.

[howsmyenglish]

Thanks! I doubt I'll run out of material (I've got waaay to much), but a nice idea with the visiting!

[loganberrybunny]

how would you call someone who...

Classmate, as others have said. By the way, "how would you call" in that context doesn't sound natural in English, at least to me. It's much more common to see "what would you call..."

[howsmyenglish]

"what would you call..."
Good point! Thanks!

[flikkeren]

Another vote for classmate, although sometimes I've seen/heard it "turn to the person next to you." But "turn to a classmate" is probably best.

I like format (B) more.

[howsmyenglish]

Thanks!