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Take a Leave of Absence

Learn English with this break English lesson

Date: Nov 25 2014

Themes: Friend, Soap Opera, Work

Grammar: Comparing Quality

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Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

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2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

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A person’s job is a funny thing. It’s vitally important, because having a job allows us to buy food and live in a home. It’s a place to learn new things and develop new skills. It’s often where we make friends, and some of those friends we’ll have forever.

But jobs can also be a big source of stress. We often have to work long hours into the night. We need to talk to people we don’t know, and they’re often difficult or rude. We sometimes work with people who aren’t kind. When jobs are more trouble than enjoyable, it’s time to take a leave of absence.

When a person takes a leave of absence from her job, she takes time off work with permission from her boss. It could be as short as a month or as long as a year. Usually when someone takes a leave of absence, that person is planning to return to the job one day. It’s an opportunity to do something else for a while, then come back to work feeling ready to go!

Who’s taking a leave of absence from AmericanDreamD8.com? Will he or she come back? There’s a lot going on in today’s English lesson about leaving one’s job.

3. Watch - Watch the video without reading the dialog.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Marni

Lily

Marni: I have something big to tell you.

Lily: Really? Do tell.

Marni: Jeff is taking a leave of absence from the company.

Lily: What? When did this happen?

Marni: He called me last night. Apparently he got an offer from someone in his photography class to do freelance work in India.

Lily: In India? No kidding. That’s amazing.

Marni: I know. The bad news is you and I are going to have a lot of extra work for a while to make up for Jeff being gone.

Lily: Oh, right.

Marni: The good news is you get to redefine your job.

Lily: What do you mean?

Marni: Think about the pieces that you do, and what Jeff was doing, and decide what you like best.

Lily: What about the responsibilities I don’t actually like?

Marni: Well, we can think about assigning those to the new person we hire. You could even give yourself a new job title if you like.

Lily: That sounds great. Thanks, Marni.

Marni: Well, before you thank me, I have something else to tell you.

Lily: What could be more significant than Jeff leaving?

Marni: Well, apparently we have a ghost in the office.

Lily: Really? You can’t be serious.

Marni: I am serious, Lily. Strange things are happening in there. The other day, Gary and I felt it. And then he and Rafa saw it!

Lily: Come on.

Marni: Ask Rafa. He will tell you.

Lily: If there’s really a ghost in the office, I might have to take a leave of absence myself.

Grammar Point

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Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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Discussion

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Marni has big news for Lily. Jeff is leaving AmericanDreamD8.com! In fact, he already left. Jeff got a job doing freelance photography in India. It was an amazing opportunity, and he couldn’t say no.

Without Jeff, Lily and Marni will have more work to do until they find someone new to hire. But Marni tells Lily that she can change which responsibilities she wants in the company before they find someone to do Jeff’s job. Lily’s excited to redefine her position and do something different for a while.

Was it OK that Jeff left for India so quickly? Have you ever taken a leave of absence?

Comments

Dintoma195

Afghanistan

Learn English with English lesson and archive. The process of the English is produced and coined. Values of the essayontime are entailed for the discussion and for all perfect with aspects of the judgment.

Miss.Seba

Yemen

i have not worked yet to take a leave of absence ^^

Michele1

Italy

Before to take a leave of absence, especially when we will not receive salary for a while, we must first think about our responsibilities of the family . Nowadays, with the big crisis of work , it is better to earn less but sure money, than risking to lose the job…

sam14719

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

when i was student ,i needed to some times to take a leave of absence for my university exams….

that was so hard for me ..because every time who i did back to my work again i didnt know what will be happen for me…..or what tihings changed there…or what is my new job title now….

after my graduation i decided to work for myself….and now i have a small office .maybe some time i have problem about some things in my job..but im free now…that is enough for me

julito

Argentina

Luckily i am self-employed so i don´t have to ask for permission to take a leave of absence, but let me tell you ,from my experience from previous paid jobs it takes a lot of courage to tell your boss ( and never, never do that when he/she is in a bad mood) that you are quitting for a year to pursue a dream of getting to know and photograph ancient caves in Afganisthan .Don´t expect to hear, you have my blessing ,as Klotesya pointed out , your boss will firmly grab your arm while showing you the exit door saying:” go, go my son but make sure never come back again ”!!!

vik32

India

Here in india also isn’t easy to take a leave of absence for a very long time, before doing that you need to put down your papers.

Howeever, everyone should be allowed to take a leave of absence without being afraid of losing a job as life is more vital than anything else. We have got only one life and we should spend it very lively rather than being in work pressure all the time.

Jasonlongo

Congo, Democratic Republic Of The

Are you sure Eric ? You have to be allowed first man so you can take a leave of absence !!!

I’m teaching English in a small center but I don’t think that I gotta take a leave of absence right away, in my country jobs are like gold, if you lose it you kinda…

just thinking before doin’ errthing !

kotlesya

Belarus

In my country we are not allowed to take a leave of absence longer than two weeks. No one company will wait while you will be absent about few months or year. You will be simply dismissed then. 😉

I usually take a leave of absence when my vacation is over but I don’t want to return to work and want to prolong my joyful days.

I take a leave of absence in other unpredictable occasions too.😊