Table of Contents
Introduction
This “visiting the doctor listening activity” is designed to help English language learners improve their listening skills in real-life healthcare contexts. It is ideal for IELTS listening practice and English for Medical Professionals who need to understand doctor-patient conversations in English.
You will hear a short dialogue between a general practitioner and a patient describing their symptoms. The exercises will help you build medical English vocabulary and improve comprehension of health-related topics.
Visiting the Doctor
1. Pre-Listening Activity: Medical Vocabulary Matching
Match the following words from the listening transcript with their definitions:
| Word | Definition |
|---|---|
| 1. Symptoms | A. A medical professional who treats general health issues |
| 2. Prescription | B. The unpleasant effects that a person feels when they are ill |
| 3. Diagnosis | C. The identification of an illness based on symptoms |
| 4. Dosage | D. Instructions from a doctor to get medicine |
| 5. General practitioner | E. The amount of medicine to be taken at a time |
2 – D
3 – C
4 – E
5 – A
A. Listening: Doctor-Patient Conversation in English
Listening Comprehension
Listen to the following doctor-patient conversation and answer the questions.
Questions:
- What are the patient’s main symptoms?
- What condition does the doctor think the patient has?
- What does the doctor advise the patient to do besides taking medicine?
- How often should the patient take the medicine?
- What should the patient do if their condition doesn’t improve?
2. The flu
3. Drink fluids and get rest
4. Twice a day after meals
5. Contact the doctor again
2. Post-Listening Activity: Gap-Fill Exercise
Complete the text with the missing words from the box:
Box: symptoms – flu – meals – fluids – fever – twice
- The patient is experiencing several ________, including a sore throat, tiredness, and a slight ________.
- The doctor thinks it might be the ________.
- He prescribes medicine to be taken ________ a day after ________.
- He also recommends drinking plenty of ________.
2. flu
3. twice, meals
4. fluids
Transcript – Visiting the Doctor Listening Activity
This short doctor-patient conversation is useful for medical English listening comprehension and IELTS preparation:
- Doctor: Good morning. What seems to be the problem today?
- Patient: I’ve been having a sore throat for the past few days, and now I feel really tired and my muscles ache.
- Doctor: Have you had a fever or a cough?
- Patient: Yes, I had a slight fever yesterday, and I’ve been coughing a bit, especially at night.
- Doctor: It sounds like you may have the flu. I’ll prescribe something to help with the symptoms. Make sure to drink plenty of fluids and get some rest.
- Patient: Thank you, doctor. How often should I take the medicine?
- Doctor: Twice a day after meals. Let me know if your condition doesn’t improve in a few days.
Interesting Vocabulary & Expressions
From the doctor-patient conversation, here are some useful terms and phrases:
| Expression | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| What seems to be the problem today? | A polite way for a doctor to ask about a patient’s health issue. | Doctor: What seems to be the problem today? |
| Sore throat | Pain or irritation in the throat. | I have a sore throat and it hurts when I swallow. |
| Muscles ache | When muscles feel sore or painful. | After the flu, my muscles ache for several days. |
| It sounds like you may have… | A polite way to suggest a possible diagnosis. | It sounds like you may have an infection. |
| Prescribe | To authorize a patient to receive medicine. | The doctor will prescribe antibiotics. |
| Drink plenty of fluids | Medical advice meaning to drink water, tea, or other liquids to stay hydrated. | When you’re sick, drink plenty of fluids. |
| Twice a day after meals | Common dosage instruction meaning to take medicine two times daily, after eating. | Take this tablet twice a day after meals. |
