Module 3: Task 2 – Key Words & Phrases Video

(20 minutes)

Instructor speaking:

Health and sanitation refer to ways we keep ourselves and other people healthy, safe, and clean. In your work, you may help people who are injured or sick. There are many useful words and phrases that will help you to do this in English.

In English, you can say that someone is hurt, wounded, or injured.

You can talk about their wounds or their injuries.

People who are injured or killed are called casualties.

Casualties may need to go to a hospital, clinic, or first aid station.

They often ride there in an ambulance or are carried on a stretcher.

You may give first aid to people who are injured. This means giving basic medical care to people who really need it.

First aid may include cleaning wounds and applying bandages, splints, or slings to injuries. It’s very important that injuries stay clean. If they are not clean, they can get infected. Infections can be dangerous.

Soap helps to keep things clean.

People who work in hospitals, clinics, or first aid stations must wash their hands with soap and clean water very often.

They wash their hands in a sink. A shower also helps people to stay clean.

Clean water is very important. Use only clean water for first aid or to drink.

You can boil water to make sure it’s clean. You must boil it for several minutes to be sure it’s clean. Sometimes you can use tablets to make water clean.

People who are sick may need first aid, too. They may have an illness or a disease that makes them unwell.

You may distribute medicine and vaccines to people who are sick or injured.

People may be sick because they have a disease, like Ebola and cholera, which are contagious. This means they can pass from one person or animal to another.

If someone has an illness that is contagious, they should be quarantined. This means they stay away from other people or animals, so the illness does not spread.

People can also get sick if they don’t have enough good food or water.

People who don’t have enough water may become dehydrated. This can happen during a drought, a long period with no rain.

People who don’t have enough good food can be malnourished or starving. When many people in one place are starving, it’s called a famine.

When you’re helping people who are injured or sick, it’s important to know the parts of the body. You may need to say:

Head, neck, arm, hand, chest, abdomen, back, leg, foot.

Here are some questions you may want to ask:

1. Where are you hurt?

2. Are you sick?

3. Do you need water?

4. Where is the toilet?

You can also ask:

1. Is there clean water here?

2. Is there fresh food here?

3. Do you have soap?

Watch this video 2 or 3 times and practice reading and saying each word and phrase.