More practice with the language you're learning
Supplementary support — grammar, vocabulary, speaking and review — built from language already taught in the course. Not a lesson, and never a test.
1.Notice first: read these and say what they share — "**Rarely** have I been so wrong about a person." / "**That coffee** I'll never order again." / "**Tired and slightly embarrassed**, she made the call anyway."
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Moving an adverbial, object or complement to the front of the clause foregrounds it — it tells the listener what matters before the subject arrives.
2.Rewrite with fronting: 'I have never seen a film that bored me more.'
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Never have I seen a film that bored me more.
3.Rewrite with fronting: 'I won't forgive that comment in a hurry.'
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That comment I won't forgive in a hurry.
4.Rewrite with fronting: 'She walked in, exhausted and triumphant.'
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Exhausted and triumphant, she walked in.
5.Sort these into "natural" and "not natural" and justify each decision out loud: "**Rarely** have I been so wrong about a person." · "**That coffee** I'll never order again." · "**Tired and slightly embarrassed**, she made the call anyway."
6.Build three sentences on this pattern about your own week — one neutral, one emphatic, one tentative.
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Moving an adverbial, object or complement to the front of the clause foregrounds it — it tells the listener what matters before the subject arrives.
1.Fill the gap: 'After three retellings the punchline started to ____ ____.'
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wear thin
2.Fill the gap: 'She has a ____ ____ ____ that I keep stealing.' (3 words)
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turn of phrase
3.Fill the gap: 'For the boardroom, ____ ____ the formality; for the team chat, ____ ____ ____.'
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dial up / dial it down
4.Complete in context: "She has ______ that sticks with you for days."
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a turn of phrase
5.Complete in context: "He comes across as guarded, but he isn't."
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to come across as
6.Complete in context: "His humour is ______ — you only get it on second listen."
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understated
7.Complete in context: "Dial the formality up for the intro, then dial it down for the Q&A."
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to dial it up / dial it down
8.Complete in context: "That joke is starting ______."
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to wear thin
9.Complete in context: "The opening line didn't quite land with that crowd."
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to land
10.Cover the list. Which words can you still recall, and what does each one add that a simpler word wouldn't?
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a turn of phrase — a memorable, characteristic way of saying something | to come across as — to give a particular impression to others | understated — expressed in a quiet, restrained way; not flashy | to dial it up / dial it down — to increase / decrease the intensity of something | to wear thin — to gradually lose effect or become annoying | to land — (of words/jokes) to have the intended effect on the listener
1.Give two natural word partners for "a turn of phrase" (adjective + noun, verb + noun, or adverb + adjective), then use one.
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Model use: She has a turn of phrase that sticks with you for days.
2.Give two natural word partners for "to come across as" (adjective + noun, verb + noun, or adverb + adjective), then use one.
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Model use: He comes across as guarded, but he isn't.
3.Give two natural word partners for "understated" (adjective + noun, verb + noun, or adverb + adjective), then use one.
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Model use: His humour is understated — you only get it on second listen.
4.Give two natural word partners for "to dial it up / dial it down" (adjective + noun, verb + noun, or adverb + adjective), then use one.
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Model use: Dial the formality up for the intro, then dial it down for the Q&A.
5.Give two natural word partners for "to wear thin" (adjective + noun, verb + noun, or adverb + adjective), then use one.
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Model use: That joke is starting to wear thin.
6.Give two natural word partners for "to land" (adjective + noun, verb + noun, or adverb + adjective), then use one.
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Model use: The opening line didn't quite land with that crowd.
7.Choose three words from this lesson and build one sentence that uses all three naturally.
1.Rewrite so the meaning stays the same but you do NOT use "a turn of phrase": "She has a turn of phrase that sticks with you for days."
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Keep the meaning of: a memorable, characteristic way of saying something
2.Rewrite so the meaning stays the same but you do NOT use "to come across as": "He comes across as guarded, but he isn't."
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Keep the meaning of: to give a particular impression to others
3.Rewrite so the meaning stays the same but you do NOT use "understated": "His humour is understated — you only get it on second listen."
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Keep the meaning of: expressed in a quiet, restrained way; not flashy
4.Rewrite so the meaning stays the same but you do NOT use "to dial it up / dial it down": "Dial the formality up for the intro, then dial it down for the Q&A."
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Keep the meaning of: to increase / decrease the intensity of something
5.Rewrite so the meaning stays the same but you do NOT use "to wear thin": "That joke is starting to wear thin."
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Keep the meaning of: to gradually lose effect or become annoying
6.Summarise the lesson's main idea in exactly 20 words — no more, no less.
1.A time you misread a situation.
2.A small lie that grew.
3.A compliment you didn't know how to take.
4.Long turn (2 minutes, no notes): You and your teacher both tell a 2-minute story on the same prompt. After both have spoken, you name (in one sentence) which voice was more distinctive — not the funniest, not the smoothest — and why. Teacher does the same. If you disagree, defend it.
5.Record 90 seconds using at least four of: a turn of phrase, to come across as, understated, to dial it up / dial it down, to land. Listen back and mark one thing to make more precise.
1.Plan first: write a three-line outline (position → strongest support → concession) before you draft.
2.Pick ONE of the umbrella paragraphs above. Rewrite it (80–100 words) in YOUR voice — neither A nor B. You must use at least three of the target items naturally. (80–100 words). Include: a turn of phrase, to come across as, understated, to dial it up / dial it down, to wear thin, to land.
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I left the umbrella on the 18:42, and — let's be honest — it was always going to end like this. Cheap, slightly bent, the sort of umbrella that comes across as temporary even when new. For a week the loss kept landing, in that understated way small losses do, until it didn't.
3.Model analysis: compare your text with the model. What does the model do in its first and last sentences that yours doesn't?
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I left the umbrella on the 18:42, and — let's be honest — it was always going to end like this. Cheap, slightly bent, the sort of umbrella that comes across as temporary even when new. For a week the loss kept landing, in that understated way small losses do, until it didn't.
1.Discuss two photos and reach a shared conclusion in about a minute.
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Don't describe — react. One memorable phrase early signals voice and buys you control of the turn.
2.Which writer treats the loss with mock seriousness?
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A — the formal frame ('felt its absence with a seriousness it had never, in life, deserved') is the joke.
3.Which writer is closer to spoken English? Name two markers.
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B — 'So basically', 'like a week', the rising question intonation written as '?'.
4.Both writers admit the umbrella was bad. How does each soften that admission?
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A: an em-dash parenthetical ('a cheap thing — black, slightly bent…'). B: a flat concession ('which, fine, it was a rubbish umbrella').
5.Inference: which writer is more self-ironic? Why?
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A is more self-ironic — the elevated register makes fun of the speaker's own feelings. B is candid but not ironic about itself.
1.In your own words, when do you use "Fronting for voice"?
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Moving an adverbial, object or complement to the front of the clause foregrounds it — it tells the listener what matters before the subject arrives.
2.Complete naturally: "She has ______ that sticks with you for days."
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a turn of phrase
3.Complete naturally: "He comes across as guarded, but he isn't."
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to come across as
4.Complete naturally: "His humour is ______ — you only get it on second listen."
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understated
5.Complete naturally: "Dial the formality up for the intro, then dial it down for the Q&A."
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to dial it up / dial it down
6.Complete naturally: "That joke is starting ______."
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to wear thin
7.Two-minute retell: summarise the reading/listening from this lesson without looking at it.
8.Which version of you came out today — and was that on purpose?
9.Where did your voice get blander than you wanted?