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 — "I was wondering whether we might revisit that." / "It's a somewhat ambitious timeline, isn't it?" / "Wouldn't it be safer to wait a week?"
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English softens disagreement with (a) tense distancing ('I was wondering…'), (b) hedges ('rather', 'somewhat'), (c) negative questions ('Wouldn't it be…?'), and (d) understatement ('not exactly ideal'). The listener still hears 'no' — but the relationship survives.
2.Soften: 'This budget is too low.'
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'This budget feels a little tight, doesn't it?' or 'I was wondering whether there's any flex on the budget.'
3.Soften: 'You're wrong about the deadline.'
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'I may be misreading the brief, but isn't the deadline the 14th rather than the 17th?'
4.Soften: 'I don't want to take on this project.'
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'I'd love to help — I'm just not sure I'm the best fit for this one right now.'
5.Sort these into "natural" and "not natural" and justify each decision out loud: "I was wondering whether we might revisit that." · "It's a somewhat ambitious timeline, isn't it?" · "Wouldn't it be safer to wait a week?" · "That's not exactly the result we were hoping for."
6.Build three sentences on this pattern about your own week — one neutral, one emphatic, one tentative.
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English softens disagreement with (a) tense distancing ('I was wondering…'), (b) hedges ('rather', 'somewhat'), (c) negative questions ('Wouldn't it be…?'), and (d) understatement ('not exactly ideal'). The listener still hears 'no' — but the relationship survives.
1.Fill: 'I ____ ____ ____, but the numbers don't support it.' (4 words)
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take your point, but
2.Fill: 'She had to ____ ____ the comment after the meeting.' (3 words)
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walk back
3.Fill: 'He completely failed to ____ ____ ____.' (3 words)
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read the room
4.Complete in context: "With respect, I think the data tells a different story."
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with respect
5.Complete in context: "I'd push back gently on the second recommendation."
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to push back (on)
6.Complete in context: "I take your point, but the cost picture has changed."
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I take your point, but…
7.Complete in context: "He didn't read the room — the joke died."
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to read the room
8.Complete in context: "She walked back the comment by lunchtime."
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to walk something back
9.Complete in context: "Let me put it this way: we can't afford another slip."
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let me put it this way
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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with respect — polite signal that disagreement is coming | to push back (on) — to disagree firmly but professionally | I take your point, but… — acknowledge then disagree | to read the room — to sense the mood of a group and adjust | to walk something back — to soften or partly retract a previous statement | let me put it this way — signal that you're about to rephrase, more directly or more tactfully
1.Give two natural word partners for "with respect" (adjective + noun, verb + noun, or adverb + adjective), then use one.
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Model use: With respect, I think the data tells a different story.
2.Give two natural word partners for "to push back (on)" (adjective + noun, verb + noun, or adverb + adjective), then use one.
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Model use: I'd push back gently on the second recommendation.
3.Give two natural word partners for "I take your point, but…" (adjective + noun, verb + noun, or adverb + adjective), then use one.
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Model use: I take your point, but the cost picture has changed.
4.Give two natural word partners for "to read the room" (adjective + noun, verb + noun, or adverb + adjective), then use one.
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Model use: He didn't read the room — the joke died.
5.Give two natural word partners for "to walk something back" (adjective + noun, verb + noun, or adverb + adjective), then use one.
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Model use: She walked back the comment by lunchtime.
6.Give two natural word partners for "let me put it this way" (adjective + noun, verb + noun, or adverb + adjective), then use one.
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Model use: Let me put it this way: we can't afford another slip.
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 "with respect": "With respect, I think the data tells a different story."
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Keep the meaning of: polite signal that disagreement is coming
2.Rewrite so the meaning stays the same but you do NOT use "to push back (on)": "I'd push back gently on the second recommendation."
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Keep the meaning of: to disagree firmly but professionally
3.Rewrite so the meaning stays the same but you do NOT use "I take your point, but…": "I take your point, but the cost picture has changed."
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Keep the meaning of: acknowledge then disagree
4.Rewrite so the meaning stays the same but you do NOT use "to read the room": "He didn't read the room — the joke died."
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Keep the meaning of: to sense the mood of a group and adjust
5.Rewrite so the meaning stays the same but you do NOT use "to walk something back": "She walked back the comment by lunchtime."
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Keep the meaning of: to soften or partly retract a previous statement
6.Summarise the lesson's main idea in exactly 20 words — no more, no less.
1.Tell a friend their business idea has a serious flaw.
2.Tell a colleague their part of the presentation isn't working.
3.Tell a client the launch date is slipping by two weeks.
4.Long turn (2 minutes, no notes): Pick ONE piece of difficult news. You deliver it three times in 3-minute scenes. Your teacher plays a different listener each round: (1) a friend, (2) a senior, (3) a junior. Between rounds, teacher gives 30 seconds of quick feedback: clarity of message, face-saving, naturalness (1–5 each).
5.Record 90 seconds using at least four of: with respect, to push back (on), I take your point, but…, let me put it this way. 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.Write a 90–110-word email delivering one piece of difficult news (real or invented). The reader must understand what you mean — and not feel attacked. Use at least three target items naturally. (90–110 words). Include: with respect, to push back (on), I take your point, but…, to read the room, to walk something back, let me put it this way.
3.Model analysis: compare your text with the model. What does the model do in its first and last sentences that yours doesn't?
1.Take and sustain a position on a contentious prompt for around 90 seconds without sounding aggressive or evasive.
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Open with a hedge ('I'd argue, with some caution, that…'), state a clear stance, concede ONE point ('I take the opposite view's point about X'), then return to your line.
2.How serious is the client-communications issue, really?
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Serious enough that multiple clients have complained. 'On my radar', 'come up', 'more than one client?' all signal a recurring pattern.
3.Quote ONE phrase the manager uses to soften the criticism.
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'It's a small one', 'I don't want to make a thing of it', 'Nothing dramatic', 'Let's just say…'.
4.What is the employee really asking with 'From … more than one client?'
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'How bad is this — am I in real trouble?' The pause and the rising question show the indirect probe.
5.The real seriousness of the issue is signalled by the phrase ____.
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'on my radar' / 'more than one client'
6.The manager softens criticism with the phrase ____.
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'I don't want to make a thing of it' / 'Nothing dramatic'
7.The employee's indirect probe is ____.
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'From … more than one client?'
1.In your own words, when do you use "Indirectness: softeners, distancers, understatement"?
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English softens disagreement with (a) tense distancing ('I was wondering…'), (b) hedges ('rather', 'somewhat'), (c) negative questions ('Wouldn't it be…?'), and (d) understatement ('not exactly ideal'). The listener still hears 'no' — but the relationship survives.
2.Complete naturally: "With respect, I think the data tells a different story."
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with respect
3.Complete naturally: "I'd push back gently on the second recommendation."
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to push back (on)
4.Complete naturally: "I take your point, but the cost picture has changed."
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I take your point, but…
5.Complete naturally: "He didn't read the room — the joke died."
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to read the room
6.Complete naturally: "She walked back the comment by lunchtime."
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to walk something back
7.Two-minute retell: summarise the reading/listening from this lesson without looking at it.
8.Where did you over-soften to the point that your meaning got blurry?
9.Where did directness actually serve the relationship better?