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.Transformation: express the same meaning without repeating the original wording — "We've identified a regression in the auth flow. (formal, cool, technical)"
2.Transformation: express the same meaning without repeating the original wording — "Something weird is happening when people try to log in. (informal, warm, lay)"
3.Transformation: express the same meaning without repeating the original wording — "There appears to be an intermittent authentication issue. (formal, cool, semi-technical)"
4.Make this sentence formal, warm, lay: 'Login's bust for some users, gonna patch it.'
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'I wanted to flag that some users can't currently log in — we'll have a fix out shortly.'
5.Make this sentence informal, cool, technical: 'I wanted to let you know we believe there may be a regression in the auth pipeline.'
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'Looks like a regression in the auth pipeline.'
6.Mini-context: someone disagrees with you in a meeting. Reply in two turns, using this structure at least once.
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Register isn't one slider. You're moving three at once: (1) formality (relaxed ↔ ceremonial), (2) distance (warm ↔ cool), (3) technicality (lay ↔ expert). C2 speakers move them independently — formal but warm, informal but expert, etc.
1.Sort these into "positive", "neutral" and "critical" in tone, and be ready to defend a borderline case: to strike the right tone, to come off (as), to keep it light, to dress (something) up, matter-of-fact, to talk down to
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to strike the right tone — to match the level of seriousness/warmth the moment needs | to come off (as) — to give a particular impression — often unintentionally | to keep it light — to deliberately stay informal / not too serious | to dress (something) up — to make plain language sound fancier than necessary | matter-of-fact — calm, neutral, without drama | to talk down to — to address someone as if they're less capable than they are
2.Odd one out: which of these is least like "to strike the right tone" in meaning or use — to come off (as) / to keep it light / to dress (something) up? Explain why.
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Compare against: to match the level of seriousness/warmth the moment needs
3.Odd one out: which of these is least like "to come off (as)" in meaning or use — to keep it light / to dress (something) up / matter-of-fact? Explain why.
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Compare against: to give a particular impression — often unintentionally
4.Odd one out: which of these is least like "to keep it light" in meaning or use — to dress (something) up / matter-of-fact / to talk down to? Explain why.
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Compare against: to deliberately stay informal / not too serious
5.Odd one out: which of these is least like "to dress (something) up" in meaning or use — matter-of-fact / to talk down to / to strike the right tone? Explain why.
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Compare against: to make plain language sound fancier than necessary
6.Semantic map: place "to strike the right tone" on a scale from mild to strong against two other words you know. Then use the strongest one.
7.Semantic map: place "to come off (as)" on a scale from mild to strong against two other words you know. Then use the strongest one.
8.Semantic map: place "to keep it light" on a scale from mild to strong against two other words you know. Then use the strongest one.
9.Mini-dialogue: write four lines in which two of this lesson's words appear naturally.
1.Word family: give the noun, verb, adjective and adverb forms linked to "to strike the right tone" where they exist, then use the form that is hardest for you.
2.Word family: give the noun, verb, adjective and adverb forms linked to "to come off (as)" where they exist, then use the form that is hardest for you.
3.Word family: give the noun, verb, adjective and adverb forms linked to "to keep it light" where they exist, then use the form that is hardest for you.
4.Word family: give the noun, verb, adjective and adverb forms linked to "to dress (something) up" where they exist, then use the form that is hardest for you.
5.Spot the mismatch: which partner does NOT work with "to strike the right tone" — and what would a proficient speaker say instead?
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Natural model: The opening of her speech struck exactly the right tone.
6.Spot the mismatch: which partner does NOT work with "to come off (as)" — and what would a proficient speaker say instead?
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Natural model: I didn't want to come off as preachy.
7.Spot the mismatch: which partner does NOT work with "to keep it light" — and what would a proficient speaker say instead?
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Natural model: It's a Friday update — keep it light.
8.Rewrite one sentence from your last piece of writing, swapping a weak combination for a precise one from this lesson.
1.Shift the register twice: make this markedly formal, then markedly conversational — "We've identified a regression in the auth flow. (formal, cool, technical)"
2.Shift the register twice: make this markedly formal, then markedly conversational — "Something weird is happening when people try to log in. (informal, warm, lay)"
3.Shift the register twice: make this markedly formal, then markedly conversational — "There appears to be an intermittent authentication issue. (formal, cool, semi-technical)"
4.Diplomatic vs direct: soften this, then sharpen it. Which version would you actually use, and to whom? "Does the staff email lean too warm given the scale of the failure?"
5.Compress: express the idea behind "The opening of her speech struck exactly the right tone." in six words or fewer without losing the nuance.
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to match the level of seriousness/warmth the moment needs
6.Compress: express the idea behind "I didn't want to come off as preachy." in six words or fewer without losing the nuance.
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to give a particular impression — often unintentionally
7.Compress: express the idea behind "It's a Friday update — keep it light." in six words or fewer without losing the nuance.
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to deliberately stay informal / not too serious
8.Read one of your own paraphrases aloud. Which word choice is doing the most work? Replace everything around it.
1.Rank and justify: order the ideas in Does the staff email lean too warm given the scale of the failure? / What changes if you swap 'we are sorry' for 'I am sorry' in the public statement? / Could the Slack message be the public one if you fixed the words? Why not? from most to least convincing. Defend your top choice.
2.Role-play: Each draft must hit a different point on each register dial. Teacher's Sceptic role must trigger at least one rewrite per draft. Take the position you least agree with.
3.Decision task: you have two minutes to reach a single recommendation on Three read-aloud drafts plus a 30-second talk-through: 'where I moved each dial and why'.. State it in one sentence.
4.Now switch sides and argue the opposite for 60 seconds. Which language had to change?
5.Follow-up — push further: Idea A: 'AI should be banned from grading school essays.' Add a counter-example.
6.Follow-up — push further: Idea B: 'Companies should publish every salary.' Add a counter-example.
1.Paragraph ordering: draft your four topic sentences only, then decide their best order and say why.
2.Partial writing: write only the concession paragraph of Rewrite the Helios Air PUBLIC statement (80–100 words) deliberately set to the wrong register for the audience. Then add ONE sentence saying exactly which dial you broke and why it would fail. Use at least three target items across the rewrite and diagnosis combined. — 60–80 words.
3.Editing pass: cut 15% of your words without losing content. What went first?
4.Audience switch: rewrite your opening for a hostile reader, then for a sympathetic one.
5.Self-check: underline every repeated word and replace two with precise choices from this lesson.
1.Same brief — 'the impact of remote work on city centres' — write the OPENING paragraph as (a) an article and (b) a report. Read both aloud.
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Decide your three dial settings BEFORE the first sentence: formality, distance, technicality. Write them in the margin. Re-check after the opening paragraph.
2.Find the evidence: which exact words in the text/script support this — Sort the three statements by formality. What moves them?
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Slack (informal, technical, cool) → staff email (semi-formal, warm, lay) → public statement (formal, warm-cool, lay). Vocabulary, sentence length, and pronoun choice ('I' → 'we') do the work.
3.Find the evidence: which exact words in the text/script support this — Where does the CEO most clearly strike the right tone?
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Public statement — three short clauses ('The fault was ours; the fix is now in place; the lessons will be shared openly.') deliver ownership without drama.
4.Find the evidence: which exact words in the text/script support this — Find one phrase that would come off badly if moved to a different statement.
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'Engineering have been heroic' — fine internally; would ring self-congratulatory in the public statement.
5.Key word transformation: rewrite "We've identified a regression in the auth flow. (formal, cool, technical)" using the structure from The three dials: formality, distance, technicality, in 3–8 words.
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Register isn't one slider. You're moving three at once: (1) formality (relaxed ↔ ceremonial), (2) distance (warm ↔ cool), (3) technicality (lay ↔ expert). C2 speakers move them independently — formal but warm, informal but expert, etc.
6.Reflection: which part of this task type costs you most time, and what will you do differently next time?
1.True, false or not stated? Decide for each, then correct the false ones: "Slack (informal, technical, cool) → staff email (semi-formal, warm, lay) → public statement (formal, warm-cool, lay). Vocabulary, sentence length, and pronoun choice ('I' → 'we') do the work." · "Public statement — three short clauses ('The fault was ours; the fix is now in place; the lessons will be shared openly.') deliver ownership without drama." · "'Engineering have been heroic' — fine internally; would ring self-congratulatory in the public statement."
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Sort the three statements by formality. What moves them? → Slack (informal, technical, cool) → staff email (semi-formal, warm, lay) → public statement (formal, warm-cool, lay). Vocabulary, sentence length, and pronoun choice ('I' → 'we') do the work. | Where does the CEO most clearly strike the right tone? → Public statement — three short clauses ('The fault was ours; the fix is now in place; the lessons will be shared openly.') deliver ownership without drama. | Find one phrase that would come off badly if moved to a different statement. → 'Engineering have been heroic' — fine internally; would ring self-congratulatory in the public statement.
2.Retrieval race: in 60 seconds, list every word from this lesson you can remember, then check what you missed.
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to strike the right tone, to come off (as), to keep it light, to dress (something) up, matter-of-fact, to talk down to
3.Use "to strike the right tone" in a sentence about a completely different topic from the lesson.
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to match the level of seriousness/warmth the moment needs
4.Use "to come off (as)" in a sentence about a completely different topic from the lesson.
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to give a particular impression — often unintentionally
5.Use "to keep it light" in a sentence about a completely different topic from the lesson.
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to deliberately stay informal / not too serious
6.Teach it back: explain The three dials: formality, distance, technicality to someone who has never met it, in under 45 seconds.
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Register isn't one slider. You're moving three at once: (1) formality (relaxed ↔ ceremonial), (2) distance (warm ↔ cool), (3) technicality (lay ↔ expert). C2 speakers move them independently — formal but warm, informal but expert, etc.
7.Which of the three dials do you turn first under pressure?