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 — "**The pause**: (1.5 seconds of silence) 'Right. Let me take that seriously.' — the pause is the composure." / "**Name the move**: 'You've collapsed two separate things — the ethics and the economics. Let me answer the ethical part first.'" / "**Reframe (justified)**: 'That isn't the question I would want to answer, and here's why: it assumes the choice is binary. It isn't.'"
Show answer
Four moves at C2: (a) THE PAUSE — a real 1.5–3 second silence before answering; it signals 'I am taking this seriously', not 'I am buying time'; (b) NAME THE MOVE — say what the questioner has done ('you've collapsed two separate claims', 'that's not what I said, but I see why it sounded that way', 'let me take the second half of that first'); (c) REFRAME IF NEEDED — only re-frame if the frame is genuinely wrong; do not reframe as a dodge; (d) ACTUALLY ANSWER — deliver the answer to the real question in one clear sentence before you elaborate, so the room knows you are answering and not evading.
2.Hostile: 'So you're saying we should just abandon the project?' — what's your NAMING move?
Show answer
'That's not what I said. What I said was that we should stop treating the current version as the final one. Different claim.'
3.Aggressive: 'You clearly haven't thought this through.' — what's your composed response?
Show answer
(pause) 'I've thought it through carefully. If there's a specific gap you're pointing at, name it and I'll answer it. Otherwise I'll take that as heat and let it pass.'
4.Which of these is a genuine reframe and which is a dodge? (i) 'The real question isn't cost, it's who bears the cost.' (ii) 'That's important, but let me tell you about a different case.'
Show answer
(i) is a genuine reframe (names WHY the frame is wrong and takes the harder question). (ii) is a dodge (pivots to another topic without answering).
5.Sort these into "natural" and "not natural" and justify each decision out loud: "**The pause**: (1.5 seconds of silence) 'Right. Let me take that seriously.' — the pause is the composure." · "**Name the move**: 'You've collapsed two separate things — the ethics and the economics. Let me answer the ethical part first.'" · "**Reframe (justified)**: 'That isn't the question I would want to answer, and here's why: it assumes the choice is binary. It isn't.'" · "**Reframe used as a dodge (fail)**: 'That's a really important question, but I think the more interesting question is…' — this is a reframe used to avoid answering. Composure is not the same as evasion."
6.Build three sentences on this pattern about your own week — one neutral, one emphatic, one tentative.
Show answer
Four moves at C2: (a) THE PAUSE — a real 1.5–3 second silence before answering; it signals 'I am taking this seriously', not 'I am buying time'; (b) NAME THE MOVE — say what the questioner has done ('you've collapsed two separate claims', 'that's not what I said, but I see why it sounded that way', 'let me take the second half of that first'); (c) REFRAME IF NEEDED — only re-frame if the frame is genuinely wrong; do not reframe as a dodge; (d) ACTUALLY ANSWER — deliver the answer to the real question in one clear sentence before you elaborate, so the room knows you are answering and not evading.
1.Fill: 'Give it the ____ ____. Silence is not weakness; hurry is.' (2 words)
Show answer
composed pause
2.Fill: 'That was a ____ reframe. Go back and answer the original.'
Show answer
dodge
3.Fill: 'You hit the ____ ____ — pause, name, answer — and that is what a real room notices.' (2 words)
Show answer
composure floor
4.Complete in context: "Give it ______. Silence is not weakness; hurry is."
Show answer
the composed pause
5.Complete in context: "Name the move before you answer — you've collapsed two things, and I'll take them one at a time."
Show answer
to name the move
6.Complete in context: "That's an honest reframe — you've earned the right to shift the frame."
Show answer
the honest reframe
7.Complete in context: "That was a dodge reframe. Go back and answer the original."
Show answer
the dodge reframe
8.Complete in context: "Actually answer, then elaborate. Otherwise the room thinks you're evading."
Show answer
to actually answer
9.Complete in context: "Take the hit — you were wrong on that number, and the rest of the argument still stands."
Show answer
to take the hit
10.Complete in context: "Run a live repair — 'sorry, I said the opposite of what I meant; let me say it again' — and move on."
Show answer
to run a live repair
11.Complete in context: "That's ______ — you sound serene and say nothing."
Show answer
performed composure
12.Complete in context: "You held voice under load — that's what changed from last month."
Show answer
to hold voice under load
13.Complete in context: "Fine — you couldn't reframe elegantly, but you hit ______, and that is what a real room notices."
Show answer
the composure floor
14.Cover the list. Which words can you still recall, and what does each one add that a simpler word wouldn't?
Show answer
the composed pause — a real 1.5–3 second silence before answering a hostile or unexpected question | to name the move — to say out loud what the questioner has actually done (collapsed two claims, misquoted, changed the subject) | the honest reframe — changing the frame of the question only when the frame is genuinely wrong, and saying why | the dodge reframe — using a reframe to avoid answering the actual question | to actually answer — to deliver the answer to the real question in one clear sentence before you elaborate | to take the hit — to accept a fair correction or a landed point without collapsing the rest of your position | to run a live repair — to correct a mis-statement, a mistranslation or a slip out loud, in real time, without shame | performed composure — flat, evasive or over-managed calm that reads as defended rather than present | to hold voice under load — to keep your recognisable voice and stance even when the exchange gets fast or hostile | the composure floor — the minimum you commit to doing under pressure — pause, name, answer — even if you cannot do more
1.Give two natural word partners for "the composed pause" (adjective + noun, verb + noun, or adverb + adjective), then use one.
Show answer
Model use: Give it the composed pause. Silence is not weakness; hurry is.
2.Give two natural word partners for "to name the move" (adjective + noun, verb + noun, or adverb + adjective), then use one.
Show answer
Model use: Name the move before you answer — you've collapsed two things, and I'll take them one at a time.
3.Give two natural word partners for "the honest reframe" (adjective + noun, verb + noun, or adverb + adjective), then use one.
Show answer
Model use: That's an honest reframe — you've earned the right to shift the frame.
4.Give two natural word partners for "the dodge reframe" (adjective + noun, verb + noun, or adverb + adjective), then use one.
Show answer
Model use: That was a dodge reframe. Go back and answer the original.
5.Give two natural word partners for "to actually answer" (adjective + noun, verb + noun, or adverb + adjective), then use one.
Show answer
Model use: Actually answer, then elaborate. Otherwise the room thinks you're evading.
6.Give two natural word partners for "to take the hit" (adjective + noun, verb + noun, or adverb + adjective), then use one.
Show answer
Model use: Take the hit — you were wrong on that number, and the rest of the argument still stands.
7.Give two natural word partners for "to run a live repair" (adjective + noun, verb + noun, or adverb + adjective), then use one.
Show answer
Model use: Run a live repair — 'sorry, I said the opposite of what I meant; let me say it again' — and move on.
8.Give two natural word partners for "performed composure" (adjective + noun, verb + noun, or adverb + adjective), then use one.
Show answer
Model use: That's performed composure — you sound serene and say nothing.
9.Give two natural word partners for "to hold voice under load" (adjective + noun, verb + noun, or adverb + adjective), then use one.
Show answer
Model use: You held voice under load — that's what changed from last month.
10.Give two natural word partners for "the composure floor" (adjective + noun, verb + noun, or adverb + adjective), then use one.
Show answer
Model use: Fine — you couldn't reframe elegantly, but you hit the composure floor, and that is what a real room notices.
11.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 "the composed pause": "Give it the composed pause. Silence is not weakness; hurry is."
Show answer
Keep the meaning of: a real 1.5–3 second silence before answering a hostile or unexpected question
2.Rewrite so the meaning stays the same but you do NOT use "to name the move": "Name the move before you answer — you've collapsed two things, and I'll take them one at a time."
Show answer
Keep the meaning of: to say out loud what the questioner has actually done (collapsed two claims, misquoted, changed the subject)
3.Rewrite so the meaning stays the same but you do NOT use "the honest reframe": "That's an honest reframe — you've earned the right to shift the frame."
Show answer
Keep the meaning of: changing the frame of the question only when the frame is genuinely wrong, and saying why
4.Rewrite so the meaning stays the same but you do NOT use "the dodge reframe": "That was a dodge reframe. Go back and answer the original."
Show answer
Keep the meaning of: using a reframe to avoid answering the actual question
5.Rewrite so the meaning stays the same but you do NOT use "to actually answer": "Actually answer, then elaborate. Otherwise the room thinks you're evading."
Show answer
Keep the meaning of: to deliver the answer to the real question in one clear sentence before you elaborate
6.Summarise the lesson's main idea in exactly 20 words — no more, no less.
1.'Isn't your whole argument just a defence of your own position?'
2.'You clearly haven't thought about the people this actually affects.'
3.'So the answer is basically to do nothing?'
4.Long turn (2 minutes, no notes): Three back-to-back role-plays, 6 minutes each. (1) HOSTILE QUESTION — teacher fires a hard, framed question and you run the four-move sequence live. (2) INTERRUPTION — teacher interrupts you mid-answer twice; you must hold voice, not lose the point and finish the sentence you started. (3) LIVE REPAIR — teacher makes a fair correction to something you say; you must take the hit, repair it out loud, and continue without collapsing the surrounding argument. Between rounds, teacher gives a one-line diagnosis using target vocabulary. In the last 5 minutes: deliver a 90-second self-verdict — where is your composure floor, and what is the single move you now know you can commit to every time?
5.Record 90 seconds using at least four of: the composed pause, to name the move, the honest reframe, the dodge reframe, to actually answer, to hold voice under load. 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.Take one of the two memories you brought. Write a 320-word letter to the version of yourself who was in that exchange, describing — in the four-move structure — exactly what a composed response would have looked like and why. The letter must (a) not be self-critical or self-forgiving, (b) walk through pause / name / reframe / answer in the order they would have happened, (c) name at least THREE things that would have been different in the rest of the exchange as a result. Then, in 60 words: state your PERSONAL COMPOSURE FLOOR — the minimum you commit to doing under pressure in the next six months — using at least FIVE target items. (320-word letter + 60-word composure-floor protocol). Include: the composed pause, to name the move, the honest reframe, the dodge reframe, to actually answer, to take the hit, to run a live repair, performed composure, to hold voice under load, the composure floor.
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.In Part 3, the examiner follows up on your collaborative decision with questions that can sound sharp — 'But hasn't that always been true?', 'Isn't that just the easy answer?'. Middle-band candidates hurry to respond and either flatten or dodge. Top-band candidates use the four-move sequence, briefly, inside the exam register.
Show answer
In Speaking Part 3, when a follow-up lands hard: (1) pause for a full second — the examiner is trained to wait; (2) name what the question is doing in one clause ('you're pushing me on whether that's really new'); (3) reframe only if the frame is genuinely wrong; (4) actually answer in one clear sentence, THEN elaborate for the remaining 20–30 seconds. Never begin with 'That's a very good question' — it burns time and reads as buying time.
2.Identify the COMPOSED PAUSE in the speaker's response and say what it signals.
Show answer
The 2-second pause after 'SPEAKER:' before any word is spoken. It signals 'I am taking this seriously' — not 'I am buying time'. Combined with the first sentence — 'Let me take that seriously' — it reframes the whole exchange from defensive to responsive.
3.Identify the NAMING move in the speaker's response.
Show answer
'You've done two things there, and I want to separate them, because they're both fair and they're not the same thing. The first is a criticism of the ASSUMPTION… The second is a claim about the MODEL…' — this is a textbook naming move: it says out loud what the questioner has done (collapsed two claims) and separates them before answering either.
4.Identify where the speaker TAKES THE HIT and why that matters.
Show answer
'So — I take that hit, and it's the thing I most need to rework.' The speaker concedes the criticism of the assumption fully and publicly. This costs almost nothing (the assumption WAS weak) and buys enormous credibility for the refusal to concede the second point. This is composure as strategy: you cannot refuse everything and still be heard.
5.Distinguish the HONEST REFRAME from a dodge reframe in this response.
Show answer
The honest reframe is: 'no, the model isn't a defence of the system. It's an argument for what has to change INSIDE the system so that trust becomes earnable again.' The speaker reframes from 'defence of a broken system' to 'argument for internal repair', and — crucially — says WHY the questioner's frame is wrong ('I understand why, if you assume trust is dead, my model reads as a defence of the corpse'). It is not a dodge because the actual answer to the actual question comes in the same breath.
6.Identify where the speaker ACTUALLY ANSWERS and the one-sentence answer they give.
Show answer
'On the second: no, the model isn't a defence of the system.' That's the clear one-sentence answer to the original question, delivered before elaboration. The room now knows they have been answered, not evaded.
7.Why is the closing move — 'what would change my mind on the model would be if you could show me a case…' — an act of composure rather than a defensive move?
Show answer
It invites disconfirmation on the speaker's own terms. It says: I'm still holding my position, but I'm telling you exactly what would move me off it. This is composure held FORWARD, not defended backward. It is also why the questioner responds with a real case instead of another attack — composure has changed the shape of the room.
1.In your own words, when do you use "Composure under pressure: (a) the pause · (b) name the move · (c) reframe if needed · (d) actually answer"?
Show answer
Four moves at C2: (a) THE PAUSE — a real 1.5–3 second silence before answering; it signals 'I am taking this seriously', not 'I am buying time'; (b) NAME THE MOVE — say what the questioner has done ('you've collapsed two separate claims', 'that's not what I said, but I see why it sounded that way', 'let me take the second half of that first'); (c) REFRAME IF NEEDED — only re-frame if the frame is genuinely wrong; do not reframe as a dodge; (d) ACTUALLY ANSWER — deliver the answer to the real question in one clear sentence before you elaborate, so the room knows you are answering and not evading.
2.Complete naturally: "Give it ______. Silence is not weakness; hurry is."
Show answer
the composed pause
3.Complete naturally: "Name the move before you answer — you've collapsed two things, and I'll take them one at a time."
Show answer
to name the move
4.Complete naturally: "That's an honest reframe — you've earned the right to shift the frame."
Show answer
the honest reframe
5.Complete naturally: "That was a dodge reframe. Go back and answer the original."
Show answer
the dodge reframe
6.Complete naturally: "Actually answer, then elaborate. Otherwise the room thinks you're evading."
Show answer
to actually answer
7.Two-minute retell: summarise the reading/listening from this lesson without looking at it.
8.Which of the four moves is currently your default under pressure — and which is currently missing?
9.Where in your life outside English does composure already come naturally to you — and what does that tell you about what to transfer?