This path is for learners who can already hold a conversation and now want precision: the rhythm of natural speech, expressions that cannot be rearranged, and the register that work and exams demand. By the end you will report other people's words accurately, handle awkward professional moments with tact, and rewrite ideas in your own terms under exam conditions.
Rhythm and reported words
Tune your ear to the beat of spoken sentences, then master the grammar of passing on what other people said.
- LessonThe beat of the sentence: which words carry it and which almost vanish
Start by hearing which words in a sentence carry weight and which shrink; every listening skill at this level builds on that rhythm.
- PracticeFind the word that takes the beat when a sentence corrects an idea
Now test that ear: pick out the stressed word when a speaker corrects an idea, a pattern you will meet constantly in real conversation.
- ReferenceWhat comes after the verb: the two patterns
With your ear tuned, tighten your grammar: check which of the two verb patterns follows the verbs you already use every day.
- LessonHow the verb steps back when you pass on someone’s words
Learn how verbs shift back in time when you relay another person's words, a structure exams and workplaces both demand.
- PracticeShifting the verb back when reporting
Apply the backshift straight away while the rule is fresh, so reporting becomes automatic rather than calculated.
Choosing the natural word
Learn the combinations native speakers reach for automatically, from strengthening adverbs to the busiest two-part verbs.
- ReferenceWhich strong adverb goes with which adjective
Move from correct to natural: learn which strengthening adverbs pair with which adjectives, since the wrong match sounds foreign at once.
- ReferenceThe busiest verb and its two-part combinations
Study how one very common verb changes meaning with each small partner word; mastering this family unlocks dozens of everyday senses.
- WordTo think of an idea, plan, or answer
Add a two-part verb for producing ideas on the spot, useful in meetings and discussions from this point onwards.
- WordAble to recover quickly from something difficult
Pick up an adjective for recovering quickly from setbacks; it appears often in interviews, references and personal statements.
Expressions that come whole
Build a working stock of fixed expressions, from the fully frozen to the half-guessable.
- LessonIdioms you must learn whole
Understand why idioms must be memorised as whole units before you collect any; changing a single word breaks them completely.
- PracticePut back the missing word in the fixed expression
Prove you know the fixed forms by restoring the missing word in each expression you have just studied.
- ReferenceExpressions you can half-guess: the body, the weather and money
Browse expressions built on the body, the weather and money, where context gives you half the meaning for free.
- PracticeThe half you cannot guess: expressions about the body, weather and money
Now supply the unguessable half of those same expressions, fixing them in memory through recall rather than recognition.
- ReferenceSet expressions for saying something was easy or hard
Round out your stock with set phrases for describing how easy or hard something was, staples of informal spoken English.
- WordAvoiding a decision between two sides
Finish the theme with an idiom for refusing to commit to either side, handy for describing hesitant colleagues or politicians.
Register for work and exams
Bring your accuracy to the situations that judge it hardest: interviews, delicate emails and exam papers.
- LessonThe four parts of a strong interview answer, and what weakens it
Learn the four-part shape of a convincing interview answer, so structure carries you even when nerves take hold.
- PracticeRefusing a request without causing offence
Practise declining a request in writing without causing offence, one of the hardest register skills in professional life.
- WordAnyone with an interest in how a project turns out
Add the standard term for anyone with an interest in a project's outcome; it anchors a great deal of workplace discussion.
- LessonRewriting the question in your own words
Learn to restate a question in your own words, the skill examiners reward first in every written paper.
- WordTo carry more weight than a competing consideration
Close with a verb for saying one consideration matters more than another, the backbone of every balanced argument essay.
- DialogueDisagreeing with a colleague's plan without turning the meeting into a fight
Hear concession and hedging manage a real disagreement without a single flat refusal.
With B2 accuracy in place, the C1 path takes you into advanced territory: compressing clauses, lifting your register for academic writing, and the dramatic word orders of polished prose.
Continue to the C1 path