Before you start
StartObjective Know the goal of the lesson and how to run the deck.
Say this at the start of the lesson:
Today I would like to practise a real business situation. Please correct me directly and help me sound more natural and professional. At the end, please give me five useful phrases and three things to improve.
Topic field for the EF app:
Internal support: ask my colleague for help with pricing and options.
The same case runs through Lessons 16 to 19: customer Weber, 250 kVA, a competitor that is about 15 percent cheaper, and delivery in ten weeks. Today you stop talking to the customer and ask a colleague for help.
How the 40 minutes work
- Warm up and words, about 12 minutes
- Build and order, about 12 minutes
- Role play, about 5 minutes
- Update and full task, about 8 minutes
- Phrases, corrections, homework, about 3 minutes
How to use the answer keys
- Try the task first, out loud if you can
- Open the answer key only after you have committed to an answer
- Say the model sentence, then make your own version
- No timer is required anywhere in this lesson
Answer key and models
There is no right answer on this slide. The only requirement is that you can say the four step frame from memory by the end of the lesson:
Frame: acknowledge, clarify, request, confirm.
Open every green answer key only after you have tried. That order is what makes the correction stick.
Warm up, five questions from Lessons 16 to 18
ReviewObjective Speak five high value questions from earlier lessons without reading.
Do: read each prompt, then say one sentence out loud. Tick it when you have said it.
Answer key and models
- Could you walk me through the competitor scope so we compare like for like?
- What are your key decision criteria apart from price?
- I understand your objection on price. Could you share the competitor offer?
- When you consider total cost of ownership, our scope justifies the price.
- Who is the decision maker for final price approval?
Keep the softener. Could you, would you and may I are what make these professional. Without them you sound like an order.
Words for asking for help, set A
Core 1Objective Match five support and pricing words to their meanings and reject two that are not needed.
Do: tap a word, then tap its meaning. Two meanings belong to the next slide, not this one.
Matched: 0 of 5
Answer key and models
1 internal support = D, help from a colleague or another department
2 pricing request = E, a formal ask for prices or options
3 quote = A, the official price you send to a customer
4 lead time = B, how long production or delivery takes
5 escalate = C, to pass a case to someone with more authority
Not used here: F, the money left after cost, and G, permission to reduce the price. Both come back in Activity 3.
Say them: Could you give me some internal support with this pricing request? What is the lead time on that quote? If it is not possible, could we escalate it?
Words for pricing and approval, set B
Core 2Objective Match five pricing and approval words to their meanings and reject two that are not needed.
Do: same task, harder set. Two meanings are traps.
Matched: 0 of 5
Answer key and models
6 discount approval = K, permission to reduce the price
7 margin = L, the difference between price and cost, before profit
8 internal policy = H, the company rules on pricing
9 clarify expectations = I, to agree clearly what a colleague should do
10 next steps = J, what happens after this call
Not used here: M, a visit to check a site before a quote, and N, a written summary of a customer meeting.
Check the idea: cost 60,000, customer pays 80,000. The margin is 20,000 before internal costs. Discount approval means someone with the authority to say yes.
Quick say, stress and flow
Core 3Objective Say the five key phrases with clear stress and smooth linking.
Do: tap play, listen, then say it yourself. Tick each one.
Answer key and models
1 INternal SUPport, stress on the first and last content word
2 a QUOTE for 250 KVA, say two hundred fifty kilovolt amps, not the letters
3 DIScount APproval, strong stress on DIS
4 the MARgin situATion, stress moves to the second noun
5 LEAD time, two content words, short and flat
Linking to practise: I need INternal supPORT. Could you check the MARgin situaTION?
Why it matters: approval and margin are the two words colleagues mishear most often, and a misunderstood approval becomes a commercial problem.
Which version would you send?
Core 4Objective Choose the professional version of five internal requests and say why the other one fails.
Do: tap your choice, then explain the reason out loud before opening the key.
Answer key and reasons
- B, a deadline and a softener turn a demand into a request
- A, the conditional makes it a question, the bare imperative sounds like an order
- B, it names the reason, so the colleague understands the priority
- A, would you mind is the polite conditional, you must is an instruction to a peer
- A, it sets a date and asks a clear question
The point: the wrong options are not ungrammatical, they are socially wrong. That matters more at B2 than another tense rule.
Your turn: rewrite 3A so it keeps the urgency and loses the bluntness. Model: I need the margin situation for a customer call today, could you send it before three?
Build the sentence, one extra word is a trap
Core 5Objective Build five correct internal sentences and reject one extra word in each.
Do: tap the words in order. Tap the box to undo the last word. The dashed word is the trap.
Sentence 1 of 5
Answer key and models
- Could you send me a quote for 250 kVA by Thursday?
- We need discount approval before we can confirm the price.
- Could you check the internal policy on margin for this case?
- Delivery in ten weeks is fixed, so could you check the lead time?
- If the request is not possible, we can escalate it internally.
Why the traps fail: urgent and quickly add pressure and sound like commands, guarantee and warranty promise something you cannot confirm yet, and putting customer into sentence 3 changes who the question is about.
The four step frame for any internal ask
Core 6Objective Use the frame acknowledge, clarify, request, confirm, and reject one line that does not belong.
Do part 1: put the four steps in order. Do part 2: choose the line that does not belong in a professional ask.
Part 1, order the steps
Part 2, which one does not belong?
Answer key and models
Part 1 order: 1, 2, 3, 4, which is acknowledge, clarify, request, confirm.
Part 2: the line Anna, I need the numbers now, so stop asking me questions. It is an order, it is aggressive, and it attacks the colleague instead of the problem. The other three are normal professional moves, and escalating is a legitimate last step when nothing else works.
Say it in one breath: Thanks for the update on the Weber case. Could you clarify what you need from me? Could you send me a quote for 250 kVA by Thursday? So the quote arrives Thursday and the approval on Friday. Is that right?
Full internal call, put the eight turns in order
Core 7Objective Sequence a realistic internal call and read it with natural turn taking.
Do: order the turns, check, then read it aloud. Second time, no reading.
Answer key and structure
Order: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H.
Structure to name out loud: open with a request, the colleague checks for more, the student gives the commercial reason, the colleague asks for the number, the student gives it, both agree a date, the student confirms. The reason comes before the number, which is why turn D exists.
Second read: retell the call in five sentences of your own words. That is the retrieval step that turns the frame into a habit.
Written notes into spoken English
ExtensionObjective Convert informal written notes into professional spoken sentences.
Do: read the note, then build what you would actually say. The leftover text is a trap.
Note 1 of 4
Answer key and models
- Could you send me a quote for 250 kVA as soon as possible?
- Could we get discount approval for the Weber case?
- Could you share the margin situation for this case?
- Thanks, that is clear. I will update the customer on Friday.
Why it matters: chat shorthand is written language, so it has to be translated before it is spoken. This is the email speaking skill from Month 1, lesson 6, used in the other direction.
Item 4 is the hard one: thank you is fine on a call, but a professional close gives a next step instead of ending politely and doing nothing.
Spot the gap, three questions that unblock the case
SpeakingObjective Ask the three questions that unblock a stalled pricing case.
Do: choose the opener that fits each gap, then say the whole question out loud.
Known: customer Weber, 250 kVA, competitor 15 percent cheaper, delivery in 10 weeks, quote needed this week.
Answer key and models
1 margin and discount we could justify. 2 who signs off internally. 3 what the internal policy says about a 15 percent gap.
Full models:
Could you share the margin situation and the discount we could still justify?
Who signs off internally on the price for this case?
What does the internal policy say about a gap of 15 percent?
Also acceptable: any three questions that name the missing item and use could you, what does, who or when. Correct the form, not the order.
Say the numbers politely
ExtensionObjective Say four internal numbers with units and hedging.
Do: type a question for each number. Add about, around, approximately or could you confirm.
Answer key and models
- Could you confirm the scope is 250 kVA for the quote?
- Is the competitor about 15 percent cheaper for the same scope?
- Could you confirm the target is around 80,000 euros?
- Is the lead time about ten weeks, including commissioning?
Say, do not spell: two hundred fifty kilovolt amps, fifteen percent, eighty thousand euros, ten weeks. Percent never takes an s in English.
Fast internal briefing, summarise and ask
ExtensionObjective Summarise fast spoken information in one sentence and ask one useful question.
Do: listen at normal speed, then listen faster. Then summarise and ask. The transcript is below if you need it.
Transcript of the briefing
We have the Weber case for 250 kVA. The competitor is about 15 percent cheaper for the same power, but their warranty is narrower. The customer needs delivery within ten weeks. No discount is approved yet. Please send the quote by Thursday and the approval on Friday, because the customer decides next week.
Answer key and models
Model summary: If I understood correctly, the competitor is about 15 percent cheaper for the same 250 kVA, warranty is the real difference, nothing is approved yet, and the customer decides next week. Is that right?
Model question: Could you confirm who signs off internally if the gap stays at 15 percent?
If you struggled: ask for the audio again more slowly. Do not ask a third time at the same speed, the goal is tolerance for real pace.
Role play, the internal support call
Core 85 minObjective Run a full internal support call using at least five target words without notes.
Do: run the call in order, then tick the words you actually used. No reading.
Case: Weber, 250 kVA, competitor 15 percent cheaper, ten weeks lead time. Anna is busy and will ask: what exactly do you need?
Tick the words you used:
Answer key and model run
You: Thanks for taking the call, Anna. Before I ask for anything, could you clarify what you need from me?
Anna: Give me the case, the number and the date you need it.
You: Weber needs 250 kVA with full warranty. The competitor is about 15 percent cheaper, so I need a pricing request and discount approval. My target is around 80,000 euros and I need the quote by Thursday.
Anna: Then I need the margin situation before I can approve anything.
You: Understood. Could you check the internal policy on margin and tell me what is possible? If the request is not possible, could we escalate it internally?
Anna: Send me the details and I will come back to you on Friday.
You: So the quote on Thursday and your answer on Friday. Is that right?
Pass mark: five or more target words, and the closing question. Tick the exact word you said, not the idea you meant.
Sixty second internal update
ProductionObjective Give a structured 60 second internal update with four signposts and no notes.
Do: speak for 60 to 90 seconds. The timer is optional. Type a keyword to tick a signpost.
Answer key and model
This is the Weber case for 250 kVA with full warranty. The customer says a competitor is about 15 percent cheaper for the same power, and their warranty is narrower. Delivery in ten weeks is fixed on our side. What I need internally is a quote by Thursday, a margin situation, and discount approval if policy allows. My next steps are to send the full specification today, confirm the lead time, and come back to the customer on Friday with two options.
Listen for: the three numbers, 250 kVA, 15 percent, ten weeks, and the two dates, Thursday and Friday. If the numbers are missing, that is the single fix to give.
Full internal ask under time pressure
TaskObjective Complete a full internal ask with the frame, the numbers and a confirmed next step, then save your takeaways.
Situation: Anna is in a meeting. Her colleague says: I cannot approve a discount, the policy is not clear to me.
Speak for up to 3 minutes. Tick each point when you have included it.
Homework, choose one:
Save these after the lesson
5 corrected sentences, 5 new words, 5 business phrases, 3 errors to avoid. Write them in your notebook, not only in this file.
Answer key, what a complete answer contains
- Acknowledges the problem without blaming the colleague.
- Separates what Anna cannot do from what she can do, for example the quote or the lead time.
- Repeats the numbers: 250 kVA, about 15 percent, around 80,000 euros, ten weeks.
- Gives a real next step with a date and a named owner, not a general promise.
- Confirms the date by asking a question, so the other person has to answer.
Five phrases to keep:
1 Could you send me a quote for 250 kVA by Thursday?
2 I need discount approval for the Weber case. Could we check the margin situation?
3 Could you clarify what you need from me to move this forward?
4 If this is not possible, could we escalate it internally?
5 So the quote arrives Thursday and the approval on Friday. Is that right?
Three corrections to avoid:
1 Give me a price, then Could you send me a quote by Thursday?
2 I need the margin now, then Could you share the margin situation?
3 If not possible, I will escalate you, then If this is not possible, could we escalate it internally?