B1 · LEARN THROUGH PRACTICE
Small steps.
Real conversations.
Try a real task. Practice with support. Use what you learn in a new situation.
Your goal
Turn a short discussion into a clear plan: who will do what, by when, and what to do if a task is delayed. Ask for confirmation without making promises for another person.
Before you start
Use what you practiced in B1 Unit 1: Solve an Everyday Problem: explain a problem, give a reason and ask for a next step. You can start here without completing Unit 1 if those tasks feel manageable.
Useful A2 preparation: LE-A2-APPT-01 — Change a Plan Politely for dates, requests and confirmation, and LE-A2-PROB-01 — Explain a Problem and Ask for Help for describing a difficulty. Use one of these alongside B1 if you need support. This B1 task adds linked responsibilities and deadlines.
1. Pre-check: turn notes into a plan
Read the situation and write a 60–100-word planning message before looking at the model. The length is a guide. Include each person’s job, the important times and a request for confirmation. Keep this as “Before”.
A team is preparing a free English conversation session for Friday at 3 p.m. Aya has offered to make the participant list by Wednesday at noon. Ben has offered to print the handouts, but needs the list by Thursday at 10 a.m. The handouts must be ready by Friday at 11 a.m. You will send the meeting details after the handouts are ready. The room has not been confirmed.
Do not say the room is booked or tell Ben a different deadline. Ask the team who can check the room and when they can report back.
2. Presentation: read a useful planning message
“Hi team, here is our plan for Friday’s 3 p.m. session. Aya will prepare the participant list by Wednesday at noon. Ben needs it by Thursday at 10 a.m. so he can have the handouts ready by Friday at 11 a.m. I will send the meeting details after the handouts are ready. We still need to confirm the room. Who can check it, and when can you let us know? Please confirm your tasks and tell us if any deadline is difficult.”
Notice the links between tasks
- “By” gives the latest time for an action: ready by Friday at 11 a.m.
- “So” explains a purpose or result: Ben needs the list so he can prepare.
- “After” shows order: the details are sent after the handouts are ready.
- “We still need to…” separates an open question from an agreed action.
The message keeps an offer as an agreed contribution but asks people to confirm. It does not invent a room owner or a completed booking.
3. Practice: check the plan
1. Is Wednesday at noon the same deadline as Thursday at 10 a.m.?
No. Wednesday at noon is Aya’s offered completion time. Thursday at 10 a.m. is the latest time Ben needs the list. Keeping these separate shows the team has a useful time margin.
2. Can the message say “The room is confirmed”?
No. The notes say it is not confirmed. Ask someone to check rather than inventing a booking.
3. What must happen before you send the meeting details?
The handouts must be ready. The team must also resolve the room question so the location in the message is accurate. If the plan cannot work, ask the group to agree on a change.
Make the wording useful
- Rewrite “Ben will do it soon” with the task and deadline.
- Complete: “If the list is late, please…” with a useful request.
- Ask someone to check the room without pretending they already agreed.
- Rewrite “Everyone knows what to do” as a request for confirmation.
Possible wording
“Ben will have the handouts ready by Friday at 11 a.m.” “If the list is late, please tell the group and suggest a new time.” “Could someone check the room and tell us when it is confirmed?” “Please confirm your task and tell us if the timing is difficult.” Other respectful wording can work.
4. Production: respond when a plan changes
Work with a partner or play both roles aloud. Aya now says she can send the list on Thursday at 9 a.m. Ben still needs it by Thursday at 10 a.m. Discuss whether the plan can continue. Ask what happens if the list arrives later than 10 a.m. Do not decide a new printing deadline for Ben without checking.
Write an updated team message. Acknowledge Aya’s change, keep the latest needed time clear and request a warning if it may be missed. Keep the room question open unless someone has confirmed it.
Useful language
- “Thanks for letting us know.”
- “That still gives us… before…”
- “Could you confirm that…?”
- “If you expect a delay, please…”
- “We have agreed on… We still need to check…”
Read your message as if you were Ben: can you identify what you need and when? Then read it as a new teammate: can you tell what is still unknown? Revise one unclear point.
Review with four checks
Score each area 0–3 using evidence from your response. If you have not attempted the task, write “Not tried yet”. These scores describe this task; they do not award a CEFR level or predict an exam score.
Task completion
- 0 — No usable plan is communicated.
- 1 — Some tasks are included, but an important owner, deadline or open question is missing or wrong.
- 2 — The agreed tasks and key times are accurate; the response asks for confirmation or handles the stated change.
- 3 — The response also makes task order and unresolved details clear without inventing commitments.
Clear meaning and organization
- 0 — The main meaning cannot yet be understood.
- 1 — The reader must guess which time or action belongs to whom.
- 2 — The reader can follow who does what and the order of actions.
- 3 — Connections and emphasis make changes and dependencies easy to follow.
Fit for the situation and interaction
- 0 — The response does not fit the team task or ignores the other person.
- 1 — Some wording fits, but the response blames, assumes agreement or leaves a request unclear.
- 2 — Requests are respectful and respond to the changed situation.
- 3 — The response recognizes the other person’s position and checks an agreement without pressure or confusion.
Language range and control
- 0 — There is not enough relevant language to communicate the plan.
- 1 — Errors or limited wording confuse key actions or times.
- 2 — Suitable sentences and time expressions convey the main plan; occasional errors do not usually block meaning.
- 3 — Useful connectors and request forms are used effectively, with control of key details.
5. Post-check: coordinate a different task
A study group will give a presentation on Tuesday at 2 p.m. Mei has offered to send the slides on Monday by 6 p.m. Luis needs them by Tuesday at 9 a.m. to test the equipment. You will send the final speaking order after Luis confirms the equipment works. No one has checked whether captions can be displayed.
Write a message that makes the plan clear and asks who can check the captions. Then respond to this update: Mei can now send the slides on Tuesday at 8 a.m. State what still works and ask for an early warning if that time may be missed.
Check the facts after your attempt
The new offered time of 8 a.m. is still before Luis’s 9 a.m. deadline. Sending the speaking order depends on the equipment check. Captions are an unresolved question. A good response does not claim they work or assign a person who has not agreed.
One possible message
“Hi team, Mei can now send the slides on Tuesday at 8 a.m. Luis needs them by 9 a.m., so the equipment check can still go ahead if they arrive on time. I will send the speaking order after Luis confirms that the equipment works. Could someone check whether we can display captions? Please tell us who can do this and when you can report back. Mei, please let us know early if the slides may arrive after 8 a.m.”
Review and return
Use the same four checks for both tasks. Record one improvement and one remaining difficulty with Check Your Progress. After about a week, turn a new set of notes into a plan without copying either message.
Need more support? Return to Unit 1 or Start B1. Ready for a more demanding comparison? Preview the B2 options task and decide whether its language is manageable.
Use a notebook or a document on your device. This page does not collect answers, save scores or mark your work. Speaking is optional partner or solo practice. Device-voice listening practice is included below.
Choose a goal · B1 · B2 · C1 · Check your progress
Listening practice for this unit
Listen for meaning
Listen before opening the transcript. For practice, listen once for the main point and again for details. Record replays or slower playback with your result.
Listen in American English
Audio uses an American English voice available on your device. Pause and Stop appear when a session starts.
Aya can now send the list on Thursday at nine. Ben needs it by ten, so there is still one hour. Please tell the team early if the list may be late. Nobody has confirmed the room yet.
- How much time remains before Ben’s deadline?
- What is still unconfirmed?
Transcript — open after listening
Aya can now send the list on Thursday at nine. Ben needs it by ten, so there is still one hour. Please tell the team early if the list may be late. Nobody has confirmed the room yet.
Listening answers and reasons
One hour. The room.
If you read the transcript before answering, record that as supported practice rather than an independent listening check.
Continue in order from B1 home.
Guided speaking: answer one question at a time
Answer about the situation or your own response in this unit. Each question stops for your answer. Take as long as you need, then choose Continue. Pause also works while you are thinking; Resume replays that question. This page does not record or upload your voice.
Guided spoken practice
Audio uses an American English voice available on your device. Pause and Stop appear when a session starts.
Who has offered to prepare the list, and when?
How does the changed time affect the next task?
What will you ask the team to confirm?
Read the speaking prompts
- Who has offered to prepare the list, and when?
- How does the changed time affect the next task?
- What will you ask the team to confirm?