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Speaking: routines, plans and asking for things
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| English | Meaning |
|---|---|
| How do you say …? | A question asking for an English word or expression. |
| How do I get to …? | A question asking for directions to a place. |
Explain a routine, then respond
- Outcome: explain a routine and plan, keep the person/day/time clear, make a request and respond to a changed reply. Start with A1 introductions, present-simple routines, future plans or word order if needed.
- Rehearse the five existing models, then try the open role cards without a supplied sentence. Spoken takes stay on this page, disappear on reload and are not uploaded or automatically scored. Use invented details. The short written checks test wording/meaning, not spoken ability.
Put a routine in a useful order
- Model: I get up at seven. I have breakfast at eight. I go to school by bus. A time often follows the verb phrase; At seven, I get up can also set the scene. In this simple neutral pattern, avoid I at seven get up. Practice box 1 rehearses the existing model; use your own or invented times in the later role.
- Worked choice: “I have breakfast at eight. Then I take the bus” gives an understandable order. “I have breakfast at eight because I take the bus” claims a reason instead. Use and, but, so, because, then only when they express the relation you mean; linking unrelated sentences does not make the message clear.
Hear the model, then record yourself saying the three sentences.
I get up at seven and At seven, I get up are both grammatical. In the simple pattern here, avoid I at seven get up. A pause between sentences can help clarity.
Written pattern check. Which comparison is accurate?
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The time can follow the verb phrase or set the scene at the beginning. Avoid inserting it between I and get up in this neutral simple pattern. A written choice does not show whether you can explain a routine aloud.
Keep the subject and verb together
- In affirmative present simple, compare I work with she works. Most main verbs after he/she/it take an ending: She works in a bank. He watches TV. After does or a modal, use the base form: Does she work? She can work.
- Practice box 2 rehearses two affirmative sentences. In the later Lila role, describe her day rather than changing it to yours. Replay a whole phrase if you need to check an ending; do not assume every Chinese-speaking learner has the same difficulty.
Now about other people — mind the -s. Record both sentences.
Rehearse she works and he watches here. In Does she work? or She can work, the main verb has the base form.
State a plan, then check the detail
- I’m going to + verb can express a plan. Practice box 3 rehearses I'm going to visit my grandparents this weekend. Informal speech may reduce going to before a base verb; a clear full form is also useful. A destination is different: do not change I'm going to London to I'm gonna London.
- Worked repair: you mean Thursday at three, but a listener repeats Friday at three. “I mean Thursday at three, not Friday” repairs the day and keeps the time. Changing it to Thursday at four creates a new mismatch. Ask for confirmation; the correction alone does not prove understanding.
Talk about a plan. Record the sentence.
A clear going to is useful for rehearsal. Informal reductions can be natural; a destination phrase such as going to London has a different structure.
Make a request that fits the situation
- Can I have a coffee, please? asks for an item; Could you open the window? asks for an action. Practice box 4 rehearses these existing models. Could can make a request more tentative, but words, relationship and delivery work together. Please does not guarantee politeness, and no one rise or fall fits every request.
- Worked response: if a classmate says “I’m using the pen now”, “Could I borrow it when you finish?” responds to the situation. Repeating “Give it to me now, please” ignores the unavailable pen; please does not resolve that problem. A request for later use is not permission until the person answers.
Rehearse the two English model requests. Record both, then compare the requested item or action; the words alone do not guarantee politeness.
Could you can make a request more tentative. Please, intonation, relationship and context all contribute; no single word or pitch pattern guarantees politeness.
Written meaning check. Adding please makes any demand polite in every situation.
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Please can contribute to a request, but the words, relationship, situation and delivery also matter. Recognising this written claim does not assess your spoken tone or require one pitch pattern.
Ask for the kind of help you need
- How do you say this in English? asks for words. How do I get to the station? asks for a route. The reusable frames are How do you say …? and How do I get to …?. These direct present-simple questions use do; Where is the station? Can you help? have different patterns, so not every question needs it.
- How do you say …? — a question asking for an English word or expression.
- How do I get to …? — a question asking for directions to a place.
- How to say … can be a heading or an embedded phrase, but is not the full direct question practised here. Choose a request for the actual purpose. The written matching is without audio; choosing a phrase is preparation for saying it, not proof of speaking or listening skill.
Written purpose matching, without audio. Match each question to the specific help it requests.
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The first asks for words, the second for a route, and the third for an action. Choosing a written question prepares a purpose; the later speaking tasks ask you to produce and adapt a response.
Change the day, then answer
- Practice box 5 provides someone else’s day. In your own follow-up, choose two routine details and a plan, keeping their people and times consistent. With a real partner, ask about their day and respond to the answer.
- Try a changed reply: you ask for a window to be opened, but the partner is busy. Ask when they can help, or suggest another suitable action. Alone, pause for the printed or imagined reply; this rehearses an exchange rather than tests real-time listening.
Rehearse the model, then use real or invented details for a day and plan. Compare two takes if available; an extra take is not automatically clearer.
Adapt the model, then compare the content and clarity of both takes. Model rehearsal does not by itself demonstrate independent interaction.
Written response check. You want to borrow a pen. Your classmate says “I’m using it now”. Which response asks about later use without claiming permission?
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The question responds to the pen being in use and asks about a later possibility. It does not establish that permission was granted. A real partner may give a different reply; listen and respond to that rather than forcing this script.
Choose one repair before retrying
- Replay the intended time, day, requested action or full subject/verb phrase. Pick one unclear detail, then compare a retry honestly. A second or slower take is not automatically clearer in every way.
- Use the written repair plan if helpful, then make the spoken repair. Record before opening written guidance; replay your take before confirming self-review. The written plan and checklists do not assess pronunciation or establish that a listener understood.
Which sentence about a routine is correct?
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With she in an affirmative present-simple sentence, the main verb takes -s: works.
“How do you say this in English?” needs the helper do.
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True. It is a present-simple question with a main verb, so it needs do.
Written repair plan. A listener heard “Friday at three”, but you intend “Thursday at three”. Write a short English correction and name one word or phrase you would replay in the next spoken take. Do not claim the listener understood without a reply.
Compare the intended day and time, then make the spoken repair. This written self-comparison is not a pronunciation or proficiency result.
Speak without copying a model
- Try the three new roles: choose your own routine and plan, correct whose routine you are describing, then make a pen request and respond to a later-use reply. Keep the role facts while choosing your own English words.
- Record your own turns. With a real partner, respond to their actual answer; alone, follow the printed cue. After opening guidance, replay and choose one useful repair. No role card supplies an automatic speech score or a reviewed new pronunciation recording.
Speak in English as yourself or an invented person. Choose two usual activities with times and one plan for tomorrow. Explain the routine and plan, then ask what your partner usually does after class. Choose your own details and wording. Record your own turns before opening guidance.
Record your own English turns, replay them and compare with the requested facts and checklist. The guidance is one possibility, not a required script or pronunciation score. Repair one real mismatch, then compare the retry. With a real partner, respond to their actual answer; printed cues alone rehearse an exchange rather than test live listening.
Describe your friend Lila’s routine in English: she opens a shop at nine and closes it at five. A printed partner cue asks “Is that your routine?” Clarify that it is Lila’s, not yours. Add her plan to visit a museum on Saturday. Record only your own turns.
Record your own English turns, replay them and compare with the requested facts and checklist. The guidance is one possibility, not a required script or pronunciation score. Repair one real mismatch, then compare the retry. With a real partner, respond to their actual answer; printed cues alone rehearse an exchange rather than test live listening.
Ask in English to borrow a classmate’s blue pen. Printed reply: “I’m using it now, but you can borrow it after lunch.” Respond to the later time and check that after lunch is right. Do not say you already have the pen. Record only your own request and response.
Record your own English turns, replay them and compare with the requested facts and checklist. The guidance is one possibility, not a required script or pronunciation score. Repair one real mismatch, then compare the retry. With a real partner, respond to their actual answer; printed cues alone rehearse an exchange rather than test live listening.
Adapt the plan or check a direction
- Invite someone at the original time, respond to their unavailable time and ask about a workable alternative. A proposed time is not a confirmed arrangement without an answer.
- For directions, keep the requested destination and the printed left-turn detail. Repeat the important part as a question before thanking the person; do not claim you reached the place. Printed role cues are reading support, not fresh listening assessment.
Invite a friend in English to help at the club room at ten on Saturday. Printed reply: “I can’t come at ten. I’m free at two.” You are also free at two. Respond by suggesting two on Saturday and ask whether that works. Record your own turns; do not claim the new meeting is confirmed without a reply.
Record your own English turns, replay them and compare with the requested facts and checklist. The guidance is one possibility, not a required script or pronunciation score. Repair one real mismatch, then compare the retry. With a real partner, respond to their actual answer; printed cues alone rehearse an exchange rather than test live listening.
You are at a library and need directions to the station. Ask in English for the route. Printed reply: “Turn left at the next street.” Check the direction by repeating the key part as a question, then thank the person. Record your own turns; this printed cue is not a listening test.
Record your own English turns, replay them and compare with the requested facts and checklist. The guidance is one possibility, not a required script or pronunciation score. Repair one real mismatch, then compare the retry. With a real partner, respond to their actual answer; printed cues alone rehearse an exchange rather than test live listening.
Return with a different purpose
- On another day if possible, try the later role before rereading. Use new details, make a request for help and respond to the offered delay. Compare one actual feature with an earlier take if available; otherwise choose a next check without inventing results.
- Next: B1 stories, opinions and discussions, A2 short writing or routines and arrangements listening. Planning time is provisional. Existing model recordings still await independent language, intelligibility and pronunciation/alignment review; real-device capture, accessibility and learner reviews remain pending. These local activities do not certify a CEFR level.
Task-fit references checked 21 October 2026: British Council A2 speaking and Teens making plans. Scenarios, role facts and new guidance here are original. The references do not establish independent approval of these tasks or recordings.
On a later day if possible, before rereading, choose two new routine details and a new plan. Say them in English, then ask a person to help you carry books. Printed reply: “Not now, but I can help in ten minutes.” Acknowledge the later help and check the time. Record your own turns; compare one feature with an earlier take if available.
Record your own English turns, replay them and compare with the requested facts and checklist. The guidance is one possibility, not a required script or pronunciation score. Repair one real mismatch, then compare the retry. With a real partner, respond to their actual answer; printed cues alone rehearse an exchange rather than test live listening.
Later written review. Name one detail a listener needs in a routine, plan or request, then one check for a next spoken take. Write one or two English sentences. If you have actual takes, you may describe a difference you hear; otherwise write a plan without inventing recording results.
Use the review to choose a concrete next spoken attempt. Self-review and an optional written plan do not automatically establish correctness or improvement.