Durban · South Africa

Second UtteranceSay it a second way.

Second Utterance begins with a Durban learner’s ordinary day: you understood the meeting until somebody changed the time, then you lost your chance to ask. Bring that small unfinished exchange to an individual lesson and practise taking the turn again.

Try a conversation repair

Read the intention, think of a response in the language you are studying, then turn the card to see one possible English phrasing. Try again with a different degree of formality.

Carry this result into my note

From a listening problem to a speaking task

Suppose a colleague gives you three instructions and you only miss the middle one. Asking them to start again may work, but it also makes the conversation longer than it needs to be. Practise identifying the part you heard, locating the gap and asking for just that piece. In the next round, switch roles and listen for what makes the request easy to answer.

Write down the point where your response stalled. Was the difficult part the verb, the polite opening or the moment of interruption? That observation suggests a better goal for a private lesson than simply writing conversation on the booking note. It also gives you a way to check whether a second attempt felt more manageable.

My lesson note

Choose the option you want to discuss and add a detail in your own words. Leave out private details from conversations at work. The text file is yours to keep or share later.

Take a conversation out of the classroom

Choose a short exchange you expect to encounter before the next lesson. Write down the opening line you are likely to hear and the turn you would like to take. Keep it ordinary: confirming a meeting place can be a better practice task than rehearsing a speech you are unlikely to give.

Pick the listener
Identify whether you will be speaking to a friend, a colleague or a person you have not met. The relationship affects how direct the question should sound.Pick one repair
Decide whether to ask for repetition, check the meaning or ask for time. Practise that one move rather than trying to remember a whole script.Bring back one observation
Afterwards note what you managed and where you hesitated. If the situation never arose, rehearse it at the start of the next session instead.

0 of 3 reviewed

The question behind the question

5 private lessons60 minutes each8 weeks of validity

When a speaker says next Friday, two people may picture different dates. Repeating the words more loudly does not fix that. Try asking the person to identify the day on a calendar. The purpose of the exercise is to distinguish a hearing difficulty from an uncertainty about meaning.

In a second round, change the listener. A colleague who is rushing to another meeting may need a short, direct question. A friend can leave more space for explanation. Note the version you found harder and bring that one into the next session.

Ways into a lesson

General private lessons

Use a starting activity to see what you can already do without prompting. Choose a manageable goal and agree how to practise it between sessions.

Conversation practice

Work with a real situation, then change one detail: the person, the setting or the formality of the exchange. Listen for how the answer changes.

Grammar and writing

Bring a short passage stripped of private details. Work backwards from what you meant to say before choosing a structure that makes it clearer.

Travel and relocation

Practise the conversations you expect to have, from checking directions to clarifying an appointment. The itinerary supplies a useful order for the lessons.

Learning-plan review

Return to a piece of earlier work and decide what has become easier. Keep a specific next action instead of adding a vague goal such as speaking better.

At the counter

Can I rearrange a lesson?

The flexible individual package requires 24 hours’ notice for rescheduling and is valid for eight weeks.

Does the first activity certify my level?

It is an internal planning activity. It helps choose the work and does not award an official qualification.

What if I understand more than I can say?

The initial review can separate comprehension from production. Choose one situation in which a spoken response would be useful.

The private package includes five individual lessons of sixty minutes. Language, timetable and availability are agreed before booking.

Progress depends on starting point, attendance and practice. Tuition does not guarantee fluency, a particular examination result or formal certification.

Saving a working note does not place an order, take payment or confirm a booking.

The try a conversation repair tool runs on your device. Your selections and the words you put in your working note stay in the page until you download them or close it. Second Utterance does not receive a copy from this form.

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