Hub



C1.2A Class Google Site:

https://sites.google.com/eoipalma.com/c12a/home

C1.2B Class Google Site:

Publicado por No comments:
Etiquetas:

How to do the interaction task? Part 2

LOOKING FOR AGREEMENT & CHECKING CONSENSUS

  1. DIRECT & RHETORICAL QUESTIONS

  • Don't you think?

  • Wouldn't you agree that...?

  • Wouldn't you say that...?

  • Don't you agree?

  • Wouldn't you think so too?

  • Does that make sense to you?

  1. QUESTION TAGS (Tailoring the tag to the auxiliary verb)

  • ..., isn't it? / ..., aren't they?

  • ..., hasn't it? / ..., have they?

  • ..., don't you? / ..., doesn't he?

  • ..., wouldn't you?

  • ..., right? / ..., yeah? (Informal universal tags)

  1. APPEAL TO SHARED KNOWLEDGE & COMMON SENSE

  • As you very well know,...

  • You know what I mean.

  • As you know,...

  • We all know that...

  • As you can imagine,...

  • Obviously,... / Naturally,...

  • Need I say more?

  1. CHECKING ALIGNMENT & MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING

  • Am I right?

  • See what I mean?

  • Do you get what I'm saying?

  • Are you with me on this?

  • You know how it is, right?

  • Don't you find that to be true?

  • You see where I'm coming from, don't you?

  1. SOFTENING & GENTLY INVITATIONAL PROMPTS

  • Wouldn't you say there's some truth to that?

  • Don't you reckon? (Informal / British English)

  • Fair point, wouldn't you say?

  • Seems reasonable, doesn't it?

AGREEING & EXPRESSING DISAGREEMENT


  1. SHORT & ENTHUSIASTIC AGREEMENT

  • Totally! / Absolutely! / Exactly! / Definitely!

  • Indeed!

  • So true! / True! / That's so true! / That's very true.

  • Well said!

  • Me too! / Me neither! (used for negative statements)

  • You can say that again!

  • Hear, hear! (Formal/Public speaking endorsement)

  • 100%! / Spot on!

  1. STRONG & TOTAL AGREEMENT

  • I couldn't agree more.

  • I agree with you on that completely. / I fully agree with you.

  • I do agree with you.

  • You are absolutely right. / That decision/point is absolutely right. / That's a very fair point." / "You make a valid point.

  • You took the words right out of my mouth.

  • I was thinking the exact same thing.

  • I was just going to say that.

  • You've hit the nail on the head there.

  • In my opinion, you are right. / My opinion is the same as yours.

  1. ALIGNMENT & SHARED PERSPECTIVE

  • My thoughts exactly.

  • I completely share your perspective on this.

  • I think we're on the same page here. / I think we're fully on the same page here.

  • I'm with you on that one. / I'm with you 100% on that.

  • That aligns well with how I see it as well.

  • I appreciate that perspective, and I entirely agree.

  • I'm right behind you. (completely supporting an idea/goal)

  • We see eye to eye on this.

  1. MILD AGREEMENT & ACKNOWLEDGMENT

  • You make a really good point. / That's a very fair point.

  • I see what you mean. / I see your point.

  • That makes sense.

  • I'd go along with that.

  • That's a valid argument.

  1. AGREEING UP TO A POINT (PARTIAL AGREEMENT / HEDGING)

  • I agree with you up to a point.

  • I agree with you up to a certain extent.

  • I suppose you've got a point, but...

  • I see your point, but...

  • Your point is well taken, but...

  • You're right in a way, but we have to consider...

  • Although it's true that..., we must remember that...

  • Despite your arguments, I still feel that...

  • To tell you the truth... / To be honest,...

  • If you ask me... (often introduces a critical followup)

  • That may be true, but on the other hand...

  1. POLITE & DIPLOMATIC DISAGREEMENT

  • I see what you mean, but (at the same time)... / however... / Having said that...

  • I see where you're coming from, but...

  • I take your point / I definitely see your point; however,...

  • That makes a lot of sense, but at the same time...

  • I can certainly understand why you feel that way, but...

  • I'm not sure I completely agree on this one.

  • Yes, but if we look at it from another angle...

  • That's not exactly how I see it.

  • I take a slightly different view on that.

  1. DIRECT & STRONG DISAGREEMENT

  • I beg to differ, I'm afraid.

  • I'm afraid I have to disagree with you there.

  • I'm afraid I just don't buy it.

  • No, you've lost me there.

  • It just doesn't make sense to me. / Where's the logic in that?

  • Surely you don't think that...?

  • You can't honestly think that...

  • That goes against my better judgement because...

  • In no way would I agree that...

  • I'm afraid that's where we part ways.

  1. POLITE DENIALS & SOFT "NOs"

  • Not really, no. (Soft alternative to a blunt "no")

  • Not exactly.

  • Not necessarily.

  • Far from it.

  • I wouldn't say that.


INTERRUPTING:
• I’m sorry to interrupt, but...
• Can I interrupt you just for a second (here)?
• Before you continue, (can I just say)...
• Before you go on,...
• Before you move on,...
• Can I / Could I (just) say something (here)?
• Can I / Could I come in (here/ there)?
• Can I / Could I interrupt you (for a minute / moment / second)?
• I’d like to make a point here (if I can / could / may / might)
• If I can / could / may / might (just) interrupt you (for just a minute / moment / second), I’d like to add / say / point that...
• If you will allow me (to say something / to speak for a second),...
 

CHANGING YOUR MIND ABOUT INTERRUPTING
• Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.
• Sorry, I thought you’d finished.
• Sorry, please carry on. / Sorry, please go on.
• Sorry, you were going to say...? / Sorry, you were saying...? /Sorry. What were you saying?
 

REPHRASING EXPRESSIONS Sometimes we say things that other people don't understand, or we give the wrong impression. If you are asked to explain or clarify your idea, do not use the same expressions and / or phrases, try to reformulate them starting your answer using one of the following phrases:
• What I meant to say was...
• What I mean by that is that she ... 

• Let me rephrase that...
• Let me put this another way... 

• Or, to put it another way, ....

• In other words,

• Perhaps I'm not making myself clear...
• The basic idea is...
• One way of looking at it is...
• Another way of looking at it is...
• What I want to say is...
 

GIVING THE FLOOR & PASSING THE TURN


  1. DIRECTLY INVITING AN INDIVIDUAL TO SPEAK

  • What are your thoughts on this, [Name]?

  • What do you think, [Name]?

  • I'd love to hear your take on this, [Name].

  • [Name], did you want to add something here?

  • Over to you, [Name].

  • The floor is yours, [Name].

  • Would you like to jump in here, [Name]?

  1. OPENING THE FLOOR TO THE GROUP

  • Don't you think?

  • Question tags (e.g., "...isn't it?", "...hasn't it?", "...don't you?")

  • Does anyone else have something to add?

  • What's everyone else's perspective on this?

  • Any thoughts on that?

  • How does everyone feel about this?

  • Anyone want to chime in on this?

  1. PASSING THE TURN AFTER EXPLAINING A POINT

  • But that's just my view—what do you think?

  • What do you make of all this?

  • How do you see things?

  • Where do you stand on this issue?

  • Do you see it the same way?

  1. GIVING WAY WHEN INTERRUPTED OR SPEAKING AT THE SAME TIME

  • Sorry, go ahead!

  • You go first.

  • After you!

  • What were you about to say?

  • Please, continue—I didn't mean to cut you off.

ASKING FOR THE OTHER SPEAKER’S OPINION

• How do you feel about...? How do you feel about this?

• What’s your take on (this)...?
• What do you reckon?

How/What about you?

 

CHALLENGING A POINT
• Do you think that's always the case?
• Can you be sure about that?
• Is there any way / evidence to prove that?
• But that's not the point. The point is that...
• I don't see why you can say that. As far as I'm concerned..../ As I see it, ...
• But that doesn't take account of the fact that...
 

OFFERING OTHER PEOPLE THE CHANCE TO SPEAK
• (No, please). After you. I'll let you go first.
• I’d like to hear your opinion first. / Please tell me your opinion on...
• I’m not sure what I want to say yet, so could you please start by telling me your views on...
• Please go ahead.
• You know more about this than me, so...
• You must have an opinion on this, so...
• Now I’d be very interested to hear your views (on...) / what you think (about...)
• ..., but I’d be interested in hearing your take on it.
• ..., but I’m sure you have another point of view.
• Can you give me your thoughts on...?
• Do you agree?
• Do you have an opinion on...? / any opinions on / about...?
• Do you have any (particular) thoughts / views on...?
• Do you/ Did you want to add anything?
• Do you want to say anything before we move on?
• Don't you think (so)?
• How about you?
• (Now) I'd like to hear what you think (about...) / your views (on...).
• From your point of view,...?
• How do you feel about...?
• I imagine you will have strong opinions on...
• I know this is not your specialist subject, but...
• What are your (first) thoughts on...?
• What are your feelings about...?
• What are your views on...?
• What do you reckon?
• What do you think (about...)?
• What reaction do you have to...?
• What’s your experience (of this)?
• What’s your opinion (on this)?
• What’s your position on...?
• What’s your take on...?
• What’s your view on...?
• Would you agree (that...)?
• You haven’t said anything yet.
• You must have a view on this too.
 

Phrases to Buy Time Thoughtfully

Avoid filler words like you know, like, um—instead, use natural hesitation phrases:

🔹 When thinking or hesitating briefly:

  • Let me think (for a moment/ second). 

  • That’s an interesting point

  • That’s a good question.

  • Well, I suppose…

  • I haven’t really thought about that, but…

  • Let’s see...

  • Hmm, how can I put this...?

  • If I had to choose…

  • I’d say that...

🔹 When clarifying your direction:

  • What I mean is…

  • How can I explain this clearly…

  • Let me put it another way.

  • To put it simply…

  • If I understand the question correctly…

🔹 When returning to your main point:

  • As I was saying…

  • As I pointed out/ said/ mentioned earlier,...

  • As I’ve already explained...

  • Getting back to the point…

  • Getting back to what I was saying...

  • Where was I? Oh yes...

  • Anyway…

  • So, going back to the main idea…

  • Let me go back to the earlier point about...
  • Let’s go back to what we were discussing earlier...
  • Let me come back to what I said before...

  • Just to pick up where I left off..

🔹To introduce a new point or shift focus:

  • Now, moving on to...

  • Let’s turn to...Let's move on to 

  • Another thing to consider is...

  • On a related note...

  • This brings me to my next point...

  • Speaking of that, it reminds me..

  • Turning to the next question...

  • Let’s look at another aspect...

  • In the same way, / Similarly,

  • As for the second question...

  • Now, turning to the next point...

  • Moving on to the second topic...

  • Let’s shift focus to the next question, which is about...

  • The next thing we could talk about is...

  • Regarding ... As regards... With regard to... In regard to...  As to..... As for...the question/issue of

  • This leads directly to our next point.

  • This brings us to the next question.

  • Let’s now move on / turn to...

  • After examining this point, let’s turn to...

  • Let’s now take a look at...

    Having considered this, We could now address…


    This naturally leads us to the question of…


    Another issue worth examining is…

    turn to
    We could first turn to the question of how to help someone who is struggling to learn a foreign language.

    address
    We could first address the question of

    move on to

    Let me now move on to the second issue

    go on to discuss

    I will then go on to discuss the role that technology 


    shift the focus to

    Let me now shift the focus to the second issue.

     Finally, let’s consider the third question...

  • consider

    We could now consider the final question.

  • look at


    examine


    focus on


    deal with

  • Now let’s look at the last point...

  • Turning to the final issue...

  • As for the last question...

  • To wrap things up, we’ll talk about...

Use these transitions with brief rephrasing of the question to show off your language range:

“Now, turning to the next point—how online learning has changed our habits—I’d say...”

SIGNALLING THE END OF YOUR TURN
• I think I’ve made my point.
• That’s all I wanted to say.
• (I think) you get the idea. 

TURNING DOWN THE CHANCE TO SPEAK
• I can’t add anything to that.
• I don’t have any view on this at all.
• I think you’ve covered everything.
• I’m still just digesting what you said.
• I’m still thinking about what I want to say.


HEDGING


WHAT DOES "HEDGING" MEAN?

In linguistics and everyday communication, hedging means using cautious, vague, or tentative language to avoid making overly direct, absolute, or dogmatic statements.

Instead of stating something as an unquestionable fact, hedging softens your claim. It acts as a conversational or academic cushion that protects you from being proven wrong and makes your tone more polite and diplomatic.

KEY REASONS WE USE HEDGING

  1. Academic & Professional Accuracy: In research and essay writing, facts are rarely 100% absolute. Hedging allows writers to present claims based on current evidence without overgeneralizing.

  2. Politeness & Diplomacy: Softening your tone makes criticism, disagreement, or opinions sound less aggressive and more open to discussion.

  3. Risk Management: It protects the speaker or writer if their statement turns out to be inaccurate.

UNHEDGED VS. HEDGED EXAMPLES

  • Direct/Absolute: Social media causes depression.

  • Hedged: Social media may contribute to depression.

  • Direct/Absolute: This is the wrong decision.

  • Hedged: It could be argued that this isn't the most effective decision.

  • Direct/Absolute: People will stop buying cars by 2030.

  • Hedged: It seems likely that car purchases will probably decline.

  • Direct/Absolute: You are incorrect.

  • Hedged: I'm not entirely sure that's accurate.

COMMON WAYS TO HEDGE IN ENGLISH

  • Modal Verbs: can, could, may, might, would, should E.g., "This model might explain the results."

  • Softening Verbs: seem, appear, tend to, suggest, indicate E.g., "The evidence suggests a trend." / "People tend to prefer remote work."

  • Probability Adverbs: possibly, probably, perhaps, apparently, reportedly E.g., "This is perhaps the best example available."

  • Impersonal Phrases: It is possible that..., It could be argued that..., Evidence points to... E.g., "It appears that the strategy is working."

  • Approximators & Quantifiers: somewhat, to a certain extent, largely, roughly, relatively E.g., "The program was largely successful."


Publicado por No comments:
Etiquetas:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)