English speaking lesson · Work & Career
Asking for a raise
You've asked for a bit of time with your manager to talk about your pay. You practice it as a real conversation, at whichever of the four levels fits you — the room and the steps stay the same, only the words get harder.
A chat with your manager · you talk to the receptive manager
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What you have to do
Raise the topic, explain why you feel it's deserved, give a number, and find out the next steps. You finish the lesson by getting there in conversation — not by answering questions about it. The tutor never stops to correct you; the feedback appears beside your own messages, and the completion screen collects it all.
How it opens
Hey, you wanted to chat about something — what's on your mind?
Spoken aloud by the tutor playing the receptive manager.
The 5 steps that finish it
A step clears when you say the thing that clears it. The steps are identical at all four levels — only the example line fades, and at Natural there is none at all.
- 01
Raise the topic
Say you'd like to talk about your pay.
“I'd like to talk about my pay, please.”
- 02
Explain why
Explain what you feel you've achieved.
“I've worked hard this year, and done a lot.”
- 03
Give a number
Say what increase you had in mind.
“I'd like a bit more — maybe ten percent.”
- 04
Check the request
Check the summary of your request is right.
“Yes, that's right.”
- 05
Find out the next steps
Say when you'd like to hear back, and thank them.
“In a week would be great. Thanks for listening!”
The words, at all four levels
The same room and the same steps, four vocabularies. These are the words the lesson listens for and scores you on — with what each one means and how it sounds when you are talking to the receptive manager.
Starter
A1 – A2Simple, everyday words with a full hint on every step.
- pay
- the money you earn from work
- “I'd like to talk about my pay.”
- talk
- to speak with someone
- “I'd like to talk about that.”
- worked
- past form of work
- “I've worked hard this year.”
- hard
- with a lot of effort
- “I've worked hard this year.”
- year
- twelve months
- “This year has been good.”
- more
- a greater amount
- “I'd like a bit more.”
- right
- correct
- “Yes, that's right.”
- week
- seven days
- “In a week, please.”
- please
- a polite word when you ask
- “In a week, please.”
- thanks
- a short way to say thank you
- “Thanks for listening.”
Conversational
A2 – B1Common words at a natural pace, with hints to lean on.
- salary
- the regular money you're paid
- “I wanted to discuss my salary.”
- contributed
- given or added to something
- “I've contributed a lot this year.”
- responsibility
- duties you're in charge of
- “My responsibility has grown too.”
- increase
- a rise in an amount
- “I had an increase of around eight percent in mind.”
- market
- typical pay for similar roles elsewhere
- “I've looked at the market rate.”
- fair
- reasonable and deserved
- “That feels fair to me.”
- correct
- right, with no mistakes
- “Yes, that's correct.”
- consider
- to think carefully about something
- “I'll consider that properly.”
- appreciate
- to be grateful for something
- “I really appreciate you hearing me out.”
- cheers
- informal thanks
- “Cheers for that!”
Confident
B1 – B2Richer, more specific words, with only light hints.
- compensation
- the total pay and benefits for a role
- “I wanted to raise my compensation.”
- benchmark
- a standard used for comparison
- “I used the market benchmark for this.”
- delivered
- successfully completed and provided
- “I've delivered on every target this year.”
- scope
- the range covered by a role
- “The scope of my role has expanded.”
- justified
- shown to be reasonable and fair
- “I think it's justified given the results.”
- range
- the amount between two figures
- “I had a range in mind, around eight to ten percent.”
- advocate
- to argue in support of something
- “I wanted to advocate for myself here.”
- sorted
- arranged and settled
- “That's sorted, thanks.”
- appreciate
- to be grateful for
- “I'd appreciate that.”
- confirm
- to say something is definitely settled
- “Could you confirm by email?”
Natural
B2 – C1Advanced, idiomatic words — no hints at all.
- overdue
- late, happening later than it should
- “This conversation feels overdue.”
- pulling weight
- contributing your fair share (informal)
- “I've been pulling weight all year.”
- punch above
- to perform better than expected (informal)
- “I tend to punch above my level.”
- ballpark
- a rough figure or estimate
- “A ballpark of eight to ten percent.”
- fair shake
- reasonable, honest treatment (informal)
- “I just want a fair shake here.”
- case
- the argument you're making for something
- “I think my case is pretty solid.”
- circle back
- to return to a topic later (informal)
- “Happy to circle back next week.”
- obliged
- grateful for a favour
- “Much obliged for hearing me out.”
- sorted
- dealt with and settled
- “Great, we're sorted.”
- cheers
- informal thanks
- “Cheers, appreciated.”
More Work & Career lessons
- Give a meeting update
- Networking introduction
- Work phone / video call
- Small talk with colleagues
- One-on-one with your manager
- Requesting time off
- Presenting an idea
- Giving feedback
- Delegating a task
- Negotiating a deadline
- Onboarding a new hire
- Job interview
- Resigning