English speaking lesson · Work & Career
Give a meeting update
You're in a team meeting, and your manager has turned to you for a project update. You practise 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 team meeting · you talk to the manager
Free plan: 10 messages a day. No card needed.
What you have to do
Give a status update on your project, share a timeline, and field any follow-up questions. You finish the lesson by getting there in conversation — not by answering questions about it. Nothing is corrected while you talk; the corrections are collected and handed to you at the end.
How it opens
Thanks everyone for joining — let's start with you: can you give us a quick update on where your project stands?
Spoken aloud by the tutor playing the 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
Give an update
Give a short update on your project.
“Sure — the project is going well, we're making good progress.”
- 02
Share progress
Say what's done so far, or what's left.
“We've finished the design, and the build is still left to do.”
- 03
Give a timeline
Say when you expect to finish, or mention any blockers.
“I think we'll finish by next Friday — no problems so far.”
- 04
Check the summary
Check the summary is right, and flag anything else if needed.
“Yes, that's right — nothing else to flag.”
- 05
Wrap up
Say if you need anything from the team, and wrap up.
“I could use one more person to help with testing. Thanks!”
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 manager.
Starter
A1 – A2Simple, everyday words with a full hint on every step.
- work
- the tasks you're doing
- “The work is going well.”
- done
- finished
- “The design is done.”
- finish
- to complete something
- “We'll finish by Friday.”
- help
- support with something
- “I could use some help.”
- plan
- what you intend to do
- “That's the plan for now.”
- update
- the latest news on something
- “Here's my update.”
- team
- a group working together
- “The team is doing well.”
- ready
- prepared, able to go ahead
- “We'll be ready by Friday.”
- problem
- something wrong that needs fixing
- “No problem so far.”
- thanks
- a short way to say thank you
- “Thanks, that's everything.”
Conversational
A2 – B1Common words at a natural pace, with hints to lean on.
- progress
- movement toward finishing something
- “We're making steady progress.”
- deadline
- the date something must be finished by
- “We're aiming to hit the deadline.”
- task
- a piece of work to be done
- “That task is still open.”
- delayed
- happening later than planned
- “That part is a bit delayed.”
- support
- help given to get something done
- “We could use some support.”
- blocker
- something stopping progress
- “There's a small blocker with the API.”
- milestone
- an important point in a project
- “We hit our last milestone on time.”
- resource
- people or tools available to help
- “We're a bit short on resource.”
- confirm
- to say something is definitely settled
- “I can confirm that's on track.”
- appreciate
- to be grateful for something
- “I'd appreciate some extra support.”
Confident
B1 – B2Richer, more specific words, with only light hints.
- timeline
- the schedule for when things happen
- “The timeline still looks realistic.”
- bandwidth
- the capacity to take on more work
- “We're a bit short on bandwidth.”
- dependency
- something a task relies on first
- “There's a dependency on another team.”
- mitigate
- to reduce the impact of a risk
- “We're working to mitigate that.”
- escalate
- to raise an issue to someone more senior
- “I'll escalate it if it continues.”
- prioritize
- to treat something as most important
- “We'll prioritize that fix first.”
- deliverable
- the finished piece of work owed
- “The core deliverable is done.”
- bottleneck
- a point that slows everything down
- “Reviews have become a bottleneck.”
- stakeholder
- someone with an interest in the outcome
- “One stakeholder raised a concern.”
- contingency
- a backup plan for if things go wrong
- “We've got a contingency ready.”
Natural
B2 – C1Advanced, idiomatic words — no hints at all.
- traction
- growing momentum or progress
- “The new approach is gaining traction.”
- headwinds
- difficulties working against progress
- “We've hit a few headwinds this sprint.”
- streamline
- to make a process simpler and faster
- “We plan to streamline the review process.”
- leverage
- to use something to your advantage
- “We can leverage the existing framework.”
- unblock
- to remove an obstacle stopping progress
- “That should unblock the team.”
- runway
- the time or resources left before a deadline
- “We've got enough runway left.”
- cadence
- a regular rhythm of activity or updates
- “We've kept a steady cadence.”
- alignment
- agreement between people on an approach
- “We're in alignment on next steps.”
- tradeoffs
- compromises made between competing options
- “There are a few tradeoffs to weigh.”
- synergy
- combined effort producing a better result
- “There's good synergy between the teams.”
More Work & Career lessons
- 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
- Asking for a raise
- Resigning