Your learning plan · Continue · Review →
Speaking: stories, opinions and discussions
導入済み保存した位置はこのブラウザに留まります。再開してもImplementedの完了や回答にはなりません。
Help a listener follow your account
- Practise connecting events, supporting an opinion and responding to another person. Start with A2 routines and requests if those are still difficult.
- Beginning → events → outcome can help plan a short story. An opinion or a discussion may need a different order; one skeleton does not fit everything you say.
- Hear → say → record → replay → compare. The boxes rehearse existing models. Nothing is scored; recordings stay in this page and disappear on reload. A local duration or sentence count is not a definition of B1 proficiency.
Telling a story
- Past simple can carry events: I missed the last train. I didn't have money for a taxi.
- Suddenly, luckily, in the end can signal changes or outcomes when their meaning fits. Do not invent a dramatic turn just to include a linker.
- Practice box 1 rehearses four sentences. Your own story can have a different length and structure if the listener can follow what happened.
Hear the model, then record the story yourself.
The four-sentence model is one possible account. Your own story can use a different length or order if the listener can follow the events and outcome.
Give a reason the listener can assess
- I think … / For me, … can introduce an opinion. I reckon … is more informal.
- Follow with a relevant reason: I think cycling to school is better for me because I arrive awake. Whether that applies to another person depends on their journey and circumstances.
- Use better, rather than more good, in this comparison. In practice box 2, a brief pause is acceptable; clarity does not mean speaking without pauses.
Give the opinion with its reason. Record both parts.
Because introduces a reason; the reason still needs to fit the opinion. This example is wording rehearsal, not evidence that cycling suits everyone.
Respond to the actual point
- That's true expresses agreement. I see what you mean can acknowledge understanding without agreeing with the conclusion.
- I see your point, but … is one way to disagree considerately. A direct No can be appropriate for a factual correction, a boundary or an urgent warning; English does not require a softener in every situation.
- Practice box 3 rehearses a cost question. Its wording helps only if cost is relevant; do not use a polite-looking phrase to ignore what the other person said.
Disagree softly. Record the sentence.
I see your point, but is one possible considerate opening. Direct disagreement can also be appropriate; a softener is not a universal requirement.
Use very and very much
- I like it very much and I like it a lot are useful alternatives to I very like it. For thanks, use Thanks a lot or Thank you very much.
- Very can modify adjectives and adverbs: very good, very quickly. It is not limited to adjectives, and the phrase very much can modify a verb.
- Practice box 4 rehearses two natural alternatives. Choose the expression for its meaning and context rather than translating one word at a time.
Rehearse two alternatives: I like it a lot and Thanks a lot.
Very can modify an adjective or an adverb: very good, very quickly. The phrase very much can modify a verb, as in I like it very much.
Keep the discussion responsive
- A possible turn is react → opinion → question back: That's true. For me, the journey matters more. What about you?
- You can also ask for clarification, give a counterexample or answer someone else's question. A discussion depends on listening and responding, not on fitting three moves into every turn.
- Practice box 5 rehearses one pattern. With a partner, change your next turn according to their answer; alone, rehearse two plausible replies without claiming you tested real interaction.
A full discussion turn: react, opinion, question back. Record it.
A question back can invite a response. A real discussion can also include clarification, evidence or direct answers; it does not require these three moves every time.
Tell your own account and compare
- Practice box 6 gives a missed-bus model. Tell a short true or fictional account of your own: set the scene, connect the events and explain the outcome or why it mattered.
- Plan with a few notes, record, then replay. Which event or reference was unclear? Change that part and try again.
- Compare the two takes for that repair. More speed or less reading does not guarantee a better account; keep useful pauses and accurate details.
YOUR story from this week — beginning, turn, point. Record it twice.
Use a short plan, record and replay, then revise one unclear connection. This is self-review, not a measurement of B1 proficiency.
Return with a different story or view
- Tomorrow, tell a new short account before rereading. If a partner can listen, ask them to say what they understood and what needs clarification.
- Next: B2 arguments and presentations, or stories, directions and opinions listening.
- Usage reference checked 20 October 2026: Cambridge: very. Independent language, recording and learner reviews remain pending. Model repetition and self-review do not establish a CEFR level or successful live interaction.