Lab · Spoken English: Zero to Fluent
Lab: habits, questions, last weekend and next weekend
The brief
You describe a family member's habits, ask a new neighbour six questions, tell a colleague about last weekend and share your plans for next weekend. You write each script, say it aloud and record it.
Why it matters
Monday mornings at the office, a chat with a neighbour in the lift, the first minutes of an interview: most small talk is about habits, what you did and what you will do. Using the right tense is what makes your English sound correct to colleagues, customers and interviewers.
Skills you practise
- simple present with -s
- yes/no and wh- questions
- simple past and didn't
- going to and will
You need
- A phone with a voice recorder app
What you will have at the end
Your my-week.txt script and four voice recordings: habits, six questions, last weekend and next weekend.
How it is marked (rubric, 100 points)
| Right tense every timePresent -s, question order, past forms with didn't, and going to/will are all correct. | 40 |
|---|---|
| Natural small talkYour scripts sound like real conversation, with time words and a question back. | 25 |
| Clear speakingClear -s and -ed endings, and the right rise and fall in questions. | 20 |
| Self-reviewYou listened back, found at least one tense mistake and recorded the part again. | 15 |
0/4 steps done
Step 1 of 4
A family member's habits
You have recorded five sentences about one family member's habits, with the -s ending and one negative.
Fill in part 1. With he, she, it or one person, the simple present verb adds -s or -es: "He goes", "She watches", "My mother gets up". In the negative, use "doesn't" and the verb without -s: "She doesn't like tea", not "She doesn't likes". Say the -s clearly at the end of each verb, because listeners notice when it is missing.
Your notes: my-week.txt
Write down each command you ran. It goes into your project summary.