What Can I Say Next?
The conversation stalls when you didn't catch something, didn't understand, can't express something in the moment, or need to ask for help.
Practical English for Adults · Book 3
《把沟通推进下去》
Take on different views, and turn shared decisions into next steps.
Book 3 picks up from "after things are clear": helping both sides say what they need, proposing options that can be compared, and turning what has actually been agreed into action.
Moving a conversation forward does not mean persuading the other person every time. They can say no, and you can explain your limits; when conditions are not yet met, you can also check the information first and discuss it again later. The exercises ask you to tell which sentences are proposals, which are acceptances and which only promise a reply later, and to write verbal agreements up as short follow-up messages.
The characters in the books, Lin and Maya, are fictional adult colleagues, and the situations are mostly training, work arrangements, community events and everyday errands. The English is common American usage; you are not expected to imitate any particular accent. The three books build on one another step by step in communication skills and do not correspond to CEFR or other language levels.
Actual pages from the full PDF: a unit opener, all four pages of “Agreeing and adding a point”, and its answer key. Tap to enlarge.
These pages are also in the free sample PDF.
A continuous dialogue written for the lesson, in English and Chinese side by side. Read it through once and mark where you get stuck.
Four ways to say it, with explanations in Chinese and notes on when to use each.
How to carry on when the other person responds in different ways; exercises ranging from multiple choice to prompted speaking practice.
Say it yourself in a different situation, with a self-check list.
24 lessons in 6 units. Tap a unit to see its lessons.
Also: front matter (starting task with answer check; quick reference for communication repair), unit reviews, Integrated task 1: Arranging a venue for an event; Integrated task 2: Dividing tasks and following up, and at the back the full answer key and expression index.
The text, exercises, Chinese explanations and color illustrations in these books were generated with AI tools and revised through several rounds of AI review; the layout was done by software; the characters and situations are fictional. The books have not yet had a final review by an independent human language editor, and have not yet been tested with target readers.
The conversation stalls when you didn't catch something, didn't understand, can't express something in the moment, or need to ask for help.
You can say single sentences, but when asked "Where do things stand?", "Why?" or "What's still left to do?", you can't find the right order for the information.