FUNCTIONS:

Agreeing

Disagreeing

Hesitating

Introducing your opinion

Asking for opinions

Expressing preferences

Asking for clarification

Expressing likelihood

Speculating, guessing

Advice and recommendations

Describing a picture

Agreeing

I think you’re right

I would go along with the idea

I completely agree with you

That makes perfect sense

You have a point there

Absolutely, that’s spot on!

I couldn’t agree more

Disagreeing

That’s not how I see it

I couldn’t agree less

You must be kidding

That’s a ridiculous idea, don’t you think?

With all due respect, I must disagree

I’m afraid I can’t see it that way

No way, that’s nonsense!

Hesitating

I’m in two minds about it

I have some reservations regarding that

I’m not entirely convinced

There’s something that gives me pause

While I’m not entirely opposed, I do have some doubts

Introducing your opinion

To my mind

I reckon

In my opinion

As I see it

It seems to me

I would argue

From my point of view

Asking for opinions

Don’t you think …?

What’s your attitude to …?

What’s your opinion of …?

Are you in favour of …?

What’s your position as regards …?

You don’t support …, do you?

Expressing preferences

I prefer…

I would rather…

My preference would be…

I tend to favour…

If I had to choose, I would…

I lean towards…

I am inclined to…

I’m a big fan of…

I really enjoy…

I’m into…

I absolutely love…

I’m crazy about…

I’m fond of…

It’s right up my alley

It’s my thing

I can’t get enough of…

It appeals to me

It’s growing on me

I wouldn’t miss it for the world

I’m not a big fan of…

I don’t really enjoy…

I’m not into…

I can’t stand…

I’m not fond of…

It’s not my cup of tea

It doesn’t do anything for me

I’m sick of…

It gets on my nerves

It puts me off

I’d rather not…

It leaves me cold…

Asking for clarification

Could you please elaborate on that?

Would you mind explaining that further?

I’m not quite sure I understand. Could you clarify?

Could you provide more details?

Can you expand on that point?

Expressing likelihood

“It’s a foregone conclusion that…”

“There’s no doubt in my mind that…”

“I am almost certain that…”

“It’s highly likely that…”

“Chances are that…”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if…”

“It’s possible that…”

“There’s a chance that…”

“It’s unlikely that…”

“I doubt that…”

Speculating, guessing

“It seems to me that…”

“My gut feeling is that…”

“From what I gather…”

“If I were to guess…”

“It would appear that…”

“I reckon that…”

“I suspect that…”

“In all likelihood…”

“There’s a distinct possibility that…”

“It’s plausible that…”

Advice and recommendations

“You might want to consider…”

“Perhaps you could try…”

“If I were you, I would…”

“One thing you could do is…”

“Have you thought of…”

“May I suggest…”

“It might be beneficial to…”

“Consider this approach…”

“Why not give this a go…”

“If it were up to me, I’d…”

Describing a picture

“In the foreground…”

“In the background…”

“In the center of the image…”

“On the left side of the picture…”

“On the right side of the picture…”

“At the top of the picture…”

“At the bottom of the picture…”

“The picture depicts…”

“The image illustrates…”

“The photograph shows…”

“One can see…”

“Notice how…”

“This scene captures…”

“This photograph highlights…”

DICTIONARY

Add new and interesting words from this lesson to your English dictionary.

Store your words and expressions in this handy dictionary. You can create groups and play games based on your entries. There is also a practical importing feature.

You must log in to see content.

Sorry, but lessons on The Blue Tree work only on a computer or a tablet.

Bardzo mi przykro, ale lekcje na platformie The Blue Tree działają jedynie na komputerze lub tablecie.

Do zobaczenia na większym ekranie 🙂

Zespół The Blue Tree

Developing a Growth Mindset with Carol Dweck
Learn more words

THE BLUE TREE

How to Learn

CEF B1

CEFR B1

Intermediate

warm up

Answer these questions. Listen to Alita’s answers and report back what she said.

How do you feel about doing something difficult?
TRANSCRIPT

Doing something difficult? Well, I think it’s like trying to climb a really steep hill. Sometimes I look up and think, “Wow, that’s going to be tough.” But I also get a bit excited, you know? Like, what if I actually make it to the top? That would be amazing. So, yeah, it’s hard, and sometimes I want to give up, but I keep telling myself to push a bit more. After all, reaching the top could feel awesome.

Remember the time at school when you failed a test or an exam. How did it feel? What did you do about it?
TRANSCRIPT

Oh, failing a test? That takes me back. I remember feeling pretty down about it, like I let myself down. It wasn’t just about the grades, you know? It was more like, “I could have done better if I’d tried harder.” So, what did I do? First, I probably spent a bit too much time feeling sorry for myself. But then, I got this idea to not let it beat me. I talked to my teacher, asked for advice on what to focus on, and then I hit the books again. Harder this time. I made a plan, tried to stick to it, and learned how to manage my time better. It was a bit of a wake-up call, really. Made me realize that if I want something, I’ve got to work for it.

Do you think people are born with a fixed intelligence or is intelligence something we can develop?
TRANSCRIPT

I reckon it’s a bit of both, you know? Sure, some people seem to be born with a knack for certain things. Like, some are really good with numbers or art right from the start. But I truly believe that we can all get better at things if we really put our minds to it. It’s like learning Italian for me. I wasn’t born speaking it, but with practice, I’m getting there. I think our brains are like muscles in a way. The more you use them, the stronger they get. So, yeah, we might start with certain talents, but there’s always room to grow and get smarter in different areas. It’s all about not giving up and keeping on learning.

part one

KEY LANGUAGE

Go through the flashcards below. Make sure you understand all the words and expressions.

VIDEO

Watch the first part of the video.

COMPREHENSION

Answer these questions. Refer to the information from the video.

  • What does Carol say about the word ‘yet’?
  • How is this word helping children learn better?
  • What did she ask children to do and how did some of them react?
  • What did these children understand?
  • What are the two ways of raising our children?
  • What do some business owners complain about?

part two

KEY LANGUAGE

Go through the flashcards below. Make sure you understand all the words and expressions.

VIDEO

Watch the second part of the video.

COMPREHENSION

Answer these questions. Refer to the information from the video.

  • What is the first thing we can do as parents to help our kids develop Growth Mindset?
  • What should we praise them for?
  • What shouldn’t we praise them for?
  • What is Brain Points about? How does it develop Growth Mindset?
  • What does research say about the phrase: “not yet”?
  • What does Carol teach children and how did it help those who learnt this lesson?

part three

KEY LANGUAGE

Go through the flashcards below. Make sure you understand all the words and expressions.

VIDEO

Watch the third part of the video.

COMPREHENSION

Answer these questions. Refer to the information from the video.

  • What do the examples Carol mentioned illustrate?
  • What did all the schools she talked about have in common?
  • How does Growth Mindset affect the meaning of effort and difficulty?
  • What did the 13 year old boy write in his letter to Carol Dweck?
  • What kind of environment does Carol urge us to create?

POLL

Cast your vote in the poll below. Compare your answer to the answers of other students.

Coming Soon
What do you think of the idea of Growth Mindset?
Total Votes : 4

lesson glossary

Check out the language from this lesson.

Growth Mindset by Carol Dweck