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…

Giving reasons

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.

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

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THE BLUE TREE

Better
Communicator

CEF B1

CEFR B2

Upper
Intermediate

Practise speaking by describing this image

warm up

Answer the questions below. Then listen to the sample answers and report back on what you’ve heard.

Which question do you find most difficult during a job interview?
TRANSCRIPT

The most difficult question for me is probably ‘Why should we hire you?’ It’s tricky because you have to talk about your strengths without sounding arrogant, and at the same time, you have to connect your skills directly to the company’s needs. It feels like a balancing act between confidence and humility.

Do you think it is better to prepare your answers to typical interview questions or just go with the flow?
TRANSCRIPT

I think it’s better to prepare for typical interview questions in advance. You don’t want to sound too rehearsed, but having a framework in mind helps you stay focused and ensures that you hit the key points you want to make. If you go with the flow, there’s a risk of forgetting important details, especially if nerves kick in.

What can a candidate do to leave a good impression on the interviewers?
TRANSCRIPT

To leave a good impression, I believe candidates should be genuine and show enthusiasm for the role. Listening carefully to the questions and giving thoughtful, relevant answers is key. It also helps if the candidate has done their research about the company, so they can align their responses with the company’s values and goals. A follow-up thank-you email afterward doesn’t hurt either.

LISTENING

Watch the video. What is the key idea behind this management tip?

reading

Nail Your Answer to “Why Do You Want to Work Here”?

Sometimes the toughest job interview questions are also the simplest and most direct. One you should always expect to hear and definitely prepare for: “Why do you want to work here?” Here are three approaches to try when answering this common interview question:

• Express your passion for the employer’s product, service, or mission. Prepare a clear and honest explanation for why you personally connect with the organization’s purpose. You might say something like, “X is very important to me in both my professional and personal life because I strongly believe in Y.”

• Explain why you would enjoy the responsibilities of the role. Make the connection between job and joy clear. For example, you might say, “Analyzing data has always been fun for me — the challenge of using numbers to tell a story and 1. convey an idea — and I look forward to the data visualization work we’ll be doing on this team.

• Describe how you see yourself 2. succeeding in the role, given your skills and experience. The organization isn’t just looking to hire you; they’re looking to invest in you. Use phrases like, “Given my experience, I can see myself succeeding in X,” or “I look forward to using my skills to 3.accomplish Y.”

This tip is adapted from “How to Answer ‘Why Do You Want to Work Here?’,” by Joel Schwartzberg

przekazać, wyrazić

odnieść sukces, powieźć się

osiągnąć, zrealizować

COMPREHENSION

Answer the questions below. Try to throw some of the newly learned words into your answers.

  • Which question should we always expect to hear during a job interview?
  • How can we express passion to the employer’s product, service, or mission?
  • Why do you think it is important to prepare an honest answer to this question?
  • How can we make a connection between the job and joy?
  • What can we say to persuade the interviewer to invest in us?

POLL

Cast your vote in the poll.

Which of these three approaches carry the most weight in your opinion?

×

COMMENTS

How would you answer the question “Why do you want to work here?” for your current job? Would the answer be different today from the one you perhaps gave during the original interview?

Share your views and experience here.

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