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S3E8: Hari's Plan

Hari explains a long-term plan to someone who may not accept its assumptions.

Watch for: What can his explanation establish: and what remains uncertain?

Clip A quiz: 6 questions

Answer about this clip. Replay when you need to. Choose one answer for each question.

1. What is Hari chiefly trying to explain?How to arrange a private celebrationHow to repair a damaged vehicleHow a larger plan relates to the present conflict

2. What complicates treating him like an ordinary living visitor?He is a constructed continuation of HariHe refuses to speak the local languageHe is travelling under a borrowed name

3. Why does the other participant test or question him?To invite him to a performanceTo ask him for a family recipeTo assess what he knows and can do

4. What time scale frames Hari’s thinking?Only the next few secondsConsequences extending beyond the immediate encounterA holiday ending that evening

5. What is the relevant contrast between the participants?Two identical accounts of an agreed experimentImmediate power and a longer forecastTwo students taking the same examination

6. Does a confident explanation settle every uncertainty?No, it still depends on what happens nextYes, the future is already shown in fullYes, every character confirms it independently

Useful English

What would have to be true for that plan to work?

You say: Ask what must stay unchanged.

One possible response

What would have to stay unchanged for that plan to work?

That is a prediction, not a guarantee.

You say: Distinguish an estimate from a promise.

One possible response

That is an estimate, not a promise.

Keep talking: 3 questions

Speak before opening the help or example. With a partner, ask a follow-up. On your own, say your answer aloud.

When does a confident explanation persuade you?
Help me start
Evidence; limits; a test.
Show an example
I trust it more when the speaker says what could make the explanation wrong.
What is the difference between planning and predicting?
Help me start
An action versus an expectation.
Show an example
A plan says what we intend to do. A prediction says what we expect to happen.
Ask a presenter to explain one limitation.
Help me start
Which part… cannot…?
Show an example
Which part of the result can this method not predict?

S3E4: Overstated

A ruler asks an earlier version of his dynasty about a past journey.

Watch for: How directly is the question answered?

Original source

Clip B quiz: 6 questions

Answer about this clip. Replay when you need to. Choose one answer for each question.

1. What similarity is questioned in the exchange?The resemblance between the two rulersThe design of two spaceshipsThe colour of two flags

2. What past event prompts the questions?A public weddingA childhood sporting victoryA visit to Mycogen

3. What does the questioner want beyond a general statement?Permission to end the meeting immediatelyAn explanation of the visitA new title for the empire

4. How does the earlier ruler handle the enquiry?He limits or redirects the explanationHe asks the questioner to publish his diaryHe provides every requested detail

5. What broader issue is used to shift the conversation?The rules of a board gameThe price of a mealThe burden of ruling

6. What remains unresolved at the end of this passage?Whether a journey has ever been mentionedWhether the two people can speakThe complete reason for the visit

Useful English

That explains the context, but not the decision.

You say: Ask about the outcome instead.

One possible response

That explains the context, but not the outcome.

Could we return to the question of why you went?

You say: Return to when the decision was made.

One possible response

Could we return to the question of when the decision was made?

Keep talking: 3 questions

Speak before opening the help or example. With a partner, ask a follow-up. On your own, say your answer aloud.

What tells you a question has been deflected?
Help me start
A new topic without…
Show an example
The speaker gives an interesting explanation without answering the specific question.
Can someone decline a question without misleading you?
Help me start
State the limit directly.
Show an example
Yes. They can say they cannot discuss a detail rather than pretend they have answered it.
Return politely to an unanswered question.
Help me start
Thank them; identify the missing part.
Show an example
Thank you for the background. Could we return to why the visit was necessary?

Mastery: use your English

Apply language and ideas from both clips in new situations.

Mastery: 6 questions

Use the English in a new situation. Choose one answer for each question.

1. Which question tests a forecast’s assumptions?Which conditions would change this forecast?Can you make the forecast sound more certain?Who first presented the forecast to the team?

2. A reply gives background but no reason. Choose a precise follow-up.Could you repeat all the background in a shorter form?Thank you; I will assume the reason is the same as the context.That helps with the context; what led to the decision itself?

3. Which statement avoids overstating evidence?The result supports the explanation, but does not establish every part of it.The result proves the entire explanation because one part fits.The result is useless because it does not explain everything.

4. Decline a confidential detail without pretending to answer.You would understand if you had all the information I have.I cannot share that detail, but I can explain the process we followed.The detail is unimportant, so you already have the full answer.

5. Which summary separates a plan from a prediction?We plan to launch in June; whether demand rises remains uncertain.Demand may rise, so a launch date has already been agreed.We plan to launch in June, which proves demand will rise.

6. Ask for an observable check of a claim.How many times have you explained this?Could you say the conclusion more confidently?What result would make you revise your explanation?

Put it all together: speaking

Use English from both clips. Start with the two short questions, then take a private role each. On your own, practise both roles.

How do the two clips make certainty difficult to judge?
Help me start
A forecast; an incomplete account.
Show an example
One speaker explains a plan while the other limits an account of the past. Neither should be mistaken for complete evidence.
What information would help you evaluate a proposal?
Help me start
Assumptions; limits; next check.
Show an example
I would ask for the assumptions, the uncertainty and a way to check progress.
Can you reach a workable outcome together using the two private role cards?
Private Role A
You propose moving a training course online in June. Your estimate assumes eighty registrations, but only thirty are confirmed. Explain the plan without presenting the estimate as a guarantee.
Private Role B
You assess the proposal. The venue cancellation deadline is next week, and you need an alternative if registrations remain low. You have not yet told the proposer this deadline.
Open only your own role card. Share its information by speaking, without showing the card.
Help me start
Discover the missing information; explain your constraint; respond to your partner; agree on a practical next step. Use language from both clips.
Check your conversation
- Complete the practical goal on both role cards.
- Use at least three target items naturally, including language from each clip.
- Ask a relevant follow-up and respond to information you did not know.
- End with a clear agreement, next step or summary.
Show an example
A: June is our intended launch; eighty registrations are an estimate. B: What would change that estimate? A: The next registration round. B: We must decide about the venue next week. A: Then we need a minimum number and a smaller fallback before that date.
Try again: The registration total rises to fifty, but the cancellation deadline is brought forward. Reassess the decision rather than simply repeat the first answer.

S3E8: Hari's Plan

Useful English

S3E4: Overstated

Useful English

Mastery: use your English

Put it all together: speaking

Check your conversation