Reference sheet · prints on one page
Stand-Up & Team English
The three questions, the four-line assignment, the blocker protocol, the feedback formula, and the grammar that keeps your status reports correct. Keep it beside the laptop during stand-up.
The status triangle (ask these three, in this order)
| # | Say this | Hear |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | “Ravi, what did you finish yesterday?” | |
| 2 | “What are you working on today?” | |
| 3 | “Any blockers for you today?” | |
| → | “Okay, thank you. Priya, your turn.” |
Two minutes per developer maximum. If an answer is vague, do not repeat the question — ask “Can you give me an example?”
The four-line task assignment
- Owner + task: “Ravi, can you take the invoice page today?”
- Date: “It's due Thursday.”
- Requirement: “Please write a comment on the ticket before you push.”
- Check: “Does that make sense? Tell me the task back in one line.”
Alternatives for line 2: “What's your ETA?” · “Can you give me a realistic date, not an ideal one?” · “When can you push that?”
The blocker protocol
| Step | Say this |
|---|---|
| Read back | “So to sum up, you're blocked on the test credentials. Right?” |
| Own it yourself | “Okay, I'll ask the client today.” |
| Give the next task | “Meanwhile, take the dashboard bug.” |
| Set the date | “Start after lunch, ETA tomorrow evening. Right?” |
| Offer the early-exit habit | “If you're stuck for more than thirty minutes, come to me.” |
The feedback formula
Progress → one thing → reason. Never two corrections in one sentence, and never on a Friday evening.
- “Good progress on the invoice page. One thing for next time: comment on the ticket before you push, so the team can follow it.”
- “The design matches nicely. One thing I'd change: check the mobile view before you share the link.”
- “That was a good fix — thanks for catching it early. One thing: write a line on the ticket so we can trace it later.”
- When you disagree: “I see your point, but we can't ship that without testing. Let's do it on Monday.”
- When you need to say no: “I can't take that today, but I can start it tomorrow morning.”
Present perfect vs past simple (the status-report rule)
| When | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Finished + you say when | past simple | I finished the invoice page yesterday. |
| Finished, result matters now, no time word | have + past participle | I've finished the invoice page — it's on staging. |
| Started then, still going | have been + -ing | I've been working on the API since Monday. |
| Not finished, needs help | haven't + participle | I haven't received the credentials yet. |
| Wrong | Right |
|---|---|
| I have finished it yesterday. | I finished it yesterday. |
| I am working on it since Monday. | I've been working on it since Monday. |
| I didn't finished the ticket. | I haven't finished the ticket. |
| When you will finish it? | When will you finish it? / What's your ETA? |
Say the contractions, not the full forms: I've (ive), he's (heez), we've (weev), haven't (HAVent). At meeting speed the 've is the sound that tells you the work is finished now.
Vocabulary — say the stressed syllable louder
| Team words | Hear them |
|---|---|
| STAND-up · SPRINT · TICKet · TASK · BLOCKer · DEADline · MILEstone | |
| E-T-A (three letters) · CODE reVIEW · PULL reQUEST · dePLOY · STAGing · BACKlog · SCOPE | |
| Meeting words you will hear next | handover · estimate · dependency · standup notes · blocker list · production · regression |
Listening routine (10 minutes a day, no exceptions)
- Pick one BBC 6 Minute English episode.
- Play 1 — eyes closed, no stopping, even if you understand only half.
- Play 2 — write down three phrases you caught. Not words: phrases.
- Play 3 — read the transcript while it plays and mark the words you had missed. Those are your practice words for tomorrow.
- Once a week, replace this with a British Council work-listening exercise so you are also tested, not only exposed.
Seven-day log — tick what you actually did in English
| Day | Stand-up in English | Dates written down | 30-min line said | Listening (10 min) | Hardest sentence today |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | |||||
| Tue | |||||
| Wed | |||||
| Thu | |||||
| Fri | |||||
| Sat | |||||
| Sun |
Bring this sheet to the next session. The last column is what decides the next lesson.