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English Beyond the Textbook course icon

English Beyond the Textbook

Like Duolingo, but for English Beyond the Textbook. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.

For the part of you with thirty open tabs that never became anything.

12 bite-size levelsAbout 5 minutes each

Free during early access · No credit card · iPhone & Android

Echo the Elephant
English Beyond the Textbook
with Echo the Elephant
12
Levels
2
Sections
5
Min/day
What you'll learn

Key ideas in English Beyond the Textbook

  • Short sentences provide emphasis or a quick start
  • Conjunctions like 'but' show contrast or obstacles
  • Longer sentences provide detail and flow
  • Conjunctions like 'so' show the result of an action
  • Alternating lengths prevents a monotonous 'staccato' rhythm
  • Connecting facts helps the listener follow your logic
  • Varying sentence length to create a natural rhythm
  • Using conjunctions to turn a list into a narrative
  • Time markers prepare the listener for the 'when' before the 'what'
  • Generic verbs like 'do' or 'get' are 'empty' and provide no mental image
  • Starting with a time marker breaks the 'Subject-Verb' repetitive pattern
  • Different markers signal different speeds of action
  • Using time markers to set the scene
  • A single breath is the natural limit for one clear thought
  • Pausing to breathe gives the listener time to process what you said
  • Replacing generic verbs with specific actions
Why not just Google it

You've tried the other tabs

Wikipedia

Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.

YouTube

You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.

ChatGPT

One answer, then back to scrolling.

Online courses

Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.

Tomo gives English Beyond the Textbook the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.

Try a question

Here's what playing it feels like

A real question from this course. Take your best guess.

Finding Your Natural Rhythm

Which word would you use to show that an obstacle got in the way of your plans?

Get it right to open this lesson and 11 more in the app.

Course map

Where English Beyond the Textbook takes you

Move past basic phrases and start speaking English that sounds natural, engaging, and clear. Learn the subtle shifts in rhythm and word choice that make people want to keep listening.

  1. 1

    Finding Your Flow

    • Breaking the Robot Pattern
    • Adding Color to Common Ideas
  2. 2

    The Art of Connection

    • Mastering the Conversation Loop
    • The Music of Clear Speech

2 sections · 4 units · 12 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.

How it's taught

You pick the voice

This course
The Bestie

English Beyond the Textbook is taught in the The Bestie style: your friend who just gets it. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.

Start free

Start English Beyond the Textbook today.

Download Tomo, search English Beyond the Textbook, and play your first lesson in under a minute.