Nuance in Spoken English
Move beyond literal textbook phrasing and speak with natural conversational flow. Master polite hedging, idiomatic word chunks, discourse markers, and sentence emphasis to sound genuine and articulate.
Like Duolingo, but for Nuance in Spoken English. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
A short one: 11 levels across 2 sections, about 22 minutes end to end, roughly 4 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Diplomatic and Natural Phrasing and Conversational Rhythm and Emphasis. It assumes you already know the basics.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in Nuance in Spoken English
- Past modal verbs like 'could' and 'would' frame actions as hypothetical possibilities.
- Present modals like 'can' or imperative verbs sound more immediate and demanding.
- Qualifiers like 'a bit' or 'fairly' scale down absolute claims into moderate observations.
- Verbs like 'tend to' frame general patterns rather than universal, unbendable rules.
- Absolute adverbs like 'definitely' or 'always' amplify dogmatism instead of softening it.
- Negative question frames guide listeners toward agreement by posing alternative solutions gently.
- Direct counter-proposals like 'Your plan is wrong' prompt defensive reactions.
- Negated positive adjectives soften critique by focusing on an unrealized ideal.
- Unvarnished negative adjectives like 'wrong' or 'confusing' trigger interpersonal friction.
- The past continuous form 'was wondering' marks an ongoing, non-demanding mental state.
- Simple present openers like 'I wonder' feel more immediate and pressing.
- 'Make' combines with outcome nouns like decisions, mistakes, and plans
- 'Do' pairs with routine tasks, obligations, or non-specific actions
- Synonyms like 'construct' sound unnatural in place of habitual verbs
- Precipitation takes 'heavy' rather than 'strong' to indicate volume
- Air currents take 'strong' or 'gusty' rather than 'heavy'
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives Nuance in Spoken English 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.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
Why might saying 'Give me that chart' or 'Can you give me that chart' feel blunt to a crewmate?
Get it right to open this lesson and 10 more in the app.
Where Nuance in Spoken English takes you
- 1
Diplomatic and Natural Phrasing
- Softening Tone and Direct Statements
- Speaking in Natural Collocations and Chunks
- 2
Conversational Rhythm and Emphasis
- Guiding Listeners with Discourse Markers
- Varying Word Order and Stress for Impact
2 sections · 4 units · 11 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
Nuance in Spoken English is taught in the The Pirate style: arr, learning be an adventure!. 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.
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Start Nuance in Spoken English today.
Download Tomo, search Nuance in Spoken English, and play your first lesson in under a minute.