Sprints
Three minutes. Free text. Go.
Open-ended micro-tasks. No multiple choice — you write, the coach reads, you get a punchy score with one specific upgrade. Pop one in between sets.
📐 Grammar drills
- 5 min
Present perfect vs past simple
Write three short sentences (about your last week) that should use the present perfect, then three that should use the past simple. Then explain in one line why the choice matters.
- 5 min
Four conditionals, four sentences
Write one sentence using each of the four conditionals about your own life: zero (general truth), first (likely), second (hypothetical), third (past unreal). Make each one a complete thought, not a fragment.
- 5 min
Relative clauses workout
Combine each pair into one sentence using a relative clause. Use different relative pronouns (who, which, that, whose, where). 1) My coach is strict. He won bronze in Athens. 2) The pool was freezing. We trained in it for a month. 3) Liam's sister is back. Her car broke down in France.
- 5 min
Active → Passive
Rewrite each active sentence in the passive voice. Drop the agent ('by ...') if it sounds natural. 1) The committee approved the new pool rules last week. 2) Adam Peaty broke the world record. 3) Someone will translate this report by Friday.
- 5 min
Reported speech
Convert these three direct quotes into reported speech. Watch tense backshift, time markers, and pronouns. 1) Liam said: 'I've been training every day.' 2) Coach asked: 'Are you tapering this week?' 3) Mum said: 'I'll pick you up at six tomorrow.'
- 5 min
Modal degrees
Rewrite this neutral sentence five times, each with a different modal verb that changes the meaning: 'I take an extra rest day on Sunday.' Use must, should, could, might, and have to. Briefly note in one line what each one signals.
- 5 min
Cleft sentences for emphasis
Take this plain sentence: 'Coach Patel made me a better swimmer.' Rewrite it three ways using cleft structures to shift emphasis: (a) 'It was Coach Patel who…', (b) 'What Coach Patel did was…', (c) 'The one who…'.
💬 React to a statement
- 4 min
School at 10am?
Read this opinion: 'Austrian secondary schools should start at 10am instead of 8am.' React in 4—5 sentences. Take a clear side and back it up.
- 4 min
AI vs teachers
Read this: 'Within ten years, AI will replace most teachers.' React in 4—5 sentences. Where do you stand?
- 4 min
Athletes earn too much
React to this: 'Top athletes are paid obscene amounts for kicking a ball, while nurses earn nothing.' 4—5 sentences. Pick a side.
- 4 min
Cars banned by 2030?
Read this: 'City centres across Europe should be completely car-free by 2030.' React in 4-5 sentences. Take a side.
👁 Describe a scene
- 4 min
A Vienna coffeehouse
Imagine you've walked into a proper Vienna Kaffeehaus for the first time. Describe what you see in 4 sentences. Make it feel like a place — sounds, light, the people.
- 4 min
Last good laugh
Describe the last thing that made you genuinely laugh. 4 sentences. Set the scene first, then build to the moment.
- 4 min
Your favourite song
Describe your favourite song to someone who's never heard it. 4 sentences. No genre labels — be specific. Sound, mood, memory.
⚔ Argue a position
- 5 min
Argue against yourself
Pick something you actually believe. Now argue the opposite case in 4 sentences, as if you meant it. (Tell me at the start what you believe so the coach can mark it properly.)
- 4 min
Books > Films?
Argue AGAINST this opinion: 'Reading books is better than watching films.' 4 sentences. Make it convincing.
- 5 min
Phone time isn't the problem
Argue that phone time isn't actually a problem — that the moral panic is overblown. 4 sentences. Take this side seriously even if you don't believe it.
✍ Five different finishes
- 4 min
Why I keep swimming
Finish this sentence five different ways: 'The reason I keep swimming is...' Use a different sentence structure each time (one with a subordinate clause, one with a cleft, one short and sharp...).
- 4 min
What surprised me
Finish this five different ways: 'What surprised me about ___ was ___.' Pick anything to fill in — different topics for variety.
- 4 min
When I was younger
Finish this sentence five different ways: 'When I was younger I dreamed of...' Mix nostalgia, regret, growth — use different sentence structures.
♻ Rewrite stronger
- 4 min
Rewrite from German
Take this German sentence and write it in three different ways in strong B2 English: 'Ich mag das Schwimmen, weil es gesund ist und Spaß macht.' Vary structure and vocabulary each time.
- 4 min
Upgrade a weak claim
This sentence is flat: 'Phones are bad because they distract you.' Rewrite it three times at B2+ level. Different structure, register, and vocabulary in each version.
- 4 min
Formal — casual
Rewrite this formal sentence in three different casual British ways: 'I would like to express my dissatisfaction with the service provided.'
✨ Imagine a scene
- 5 min
Paris, 1985
Imagine a 16-year-old in Paris in 1985. Write 4 sentences describing one ordinary moment of their day. Specific details only — no generic 'they were happy.'
- 5 min
Convince your aunt
Imagine you have to convince a sceptical aunt that learning English actually matters. Write your strongest 4 sentences. No clichés.
- 5 min
You at thirty
Imagine yourself at 30. Write 4 sentences from his perspective looking back at 17-year-old Tim today. What would he say?