Modern LifeLab
Review Lab · panel discussion · media, health, ambitions, strategies
Your level · You are here
Review Lab
A friendly check-in — not a test.
Practise the language from the last few lessons through short tasks and longer speaking turns. Aim to speak naturally, not perfectly — replay anything, skip nothing.
Get Talking · Section 1
5 minStart the conversation — no pressure
Which lesson from Modules 9–12 stuck with you the most, and why?
What's one habit from those modules you've actually changed in your real life?
Which of these still feels shaky: Present Perfect Continuous, reported speech, 'used to', conditionals, hedging?
Grammar review · Section 2
8–10 minMixed review — choosing the right structure under pressure
In review, accuracy matters less than range. Use at least three different structures per answer.
- This Review Lab doesn't teach a new grammar point — it pushes you to choose between the ones you already know.
- The four structures most likely to come up in this panel discussion: (1) Present Perfect Continuous for ongoing habits — 'I've been spending too much time on my phone.' (2) Reported speech for what people said in the news — 'They said that screen time was rising.' (3) 'used to' for past habits that have changed — 'I used to check my phone first thing.' (4) Hedging language for opinions you don't want to overstate — 'I'd say', 'on the whole', 'tend to'.
- The skill is switching between these naturally inside a single answer.
- Talking about an ongoing habit → Present Perfect Continuous.
- Reporting what someone or a study said → reported speech.
- Comparing past vs present habits → 'used to'.
- Stating an opinion carefully → hedge it.
I've been trying to cut down on social media for about a month now.
An article I read said most teens spend over four hours a day on screens.
I used to take my phone to bed, but I've stopped.
On the whole, I'd say screens have made us more anxious, not less.
Memory tip
Range > perfection. Examiners reward variety over a flawless single tense.
Natural English
Real fluent speakers swap between structures inside the same paragraph. Practising 'all the past simple in one block' is a learner habit — break it.
Challenge 1.Which uses Present Perfect Continuous correctly?
Challenge 2.Best reported version of 'Screen time is rising.'
Challenge 3.Past habit that has changed:
Challenge 4.Most hedged opinion:
Quick check 1.Best opening for a careful opinion:
Vocabulary review · Section 3
5–7 minBring back your words
Screen time
time spent looking at screens
In context
"My screen time was up 20% last week."
Now try it yourself
Estimate yours — say it.
Burn out
to become exhausted from overwork
In context
"She's burned out from non-stop notifications."
Now try it yourself
Name a sign of burnout you've noticed in yourself or others.
Cut down on
to reduce
In context
"I've cut down on coffee."
Now try it yourself
Say one thing you've cut down on this year.
Get into the habit of
to start doing regularly
In context
"I've got into the habit of walking after dinner."
Now try it yourself
Name a new habit you've got into.
On balance
considering everything
In context
"On balance, working from home suits me."
Now try it yourself
Give an 'on balance' opinion on one topic.
It's a mixed picture
there are both pros and cons
In context
"It's a mixed picture — better focus, worse social life."
Now try it yourself
Use this phrase about technology.
Pick at least three words from above and use each one in a sentence about your real life. Say each one aloud before you write.
Ask your teacher (or a partner) a question that uses one of today's words. They reply using a different word.
Rank today's words from most to least useful for you this week. Defend your top choice.
Finish: "Honestly, I'd say…" using one of today's words.
Tip: aim to reuse at least two of these words later in the Speaking and Writing tasks.
Tap an item on the left, then tap its match on the right.
Pronunciation · Section 4
3–4 minStress on the opinion frame, weak forms on hedges
When you open with a hedge, the hedge is rhythmically quiet and the content gets the stress: 'I'd say, on the whole, SCREENS have made us more ANXious'. The opposite pattern — stressing the hedge — sounds defensive. Practise the swallowed 'on the whole' /ɒnðəˈhəʊl/ as one rhythm unit.
- • I'd SAY, on the WHOLE, SCREENS have made us more ANXious
- • I've been TRYing to CUT DOWN on SOcial MEDia
- • I USED to take my PHONE to BED
- • It's a MIXED PICture, HOnestly
Reading challenge · Section 5
8–10 minWhat four lessons leave behind
By the end of Modules 9 to 12, your English should be quietly doing four new things at once. You should now reach instinctively for the Present Perfect Continuous when you describe a habit you've been changing — 'I've been cutting down on caffeine' — because it tells the listener both that the action has been going on and that it isn't necessarily finished. You should be comfortable reporting what other people said, shifting the tense back where it matters and keeping it where it doesn't: 'She said it was getting worse', 'They told me the results are still coming in'.
You should also be reaching for 'used to' the moment a habit changes shape: 'I used to drink coffee in the afternoon' tells the listener 'and now I don't' without you having to say it. And you should have a small library of hedging phrases ready — 'I'd say', 'on the whole', 'tend to', 'on balance' — because adult conversation about media, health and ambitions is full of things that are partly true.
The real review test isn't whether you can produce each of these in isolation. It's whether you can use three of them in a single answer. That's the move from intermediate to upper-intermediate: not new structures, but new combinations.
Challenge 1.What does the text say Present Perfect Continuous tells the listener?
Challenge 2.According to the text, what does 'used to' tell the listener implicitly?
Challenge 3.Why does the text say adult conversation about media and health particularly needs hedging phrases?
Challenge 4.What does the text mean by 'not new structures, but new combinations'?
Q1.The text says the review focuses on brand new structures.
Q2.The text says the move to upper-intermediate is about combining structures.
Listening challenge · Section 6
8–10 minA short panel discussion: 'Are screens making us worse?'
Listening audio
Tap play to listen. Replay as many times as you need.
Show transcript
Chair:Welcome back. Quick round: are screens making us worse, on balance? Maya, you first.
Maya:On balance, yes — but not for the reasons people usually say. I've been tracking my phone use for about three months and the issue isn't the hours, it's the fragmentation. I used to read for an hour straight; now I struggle past ten minutes.
Chair:Liam?
Liam:I'd say it's a mixed picture. A study I read last week said that teen anxiety has been rising in parallel with smartphone adoption, which is suggestive, but they were careful to say correlation isn't causation. I think we tend to blame the device for changes that have lots of other causes.
Chair:Priya — habits side?
Priya:Honestly, I've been trying to get into the habit of leaving my phone in another room in the evening, and it's transformed my sleep. I used to wake up tired even after eight hours. So at the individual level, the answer is obviously yes — but I'd hesitate to generalise from my experience.
Chair:Maya — would you recommend a specific change to listeners?
Maya:I'd say, on the whole, the single most useful thing is to make your phone boring. Greyscale, no notifications. If you'd told me a year ago I'd do that, I'd have laughed. But it works.
Liam:Realistically, though, most people won't. So the policy question is harder than the personal one.
Chair:Good place to leave it. Thank you all.
Challenge 1.What does Maya say the real problem with screens is — not the number of hours?
Challenge 2.What change has Priya made that she says transformed her sleep?
Challenge 3.Why does Liam say the study was 'careful' to note that correlation isn't causation?
Challenge 4.What does Priya imply by saying she'd 'hesitate to generalise' from her own experience?
Skills challenge · Section 7
5 minSpeaking — Cambridge B1 Preliminary Part 4 / IELTS Part 3 (long-turn discussion)
Task
Speak for 90 seconds on: 'Have screens made modern life better or worse?' Use Present Perfect Continuous, 'used to', reported speech and at least one hedge.
Strategy
In a long turn, sequence: hedge → ongoing habit (PPC) → contrast with past ('used to') → cite something you've read (reported speech) → close with a balanced view ('on balance'). This 5-beat structure makes 90 seconds feel structured rather than rambling.
Example
On balance, I'd say it's a mixed picture. I've been spending less time on social media this year and I've noticed I'm calmer. I used to scroll first thing in the morning, and now I read instead. A piece I read last month said that screen time and anxiety were rising together, though the author warned that correlation isn't causation. On the whole, I think the technology is neutral — it's the habits around it that matter.
Practice · Section 8
8–10 minQuick-fire practice
Challenge 1.I ___ trying to read more this year.
Challenge 2.I ___ to check my phone first thing in the morning.
Challenge 3.She said the trend ___ getting worse.
Challenge 4.On the ___ , I'd say it's a mixed picture.
Writing challenge · Section 9
5 minShow what you can do
Your task
Write 100 words for a class blog: 'One habit Modules 9–12 changed for me.' Use at least one Present Perfect Continuous, one 'used to', and one hedge.
Your answer
Your work saves automatically0 words
Show model answer
On the whole, I'd say the biggest change for me has been screen habits. I used to keep my phone next to me at dinner, and I genuinely thought it didn't bother anyone. For about two months I've been leaving it on a shelf in the hallway, and I've noticed I listen better. My partner mentioned it last week — they said it felt like I was actually 'in' the conversation. Realistically, I won't keep this up forever, but on balance the change has been one of the most useful things I've done this year.
Speaking · Section 10
10–15 minTalk it out
Run a mini three-person panel on one of: 'Are we sleeping less than we used to?', 'Has news made us more anxious?', 'Is ambition healthier than ever?'. Chair must invite each speaker; speakers must hedge AND give specifics.
Useful phrases
- • On balance, I'd say…
- • I've been noticing that…
- • I used to… but now…
- • A piece I read recently said…
- • It's a mixed picture, honestly.
Speaking reflection & notes
Your work saves automatically0 words
Keep it going · Section 11
Take-homeExtend it at home
Record a 90-second 'panel-style' answer to one of the discussion questions above.
Write a 100-word reflection mixing three of: PPC, used to, reported speech, hedge.
Homework notes
Your work saves automatically0 words
Checkpoint · Section 12
2–3 minWhat you've reviewed
- Review = combine, not memorise.
- Range beats perfection in long turns.
- Hedge → habit → contrast → quote → balance: the 5-beat answer.