Your First Weeks in an English-Speaking Workplace
The phrases that get you through the working day when your English is still basic — asking, checking, admitting you did not understand.
You do not need advanced English to function at work. You need a small set of phrases used confidently, and the willingness to say when you have not understood.
Saying you did not understand
This is the single most valuable skill, and the one people avoid out of embarrassment. Nodding along is far more expensive than asking.
- Sorry, could you say that again?
- Sorry, I didn't catch that.
- Could you speak a bit more slowly, please?
- What does "deadline" mean?
- Sorry, I'm not sure I follow.
Nobody minds. A colleague repeating a sentence costs ten seconds; a task done wrong costs a day.
Be specific about what you missed
Asking for the whole sentence again gets you the same sentence at the same speed. Naming the gap works much better:
- Sorry — the last part?
- You said Thursday — Thursday or Tuesday?
- What's "a stand-up"?
- Sorry, who should I send it to?
Checking you got it right
- So, just to check — you want me to send it by Friday?
- Do you mean X or Y?
- Is that right?
Repeating the instruction in your own words is the safest habit at work in any language, and it makes you look careful rather than uncertain.
Asking for help
- Could you give me a hand with this?
- Have you got a minute?
- Sorry to bother you, but…
- Who should I ask about holidays?
Asking how things are done here
New-starter questions are expected in the first weeks, and asking them early is much better than guessing:
- How do we usually do this?
- Who's the right person for…?
- Is there a template for that?
- Where do I find the file?
- Do I need to ask before…?
Reporting progress
- It's done.
- I'm still working on it.
- I've nearly finished.
- I've run into a problem with…
- I'm stuck — could you take a look?
Say early if you are stuck. In most English-speaking workplaces, flagging a problem on day one is normal; discovering it on the deadline is not.
In a meeting
You don't have to say much, but these four get you through:
- Sorry, could I just check something?
- Can I add something?
- I'll take that one. (accepting a task)
- Could you send that in writing? — the single most useful request when a meeting moves too fast
Messages and chat
Written work chat is far more informal than email, and short is normal, not rude:
- On it. · Will do. · Sure, give me 10.
- Sorry, just seen this.
- Quick q — …
- No rush. · Whenever you get a chance.
A reply of Ok with nothing else can read as curt. Ok, thanks! costs one word and reads completely differently.
The everyday phrases
- Morning! (the standard greeting — full "good morning" is slightly formal)
- How's it going? — Not bad, thanks. You?
- See you tomorrow. / Have a good weekend.
- I'm off now. (leaving for the day)
- I'm on holiday next week.
Politeness that costs nothing
Add please, thanks and sorry generously. English-speaking workplaces use them far more than many other cultures, and their absence reads as brusque even when nothing rude was intended.
Asking looks competent, not weak. This is the assumption most worth correcting: in English-speaking workplaces, someone who checks an instruction is read as careful, and someone who silently gets it wrong is read as careless. The embarrassment of asking lasts ten seconds; the other kind lasts much longer.
A first week, compressed
Manager: Can you put together the numbers for Thursday's review?
You: Sure. Sorry, just to check — the weekly numbers, or the monthly ones?
Manager: Weekly. There's a template on the shared drive.
You: Great. And who should I send it to?
Manager: Just me for now.
You: Will do. If I run into anything I'll shout.
Accepting the task, one clarifying question, one process question, and an early promise to flag problems — no advanced English anywhere in it.
Test yourself
The quiz below is about what to say, not about grammar.