Asking for Help: Polite English When You Don’t Understand

⏱ 5 MIN · CEFR B1

Asking for Help: Polite English When You Don’t Understand

🙋 From my notebook:

For the first two years in Sydney I nodded at things I didn’t understand. I was ashamed to ask. I would nod, walk away, and then try to figure it out alone. One day my manager said something and I nodded and then did entirely the wrong thing. He looked at me and said, ‘Did you actually understand?’ I said yes. He said, ‘It’s okay to say no.’ That changed everything. Asking is a skill, not a weakness.

🎯 By the end you will:

• Ask for repetition and clarification politely
• Signal non-understanding without shutting down a conversation
• Paraphrase to check understanding

📖 Phrases for clarification (B1):

Ask to repeat: Sorry, could you say that again? / I didn’t catch that.
Ask to slow down: Could you speak a little more slowly, please?
Ask to clarify: What do you mean by ____? / Could you explain ____?
Paraphrase to check: So you mean…? / If I understand correctly, you’re saying…?
Ask for spelling: How do you spell that?

✅ Quick check: You missed part of what someone said. What’s the most polite response?

x.checked)[0];this.nextSibling.style.display=’block’;this.nextSibling.textContent=sel&&sel.value==’2′?’✅ Correct!’:’❌ Try again’;” style=”margin-top:8px;background:#FF8F00;color:#fff;border:none;padding:6px 14px;border-radius:6px;cursor:pointer;”>Check

✍️ Try it (2 min):

Student A: say a complex sentence quickly. Student B: use one of today’s phrases to ask for help.
Practise all five phrase types in 2 minutes.

💡 Teacher’s tip:

Teach ‘I didn’t catch that’ before anything else. It’s the one phrase that unlocks all other communication recovery. Drill it until it’s automatic — your students will use it outside class within a week.