Here 5 must-know English phrases for your next sprint planning meeting
🧩 Last-minute — very late or just before the deadline
“It’s a bit last-minute to add anything new.”
🧩 Juggling — handling many things at once
“We’re already juggling quite a few things.”
🧩 Stretched thin — having too many tasks and not enough time
“We’re stretched pretty thin this sprint.”
🧩 Squeeze in — fit something into a busy schedule
“We can’t squeeze that in this sprint.”
🧩 No room — no capacity for more tasks
“There’s no room to take that on right now.”
Use these in your next sprint planning —
and follow for more English you’ll actually use at work
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Helping Software Engineers improve job performance and secure future career opportunities by advancing their Business English Communication Skills
Do you know what “low-hanging fruit” means in English?
It’s one of those idioms you’ll hear all the time in tech and business meetings.
👉 “Low-hanging fruit” = the easiest task or opportunity that gives quick results with little effort.
💡 Examples:
“Fixing small bugs that customers complain about is low-hanging fruit.”
“In this sprint, let’s pick the low-hanging fruit before tackling complex features.”
Learning idioms like this helps you understand your teammates better and sound more natural in international meetings.
Now your turn 👇
What other workplace idioms do you know in English?
Follow for short, simple English tips made for tech professionals working in international teams 🌍
english idioms for work
business english for tech professionals
workplace english expressions
english for developers and engineers
learn english for international teams
Do you say “I did it” or “I’ve done it”? Most people use them wrong.
Both are common — but they don’t mean the same thing.
If you work in an international team, knowing the difference helps you sound clearer in updates, standups, and interviews 👇
✅ I did it → focuses on when it happened
🕒 “I did it yesterday.”
✅ I’ve done it → focuses on the result now
📍 “I’ve done it — you can check.”
Small change, big difference.
Use them correctly next time you update your team 💡
Follow for short, simple English tips made for tech professionals working in international teams 🌍
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Many engineers mix up should have, could have, and would have —
but these small differences change how professional and clear you sound.
In tech, we often need to explain:
🧩 what went wrong
🧩 what could have been done better
🧩 what we’d do differently next time
That’s exactly when you need these structures 👇
✅ Should have → for regret
“We should have tested the system with more users.”
✅ Could have → for possibility
“We could have avoided the delay by adding buffer time.”
✅ Would have → for hypothetical situations
“We would have planned differently if we had known about the traffic spike.”
Use them in retros, postmortems, or interviews — and you’ll instantly sound clearer and more confident when talking about past projects.
and follow for more short lessons for tech professionals 💡
The real reason why you understand English when reading, but can’t use them when speaking
This is because of passive vs. active vocabulary imbalance 👇
🔹 Passive vocabulary = words you recognize when you read or hear them.
You build it by reading articles, watching shows, or listening to podcasts.
It’s always bigger, because recognition is easier.
🔹 Active vocabulary = words you can actually say or write.
You build it through practice — speaking, writing, role plays.
It’s smaller, because recall needs more effort and repetition.
👉 Reading and listening = grow passive vocabulary.
👉 Speaking and writing = turn it into active vocabulary.
How to move words from passive → active
1. Notice the word in context
2. Review its meaning and example
3. Use it in your own sentence
4. Repeat it in real conversations
That’s why you “know” a lot of words, but only use a few.
The key: practice using them, not just recognizing them.
01/08/2023
Disagreement is a normal part of any work environment
It is only normal that people to have their thoughts and opinions.
However, while disagreement might be normal, a lot of people struggle to communicate it effectively. 🗣️
You might be afraid that you will offend others by expressing that you don't agree.
Or even that you will start a conflict in your office.
Don't worry. Today, I want to teach you a simple way how you can say that you don't agree in English politely and collaboratively.
No one will get offended if you say it like this.
Replace "BUT" with "AND"
❌ "BUT" can sound dismissive and confrontational
✔️"AND" allows you to acknowledge the other person's point of view and position yourself as their partner in solving the problem instead of an opponent.
Example:
👎 "I can see the benefits of your proposal, but I believe there might be other ways to achieve the same goal."
👍 "I can see the benefits of your proposal, and I believe there might be other ways to achieve the same goal."
In the first sentence, you are dismissing the person's proposal.
In the second example, you are showing that you both are on the same team and you direct the conversation to explore more options.
Now it's your turn to practice.
Disagree with the statement below using "AND"
"I think we should reduce the time spent on code reviews to speed up our project delivery."
Share your answers in the comments 💬
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