English Lesson — Thursday Noon: Meeting & Email Phrases

Word of the Day

facilitate /fəˈsɪlɪteɪt/

Vietnamese: điều phối, tạo điều kiện

To make a process or action easier; to help something happen smoothly by organizing and guiding it.

Tech & Meeting Examples:

1. “I’ll facilitate today’s sprint retrospective — please come prepared with your highlights and blockers.”
2. “This new API gateway will facilitate faster integration between our microservices.”
3. “As a tech lead, your role is to facilitate collaboration across frontend and backend teams.”

Practice links:

• Cambridge Dictionary: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/facilitate
• YouGlish (hear real usage): https://youglish.com/pronounce/facilitate/english

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Vocabulary Table — Professional Communication Phrases

Phrase	Vietnamese	Example
Let’s circle back on that	Hãy quay lại vấn đề đó sau	“Let’s circle back on that after we finish the demo.”
To follow up on my previous email	Tiếp theo email trước của tôi	“To follow up on my previous email, have you had a chance to review the proposal?”
I’d like to open the floor to questions	Tôi muốn mở phần hỏi đáp	“Before we wrap up, I’d like to open the floor to questions.”
Could you elaborate on that?	Bạn có thể giải thích thêm không?	“That’s an interesting point — could you elaborate on that?”
As per our discussion	Như chúng ta đã thảo luận	“As per our discussion yesterday, I’ve updated the roadmap accordingly.”

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Pronunciation Guide

facilitate — Breaking It Down

Full IPA: /fəˈsɪlɪteɪt/

Syllable	Sound	Tip
fa-	/fə/	Weak schwa — do NOT stress this
-SIL-	/ˈsɪl/	PRIMARY stress — say it loudest
-i-	/ɪ/	Short “i” like in “sit”
-tate	/teɪt/	Rhymes with “late”

Stress pattern: fa-SIL-i-tate

Common mistakes Vietnamese speakers make:

• Saying fa-si-li-TATE (wrong stress on last syllable)
• Pronouncing the first “a” as /æ/ (like “cat”) — it should be the weak /ə/ sound

Practice drill — say 3 times faster each round:

fa-SIL-i-tate … fa-SIL-i-tate … fa-SIL-i-tate

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Exercises

Exercise 1 — Fill in the Blank

Fill each blank with the correct word or phrase from today’s vocabulary.

Show questions

1. “________ my previous email, the deployment is scheduled for Friday at 9 PM.”
2. “Could someone ________ the Q&A session so we stay on time?”
3. “That’s a great point, but let’s ________ after we cover the main agenda.”
4. “________ our discussion, I’ll send the updated specs by EOD.”
5. “Before I close the presentation, I’d like to ________ to questions.”

Show answers

1. To follow up on
2. facilitate
3. circle back on that
4. As per
5. open the floor

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Exercise 2 — Translate to English

Translate the following Vietnamese sentences into natural professional English.

Show questions

1. Tôi muốn mở phần hỏi đáp trước khi kết thúc buổi họp.
2. Bạn có thể giải thích thêm về kiến trúc hệ thống mới không?
3. Tiếp theo email trước của tôi, tôi muốn hỏi về tiến độ của task đó.
4. Vai trò của tôi là điều phối quá trình onboarding cho team mới.

Show answers

1. “I’d like to open the floor to questions before we wrap up the meeting.”
2. “Could you elaborate on the new system architecture?”
3. “To follow up on my previous email, I wanted to check in on the progress of that task.”
4. “My role is to facilitate the onboarding process for the new team.”

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Idiom of the Day

“Cut to the chase”

Meaning: To get to the point quickly; to skip unnecessary details and focus on what matters most.

Vietnamese: Đi thẳng vào vấn đề, nói thẳng không vòng vo.

Meeting Examples:

1. “We only have 10 minutes left — let’s cut to the chase and decide on the release date.”
2. “I know there’s a lot of context here, but I’ll cut to the chase: the API is down and we need a hotfix now.”

Pro tip: Use this phrase when a meeting is going off-track or when you need to refocus discussion on the decision at hand.

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Mini Dialogue — Daily Standup

Context: A sprint standup between a tech lead (Minh) and a developer (Linh). The team is behind on a feature.

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Minh: Alright everyone, let’s cut to the chase — Linh, can you give us a quick update on the payment integration?

Linh: Sure. To follow up on yesterday’s blocker, I finally got the sandbox credentials. I’m about 70% done.

Minh: Good progress. Could you elaborate on what’s left so we know if Friday’s deadline is realistic?

Linh: The main thing is error handling for declined cards. I’d say two more days of solid work.

Minh: Understood. Let’s circle back on that in tomorrow’s standup with a clearer timeline. I’ll facilitate a quick sync with QA this afternoon so they’re ready to test.

Linh: Sounds good — as per our discussion, I’ll send you the updated task breakdown by 3 PM.

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2-Minute Challenge

Set a timer for 2 minutes and complete the following out loud:

1. Say “facilitate” 5 times with correct stress: fa-SIL-i-tate
2. Use “to follow up on my previous…” in a sentence about your current work project
3. Explain what you are working on today using at least 2 phrases from the vocabulary table
4. End with: “I’d like to open the floor to questions.”

The goal is fluency under time pressure — the same pressure you feel in real meetings. Do not stop to translate in your head. Think in phrases, not words.