A phrase from a business situation appears. Place it in the correct quadrant of the Register Matrix. Focus on the words — formal or informal? Direct or polite?
Question 1 of 8 Score: 0
Now work with a partner using the Register Matrix on the wall or in your notes. Student A reads a phrase aloud — without saying the situation. Student B points to or names the quadrant they think it belongs to. After five phrases, swap roles. When you disagree, that's the interesting moment — discuss why.
Choose five phrases from the game (or invent your own). Read each one clearly. Don't say where you think it belongs. Wait for your partner's response.
Listen carefully. Name the quadrant. Give one reason for your choice: "I think diplomatic because of the word 'would'..." Then swap after five phrases.
Discussion question: Which quadrant feels most natural for you in English? Which feels most uncomfortable? Why?
A real business situation appears. Four phrases are offered — one from each quadrant. Choose the most appropriate one. Wrong answers will tell you exactly what register crime was committed.
Question 1 of 7 Score: 0
The game used invented scenarios. Now use your own. Student A describes a real situation from their working life — a recent email, a difficult meeting, a request they had to make. Student B decides which quadrant is appropriate and drafts a phrase. Student A gives feedback from their knowledge of the real context. Was the register right? Did the phrase sound natural?
Describe the situation: who is involved, what the relationship is, what you needed to say. Be specific. Don't suggest a register — let your partner decide.
Name the quadrant. Produce one phrase. Then defend your choice: "I used diplomatic-polite because this is a VIP client and the request is sensitive..."
Challenge round: After agreeing on the right register, try producing a phrase from the wrong quadrant deliberately. Discuss what message that wrong register sends to the other person.
A phrase in the wrong register for its situation appears. Your task: rewrite it in the correct register. Feedback focuses on the specific markers that signal register — hedging, modal choice, vocabulary level, directness.
Question 1 of 6 Score: 0
Your rewrite:
Together, write a short business dialogue of six to eight exchanges. The catch: every phrase must be in the wrong register for the situation. An email to a VIP client written in slang. A disciplinary conversation conducted with excessive warmth and informality. Make it wrong deliberately and consistently. Then swap your dialogue with another pair (or your teacher). Rewrite it correctly. Compare versions and discuss every choice.
Choose a high-stakes business scenario. Together, write a dialogue where both parties are consistently in the wrong register. Aim for six to eight exchanges. Be precise about how it's wrong.
Exchange your dialogue with another pair. Rewrite it in the correct register. Annotate each change: which marker told you it was wrong, and what you replaced it with and why.
Extension: Identify one moment in your own professional life where you used the wrong register — deliberately or by mistake. What was the effect? What would you say differently now?