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EMA · LEADERS / MASTERMIND · B2-C1

The Office Debate

Advanced Relative Clauses for Real Conversations

45 minutes Live online · Breakout rooms Group discussion
MY LEVEL:
1

Warm-Up

5 min

Same debate, two very different worlds. Look at both photos, then react to three hot takes. There's no wrong answer today — just get ready to defend it.

Team A or Team B?

A team meeting in a busy office
Team A — back in the office, five days a week
A person working from a home office on a video call
Team B — fully remote, from a home office

Quick talk with your group: which team do you think actually gets more done — and why?

Three Hot Takes

1. "Employees who work from home are just as productive as the ones who go to the office every day."

Pick one — you'll need it later.

2. "A company that makes people commute just for a meeting they could have on video doesn't respect their time."

No wrong answer.

3. "The office isn't a place where creativity happens — it's just where attendance gets tracked."

Be ready to explain.
2

Input

8 min

Quick reminder from this week's class, then we level everything up for real debate.

Quick Recall — Flip Every Card

who
for people — "the manager who trusts you"
which
for things/ideas — "the policy which nobody likes"
that
people or things, everyday tone — "the job that changed everything"
where
for places — "the office where I had my first job"
whose
shows ownership — "my coworker whose desk faces the window"

Level Up — Add Extra Detail Like a Fluent Speaker

[Statement] , which / who [extra detail or opinion] , [statement continues].
Remote work, which many companies still don't trust, has proven itself for five years.
My last manager, who never once checked what I actually got done, judged me only by my calendar.
Coffee badging, which is exactly the kind of trick a bad policy creates, defeats the whole purpose of return-to-office.

Hear the pause before and after the extra detail? That comma pause is what makes it sound natural — not a rule to memorize, just a rhythm to copy.

Debate Connectors

...which is exactly why... ...which means... ...and that's the fact that people ignore. ...which nobody talks about enough.

Vocabulary Spotlight — Phrasal Verbs for a Real Debate

weigh in (on)
to give your opinion in a discussion
"A meeting where nobody weighs in is a waste of everyone's time."
push back (on)
to disagree or resist an idea
"Employees who push back on unfair policies are the ones companies should listen to."
buy into
to believe or accept an idea
"People who buy into every trend without asking questions rarely think for themselves."
opt out (of)
to choose not to take part
"The team that opted out of the hybrid schedule found its own rhythm."
touch on
to mention briefly
"There's one point that we haven't touched on yet: burnout."
back up
to support an opinion with real reasons
"An opinion that isn't backed up by anything real doesn't belong in a serious debate."

Slang Corner — 2026 Workplace Buzzwords

quiet quitting
doing only the minimum required, nothing extra
"Quiet quitting is what happens when someone who feels invisible finally stops trying to be seen."
coffee badging
showing up just long enough to badge in, then leaving
"Coffee badging is a habit that started the moment companies stopped trusting remote work."
bare-minimum Monday
easing into the week doing only the essentials
"Bare-minimum Monday is for the person who needs one calm day before the week gets loud."
loud quitting
openly showing your frustration instead of hiding it
"Loud quitting is what you get from someone who's done pretending everything is fine."
rage-applying
applying to many jobs at once out of frustration
"Rage-applying is what happens after a meeting that finally breaks someone's patience."
3

Controlled Practice

12 min

Two games. Same goal: make relative clauses automatic before you have to argue with them for real.

Game 1 — Debate Chain (Breakout rooms of 3)

  • 1Look at the photo your coach shares with your room.
  • 2Person 1 starts one sentence about the Return-to-Office debate using a relative clause (who / which / that / where / whose).
  • 3Person 2 adds a new sentence — using a different relative pronoun than the one just used.
  • 4Person 3 continues the chain the same way. Keep going around the group.
  • 5Hesitate more than 3 seconds or repeat a pronoun already used — the chain breaks. Start a new one and try to beat your last record.
B2 word bank
who · which · that · where · whose  —  starters: "A company that...", "People who...", "An office where...", "My last job, which..."

Game 2 — The Speed Sprint (4 timed rounds)

01:30
B2: 90 sec per round  •  C1: 60 sec per round

1 Match the sentence halves

2 Fill in the connector

3 Combine the two sentences

Pick the version a fluent speaker would actually say.

4 Photo flash — rapid response

Photo prompt
4

Free Practice

9 min

The Fluency Sprint. This is where it becomes a real conversation.

Fluency Sprint — Breakout Pairs

You've each been assigned a side of the debate — even if it's not your real opinion. Argue it like you mean it.

Partner A
Argue FOR bringing everyone back to the office, five days a week.
Partner B
Argue FOR permanent remote work, no office required.
B2 — 2 minutes, with a scaffold
Speak non-stop for 2 minutes. Borrow these starters if you get stuck: "The thing that bothers me most is...", "A workplace where ___ is one I'd want to work in.", "People who ___ usually..."
02:00
Switch roles when time's up, then swap sides and go again.

Listening Partner's Checklist

While your partner speaks, quietly check off what you hear. Give it to them at the end — no interrupting.

  • Used at least 3 relative clauses (who / which / that / where / whose)
  • Used a comma pause correctly for extra detail (non-essential info)
  • Used 1 phrasal verb from today (weigh in, push back, buy into, opt out, touch on, back up)
  • Used 1 slang term from today (quiet quitting, coffee badging, bare-minimum Monday, loud quitting, rage-applying)
  • Used 1 debate connector ("which is exactly why...", "and that's the fact that...")
  • Kept talking without a long pause
5

Closing

5 min

One quick share-out, one quick self-check.

Share Your Strongest Line

As a group: which sentence from your Fluency Sprint would win the debate? Say it one more time for the room.

B2 Self-Check — Choose the Best Word

1. My old manager, ___ never checked in, judged me by my calendar.

2. Coffee badging is a habit ___ started the moment trust broke down.

This week: find one moment — at work, at home, in a message — where you can add extra detail to your opinion with a relative clause. Use it out loud.
6

Feedback

5 min

A quick moment to notice your own progress.

One chunk I'm keeping from today

One thing I'll be more careful with

Common Mix-Ups to Watch For

Extra, non-essential detail needs a comma pause before AND after it. Essential detail — the kind that tells us exactly which person or thing you mean — needs no comma at all. Say your sentence out loud: if you'd naturally pause, put the comma there.

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." — Philippians 4:13

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