Level 3 — Intermediate · Spontaneous Explanation
Drill 24: Speaking a Cause With the Right Strength
Say a cause-and-effect sentence live, matched to how strong the evidence actually is — resisting the urge to say 'caused' just because it's the shorter, easier word.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this drill, you should be able to:
- Speak 'contributed to' or 'is associated with' naturally, without defaulting to 'caused' out of habit
- Match spoken causal strength to a scenario's actual evidence, under time pressure
- Add a spoken hedge (may have, likely) when the evidence only partly supports the claim
Introduction
Lesson 24 taught you to read the exact strength of a causal claim. Speaking one live is harder — under time pressure, the easy habit is to reach for the strongest word, caused, even when the evidence doesn't earn it. This drill trains the harder, more honest habit.
Shadow the Model
Sales dropped the same month a competitor opened nearby, so the two are probably related — but there isn't enough evidence yet to say the new shop caused the drop.
Listen once, then shadow it, paying attention to how naturally probably related and isn't enough evidence yet carry the hedge — they aren't awkward add-ons, they're the normal rhythm of careful spoken English.
Your Turn
Your Turn
Scenario: a website's traffic dropped the same week its main competitor launched a big ad campaign. That's the only information you have. When the timer starts, say one sentence describing the relationship — with the right causal strength for evidence this weak.
Speak your hedged causal sentence now
Record Yourself
Say your sentence, then record it and check you avoided 'caused.'
Model Answer
Show a model answer
Something like: "The traffic drop is probably related to the ad campaign, but there's no way to be sure it actually caused the drop without more information." What matters is avoiding a flat "caused" claim and speaking the hedge naturally, not as an awkward afterthought.
Vocabulary in Context
related tocollocationneutral
connected to something, without specifying exactly how (সম্পর্কিত)
Often with be related to, closely related to, directly related to
“The complaints are related to the new gate procedure, though we cannot yet say it caused them.”
evidencenounformal
facts or information that support a conclusion (প্রমাণ)
Often with strong evidence, evidence for, evidence suggests
“We have evidence that the fault started before the storm.”
Self-Check
Self-Check
- Did you avoid saying "caused" for evidence this weak?
- Did your hedge word come out naturally, with normal sentence stress?
- Did you speak within the time limit, without a long planning pause?
Next: Speaking 25 — Saying the Same Fact Two Ways: giving the same information two different emphases live, changing what comes first.