English for IT · Level C1

Lead and influence in English in IT: architecture discussions, leading meetings, proposals, mentoring, communicating at scale and strategy.

21.5 hguided learning hours

29lessons

6modules

C1 (CEFR)exit level

About the course

Awarded by: Derstina Ltd (course certificate)
Who it is for: Students and professionals in IT (software development, networks and systems, information security, web design, IT management) who need English at work.
Entry level: B2 English, or completion of English for IT B2.
Delivery: Online and self-paced on phone or laptop, or as part of a class with a teacher. Most lessons follow the same steps: key words, a real work situation, grammar, practice with answers, a speaking task and a writing task.
Guided learning: 19.5 hours of timed lesson activities plus 2 hours of assessment (21.5 hours in total). Homework and extra practice are additional.
Progression: Follows English for IT B2. Leads to English for IT C2.

Structure and learning outcomes

By the end of each lesson the learner will be able to:

Module 1: Architecture and design discussions 4 lessons · 180 min
1	Debating architecture trade-offs Speaking · Listening · 45 min	Argue for and against architecture options using precise trade-off vocabulary. Hedge and concede diplomatically without weakening your position. Steer a technical debate towards a concrete, reversible decision.
2	Running a design review Speaking · Listening · 45 min	Open and chair a design review with a clear goal, scope and process. Use cleft sentences to focus attention on what matters most. Close a review with a decision, owned action items and a sign-off plan.
3	Writing an architecture decision record Writing · Reading · 45 min	Understand the structure and purpose of an architecture decision record. Use nominalisation to write compact, formal decision drivers, options and consequences. Write a clear ADR that states the decision, the rationale and the accepted costs.
4	Explaining technical debt to leadership Speaking · Listening · 45 min	Explain technical debt to non-technical leaders in terms of time, risk and money. Use mixed conditionals and inversion to discuss past choices and possible futures with precision. Make a specific, measurable request and handle challenging questions calmly.
Module 2: Leading meetings and teams 4 lessons · 164 min
5	Chairing meetings that make decisions Speaking · Listening · 41 min	Open a meeting by stating the decision to be made, the decision owner and the time available. Keep a discussion on track by inviting contributions, interrupting politely, redirecting and parking side issues. Close with a clear recap and action items that each have a named owner.
6	Handling disagreement and building consensus Reading · Writing · 41 min	Disagree with colleagues, including senior ones, firmly but diplomatically. Summarise opposing positions fairly and identify the common ground behind them. Use concessive clauses (although, while, despite, much as, albeit, 'useful as it is') to acknowledge the other side before making your point.
7	Delegating and setting expectations Speaking · Grammar · 41 min	Delegate work by describing the outcome, the constraints and the limits of someone's decision-making authority. Agree check-ins, escalation rules and a shared definition of done. Use the language of obligation and expectation (be expected to, be responsible for, be down to, needn't, be to) to make responsibilities clear.
8	Leading an incident call Speaking · Listening · 41 min	Take command of an incident call: declare severity, assign roles and keep everyone focused on facts. Give short, unambiguous instructions with closed-loop communication, and prioritise mitigation over root cause. Report what others have said accurately, using reporting verbs (confirm, acknowledge, suggest, recommend, warn, deny) and the right tenses.
Module 3: Proposals and persuasion 4 lessons · 171 min
9	Writing a technical proposal (RFC) Writing · Reading · 43 min	Structure an RFC so that reviewers can evaluate it quickly and fairly. Use impersonal passives and the subjunctive to make formal, objective proposals and recommendations. Present alternatives, risks and open questions in a way that invites useful feedback.
10	Making the business case for a tool or project Speaking · Listening · 44 min	Build a business case around a measured baseline, total cost, return and risk. Use cause, effect and result linkers ('owing to', 'given that', 'thereby', 'hence', 'stem from') to connect problems, investments and outcomes precisely. Anticipate a budget holder's concerns and reduce perceived risk with exit options.
11	Presenting to executives Speaking · Listening · 41 min	Open an executive presentation with the ask and the reason (bottom line up front). Use participle clauses and reduced relative clauses to say more in fewer words. Present trade-offs and uncertainty confidently and honestly.
12	Handling tough questions and objections Speaking · Listening · 43 min	Respond to challenging questions by acknowledging them, checking you have understood and reframing them. Use phrases for buying time and reformulating ('Let me make sure I've understood...', 'If I could just reframe that slightly...') to stay calm under pressure. Admit what you don't know and commit to a precise follow-up.
Module 4: Mentoring and feedback 4 lessons · 160 min
13	Mentoring junior engineers Speaking · Listening · 40 min	Run a mentoring conversation that helps a junior engineer find their own solutions. Give nuanced advice with phrases such as 'you might want to', 'it might be worth' and 'I'd be inclined to'. Agree clear, realistic next steps at the end of a one-to-one.
14	Difficult feedback conversations Speaking · Grammar · 40 min	Structure a difficult feedback conversation using situation, behaviour and impact. Calibrate your message with downtoners and boosters such as 'slightly', 'rather' and 'considerably'. Handle a defensive reaction and agree clear expectations and a follow-up.
15	Code review culture and tone Reading · Writing · 40 min	Understand what makes a healthy code review culture and why tone matters in written comments. Use indirect, negative and tag questions to critique code tactfully. Write clear, labelled review comments that separate blocking issues from optional suggestions.
16	Interviewing candidates as the interviewer Speaking · Listening · 40 min	Run a structured interview and probe beyond a candidate's prepared answers. Ask open, indirect and follow-up questions such as 'Talk me through…' and 'What made you…?', and avoid leading questions. Record clear, evidence-based scorecard notes for a debrief.
Module 5: Communicating at scale 4 lessons · 172 min
17	Company-wide announcements and updates Writing · Reading · 43 min	Structure a company-wide announcement so that busy readers understand it in seconds. Use a range of future forms (will be -ing, be set to, be due to, be about to, the future perfect) to signal plans, schedules and deadlines precisely. Make actions, timelines and points of contact impossible to miss.
18	Speaking at meetups and conferences Speaking · Listening · 43 min	Structure a meetup talk so that listeners always know where they are. Use signposting and discourse markers to open, link sections, give context, recap and hand over to Q&A. Write a clear abstract and deal calmly with questions you cannot answer.
19	Writing a technical blog post Writing · Reading · 43 min	Plan a technical blog post with a strong hook, a clear audience and an honest structure. Use reference, substitution and ellipsis (this approach, such issues, do so, the former/the latter) to write cohesive, concise paragraphs. Present results with appropriate caveats and finish with a call to action.
20	Communicating during an outage Writing · Reading · 43 min	Write calm, accurate status updates for users and stakeholders during an outage. Express certainty and likelihood precisely (we are confident that, it is likely/unlikely that, we cannot yet confirm, in all likelihood). Avoid overpromising while still giving users a workaround and a time for the next update.
Module 6: Strategy and the business 4 lessons · 176 min
21	Roadmaps and prioritisation with product teams Speaking · Grammar · 44 min	Discuss roadmap options with a product owner and justify a priority with evidence, risk and opportunity cost. Compare options precisely with modifiers such as far, considerably, slightly and not nearly as. Propose a compromise: a descoped first version, a sequence of work or a capacity rule.
22	Evaluating vendors and contracts Reading · Vocabulary · 44 min	Evaluate a vendor after a proof of concept and summarise the contract terms that matter to engineering. Read and explain formal contract language: shall, may, be liable for, provided that, in the event of, notwithstanding. Propose specific, polite changes to a draft agreement before it goes to legal review.
23	Talking about budgets and cloud costs Reading · Writing · 44 min	Read and explain a cloud cost report, including run rate, unit cost and budget variance. Describe numbers and trends precisely: rise sharply, a threefold increase, account for, peak at, level off. Distinguish per cent from percentage points when you present figures to finance.
24	Leading change and digital transformation Speaking · Listening · 44 min	Make a convincing case for change and respond honestly to change fatigue and resistance. Use emphatic do, negative inversion (Not only..., Never..., Rarely...) and rhetorical framing to persuade without overpromising. Reduce the risk of a change with a pilot, clear measures, change champions and a real option to stop.
Word banks 5 lessons · 155 min
25	Word bank: Architecture and systems design Vocabulary · 31 min	Learn 30 advanced terms for this topic (Architecture and systems design) and use them precisely in senior-level discussions and writing.
26	Word bank: Leadership and management Vocabulary · 31 min	Learn 30 advanced terms for this topic (Leadership and management) and use them precisely in senior-level discussions and writing.
27	Word bank: Business, strategy and finance Vocabulary · 31 min	Learn 30 advanced terms for this topic (Business, strategy and finance) and use them precisely in senior-level discussions and writing.
28	Word bank: Communication and persuasion Vocabulary · 31 min	Learn 30 advanced terms for this topic (Communication and persuasion) and use them precisely in senior-level discussions and writing.
29	Word bank: Security, risk and compliance Vocabulary · 31 min	Learn 30 advanced terms for this topic (Security, risk and compliance) and use them precisely in senior-level discussions and writing.

Assessment

Three assessments at the end of the level. The final test is required for the certificate. The writing and speaking assignments are marked by a Derstina assessor; when both are passed, the certificate records that writing and speaking were assessed.

Final test

20 multiple-choice questions on the level's reading, vocabulary and grammar, drawn from a larger bank and marked on the server. Pass mark 70%. Up to 3 attempts a day; each attempt expires after 2 hours.

Writing assignment: A short technical proposal

Write a proposal to your head of engineering recommending one change to how your team works or builds software (for example: moving to a new CI/CD pipeline, adopting code-review rules, or paying down technical debt).

The current problem, with evidence.
Your recommendation and how it would work.
Costs, risks and how to reduce them.
Expected benefits and how you would measure them.
A clear request or next step.

250–350 words · about 60 min · marked by a Derstina assessor

Outcomes assessed: Write a persuasive, well-structured technical proposal. Weigh costs, risks and benefits and make a clear recommendation.

Criteria (0–3 each): Task achievement, Organisation, Range, Accuracy

Speaking assignment: Open a decision meeting

You are leading a meeting to decide whether your team should rewrite an old system or keep improving it. Record how you would open the meeting.

The purpose of the meeting and the decision needed today.
A fair summary of both options.
How the discussion will run and who will speak.
How the decision will be made and recorded.

2–3 minutes recorded · about 20 min · marked by a Derstina assessor

Outcomes assessed: Lead a meeting: set purpose, structure the discussion and drive a decision. Summarise competing positions fairly and precisely.

Criteria (0–3 each): Task achievement, Fluency and coherence, Range, Pronunciation and accuracy

Marking scale (each criterion)

0 · Not shownNot attempted, off-task, or too little to assess.

1 · Partly metSome evidence, but frequent gaps or errors stop it working at work.

2 · MetDoes the job at this level. Errors do not stop the reader or listener understanding.

3 · Fully metClear, confident and well controlled for this level.

A pass needs at least 8 of 12 and no criterion at 0. Work that does not pass is referred with written feedback, and the learner may submit a new attempt. A second member of staff samples marked work for consistency (internal quality assurance). Learners confirm each submission is their own work.

Certification

Learners who pass the final test receive a Derstina course certificate for English for IT C1, showing the level, the final test score and 21.5 guided learning hours, and whether the writing and speaking assignments were passed. Each certificate has a unique ID and a QR code; anyone can check it at derstina.com/verify.

This is a Derstina course certificate. It is not an official exam result such as IELTS or TOEFL.