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English for IT: technical English for software teams

Levels B1 to C1, intermediate to advanced 3 courses, 63 lessons One-to-one or groups

English for IT on edio.ai is three courses of ready-made English lessons for IT professionals, in American English, from B1 to C1. Learners join the team of Kestrel Cloud, a fictional payments startup, for standups, tickets, code reviews, incidents, demos and job interviews. Each B1 and B2 lesson is built around a true story from software history, such as the moth taped into a Harvard computer logbook in 1947. Every lesson is interactive, and its practice exercises check themselves.

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English for IT B1 · Inside the Team

8 units, 24 lessons

24 lessons at B1 for people who build, test or run software, in American English. Learners follow Iryna, a junior developer, through her first year at Kestrel Cloud, a fictional payments startup: standups, tickets, code review, chats across time zones and job interviews. Each lesson is built around a true story from software history.

Grammar
The present simple and continuous, the present perfect, have to, the past continuous, the passive, relative clauses, the first and second conditionals, reported speech, used to and the past perfect.
Topics
A first year on a software team: roles, standups, bug reports, code review, how systems work, remote work, users and clients, and job interviews, in eight units of three lessons.
Every lesson
Word cards with pictures, a true story, a work document such as a ticket or a chat thread, a listening, grammar practice, a chat and a speaking game, then homework to write and record.
Teach this course

  1. Unit 1 Hello, team

    roles, stacks and first days: the present simple, the present perfect with for and since, question forms

    1. Lesson 1How big is a two-pizza team?Present simple for jobs and responsibilities
    2. Lesson 2Your first "Hello, World"Present perfect with for and since
    3. Lesson 3Write your personal READMEQuestion forms for getting to know colleagues

  2. Unit 2 The daily standup

    updates and blockers: the present simple and continuous, just, already and yet, have to and need to

    1. Lesson 4Why is it called a scrum?Present simple vs continuous and state verbs
    2. Lesson 5Done, not done yetPast simple, present perfect and going to for updates
    3. Lesson 6Help, I'm blocked!Have to, need to, don't have to and can't

  3. Unit 3 Bugs and tickets

    clear bug reports: the past continuous, imperatives and the zero conditional, quantifiers

    1. Lesson 7The first actual bugPast simple and past continuous for bug stories
    2. Lesson 8Steps to reproduceImperatives and the zero conditional for bug reports
    3. Lesson 9The email that couldn't go 500 milesQuantifiers in bug tickets

  4. Unit 4 Code review

    kind, useful comments: -ed and -ing adjectives, modals for suggestions, the first conditional

    1. Lesson 10What's a nit?-ed and -ing adjectives in review comments
    2. Lesson 11Could we maybe…?Modals for suggestions in code review
    3. Lesson 12Your first pull requestThe first conditional and unless in code review

  5. Unit 5 How it works

    explaining systems step by step: time clauses, the passive, relative clauses

    1. Lesson 13What happens when you type a URL?Time clauses with as soon as, until and once
    2. Lesson 14How is a barcode read?The present and past simple passive
    3. Lesson 15Draw it, then say itDefining relative clauses

  6. Unit 6 Remote and async

    chat, email and time zones: polite requests, future forms, the present perfect continuous

    1. Lesson 16Just say what you needPolite requests and indirect questions
    2. Lesson 17Your 9 a.m. is my noonFuture forms for plans across time zones
    3. Lesson 18Write it downPresent perfect continuous for status updates

  7. Unit 7 Users and clients

    user stories and plain explanations: verb + to or -ing, reported speech, comparisons

    1. Lesson 19As a user, I want…Verb + to or verb + -ing
    2. Lesson 20"The client said it was broken"Reported speech for client calls
    3. Lesson 21Explain it in ten hundred wordsComparisons for plain explanations

  8. Unit 8 Your next job

    resumes and interviews: used to, the past perfect, the second conditional

    1. Lesson 22A resume that shows resultsUsed to for your career path
    2. Lesson 23Tell me about a time when…The past perfect for STAR stories
    3. Lesson 24What would you do if…?The second conditional for interviews

English for IT B2 · Beyond the Code

8 units, 24 lessons

24 lessons at B2 for software teams, in American English. A year on at Kestrel Cloud, a fictional payments startup, Iryna and her team estimate work, write docs and postmortems, argue trade-offs, give demos and negotiate scope. Each lesson starts from a real case, from the Apollo 11 alarms to Conway's law.

Grammar
Approximating, the future perfect, likelihood, modals for requirements, participle clauses, narrative tenses, the third and mixed conditionals, modals of deduction, cleft sentences, trends, reporting verbs and wish.
Topics
Estimates, documentation, incidents and postmortems, architecture, demos and tech talks, stakeholders and scope, AI and security, and careers, in eight units of three lessons.
Every lesson
Word cards with pictures, a story from software history, a work document, a listening, grammar drills, a chat and a role-play or discussion, then a writing and a speaking task.
Teach this course

  1. Unit 1 Planning and estimates

    estimates and deadlines: approximating numbers, the future continuous and perfect, likelihood

    1. Lesson 1It always takes longerApproximating numbers in estimates
    2. Lesson 2By New Year's Eve, we'll have fixed itFuture continuous and future perfect
    3. Lesson 3Let's play planning pokerLikelihood with bound to, likely to and may well

  2. Unit 2 Docs people read

    specs and design docs: modals for requirements, participle clauses, plain English

    1. Lesson 4MUST, SHOULD or MAY?Modal verbs for requirements in specs
    2. Lesson 5Four kinds of docsParticiple clauses in documentation
    3. Lesson 6Just a request for commentsPlain English for design docs

  3. Unit 3 Incidents and postmortems

    telling an incident without blame: narrative tenses, the passive, the third conditional

    1. Lesson 7The 1202 alarmNarrative tenses for incident stories
    2. Lesson 8Blameless by designActive vs passive voice in a postmortem
    3. Lesson 9If we had had an alert…The third conditional: a different past

  4. Unit 4 Architecture and trade-offs

    comparing options and recording decisions: contrast linkers, modals of deduction, mixed conditionals

    1. Lesson 10Your system copies your org chartContrast linkers for comparing options
    2. Lesson 11It's always DNSModals of deduction for troubleshooting
    3. Lesson 12Write down the whyMixed conditionals for looking back on decisions

  5. Unit 5 Demos and tech talks

    a clear structure on stage: signposting, cleft sentences, describing trends

    1. Lesson 13The mother of all demosSignposting language for demos
    2. Lesson 1420 slides, 15 secondsCleft sentences for emphasis
    3. Lesson 15Numbers that tell a storyDescribing graphs and trends

  6. Unit 6 Stakeholders and scope

    saying no and finding yes: diplomatic language, as long as and unless, negotiating

    1. Lesson 16Pay down the debtDiplomatic language for hard messages
    2. Lesson 17Why meetings argue about the bike shedAs long as, provided, unless and otherwise
    3. Lesson 18Yes, if…Negotiating language for scope and deadlines

  7. Unit 7 AI, security and ethics

    AI tools, passwords and team rules: be used to and get used to, past modals of deduction, purpose linkers

    1. Lesson 19Your new pair programmerUsed to, be used to and get used to
    2. Lesson 20Change your password? Maybe notPast modals of deduction
    3. Lesson 21Rules for AI at workPurpose linkers for rules with a reason

  8. Unit 8 Growing your career

    feedback, retros and goals: phrasal verbs, reporting verbs, wish and if only

    1. Lesson 22Your next levelCareer phrasal verbs and goal frames
    2. Lesson 23Feedback that helpsReporting verbs and their patterns
    3. Lesson 24Start, stop, continueWish and if only for wishes and regrets

English for IT C1 · Across the Company

5 units, 15 lessons

15 lessons at C1 for people who build software, in American English, with definitions instead of translations. The people of Kestrel Cloud, a fictional payments startup, write updates, reviews, RFCs and postmortems, explain tech to non-tech colleagues and negotiate scope. Real cases include the CrowdStrike outage and the xz backdoor.

Grammar
The future perfect and be due to, hedging, cleft sentences, conditionals without if, phrasal verbs, modal perfects, passive reporting structures, nominalization, participle clauses, inversion and formal register.
Topics
Async updates, code review, releases, incidents, security advisories, system design, RFCs, docs, metrics, meetings, retros, interviews and AI rules, in five units of three lessons.
Every lesson
Word cards, a work document such as a chat thread or an RFC, a listening, grammar practice with a scheme, a chat and a speaking game, then homework with a text to write and a recording.
Teach this course

  1. Unit 1 Talking to the team

    async updates, code review and plain explanations: the future perfect, hedging, cleft sentences

    1. Lesson 1Async Stand-ups: Status Updates People Can Act OnFuture forms for status updates
    2. Lesson 2Code Review Without the DramaHedging in code review
    3. Lesson 3Explaining Tech to Non-Tech PeopleIt-clefts and wh-clefts

  2. Unit 2 Shipping and incidents

    estimates, releases and outages: conditionals without if, phrasal verbs, modal perfects

    1. Lesson 4Estimates, Deadlines and Saying No (Politely)Conditionals without if and mixed conditionals
    2. Lesson 5Release Day: Rolling Out and Rolling BackPhrasal verbs and their noun forms
    3. Lesson 6Incident! Learning from the CrowdStrike OutageModal perfects and narrative tenses

  3. Unit 3 Security and design

    advisories, trade-offs and RFCs: passive reporting structures, concession and contrast, nominalization

    1. Lesson 7Security Advisory: The xz BackdoorPassive reporting structures
    2. Lesson 8System Design: Every Choice Has a CostConcession, contrast and modified comparatives
    3. Lesson 9Writing an RFC That Gets ApprovedNominalization and formal register

  4. Unit 4 Docs, metrics and meetings

    READMEs, dashboards and follow-ups: participle clauses, describing trends, reporting verbs

    1. Lesson 10Docs People Actually ReadReduced relative clauses and participle clauses
    2. Lesson 11Metrics, Dashboards and SLOsPrepositions with numbers, trends and approximation
    3. Lesson 12Meeting Notes and Follow-upsReporting verbs and their patterns

  5. Unit 5 Retros, interviews and AI

    looking back and ahead: wish and would rather, inversion, formal obligation and permission

    1. Lesson 13The Retro: What Went Wrong This QuarterWish, would rather and it's high time
    2. Lesson 14The Interview: Selling Your AchievementsInversion for emphasis
    3. Lesson 15AI at Work: Writing the Team's RulesObligation and permission in formal rules

More English lessons

Ready-made interactive lessons for every level, from beginner to advanced.

Questions about English for IT

What is English for IT?
The English people use to build, test and run software. It covers the words of the job, such as deploy, pull request and rollback, and the situations that need them: standups, tickets, code reviews, incident calls, demos and talks with clients. On edio.ai, English for IT is three courses, B1, B2 and C1, set at one fictional payments startup.
Is English for IT the same as technical English?
English for IT is one branch of technical English. Technical English is the wider name for the English of engineering, science and technology jobs. English for IT narrows it to software teams: the language of tickets, code review, documentation and incident reports, and of explaining technical ideas to people who are not technical.
Which English for IT course should I teach first?
Start from the learner's general English level. English for IT B1 suits learners who manage everyday English but struggle on calls: standups, tickets, review comments and interviews. B2 moves on to estimates, docs, postmortems, demos and scope. C1 is for fluent speakers who write RFCs, advisories and reports and explain tech to the whole company.
What work tasks do the lessons practice?
The messages and conversations of a working week in tech. At B1, learners give standup updates, report bugs so others can reproduce them, write review comments and resumes, and answer interview questions. At B2, they estimate work, write docs and blameless postmortems, compare options, give demos and negotiate scope. At C1, they write RFCs, security advisories and meeting follow-ups, and agree team rules for AI tools.
What grammar do the English for IT courses teach?
One grammar point in every lesson, met in a work situation. B1 covers the present perfect, the passive, the first and second conditionals, reported speech and relative clauses. B2 adds narrative tenses, the third and mixed conditionals, modals of deduction, participle clauses and cleft sentences. C1 moves on to inversion, nominalization, passive reporting structures and formal register.
Do learners need to write code to use these lessons?
No: the lessons are about talking and writing at work. Learners read tickets, chat threads, docs and emails and practice meetings and calls, so testers, designers, product owners and IT support staff can use them as well as developers. Most B1 and B2 writing tasks also give a version for people who don't write code.
What IT vocabulary do the lessons teach?
The words of a software team's working day. Each B1 and B2 lesson has 12 word cards with pictures and English definitions, and each C1 lesson has 10: the backlog, a workaround, a merge conflict, story points, a code freeze, and phrases such as pick up a ticket and break the build. The words come back in the lesson's reading, listening and chat.
Are the lessons in American or British English?
American English, in spelling, words and settings. Kestrel Cloud, the fictional startup of all three courses, has offices in San Francisco, Chicago and New York, so its team plans across US time zones. The listenings are AI-voiced.
Can you teach English for IT one-to-one or to a company group?
Yes, live or as homework, one-to-one or in a group. In a live lesson, each learner works in their own account in sync with the teacher, and the chats and role-plays work in pairs. The homework mixes drills that check themselves with a short work text to write and a recording, which the teacher reviews.
Can I try English for IT before signing up?
Yes, on each lesson page and in a free trial. Each lesson page plays exercises from the lesson that you can try without an account. A free 7-day trial of edio.ai, with no credit card needed, opens all 63 lessons in the lesson library.

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