Fluency Class 2 — Current Tech Stack & Projects

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Opening – Real-World Trigger

≈5-10 min • Start with a real technical decision

🎯 Goal: Start with a recent technical decision you both faced

Teacher shares a trigger moment (choose one that feels authentic):

Option 1: "We just migrated from REST to GraphQL last month. Some of the team loved it, others hated the learning curve. Made me think—how do we actually decide when to adopt new tech? What's your latest big tech decision?"

Option 2: "I was reviewing a pull request yesterday where someone suggested switching from MySQL to PostgreSQL. It sparked this whole debate about database choices. Got me wondering—what database are you using and why did you pick it?"

Option 3: "Our company just mandated TypeScript for all new projects. Half the devs are thrilled, half are annoyed. Have you had to defend a tech choice to your team recently?"

Then naturally ask: "What's a technology you're using right now that you had to advocate for?"

💡 Teacher note: Share REAL technical decisions with real stakes. "We chose X but it turned out Y would have been better..." Honesty about trade-offs makes better conversation than perfectly curated success stories.

🛠️ Teacher Toolkit: If Student Struggles to Share

"What's your current project using? Just walk me through the stack."
"What tool do you use every day that you couldn't live without?"
"If you could change one technology in your current stack, what would it be?"

📚

Vocabulary Bank – Tech Discussion Language

≈8-12 min • Learn through interview dialogue

📖 Essential Tech Interview Phrases

Teacher demonstrates these in a technical interview about stack choices:

Complete Example Tech Interview Dialogue:

Interviewer: "Walk me through your current tech stack."

You: "I'm currently working on a SaaS product using React, Node.js, and PostgreSQL. We opted for React because most of the team already had experience with it."

Interviewer: "Why PostgreSQL over something like MongoDB?"

You: "The main advantage is strong relational data consistency. Our data is highly structured. One trade-off is that NoSQL might scale horizontally better, but we prioritized ACID compliance."

Interviewer: "How does it fit with your existing infrastructure?"

You: "It integrates well with our existing Docker setup and CI/CD pipeline. Deployment is straightforward."

Interviewer: "What about TypeScript? Do you use it?"

You: "Yes, I prefer TypeScript over JavaScript because of type safety. It catches bugs at compile time instead of runtime."

Phrase	Natural Usage in Tech Interviews
I'm currently working on...	"I'm currently working on a microservices architecture using Docker and Kubernetes"
We opted for / We went with...	"We opted for PostgreSQL over MongoDB because our data is relational"
The main advantage is...	"The main advantage is faster development speed with hot reloading"
One trade-off is...	"One trade-off is increased bundle size, but we mitigate that with code splitting"
It integrates well with...	"It integrates well with our existing CI/CD pipeline and doesn't require major changes"
I prefer X over Y because...	"I prefer TypeScript over JavaScript because compile-time error checking saves debugging time"
We're migrating from X to Y	"We're migrating from a monolith to microservices to improve scalability"

🔄 Quick practice (2-3 min): Teacher asks "What database do you use?" Student answers using 2-3 phrases, explaining the choice and trade-offs. Keep it conversational.

🎙️

Hot Seat Interview – Tech Stack Deep Dive

≈20-30 min • Alternating interview roles

🎯 Round 1: Teacher Interviews Student (10-15 min)

Teacher acts as tech lead conducting a technical interview about the student's current stack and decisions

Choose Interview Depth Based on Student Level:

🟢 Path A: Junior/Mid-Level Student

Focus on clarity and reasoning. Ask about tools they use daily, why they chose them, what they like/dislike.

Sample questions: "What's your current tech stack?" / "Why did you choose X over Y?" / "What would you change if you could start over?"

🟡 Path B: Senior Developer

Push for architecture decisions, trade-offs, and systems thinking. Ask about scalability, performance, team dynamics.

Sample questions: "How does your stack handle 10x traffic?" / "What made you convince the team to adopt this?" / "What's your disaster recovery plan?"

🔵 Path C: Tech Lead/Architect

Challenge architectural choices, business alignment, long-term maintainability. Play devil's advocate.

Challenge questions: "Why not use [alternative]—it's more popular?" / "How would you defend this budget to the CFO?" / "What happens when your lead developer leaves?"

Core Interview Questions (adapt to student's level):

"Walk me through your current tech stack from frontend to database."
"What was the most challenging technical decision you had to make in the last 6 months?"
"How do you evaluate new frameworks or libraries before adopting them?"
"Tell me about a time you had to convince your team to try a new technology. How did you approach it?"
"What tools do you use for testing? Why those specifically over alternatives?"
"How do you stay updated with new technologies without getting overwhelmed?"

🔄 Round 2: Student Interviews Teacher (10-15 min)

Now the student becomes the interviewer! Ask the teacher about their tech choices, projects, and technical decisions. Practice asking follow-up questions.

🛠️ Teacher Toolkit: Deep Dive Techniques

Story extraction: "Walk me through exactly what happened when you made that decision"
Trade-off probing: "What did you give up by choosing X? Was it worth it?"
Silence tolerance: After asking a hard question, wait 5+ seconds. Let them think.
Profundization: "That's interesting—tell me more about that specific part"
Alternative exploration: "What other options did you consider? Why didn't you go with those?"

💡 Key point: This should feel like a podcast or architecture review, not an interrogation. Build on their answers with genuine curiosity. "Oh interesting, we tried that and ran into [problem]—how did you handle that?"

🧩

Technical Scenario Discussion

≈10-15 min • Collaborate on a solution

🎯 Choose a scenario and discuss solutions together

Pick ONE scenario and discuss different technical approaches, trade-offs, and your recommendations:

Scenario 1: Scaling Problem

Problem: Your monolithic app is slowing down at 50k concurrent users. Do you: (A) Refactor to microservices, (B) Optimize the current monolith, or (C) Try serverless?

Discuss: Pros/cons of each, migration risks, team capabilities, your recommendation and why

Scenario 2: Framework Choice

Problem: Starting a new project. Team is split: React (most popular), Vue (team knows it), Svelte (smallest bundle). How do you decide?

Discuss: Evaluation criteria, team skills vs. best tech, long-term maintenance, your preference

Scenario 3: Database Migration

Problem: MySQL is hitting performance limits. Migrate to PostgreSQL (similar), switch to MongoDB (different paradigm), or optimize MySQL (cheaper)?

Discuss: Migration effort, downtime, data consistency, rollback plans, cost

🗣️ Remember: Use today's vocabulary! "We could opt for...", "The main advantage would be...", "One trade-off is..." This cements the phrases through real usage.

💡

Reflection & Real-World Application

≈5 min • Connect to actual work

🎯 Debrief naturally:

Which phrase will help you most in technical discussions or interviews?
Did explaining your stack out loud help you see any gaps or issues?
What's one thing about your tech choices you can now explain more clearly?
When's the next time you'll need to defend a technical decision at work?

💼 Real-world use: These same phrases work in: technical interviews, architecture reviews, code review discussions, convincing stakeholders, writing RFCs, and any time you need to explain "why we chose X over Y."

📝 Homework – Document Your Technical Decisions

Choose ONE option based on your situation:

Option 1: Write Your Tech Stack Explanation

Write a 250-300 word explanation of your current tech stack as if answering this interview question: "Describe your tech stack. Why these specific technologies, and what trade-offs did you consider?" Use at least 5 phrases from today.

Option 2: Prepare an Architecture Decision Record (ADR)

Document a recent technical decision you made. Write: (1) Context & problem, (2) Options considered, (3) Decision made & reasoning, (4) Trade-offs accepted. (200-250 words) Use this in your next tech discussion.

Option 3: Record Your Stack Walkthrough

Record yourself (audio or video, 3-5 min) explaining your tech stack to a technical interviewer. Practice sounding confident and clear. Write a script first (250-300 words), then practice until natural.

Option 4: Prepare for Your Next Tech Discussion

Think of an upcoming architecture meeting or tech decision at work. Write 3-4 talking points defending your position using today's phrases. Include: your recommendation, main advantages, trade-offs, and responses to likely objections. (200-250 words)

Quality Checklist:

At least 5 tech discussion phrases from today used naturally
Specific technology names (not "a database" but "PostgreSQL")
Clear reasoning with trade-offs acknowledged (not just "it's the best")
Sounds professional and confident (like a senior developer)

💻 Fluency Class 2 – Current Tech Stack & Projects