Summary
This downloadable PDF lesson plan for English teachers helps B1 students discuss career paths. This ESL class material explores the pros and cons of corporate life versus starting a business, enhancing vocabulary and speaking skills through engaging activities.
Activities
This lesson guides students through a comprehensive discussion on career choices. Activities include a warm-up discussion, a key vocabulary matching task, and a listening exercise to compare different perspectives. Students practice grammar by using infinitives of purpose and contrast connectors. The lesson culminates in a SWOT analysis speaking task and a role-play where students debate the merits of being an entrepreneur versus climbing the corporate ladder, solidifying their learning in a practical context.
- Students begin by matching key business vocabulary like 'entrepreneur' and 'corporate ladder' to their definitions. They then complete a listening exercise where they fill in the gaps in a monologue comparing the two career paths and answer comprehension questions.
- The grammar section focuses on expressing purpose with infinitives (e.g., 'to get benefits') and showing contrast with connectors like 'however' and 'whereas'. Students complete sentences and combine ideas to practice these essential structures.
- For speaking practice, students conduct a SWOT analysis of either a corporate or entrepreneurial career. The lesson ends with a structured role-play, where students take on different personas to debate the pros and cons of each career path.
Vocabulary focus
This lesson introduces essential vocabulary for discussing careers and business. Students will learn and practice terms such as: entrepreneur, startup, corporate ladder, stability, risk, benefits, independence, and venture. These words are crucial for comparing the security of corporate employment with the challenges and rewards of starting your own business.
Grammar focus
The grammar section is split into two parts. First, students learn to use the infinitive of purpose (to + verb, in order to) to explain reasons and motivations. Second, they practice using connectors of contrast (however, whereas, on the one hand / on the other hand) to compare and contrast the different aspects of corporate life and entrepreneurship.
