Summary
This downloadable PDF lesson plan for English teachers explores leadership styles. This C1 ESL class material uses a TED Talk to discuss confidence vs. competence and helps students practice business vocabulary and nuanced language for professional discussions.
This engaging lesson helps advanced ESL students explore the nuances of effective leadership. Activities include a warm-up discussion comparing two manager candidates, a vocabulary matching task, and comprehension questions based on a thought-provoking TED Talk. Students will then practice new vocabulary in context, learn to use nuanced language for making generalizations, and apply all their skills in a final hiring committee role-play, where they must choose the best candidate for a leadership position.
Activities
- Students start with a discussion about a promotion dilemma, comparing a competent but introverted candidate with a confident but average one. This activity activates prior knowledge and sets the stage for the lesson's main theme.
- Learners watch a TED Talk segment on why confidence is often mistaken for competence in leaders. They answer comprehension questions to check their understanding of concepts like the 'double-blind dilemma' for women in leadership.
- A grammar section focuses on the language of generalization and nuance. Students learn phrases like 'tend to' and 'are more likely to' and practice rewriting absolute statements to sound more cautious and academic.
- The lesson culminates in a group role-play where students act as a hiring committee. They must analyze two new candidate profiles and use the lesson's vocabulary and grammar to justify who they would hire for a key leadership role.
Vocabulary focus
This lesson introduces advanced vocabulary related to leadership traits and professional dilemmas. Key terms include adjectives like 'abrasive', 'incompetent', and 'assertive', nouns such as 'narcissism', 'humility', and 'paradox', and verbs like 'outperform' and 'emulate'.
Grammar focus
The grammar section concentrates on using nuanced language to make generalizations, a key skill for academic and professional English. Students practice using phrases like 'tend to + verb', 'on average', 'there is a tendency for...', and 'are more/less likely to' to avoid making overly strong or absolute claims.
