Summary
This downloadable PDF lesson plan for C1 ESL students uses a video about Marvel's business strategy to teach advanced English. This class material is perfect for a business English lesson on innovation, creativity, and corporate strategy. This engaging lesson plan explores how Marvel balances continuity with innovation.
Students will start with a warm-up discussion on movie franchises before learning key business vocabulary. They will then watch a short video analyzing Marvel's creative strategy and answer comprehension questions. The lesson culminates in a group case study where students apply the 'Marvel formula' to different industries, practicing high-level discussion and presentation skills. It's a perfect blend of pop culture and business English.
Activities
- Students begin by discussing successful movie franchises to activate schemata. They then pre-learn key C1-level vocabulary, such as 'continuity' and 'constraints', to prepare for the video listening task and ensure comprehension.
- Learners watch an insightful video about Marvel's hiring strategy and creative process. After checking comprehension, they focus on a key C1 grammar point: using complex noun phrases and nominalization to sound more academic and formal.
- In the final task, students work in groups to apply the 'experienced inexperience' strategy to a different industry, like fashion or gaming. This encourages critical thinking and the practical use of the lesson's language and concepts.
Vocabulary focus
This lesson focuses on advanced vocabulary related to business and creative strategy. Students will learn and practice using terms like: continuity, constraints, to violate assumptions, quirky, to reap the benefits, onboarding, to conform, and aesthetic. The material also includes useful business idioms such as 'to challenge the formula' and 'to force someone out of their comfort zone'.
Grammar focus
The grammar section targets a key feature of advanced and academic English: complex noun phrases created through nominalization. Students will learn to transform verb clauses into more concise noun phrases (e.g., 'the ability to hire new talent' instead of 'that they can hire new talent'). This practice helps learners improve their syntactic variety and achieve a more formal, sophisticated tone in their speaking and writing.
