Summary
This downloadable PDF lesson for B1 ESL students helps them master business meetings. This English class material focuses on writing effective agendas and minutes, boosting professional communication skills for any ESL student in a business context.
This comprehensive lesson guides students through the essentials of effective meetings. Activities include a warm-up discussion, key vocabulary matching, a gap-fill listening exercise, and a reading comprehension task about a company's meeting overhaul. Students will practice grammar for agendas vs. minutes and learn useful phrases before applying their knowledge by creating their own agenda and writing a short summary of minutes from a role-play discussion. The material is designed to generate meaningful conversation and provide practical communication tools for high-pressure business situations.
Activities
- A warm-up discussion where students share personal experiences with meetings, activating their prior knowledge and identifying common problems before learning key vocabulary like 'agenda,' 'action item,' and 'chairperson' through a matching exercise.
- A listening comprehension exercise reinforces core concepts, requiring students to fill in the gaps in a short text about meeting preparation. This is followed by a reading task about a company that successfully improved its meeting culture.
- A grammar exercise focusing on the infinitive of purpose for agendas and Past Simple for minutes, connecting grammar directly to the lesson's theme of effective meeting documentation.
- Guided role-play scenarios where students work in pairs to create a meeting agenda for a specific scenario. They then conduct a mini-meeting and write a summary of the minutes, practicing both planning and reporting skills.
Transcript
00:00 Preparing an agenda beforehand is crucial for a productive meeting. It ensures that all key discussion points are covered efficiently.00:12 During the meeting, someone should take accurate minutes, noting down decisions and action items. This avoids confusion later on. Distributing the minutes promptly helps everyone stay informed and accountable. Regularly reviewing past minutes can also track progress on tasks.
Vocabulary focus
The vocabulary section introduces essential business vocabulary for meetings. Key terms include "agenda," "minutes," "action item," "attendees," "chairperson," "AOB (Any Other Business)," "motion," "objective," "efficient," and "accountable." Students learn to describe important elements of professional discussions and formal documentation.
Grammar focus
This lesson concentrates on grammar for planning and reporting in meetings. Students learn to use the infinitive of purpose (e.g., 'to discuss the budget') for writing agenda items and the Past Simple (e.g., 'the team discussed the budget') for reporting outcomes in the minutes. This grammatical form is used to help students reflect on and discuss the distinction, making the grammar practice highly relevant to the topic.
