Business Material Guide

1A Business conversation questions (10-15 minutes):

Pre: Ask students to get into pairs and pass out one set of cards from 1A Business conversation
questions to each pair.
While: Allow students 10 – 15 minutes to ask each other questions and discuss the answers. Monitor
language.
Post: Have a whole-class discussion about some of the topics that students discussed.

1B Types of businesses (15 minutes):

Pre: Write “service business,” “manufacturing business,” and “merchandising business” on the board.
Ask the students to think of definitions for each.
While: Pass out 1B types of businesses to each student. There may be some new vocabulary in this
worksheet so it’s suggested that it should be read out loud as a class, which will give the opportunity to
go over any pronunciation difficulties.
Post: Ask students to come up with more examples for each category. This can also be done after
activity 1C.

1C Types of Businesses ppt/1C What type of business worksheet (20-30 minutes):

Pre: Ask students to get into pairs and explain that they will review the different types of businesses
learned by playing a game, so allow them a minute to review the 1B Types of businesses worksheet
well. Make sure the pairs are well separated so they can’t hear what the other group is saying (it can be
helpful to put music on softly in the background).
While: Pass out one 1C What type of business worksheet to each pair and put on the 1C Types of
businesses power point. For each slide, students will write on their worksheet (next to the
corresponding number) what type of business it is (service, merchandising, manufacturing, or hybrid).
You can time them, or simply wait for them to finish their discussions before moving on to the next
slide.
Post: Once you’ve finished, go back to the first slide and review and discuss each group’s answers. You
may want to review the power point before the class and write down your own answers and reasons,
but in some cases there may be more than one possible answer. Keeping score is optional.

1D Video: One Stitch Closer: Veronika Scott empowers other women (15-20 minutes)
Pre: This video may be difficult for some students to understand and it may be necessary to watch more
than once. Before showing this video (or after showing the first time), you may want to write some
vocabulary on the board that appears in the video and ask for definitions from students, such as
 Empowerment
 Set-up
 Scholarship
 Homeless shelter
 Sleeping bag
 Prototype
 Band-Aid
Video: “One stitch Closer”
While: Watch the video as a class a couple of times
Post: ask some comprehension and discussion questions.
Some quotes from the video that may be good for discussion:
“A coat is just a band-aid for a systemic issue.”
“No matter what you’ve gone through, you still can do a lot with what you have.”
Comprehension questions:
 What was the video about?
 How did Veronica start her business?
 Describe the product that her business creates.
 What event caused her to start hiring people from the homeless population to work for her?
 What type of business is it? (Service, merchandising, manufacturing, hybrid)
 Do you think she had a good idea? Can you think of any similar examples here in Chile?
1E Create your own business worksheet (30 – 40 minutes):
Pre: Ask students what would be the most difficult type of business to manage? The easiest? The most
rewarding?
While: Break students into groups of 2 or 3 and pass out the 1E Create your own business worksheet
(one per group). Tell students that they are to work together to create a business, filling in the
necessary elements on the worksheet, and create a logo.
Post: each group will present the business to the class. The students who are listening should create
questions to ask the presenting group about their business. A possible extension of this activity would
be to ask each student in the group to develop their own role or position in the company and include it
in the presentation.

2A Job related conversation questions (10-15 minutes)

Pre: Ask students to get into pairs and write down the questions from the worksheet 2A Job related
conversation questions on the board.
While: Allow students 10 – 15 minutes to ask each other questions and discuss the answers. Monitor
language.
Post: Have a whole-class discussion about some of the topics that students discussed.

2B Your Dream Job (15-20 minutes):

Pre: Ask students to briefly tell you what field they would want to work in for their dream job.
While: Students individually fill in the 2B Your dream job worksheet to imagine their dream jobs.
Post: They then share their dream job with the class. Ask them to keep the worksheet because they will
use it again later.

2C Bad job interview video/Good job interview video (20 minutes):

Pre: Before watching the videos, ask students to help you create a list on the board of things that one
SHOULD do in a job interview and things that one SHOULDN’T do in a job interview.
While: watch both videos as a class
Videos:
Job interview (bad)
Job interview (good)
Post: Discussion/comprehension questions:
 What did the applicant do wrong/right in this video? Can you give me some examples?
 What kind of job was she applying for?
 Who was interviewing her?
 What was the pay?
  What was her work experience?
You may also ask students to note down some of the questions the manager asked and write them on
the board to be used later.

2D Getting a job power point (20 -30 minutes):

Pre: Discuss the first few slides of 2D Getting a job power point as a class. Compare and contrasts the
students answers and engage in mini-debates.
While: Go through the past simple, present perfect, and present perfect continuous, tenses often used
in job interviews.
Post: Write some sentences on the board with errors using a mix of affirmative, negative, and
interrogative sentences from the three tenses. Give students some time to find the errors and correct
them together.

2E Multi-tense interview questions (30-40 minutes):

Pre: Once you’ve finished the PowerPoint, divide students into pairs and have them complete 2E Multi-
tense interview questions worksheet together, deciding which tense would best suit the question and
forming it. Go over the answers together. Once you’ve correctly gone over the answers, ask students to
create two original interview questions to add.
While: Once finished, students should take out their 2B Your dream job worksheet and pass it to their
partner. The students will take turns roleplaying a job interview for their dream job using the 2E Multi-
tense interview questions as a guide. Remind them of the Do’s and Don’ts that you talked about earlier
from the videos. Monitor pairs and encourage peer corrections.
Post: Ask the students how if felt to do a mock job interview in English. What would they need to work
on to be prepared for a real job interview?

2F My resume (10-15 minutes): This is an optional writing assignment if time permits to be done
individually by the students. It can also be used in the job interview if you’d like them to do it
beforehand, or assigned for homework.

3A Business synonyms (15 -20 minutes):

Pre: The 3A Business synonyms worksheet can be used as a fun warm-up. Ask students if the language
they use at work is the same language they use around their friends. Why or why not?
While: You will need to cut out each individual square and pass out a set to pairs of students. Have
them mix the “cards” and place them face down to play memory – the matches are the words that are
synonyms (so you may want to have the correct answers handy).
Post: Once they finish, go over the answers together. Ask students to then make at least 3 sentences
using the new vocabulary words to share with the class (have students keep the cards for a later activity,
or write down the new vocab in their notebooks).

3B Softening phrases power point (15-20 minutes):

Pre: Explain to the students that not only using a sophisticated vocabulary is important for business
English, but especially how we say something.
While: Go through the 3B Softening phrases power point as a class and do the practice exercises
together.
Post: Have a mini-debate: should softening phrases be necessary or should everyone just speak honestly
and bluntly? Are they necessary?
3C work with softening phrases (15-20 minutes):
Pre: students are put into pairs and take turns using the softening phrases to ask or respond
appropriately according to the situation on the 3C work with softening phrases worksheet.
While: When they’ve finished, ask the pairs of students to make a short dialogue about a work
situation. They need to use at least 4 of the new business synonyms from the 3A Business synonyms
worksheet and at least 2 softening phrases.
Post: Students share their dialogues with the rest of the class

3D Introduction to corporate social responsibility (CSR) (30 mins):

Pre: As an introduction to this topic, on the board, the teacher can write the following questions:
 Should businesses care about social issues?
 Is it the responsibility of a business to worry about the welfare of its employees? Of its
surrounding community?
 How can businesses help their communities?
While: Break students into two groups and pass the first article “When corporations do good” from
worksheet 3D two sides to CSR to one group and the other article “Do Corporate Social Responsibility
Projects really help?” to the second group. Have the groups read to themselves and then answer the
questions together (they should be a distance apart so they don’t overhear each other).
Post: When they’ve finished, discuss the Dell Company as a group – maybe start by having each group
explain their article. Ask each group if their opinions changed listening to the new information from the
other group. Revisit the initial questions, with the central question being Are CSR projects ethical?

3E Teletón debate (40-50 minutes):

Pre: Ask the students if they can think of any examples of CSR projects in Chile. If they don’t mention it,
mention the Teletón. Ask students for general opinions.
While: Explain that you’re going to have a classroom debate about the Teletón with the central question
being “Is the Teletón a good CSR project or not?” It may be best to randomly assign sides to make it a
little less personal. Give each side 20 minutes to research and come up with 3 main arguments FOR or
AGAINST the Teletón (you may want to allow them to use their phones or providing laptops).
Post: As a suggestion and to maintain order, the debate structure can be:
1. Team A presents three arguments
2. Team B presents three arguments
3. Team A responds to Team B’s arguments
4. Team B responds to Team A’s arguments
5. Team A closing arguments
6. Team B closing arguments
The good thing about this structure is that it requires that the two teams listen carefully to each other’s
points so that they can have good counter arguments. You may also want to set time limits.
In the end, the teacher can give positive and negative feedback on the arguments given and language
used, and if you desire, declare a debate winner.