BEC Vantage Masterclass

Unit 4 Extra activities

Activity 1: Odd one out

1 Work with a partner. Together, look at the words in each group and decide
which one is different from the others. Then prepare an explanation of why it
is different.
Example
budget profit quarter turnover

We think quarter is the odd one out. The other words relate to money coming
into or used by a company. A quarter is an accounting period of three months.

a decline decrease expand fall

b main major principal tough
c cut jobs generate sales go bankrupt make redundant
d enter launch set up withdraw from
e collapse decline downturn slowdown
f catalogue chain store website

2 Compare your ideas with the rest of the class.

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Unit 4: Teacher’s notes and key

Activity 1: Odd one out

1 Suggested answers

a expand
The other words relate to business going down; expand indicates an
increase.
b tough
The first three words mean the same and would combine with competitor;
tough means strong and would combine with competition.
c generate sales
The other three phrases relate to a company which is having financial
problems; if a business generates sales, it is making money.
d withdraw from
The other three words relate to the start of a business or business activity;
withdraw from relates to the end of an activity.
e collapse
All these nouns refer to a downward movement, but collapse means a
sudden downwards movement or total failure, while the other three refer to
a more gradual change.
f chain
The other three words are places where products are sold; a chain is a
group of shops or stores owned by the same company.

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 BEC Vantage Masterclass

Unit 4 Extra activities

Activity 2: Board game

▲
28 27 26 25

FINISH Grammar Miss a turn Go back Vocabulary

4 spaces

24 ▲
▲

20 21 22 23

Vocabulary Miss a turn Grammar Go back Grammar

1 space

19 ▲

▲
18 17 16 15

Grammar Vocabulary Move on Grammar Vocabulary

3 spaces

14 ▲
▲

10 11 12 13

Vocabulary Grammar Vocabulary Miss a turn Grammar

▲
▲

9 8 7 6 5

Grammar Go back Grammar Vocabulary Grammar

2 spaces

1 2 3 4 ▲

START Move on Vocabulary Grammar Miss a turn

2 spaces

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 BEC Vantage Masterclass

Unit 4 Extra activities

Activity 2: Board game

Grammar and vocabulary cards

Make a sentence starting with Make a sentence using

Explain what an on-line store is.
So far this year ... controversial.

Make a sentence starting with Make a sentence using Name three products that are
Three months ago ... generate. often sold by mail order.

Make a sentence including the Explain the difference between

words have risen and an Make a sentence using retailer. a website and a dotcom
appropriate time phrase. business.

Make a sentence including the

Make a sentence using Make a sentence using
word fell and an appropriate
redundant. bankrupt.
time phrase.

Make a sentence about What do you do if you In financial reports, what does
something you did last year. withdraw from a market? a quarter refer to?

Make a sentence including the Name three things that you can Make a sentence using
word since. launch. globalisation.

Make a sentence including the Make a sentence using Make a sentence using collapse
phrase for the last 12 months. competition. as a verb.

Make a sentence including the

Explain the difference between Name three verbs with the
words have improved and an
findings and funding. same meaning as increase.
appropriate time phrase.

Explain the difference between Name two business sectors What does it mean if a person
profit and turnover. that operate chains. or company gets a bad press?

Make a sentence including the Make a sentence using Make a sentence using report
adjective major. downturn. as a verb.

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 BEC Vantage Masterclass

Unit 4 Teacher’s notes and key

Activity 2: Board game

Preparation
Print out one board and one set of cards for each group of three to four
players. Cut up the cards and separate them into two piles for each group –
white cards (grammar) and grey cards (vocabulary). You will also need one
dice for each group of players, and a different coin or counter for each player
in each group.

How to play

• Put students in groups of three or four.

• Players take turns to throw the dice to move round the board.
• If a player lands on a grammar or vocabulary square, he/she takes
a card from the relevant pile, and answers the question on it. The
other students in that group decide if the answer is correct. If it is
not correct, the player misses his/her next turn. If the players
cannot agree, they must ask your advice as to whether the answer
is acceptable or not. Encourage the students, as far as possible, to
produce business-related sentences, e.g. Our profits fell slightly last
month rather than I fell down the stairs last week.
• Vocabulary cards are discarded after a question has been
answered. Grammar cards go back to the bottom of the grammar
pile for re-use.
• If a player moves forward or back to a grammar or vocabulary
square after landing on a Move on/Go back square, he/she
immediately takes a card and answers the question.
• The first player to land on Finish wins the game.

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