HEAAADERLOGORIGHT

BUSINESS ENGLISH · BUSINESS ENGLISH · INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)

SIGNS OF
SUCCESS
QrrkoD Scan to review worksheet

Expemo code:
19J1-N3G9-CTDU

1 Warm up

Online meetings have become "the new normal". How do you feel about them? Read the survey
statements and circle your responses.

1. Online meetings are more difficult to control than face-to-face meetings. agree / not sure /
disagree
2. People interrupt each other too much in online meetings. agree / not sure / disagree
3. In online meetings, it’s difficult to tell if people are listening. agree / not sure / disagree
4. Some people don’t give their full attention to online meetings. agree / not sure / disagree
5. The best meetings happen when everyone can join in and be heard. agree / not sure / disagree

Do you have any ideas for improving online meetings?

FOOOOTERRIGHT Learn without forgetting! 1/5

Scan the QR at the top of Page 1 to review the lesson flashcards with Expemo.
© Linguahouse.com. Photocopiable and licensed for use in Cristina Perez's lessons.
 HEAAADERLOGORIGHT
INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)

SIGNS OF SUCCESS

2 Watch Part 1

Education has also moved online recently, so teachers have been looking for ways to improve student
engagement (focus and interest) during online lessons. One idea is for students to use hand signals to
show their interest and make responses in class discussions.

Hand signals could also work in business meetings. You are going to watch a short video called,
"Using Hand Signals for More Equitable Discussions." Before you watch, match these hand signals
with what you think they mean. Then watch the first part of the video (to 0:52) and check your ideas.
One meaning is extra.

a. I’d like to add to that

b. I agree
c. I have a question
d. I can paraphrase (rephrase information in my own words)
e. I have a new idea
f. I disagree

How could you use a hand signal to express the meaning of the extra item?

3 Vocabulary

Before you watch the second part of the video, match these words with their meanings.

1. acknowledging a. add ideas to a discussion to help make it successful

2. boost b. increase the quantity or improve the quality of something

3. contribute c. like new, recently learned

4. equitable d. make something seem stronger or more important

5. fresh e. people who take part in an event like a meeting or discussion

6. non-verbally f. recognising that something exists or has happened and is

important
7. participants g. treating people equally

8. reinforce h. without language

Expand your vocabulary by completing the word-family table.

FOOOOTERLEFT Learn without forgetting! 2/5

Scan the QR at the top of Page 1 to review the lesson flashcards with Expemo.
© Linguahouse.com. Photocopiable and licensed for use in Cristina Perez's lessons.
 HEAAADERLOGORIGHT
INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)

SIGNS OF SUCCESS

verb noun or person

acknowledge

boost

contribute

participant

reinforce

4 Watch Part 2
Now use the words from the first vocabulary exercise to complete the sentences from the second
part of the video. Watch the second part (0:52-1:54) to check.

1
Students can use them (hand signals) to participate , indicate when they
2
want to speak and how they’d like to . At the beginning of every discussion,
it helps to configure your screen, so your view includes as many students as possible at one
3
time. Review the hand signals so they are in everyone’s minds. Encourage
students to use the signals to show they are engaged in the conversation whether they
4
plan to speak or not. the importance of both speaking and listening by
5 6
non-verbal and verbal by name.With a little bit of practice,
7
these hand signals can engagement and make for more
8
discussions by allowing more students to participate in ways that feel
comfortable for them.

1. The third paragraph of Part 2 contains some advice for teachers. In a business context, who would
follow this advice?
2. How many actions are listed in this advice? What are they?
3. How easy will it be to follow this advice in business meetings?

5 Talking point
Answer these questions in pairs or small groups. Use vocabulary from the lesson in your answers
where you can.

1. Some people have pointed out that some hand gestures may have offensive meanings in some
cultures. Are any of these hand signals going to be a problem in your company/country?
2. Can you think of any other problems with using hand signals in online contexts?
3. Do you think the idea of using hand signals transfers well from a classroom context to a business
context?
4. Would you like to use hand signals in your English class?

FOOOOTERRIGHT Learn without forgetting! 3/5

Scan the QR at the top of Page 1 to review the lesson flashcards with Expemo.
© Linguahouse.com. Photocopiable and licensed for use in Cristina Perez's lessons.
 HEAAADERLOGORIGHT
INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)

SIGNS OF SUCCESS

6 Roleplay a meeting

You are going to try a short discussion with hand signals. Choose one of these topics to discuss for five
minutes – you should explore the advantages and disadvantages of the proposal. Use hand signals to
make contributions. One person in the group needs to act as chairperson for the meeting.

Topics

Should the company adopt a four-day working week?

Should the company offer more vacation time?

Should the company encourage employees to cycle to work?

Your own idea

Hand signals

I agree

I disagree

I have a question

I’d like to add to that

I can paraphrase (rephrase information in my own words)

I have a new idea

After the meeting, answer these questions.

1. In what ways did using hand signals improve the meeting?

2. Which signals were the most useful?
3. What other signals do you think you would need in a real meeting context?
4. Would you be in favour of using hand signals in your meetings in the future?

FOOOOTERLEFT Learn without forgetting! 4/5

Scan the QR at the top of Page 1 to review the lesson flashcards with Expemo.
© Linguahouse.com. Photocopiable and licensed for use in Cristina Perez's lessons.
 HEAAADERLOGORIGHT
INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)

SIGNS OF SUCCESS

7 Language point - hands

Label the diagram with the parts of the hand. Some of these terms were included in the video.

ring finger little finger knuckles wrist palm

fist thumb fingernail middle finger index finger

There are many idioms with the word "hand" in English. Guess the meaning of the expressions in
bold.

1. The manager is going to ask Suzy to deal with this project. She’s a safe pair of hands.
2. I told the customer that I couldn’t change the contract because my hands are tied.
3. This meeting is really getting out of hand. Can everyone please be quiet? Let’s hear from one
person at a time.

FOOOOTERRIGHT Learn without forgetting! 5/5

Scan the QR at the top of Page 1 to review the lesson flashcards with Expemo.
© Linguahouse.com. Photocopiable and licensed for use in Cristina Perez's lessons.
 HEAAADERLOGORIGHT
TEACHER MATERIALS · INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)

SIGNS OF SUCCESS

Transcripts

2. Watch Part 1

Speaker: Discussions in a physical classroom are tricky to manage and conducting them by video
adds a whole new level of complexity. Good discussions are inclusive, equitable and
respectful. An agreed-upon set of hand signals can reduce interruptions, allow more time
to consider ideas and provide a safe space that engages all learners.

Speaker: A pinkie and thumb extended indicates agreement with the speaker. A single index finger
expresses disagreement. One fist on top of the other shows that a student wants to build
on what a classmate is saying. A raised pinkie finger lets everyone know the student has a
question. Making air quotes shows that a student can paraphrase a quote or concept.

Speaker: Students can use them to participate non-verbally, indicate when they want to speak and
how they’d like to contribute.

Speaker: At the beginning of every discussion, it helps to configure your screen, so your view
includes as many students as possible at one time. Review the hand signals so they are
fresh in everyone’s minds. Encourage students to use the signals to show they are engaged
in the conversation whether they plan to speak or not. Reinforce the importance of both
speaking and listening by acknowledging non-verbal and verbal participants by name.

Speaker: With a little bit of practice these hand signals can boost engagement and make for
more equitable discussions by allowing more students to participate in ways that feel
comfortable for them.

FOOOOTERAPPENDIXRIGHT
Learn without forgetting! i
Scan the QR at the top of Page 1 to review the lesson flashcards with Expemo.
© Linguahouse.com. Photocopiable and licensed for use in Cristina Perez's lessons.
 HEAAADERLOGORIGHT
TEACHER MATERIALS · INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)

SIGNS OF SUCCESS

Key

1. Warm up

10 mins.
Go over the instructions and the five survey statements - explain any unfamiliar vocabulary. Give students a
minute to select their responses and then conduct feedback with the whole class. Ask several students to report
and justify their responses and try to get a range of opinion within the class. Variation: students work in pairs
to compare their responses; then conduct feedback with the class by asking pairs to comment on which of their
responses were the same. 1-1 students can explain and justify their own ideas with reference to their company
and experience. Pose the follow-up question to round off the discussion.

2. Watch Part 1

5 mins.
Go over the introduction and call attention to the pictures of the hand signals and their meanings. Two possibly
unfamiliar words (engagement and paraphrase) are defined in the worksheet. Students could work in pairs to quickly
match the hand signals and meanings (one meaning is extra). Then play the first part of the video (up to 0:52)
for students to check their predictions. Check answers and then pose the two follow-up questions for a brief
discussion.

a. 4 b. 1 c. 3 d. 5 e. extra f. 2

3. Vocabulary

10 mins.
Before watching the second part of the video, students will need to define some key vocabulary. Give students a
couple of minutes to match the words with their meanings - – they could work in pairs. Check answers and drill
pronunciation - stressed syllables are underlined. Then students can complete the word family table. They can
work initially in pairs and if they need to, after a few minutes, they could check a dictionary. Check answers and
drill pronunciation.
Stress pattern in the table: acknowledgement, boost, contribution/contributor, participate, reinforcement.

1. f 2. b 3. a 4. g 5. c 6. h 7. e 8. d

1. acknowledgement
2. boost
3. contribution / contributor
4. participate
5. reinforcement

4. Watch Part 2

10 mins.
Go over the instructions and ask students to read through the text in pairs and predict the missing words, using
vocabulary from the first part of the previous exercises. Then play the second part of the video (0:52-1:54) for
students to check. Note: some of the text appears on the screen so if you want to increase the level of challenge
for the whole group, you could play the audio without showing the images. You could also let individual students

FOOOOTERAPPENDIXLEFT
Learn without forgetting! ii
Scan the QR at the top of Page 1 to review the lesson flashcards with Expemo.
© Linguahouse.com. Photocopiable and licensed for use in Cristina Perez's lessons.
 HEAAADERLOGORIGHT
TEACHER MATERIALS · INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)

SIGNS OF SUCCESS

choose their own level of challenge - they could opt not to watch the screen. Check answers and pose the follow-
up questions.

1. non-verbally
2. contribute
3. fresh
4. Reinforce
5. acknowledging
6. participants
7. boost
8. equitable
Answers to questions:

1. Suggested answer: the chairperson of a meeting or a manager.

2. Four actions: configure your screen to see as many people as possible, review the hand signals at the start of
the meeting, encourage all participants to use the hand signals during the meeting and acknowledge both types
of response by using names.
3. Students’ own answers.

5. Talking point

10 mins.
Organise students into pairs or small groups to discuss the questions. Encourage them to give reasons and
examples and use vocabulary from the lesson in their answers. Monitor and support as necessary and conduct
some quick feedback at the end.

6. Roleplay a meeting

10 mins.
This activity will be more effective if students work in larger groups, or even in one very large group! Explain the
task and choose a chairperson to run the meeting.

Students can quickly choose a topic that appeals to them and then they can launch into a discussion of the point
(pros and cons) using hand signals to indicate meanings. Stop the activity after 5 minutes and pose the three
follow-up questions for discussion. 1-1 students can engage in a discussion led by the teacher on one of the
topics, using hand signals to participate.

7. Language point - hands

5 mins.
There are two parts to this activity, which can be used as a cooler to round off the lesson if you have time. They
could also be set for homework. In the first part, students review some of the vocabulary about hands and fingers
that they saw in the video and add some more items to this lexical set. In the second part, students use the context
of the sentences to guess the meaning of three common hand idioms.
NOTE: the little finger is often called "a pinkie"

1. G
2. H
3. I
4. B

FOOOOTERAPPENDIXRIGHT
Learn without forgetting! iii
Scan the QR at the top of Page 1 to review the lesson flashcards with Expemo.
© Linguahouse.com. Photocopiable and licensed for use in Cristina Perez's lessons.
 HEAAADERLOGORIGHT
TEACHER MATERIALS · INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)

SIGNS OF SUCCESS

5. J
6. A
7. C
8. D
9. F
10. E
Idioms:

1. If someone is a safe pair of hands, they have experience and knowledge and we can trust them to take on a
difficult task and succeed.
2. If your hands are tied, it means you have to follow the rules or expectations in a situation and cannot make any
independent decisions to respond to special circumstances.
3. Getting out of hand means control has broken down there is disorder and chaos and people are not behaving
according to rules and expectations.

FOOOOTERAPPENDIXLEFT
Learn without forgetting! iv
Scan the QR at the top of Page 1 to review the lesson flashcards with Expemo.
© Linguahouse.com. Photocopiable and licensed for use in Cristina Perez's lessons.