How to work with people who get under your skin

Title separator

Speaking - business English role plays

business English role plays

LESSON OVERVIEW

In this lesson students practise their listening skills by watching a video about how to deal with difficult relationships at work. They also expand their vocabulary (incl. phrasal verbs) while reflecting on typical problems between workmates. The lesson plan also includes two business English role plays.

B1 / Intermediate
B2 / Upper Intermediate
75 minStandard LessonPremium Plan

LANGUAGE INPUT & DISCUSSION

To get students interested in the theme of the lesson, the worksheet starts with two quotations from a video they’re going to watch in the second part of the lesson. Students agree or disagree with them and discuss their work relationships. Next, they analyse five sentences which contain phrases from the video and match them with corresponding definitions. In the next pre-listening exercise, they look at a box with four phrasal verbs (e.g. put off, freeze out) and a set of four sentences with highlighted phrases. They have to substitute the phrases with the correct phrasal verbs. This series of vocabulary exercises finishes with a short discussion in which students circle a number (from 1-5) depending on how strongly they agree with four given statements. 

LISTENING & BUSINESS ENGLISH ROLE PLAYS

Before students watch the video with tips on how to deal with difficult relationships at work, they try to predict them, as well as typical problems between people in the workplace. Then, they watch the video for the first time and check whether any of their own ideas are mentioned. Next, they move on to listening for details. They look at six gapped sentences and complete them with phrases from the video and engage in a short discussion about problems they’ve experienced in the workplace. They watch the final part of the video again and have to decide whether five statements in the next exercise are correct or not. Students identify the mistakes and correct them, which leads to another speaking activity based on agreeing or disagreeing with the statements and exchanging opinions. The lesson finishes with two business English role plays. Students pick a card and act out a situation in the workplace, trying to solve an issue with a colleague. Their task is to incorporate the vocabulary learnt earlier in the lesson.

WORKSHEETS

Comments

Title separator

Leave a Reply

  1. RiddickChase

    Great work with this – It has an engaging topic, practical language points, and great pacing! Thanks ESL Brain team and Leanne for continuing to churn out high quality content. Makes my job easier.

    1. Leanne

      Thank you for your kind comment. Much appreciated!

  2. TheMadO13

    Hi there! there’s a mistake in the second quote in the exercise 1. I believe it should be ” I told all my colleagues…” not ” I told my all my colleagues…”.

    1. Justa

      Hi there! Thanks for spotting that! We’ve just deleted the extra ‘my’.

  3. Micchael Silva

    Tks Leanne for your great class. It’s a great topic for input and discussion. The actvities are really well-designed. I really appreciate it!

  4. Michał Altawil

    My business client really enjoyed today’s lesson, 🙂 it’s very thorough and engaging.

    1. Leanne

      Great to hear. Thank you 🙂

  5. Luca Doria

    Hello ESL, thanks for the great worksheets and resources.
    Perhaps I’m dumb but I cannot really understand the meaning of this quote….it doesn’t make sense to me…particularly the second sentence.
    “We all have this colleague who, we hope, quits his job so everyone in the office
    is happy. If you don’t know any such person, quit your job.” Perhaps it should be “If you know any such person, quit your job”.

    1. Justa

      Hi! The quote might be a bit confusing as it is a joke. “If you don’t know any such person, quit your job.” – it means that you are this person that should quit the job to make everyone in the company happy 😉

Browse other materials recommended for you

Title separator
making and accepting apology
B1 / Intermediate
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

My bad! (making and accepting apologies)

Business General

With this lesson, students discuss experiences and ways to apologize! They listen to a recording of people talking about work mistakes and practise phrases to apologize, promise solutions and accept apologies.

sustainability in the hospitality industry
B2 / Upper Intermediate
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

Sustainable stays: eco-friendly hotels

Business Global Issues

Students discuss waste and sustainability in the hospitality industry! They watch and discuss a video about an organisation that recycles half-used hotel soaps, learn useful vocabulary, and read and discuss a text about an imaginary hotel.

ESL lesson about innovation in business
B2 / Upper Intermediate
Speaking Class 45 min / 60 min
Loading

Research and Development

Business

Students dive into the world of innovation in business with this lesson! They explore Research and Development and its various applications, and they watch and discuss a video about an R&D chef. They also analyse R&D case studies and ethical conundrums.

ESL lesson on performance reviews
B2 / Upper Intermediate | C1 / Advanced
Flipped Lesson 60 min
Loading

Time for a performance review!

Business

With this lesson, students learn functional vocabulary to talk about performance reviews (e.g. overlook, reassess). They discuss hypothetical situations and engage in a role-play. They also share opinions, watch a video, and discuss performance management tools.

first lesson for Business English students
B2 / Upper Intermediate | C1 / Advanced
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

Trades and trends! (first lesson with B2/C1 Business English students)

Business

Get to know your new class in this first Business English lesson! Students discuss their language journeys, watch and discuss a video about corporate trends, learn collocations, and revise grammar.

ESL lesson on quantifiers
B1 / Intermediate
Flipped Lesson 60 min
Loading

How about a little improvement?

Business Grammar

With this lesson, students practise quantifiers in various contexts. They discuss work conditions and employee feedback and watch a video about employee satisfaction.

vocabulary to talk about injuries
B1 / Intermediate | B2 / Upper Intermediate
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

Workplace safety

Business General

Engage in talking about safety in the workplace with this lesson! Students explore vocabulary to talk about injuries, watch a video about safety at work and discuss workplace rules.

phrases to make requests
A2 / Pre‐Intermediate | B1 / Intermediate
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

I was wondering if… (making requests)

Business General

With this lesson, students talk about ways to make requests. They watch a funny ad and discuss requests at work. Students also practise phrases to make requests and do a role play activity.

phrases to talk about leadership
B2 / Upper Intermediate
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

The art of leadership

Business

With this lesson, students talk about job satisfaction and practise vocabulary to discuss leadership! They also watch a video about creating a good work environment, read a text about organisational structures and share ideas on addressing workplace challenges.

Show more lessons

Questions

Title separator

Is there a minimum subscription period if I choose a monthly subscription?

No, there's no minimum required number of subscription months. You can cancel any time you want. Basically, you can sign up and then cancel your subscription the next day, which will mean you have access for 1 month and won't be charged again.

What currencies can I pay in for my subscription?

Our default currency is USD (American dollar), but you can also pay in EUR (euro), GBP (British pound sterling) or PLN (Polish zloty). You can change the currency you want to pay in at the Pricing page before selecting a subscription plan.

How can I edit an e-lesson plan?

You can get your own editable copy of an e-lesson plan and make changes to it. To do so, either (1) make a copy of it on your Google Drive (preferable method) or (2) download it in a Powerpoint format (but formatting might be a bit off so we can’t guarantee that it will work well).
Read more FAQ
Title separator

ESL Brains

Forgot password?
or continue with