What makes a great corporate culture?

Title separator

Functional language - cleft sentences

cleft sentences

This is a standalone lesson but it can also be used as part of the set titled:

LESSON OVERVIEW

In this lesson, students watch a video and use functional language (cleft sentences) to talk about corporate culture. They also learn some vocabulary related to the topic. 

B2 / Upper Intermediate60 minStandard LessonUnlimited Plan

VIDEO & VOCABULARY

In the warm-up activity, students discuss how important some elements of corporate culture are (e.g. dress code, learning and development, company core values). Before watching the video, they brainstorm possible endings to some statements from the video (e.g. The job of the management isn’t…). While watching, students do a jigsaw listening task. They work in pairs and each student has to take notes on four of the eight lessons presented and commented on in the video. After the viewing, students discuss which of the lessons in the video was the most and which one the least useful. After that, students read six questions and have to replace the highlighted words and phrases with those in the box (e.g. morale, best practices, take a hard left). Then they answer the questions which are all related to corporate culture.

CLEFT SENTENCES & SPEAKING

This part of the lesson starts with students reading six sentences and choosing one they relate to most. Then, they need to create statements about corporate culture using the beginnings from the previous exercise (e.g. What I will never accept…, The thing I hate the most…, The only thing that…). After that, students read short descriptions of four corporate cultures (Clan Culture, Adhocracy Culture, Market Culture and Hierarchy Culture) and have to comment on them using some functional language (cleft sentences) to make their answers more expressive. The sentence beginnings are listed in a box to help them. Finally, students discuss whether any of the corporate cultures would work in their companies. They also brainstorm the types of companies which might want to adopt the cultures. 

WORKSHEETS

 

Comments

Title separator

Leave a Reply

  1. yankee_english

    Amazing! My HR student enjoyed it greatly 🙂

    1. Iulia

      Hi,
      Thank you for the feedback:)
      Yes, it seems that they have much more background and professional experience to share when it comes to such topics.

  2. Valentyna Iazina

    А really cool lesson, especially for an HR student!

  3. Jorge Johnsen

    Great topic and video. I wish that the grammar section about cleft sentences had a few more slides for exercises and comparing cleft sentences with standard sentence syntax. Also, be careful with It-cleft sentences.

    “It isn’t the lack of management that ruins businesses, it is the lack of discipline.”
    -These should be two separate sentences and not joined by a comma.

    “It isn’t the lack of management that ruins businesses. It is the lack of discipline.”

    1. Justa

      Hi Jorge! Thanks for the feedback! We’re happy you find the topic interesting 😊
      Regarding the ‘It’ cleft sentences, we analysed the case again and did some more research. The sources, here and here, point out that these, the so-called inferential clefts, usually consist of two consecutive sentences, so we decided to amend the example in the worksheet accordingly to include a more common option. However, it also doesn’t seem that it’s an error to use such sentences with a comma.

  4. Andrew Gill

    Not sure why ‘equality’ is relevant to corporate culture. Let’s pay the cleaners the same salary as the CEO – great idea!

    Good lesson other than that.

Browse other materials recommended for you

Title separator
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.

reported speech activities
B2 / Upper Intermediate
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

Reported speech activities

Grammar

With this lesson, students practise reported speech in various situations. They report on audio recordings and film clips, use reporting verbs and work on reported questions. Students also play a fun quest game!

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.

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 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.

ESL lesson about crowdfunding
B2 / Upper Intermediate | C1 / Advanced
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

When crowds fund your project

Business

With this lesson, students talk about funding sources, address scepticism and watch a video about common myths of crowdfunding. They also explore vocabulary, analyse successful crowdfunding campaigns and create their own projects.

structures with ‘It’
B2 / Upper Intermediate
Flipped Lesson 60 min
Loading

It’s never too late to dream big

Grammar Lifestyle

With this lesson, students talk about dreams and ambitions, practise structures with ‘It’ to give opinions and watch a video about a man who pursues two careers. They also discuss balancing multiple careers versus focusing on a single goal.

ESL lesson about subscriptions
B2 / Upper Intermediate
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

Members only! Subscription models

Business Lifestyle

With this lesson, students talk about subscription models, explore vocabulary and discuss their personal experiences and opinions. They also watch a video featuring advice on how to manage subscriptions and discuss real-life services.

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