How to be more productive at work

Title separator

Listening skills

productivity lesson plan

VIDEO #1 (ex. 4)

VIDEO #2 (ex. 8)

LESSON OVERVIEW

This productivity lesson plan is based on two short videos in which a journalist and book writer Charles Duhigg presents his ideas for boosting work productivity. The worksheet consists of many different exercises that will make your students speak a lot, learn some vocabulary and practise setting SMART goals.

B2 / Upper Intermediate60 minStandard LessonFree / Premium Plan

DISCUSSION

The lesson plan starts with two speaking warm-up activities. First, students need to read some quotes connected with work productivity and discuss whether they agree or disagree with them, and of course explain their opinion. Then, in the next task they have a list of factors and they need to talk about the ones that badly affect their work productivity. Before watching videos, students do one more task, that is they have to complete a few sentences with correct prepositions to create such phrases as: pay attention to, feel in control, keep track of, etc.

LISTENING COMPREHENSION

Students watch the first video which is about 5 tips for being more productive. They need to work in pairs. Student A needs to remember tips 1-3, whereas student B tips 4-5. The video is fast so they can listen to it twice to get all the information they need. Then, they tell each other what tips the speaker gives. After that, students move to a very short discussion about usefulness of the tips mentioned in the video.

Before watching the second video, students do one vocabulary task. They have to add two more synonyms to the words provided. Then, they discuss three lead-in questions about to-do lists. Next, they watch the second video and answer questions about to-do lists and SMART goals.

SETTING SMART GOALS

The last page of this productivity lesson plan consists of one practical task. Students read more about SMART goals and what the acronym SMART stands for, as well as read one sample to-do list. After learning more about the idea, students need to approach such a to-do list themselves and write down a stretch goal and at least 5 SMART goals. Let them focus on a professional or personal stretch goal. If you want to limit their options, you might prepare several stretch goals yourself and ask them to prepare SMART goals to them.

Extra Worksheet – Commonly confused words in English

When talking about productivity, there are two words often used: effective and efficient. These are two of the most confusing words in English and often wrongly used by students. See our extra worksheet where we focus on such commonly confused words to show students how they should be used. This extra worksheet includes 3 activities in which students will study 16 pairs of confusing verbs, nouns, adjectives and adverbs.

WORKSHEETS

Comments

Title separator

Leave a Reply

Browse other materials recommended for you

Title separator
B1 / Intermediate | B2 / Upper Intermediate
Speaking Class 45 min / 60 min
Loading

Talking about leaders

Business

Students talk about good and bad leadership, watch an explainer video and share their experiences. Let them explain why they’d rather be a good leader or have a good leader.

suffixes ‘-ful’ and ‘-less’
B1 / Intermediate | B2 / Upper Intermediate
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

Ready to go paperless?

Business Grammar

In this lesson, students learn some vocabulary related to document management, talk about going paperless, watch a video, and work on word building learning suffixes ‘-ful’ and ‘-less’.

passive income ESL lesson plan
B2 / Upper Intermediate
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

Passive income

Business

In this passive income ESL lesson plan, students watch a video, learn vocabulary and have speaking practice. 

B2 / Upper Intermediate | C1 / Advanced
Speaking Class 45 min / 60 min
Loading

How to succeed as a freelancer

Business

In this lesson students discuss working as a freelancer. They watch a video, do four role-plays and talk about different freelancing ideas.

B2 / Upper Intermediate | C1 / Advanced
Critical Reading Club 30 min
Loading

On the lookout for the ultimate productivity app

Business

In this CRC lesson, students read an article about productivity apps, express their opinions on the matter and share their experiences.

lesson about a four-day workweek
B2 / Upper Intermediate | C1 / Advanced
Speaking Class 45 min / 60 min
Loading

Reimagining the workweek

Business General

In this Business English speaking lesson, students discuss the idea of a four-day workweek, watch a video and do a roleplay activity.

ESL lesson on e-commerce
B2 / Upper Intermediate | C1 / Advanced
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

What does it take to start an e-commerce business?

Business

In this ESL lesson on e-commerce students get a chance to talk about starting a business, watch a video about people who did, discuss e-commerce and its advantages and learn some vocabulary related to the topic. 

functional language for dealing with customers
B1 / Intermediate | B2 / Upper Intermediate
Critical Reading Club 45 min
Loading

Dealing with difficult customers

Business

In this extended Critical Reading Club lesson plan, students talk about the article they read at home. They also learn some functional language for dealing with customers and do several role-plays.

B2 / Upper Intermediate
Critical Reading Club 30 min
Loading

Hustle culture and quiet quitting

Business

In this lesson, students talk about some phenomena and terms used to talk about the job market. They also discuss the article they read at home.

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