Scrum for IT – Agile Project Management (teaching IT vocabulary)

Title separator

Scrum/project vocabulary

teaching IT vocabulary

EXERCISE #3

EXERCISE #5

LESSON OVERVIEW

Agile project management has been the buzzword among software developers for years. Many IT companies use this approach as their work methodology but many non-IT enterprises have started turning towards Agile as well. The most popular Agile approach is Scrum. In this lesson, students will have an opportunity to learn the basics of Scrum, some key project-related vocabulary and Scrum-related terms. Instead of teaching IT vocabulary that really is too basic for anybody in the industry (i.e. application, browser, bug, etc.), focus on something more detailed and up-to-date.

This lesson is rather aimed at professionals with basic or zero knowledge about Scrum, however, the last part, which focuses on comparing Scrum and Waterfall, works very well with people who have already worked in Scrum or had any other project work experience.

B2 / Upper Intermediate90 minStandard LessonUnlimited Plan

LEAD-IN

The lesson starts with some multiple answer questions that check the knowledge of project management vocabulary. This task is not really teaching IT vocabulary, but that type of language is used in IT all the time. If your students work in an international environment, most of that language should be a piece of cake. Otherwise, it’s a good opportunity to learn a few basic project management language. The next exercise gives students opportunity to practice newly learned language and talk about some projects they were involved in. If you have students that do not have this kind of professional experience, you can steer the conversation toward some personal projects they had. In such case, remember to skip question C as it refers to the theory of project management.

VIDEO

This lesson is about teaching IT vocabulary so the next few exercises focus on that! The first task in this section involves listening for specific vocabulary. Students will watch a short video that is an overview of Scrum (project management framework designed for software development work) and fill in the gaps in the provided sentences. The words they need to put are mainly Scrum-related terms. If your students know Scrum, that introduction is a nice refresher of the language used in that methodology.

READING

Next task goes deeper into Scrum as it provides a bit detailed, but still brief, description of the Scrum framework. Through this task you will teach IT vocabulary used in IT/software development every day. It can basically be used as a Scrum glossary but it includes some other common IT project words as well. After reading the text students need to find (near) synonyms for eight words to further develop their vocabulary on the topic.

DISCUSSION AND DEBATE

Next comes two speaking practice tasks. Students will have to compare two project management methodologies (Waterfall and Scrum) and discuss their pros and cons. First, let students watch video 2 to give them a bit more context and some differences between those two approaches. Then, they will have a few questions to discuss in pairs to share their opinions about Scrum and Waterfall as well as comment on the video. The final point of the lesson is a debate on the usefulness of agile methodologies (Scrum). Split students into 3/4-person groups and ask them to prepare arguments in favor or against Agile. They can use the provided infographic as a guide on the key differences between Agile and Waterfall. Give them 5-7 minutes to get ready and then pair the groups and start the debate. Give them enough time to talk (5-10 minutes) but also reserve some time to look at the key issues you catch while monitoring your students.

I must admit that this task works best when you have people with some experience working within those methodologies and if I teach people for whom Scrum is just a buzzword, I skip this task as the debate turns out not to be so engaging.

WORKSHEETS

Comments

Title separator

Leave a Reply

  1. Agnaldo Brites

    Hi Stan!
    How’s it going?
    This lesson looks so interesting! I will give it a shot with most of my students.
    I’d like to know if you can develop a lesson about Kanban, talking about it in general, only to introduce the vocabulary.
    Agile is a trend, and I’d like to explore that.
    Thanks a lot!

    1. Stan

      Agnaldo! Thanks for your comment and suggestion. I think I might create a lesson about Kanban. It’s an interesting concept and is used not only in IT, so I might do it with focus on Business English.

      Share your feedback on this Scrum lesson once you give it a go.

      1. Agnaldo Brites

        Thanks a lot, Stan!
        Have a good week.

    2. Jaqueline Felix

      I was so happy to see this comment here, a shame that when I searched the topic I didn’t find it, =(

      1. Stan

        Sorry to disappoint you! To be honest, I forgot about that. I will bring this topic to the writer’s room and see whether we can make this lesson happen.

  2. MSCOE2

    good content

  3. Solid School

    Hi Stan, I cannot download the E lesson. I get Sorry, the file you have requested has been deleted.

    Make sure that you have the correct URL and the owner of the file hasn’t deleted it.

    Get stuff done with Google Drive

    1. Stan

      Hmm, it’s fine on our end. Try refreshing your cache (ctrl+F5) while you’re on this website. If you still have problems, email us at [email protected]

  4. Rebecca Page

    Thank you for this lesson! It is perfect as I have students who are project managers in the IT field. I appreciate all the work you put into the lessons. Thank you!!

  5. Hugo1978

    Simply amazing! Thank you

    1. Stan

      Happy to hear you liked my lesson, Hugo!

Browse other materials recommended for you

Title separator
phrases to express obligation and necessity
B1 / Intermediate | B2 / Upper Intermediate
Flipped Lesson 60 min
Loading

Excited to go passwordless?

Technology

Explore the future of passwords with this flipped lesson! Students talk about online security, learn and practise the phrases ‘be required to’ and ‘be supposed to’ and discuss safety measures for digital activities.

B2 / Upper Intermediate
Critical Reading Club 30 min
Loading

How smart should home appliances be

Lifestyle Technology

Engage students in a conversation about the advantages and disadvantages of smart appliances! With this lesson, students will also reinforce essential vocabulary such as adjectives and collocations to discuss the topic.

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

Design engineering

Technology

Dive into the world of creative problem-solving while encouraging students to think about the real-world impact of design engineering. This lesson explores the possibilities of innovative thinking in an engaging way.

lesson about the film industry
B2 / Upper Intermediate
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

The future of the film industry

General Technology

In this lesson about the film industry, students talk about the changes that the industry might undergo in the near future. They also learn phrases related to films, watch a news report and read two short texts.

B2 / Upper Intermediate
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

Solving cases with OSINT

Technology

In the lesson, students learn what open source intelligence is, work with vocabulary related to online activities and watch a part of a video.

ESL lesson about healthcare
B2 / Upper Intermediate | C1 / Advanced
Speaking Class 45 min / 60 min
Loading

Healthcare innovation

General Technology

In this ESL lesson about healthcare, students practise speaking, watch a video and do an optional word formation activity. 

talking about hypothetical situations
B1 / Intermediate | B2 / Upper Intermediate
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

What if cars could fly? (hypothetical situations)

Grammar Technology

In this lesson students get a lot of practice with two videos and speaking tasks designed to help them master the use of Second Conditional.

ESL lesson about space
B2 / Upper Intermediate | C1 / Advanced
Speaking Class 45 min / 60 min
Loading

Pushing back the frontiers

Technology

In this ESL lesson about space, students watch a video about the International Space Station and have a long discussion about space. The topics include space exploration, collaboration in space and space technology. 

ESL lesson about ChatGPT
B2 / Upper Intermediate
Standard Lesson 75 min
Loading

ChatGPT – a blessing or a curse?

General Technology

In this ESL lesson about ChatGPT, students watch a video about schools banning this AI solution. They also learn vocabulary related to cheating and discuss different applications of ChatGPT.

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