Course contents: Mixed Programmes

The theme of this lesson is what makes a successful businessman. Students read an article that discusses whether entrepreneurs are born with certain character traits or develop the necessary skills and mindset. Vocabulary for describing entrepreneurial activity and personality is studied, and students have an opportunity to share their opinions on the topic.

The theme of this lesson is e-commerce. Students read an article on the changing shopping habits of British consumers and the development of online retailing. Tenses for describing trends are studied and practised in the grammar section of the worksheet, followed by an end-of-lesson discussion on Internet buying habits in the students’ own countries.

The topic of this lesson is sporting talent. Students read an article on an extremely gifted child chess prodigy from Ireland. In the grammar exercise, there is a review of the present simple, present perfect simple, past simple and used to + infinitive. At the end of the lesson, students talk about sporting talents in their own countries.

This theme of this lesson is corporate health. Students read an article about a company that is attempting to improve the well-being of its staff and listen to two corporate health experts commenting on the firm’s health initiatives. In the grammar section of the worksheet, the present simple, present continuous, past simple, present perfect simple and past simple are reviewed. This is followed by a discussion on corporate health initiatives.

The theme of this lesson is longevity. Students read an article on the habits that can lead to a longer life and study common collocations for describing healthy lifestyles. Structures for speculating and explaining are also studied and practised. At the end of the lesson, the students discuss the article topic.

Technology has been developed to allow passengers to use their mobile phones safely on planes. Students read an article about the different attitudes among business travellers towards this development. In the grammar section of the worksheet, the first and second conditionals are studied and practised. Students then discuss the lesson topic and debate the pros and cons of in-flight mobile phone use.

The topic of this lesson is living in an extreme environment. Students read an article on how the inhabitants of Yakutsk in Russia cope with living in the world’s coldest city. Students share their reactions and discuss how the climate in their own countries compares.

This lesson is based on an article on the nascent space tourism industry. The text focuses on the different companies that will be operating in this market, including Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, as well as the future costs and environmental impact of commercial space flights. In the grammar section of the worksheets, reported statements and questions are studied and practised. At the end of the lesson, students discuss whether they believe space tourism could become mass market.

The theme of this lesson is transport and stress. Students read an article on the problems faced by commuters and workers on the metro in the Russian capital Moscow. The passive voice is studied and practised. At the end of the lesson, students talk about the transport systems in their own countries.

The theme of this lesson is celebrity endorsement. Students read about the benefits and drawbacks of companies associating their brands with celebrities. Students learn key vocabulary related to marketing and advertising, and useful expressions for developing an argument are also studied. During the lesson, several aspects of the worksheet topic are discussed.

The theme of this lesson is probability and chance. Students read an article on an unusual, statistical approach to planning their week. Collocations for describing several routines and activities are studied. In the grammar exercises, students learn how to express probability and chance using modal verbs and other useful structures. At the end of the lesson, students select from a list of topics and discuss what they believe will happen in each case.

In this lesson, students read an article about Dean Karnazes, a so-called ‘ultra-marathon runner’ who has run distances of up to 350 miles non-stop. In the grammar exercises, the differences between the gerund and infinitive forms in two-verb structures are studied and practised. At the end of the lesson, students share their reactions to the ultra-marathon lifestyle and talk about other feats of endurance.

The theme of this lesson is marketing in a recession. The worksheet is suitable for people who are responsible for marketing in their companies or who work for marketing agencies. Students read an article about successful marketing strategies for businesses during an economic downturn and learn a variety of terms for describing different marketing tools, strategies and concepts. At the end of the lesson, students talk about how the global economy has affected their or their clients’ approach to marketing.

The theme of this lesson is prediction. Students read an amusing article on eight embarrassing predictions made by well-respected experts at different periods of modern history. In the grammar exercises, structures for reporting a prediction made in the past are learnt and the use and omission of the definite article for talking in general is studied. At the end of the lesson, students practise making and reporting predictions.

The theme of this lesson is artificial intelligence. Students read an article on how technological progress over the next 20 years will result in the development of machines that are able to match the intelligence of human beings. In the grammar part of the worksheet, comparative forms and structures are studied and practised. The grammar exercises can be adapted for slightly more advanced learners (see the teacher notes for Exercise 5 and 6). At the end of the lesson, students discuss their opinions on the lesson topic.

The theme of this lesson is international investment. Students read an article about the investment potential of Iraq and study vocabulary related to infrastructure and development. In the grammar exercises, students practise asking each other for information using subject and object questions. At the end of the lesson, the class discusses their own countries’ potential for foreign investors.

The topic of this lesson is cooking. Students read an article on the cooking repertoire of the British and study words to describe different kinds of food and cooking. Students then talk about their own countries’ cuisines.

The theme of this lesson is outsourcing. Students read an article about how rising wages and a stronger currency are affecting the Indian outsourcing industry. In the grammar section of the worksheet, the difference between the present and past perfect is studied. At the end of the lesson, students talk about the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing.

The theme of this lesson is education and the problem of rising global population. Students read an article about a proposed strategy to limit global population growth by putting more girls in the developing world through secondary school. The first and second conditionals are studied and practised. At the end of the lesson, students talk about population problems in their own countries.

The lesson is based on an article about a Polish railway worker who regained consciousness after 19 years in a coma to discover how much his country had changed since the time of his accident in 1988. Vocabulary related to health and politics is studied, and there is a review of the past and present tenses used when giving biographical information about someone. At the end of the lesson, students talk about changes in their own countries’ recent history.

The topic of this lesson is the importance of understanding the cultural etiquette of different countries. The lesson introduces idioms concerned with etiquette and behaviour such as go Dutch, follow suit, return the compliment. Present modal verbs for advice, possibility and necessity are revised and past forms are introduced and practised. Finally, students get to talk about the cultural etiquette of their countries and their experiences doing business in a cross-cultural environment.

The theme of this lesson is people’s sleep-wake cycles. Students complete a questionnaire to discover if they are genetically predisposed to waking up early or late and then read an article to find out how they fit in society and what type of profession would suit them best. The lesson teaches a variety of idioms related to waking and sleeping. Students also learn how to indicate their opinion using a variety of adverbs and adverbial phrases.

The theme of this lesson is customer service. Students read an article about the opinions of business travellers on the customer service at hotels in different parts of the world. Words and expressions for describing customer service are practised. In the grammar section of the worksheet, tenses for describing a past experience are studied. At the end of the lesson, students talk about their own customer service experiences.

The theme of this lesson is work stress. Students read an article about an unusual method of relieving stress involving volunteers from Madrid. In the grammar section of the worksheet, reduced relative clauses are studied and practised. At the end of the lesson, there is a speaking activity in which the students discuss different stress relief methods.

The theme of this lesson is health and stress. Students learn a variety of medical terms and read an article on how moderate stress can benefit people’s health according to recent scientific studies. In the grammar exercise, the use of cleft sentences beginning with ‘it’ (e.g. It’s the degree of stress that is important) is studied. Students also practise using the linking words and phrases to develop an argument. At the end of the lesson, there is a general discussion on health.

The theme of this lesson is networking. Students read an article on the benefits of making useful connections in business and how to be a good networker. In the grammar section of the worksheet, a variety of structures with ‘get’ are studied and practised. At the end of the lesson, students talk about the usefulness of networking in their businesses, careers and in job hunting.

The topic of this lesson is driving. Students read an article on the opinions of British travellers on taxi drivers around the world and learn vocabulary for describing driving technique as well as British and American English terms for different road features. The differences between the gerund and infinitive forms in two-verb structures are reviewed and practised. At the end of the lesson, students talk about taxi rides and driving in general.

The theme of this lesson is business ethics. Students read an article about a UK chocolate company called Montezuma’s, whose founders decided to put ethics at the heart of their business. The lesson introduces a number of common phrasal verbs, which are studied and practised. Finally, students discuss attitudes to ethics in their own businesses and countries.

The theme of this lesson is society, wealth and inequality. Students read an article about the widening gap between rich and poor in British society over the past 40 years. A variety of words and expressions are studied for describing society and individual wealth. In the grammar section of the worksheet, students learn how to describe trends using different structures. At the end of the lesson, learners talk about changes in their own societies.

The theme of this lesson is the global financial crisis. Students read an article on how the economic downturn was affecting Britain in 2008. A number of economic terms are introduced, and a variety of structures for predicting and speculating about the future are studied and practised. Students discuss how their countries have been affected by the crisis.

The theme of this lesson is global warming. Students read an article on how low-lying Pacific islands are being affected by rising sea levels as a result of increased global temperatures. Students talk about the potential causes and effects of global warming and discuss the awareness of the issue in their own countries.

The theme of this lesson is what makes a country attractive to potential investors. Students read about the investment potential of Germany and learn a variety of important terms for describing a nation’s economy. At the end of the lesson, students discuss the investment potential of their own countries using vocabulary from the worksheet.

This lesson is based on an article that examines what the world would like be if certain past events had or had not taken place. The third and mixed conditionals are studied and practised in the grammar exercises. At the end of the lesson, students discuss hypothetical scenarios in their own countries.

The theme of this lesson is employee misconduct. Students read an article about how companies in the UK deal with employees who have committed offences at work and in their leisure time. Terms for describing different offences, crimes and aspects of the legal system are studied. In the grammar exercises, the students review and practise the first, second, third and mixed conditionals. At the end of the lesson, the class discusses the worksheet topic.

The theme of this lesson is Internet crime. Students study words and expressions related to the topic and read an article on the different types of scams and crimes that are being committed on the Internet. The passive voice is reviewed and practised. At the end of the lesson, students discuss what measures they can take to avoid becoming victims of online scams. This worksheet is particularly suitable for IT professionals or students interested in computing.

The theme of this lesson is company dress code. Students read a short article about the changing attitudes towards employee dress code among businesses in the UK. In the grammar section of the worksheet, the passive voice is reviewed. This is followed by a discussion on the issues raised in the article and the general attitude to company clothes policy in the students’ own countries.

The theme of this lesson is deforestation. Students read an article on how our environment is being affected by the global destruction of rainforests and some proposed solutions to the problem. Words and collocations related to environmental issues are studied. At the end of the lesson, students discuss their own country’s contribution to global warming and what can be done to reduce carbon emissions.