Course contents: Mixed Programmes

This lesson teaches expressions for first-time introductions. Through listening and role play, students learn how to introduce themselves to a colleague or business associate and make appropriate small talk. This worksheet is suitable for the first lesson of a business English course, and provides a good opportunity for the student(s) and teacher to get to know each other.

This lesson teaches students useful vocabulary for talking about their company and job. Learners study expressions for describing a company’s history, location, size, market position, financial results and strategy. Through listening and speaking, the students also learn how to talk about their job responsibilities and what they like/dislike about their work. This worksheet is particularly suitable for the first or second lesson of a business English course.

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.

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.

In this lesson, students learn and practise vocabulary related to people’s character and feelings.

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.

This lesson teaches learners how to avoid causing offence by expressing themselves in a more tactful, diplomatic way. After studying a variety of adjectives for describing different attitudes, the students learn how to use special ‘softening’ structures through reading, language practice and role play.

In this lesson, students study and practise the main uses of the present perfect as well as differences between the present perfect and past simple. The worksheet is suitable for both classroom practice and self-study.

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.

This lesson teaches common words and expressions for describing food and drink, restaurant service and parts of meals. Through listening and role play, students learn how to order a meal in a restaurant as well as discuss menu options with a guest and decide who to pay.

In this lesson, students learn and practise vocabulary related to food and drink.

This lesson teaches common words and phrases for describing hotel facilities, service and staff, as well as practical expressions to use with a hotel receptionist. Through listening and role play, students learn how to book a room, check in and check out.

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.

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.

In this lesson, students learn and practise vocabulary related to road and transport.

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.

This lesson teaches useful expressions for starting and ending a phone call. Through listening and role play, students learn a variety of ways to answer the phone, introduce themselves to the receiver, ask to speak to someone, state the reason for calling and end a phone call.

This lesson teaches useful language for taking and leaving messages during a business call. Through vocabulary, listening and role-play exercises, students learn how to leave a message for someone, take down a message from a caller and exchange information on the phone.

This lesson teaches useful vocabulary for learners who need to write emails in English. The worksheet presents the differences between formal, informal and neutral email styles, and there are a number of writing exercises in which the students practise using different levels of formality.

This lesson teaches vocabulary and expressions for making plans and arrangements. Through listening and role play, the students learn how to schedule, cancel and re-schedule a meeting. The use of the present continuous for stating future plans is also studied, as well as common phrasal verbs used when making arrangements.

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 study and practise basic grammatical structures for talking about future plans and decisions – the present continuous, will + infinitive and going to + infinitive. The lesson is suitable for both classroom practice and self-study.

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.

In this lesson, students learn and practise vocabulary related to health and illness.

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 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.

This lesson teaches a variety of useful terms for learners involved in sales. Through vocabulary and role-play exercises, the students learn how to describe the benefits of their product/service and make an effective sales pitch in English.

This lesson introduces students to negotiating in English. Common terms for describing different points of discussion and negotiating positions are studied. Students then share their own experiences and opinions on a number of negotiation issues. In the second part of the lesson, there is a listening and role play activity in which useful expressions for negotiating are studied and practised.

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 handling complaints in business. Students study a text on the importance of welcoming customer complaints and dealing with problems promptly. Through listening and role play, the students learn useful expressions for making complaints, apologizing and taking action.

This lesson teaches useful expressions for students who need English for business meetings and discussions. Through reading, language practice and role play, students learn how to structure an argument with linking words and phrases as well as respond to opinions using a variety of techniques for agreeing and disagreeing.

This lesson teaches useful expressions for discussing problems and possible solutions. Through listening and role play, the students learn how to make, ask for and respond to suggestions in a variety of ways.

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.

In this lesson, students learn vocabulary for describing visual aids and practise giving a presentation using a variety of useful expressions.

In this lesson, students learn vocabulary for describing areas of an office, shop or factory and practise giving a tour of their workplace using a variety of useful expressions.

In this lesson, students learn and practise vocabulary related to gadgets and appliances.

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.

In this lesson, students study and practise the use and omission of the article ‘the’ before nouns when talking in general. The worksheet is suitable for both classroom practice and self-study.

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.

In this lesson, students learn and practise vocabulary related to computers and the Internet.

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 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.

This lesson teaches expressions and techniques for making conversation. The students study vocabulary for describing different types of social interaction as well as typical conversation openers and responses. Through listening and role play, the learners practise greeting each other and making small talk.

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.

In this lesson, students learn useful phrasal vocabulary for talking about themselves and getting to know other people. Through listening, language practice and role play, students also practise asking about someone’s background, work, leisure interests, etc. using a variety of tenses.

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 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.

In this lesson, students learn useful language for handling and solving problems at work. Vocabulary for describing different types of problems and solutions is studied. Students then listen to several dialogues and study the expressions used by the speakers to declare and diagnose a problem as well as make suggestions and take action. At the end of the lesson, there is a role play activity in which the language from the lesson is put into practice.

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 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.

This lesson teaches language for sharing opinions during business meetings and discussions. Students listen to the board members of an IT distribution company discussing a proposal to expand their business by selling shares to the public. After studying the key expressions from the dialogue, students role-play a management meeting in which they practise exchanging their own opinions and ideas.

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.

In this lesson, students learn and practise vocabulary related to health and lifestyle.

In this lesson, students study common adjectives for describing polite and impolite behaviour. Through listening, language practice and role play, students also learn how to avoid causing offence by using diplomatic ‘softening’ words and structures.

This lesson introduces idioms and common social expressions used for gossiping, confiding in other people and making small talk. Students study the use of question tags in making conversation and role play a variety of situations using the expressions and structures from the lesson.

This short lesson filler introduces eight typical exclamations used by English speakers to express a variety of emotions. The students learn and practise the expressions through language practice, listening and role play.

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.

This lesson teaches useful language for learners who need to negotiate in English. After studying vocabulary for describing the different stages in a negotiation, students listen to two extracts from a negotiation and study the tactics and key structures that are used by each side to make proposals, bargain, and reach a deal. At the end of the lesson, the students role-play a negotiation using the language from the lesson.

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.

In this lesson, students learn how to query figures in English. Vocabulary for describing different numerical mistakes is studied. Students then listen to a phone call in which the speakers report and explain errors. The key expressions used for reporting an error, quoting a discrepancy, explaining an error and promising action are studied and practised.

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.

This lesson is useful for students who are preparing to attend a job interview as well as students who need to interview candidates in English. The worksheet presents key adjectives for describing personal characteristics as well as common words and expressions used for writing a CV. Students look at a variety of typical questions that can be asked during a job interview and then listen to a dialogue between an interviewer and a candidate. The language used in the dialogue is studied and practised through role play.

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.

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.

This lesson is the listening version of the popular article-based worksheet Ethical chocolate. The theme is business ethics. Students listen to an interview with the founders of a UK chocolate company called Montezuma’s. The fictitious dialogue is based on an article from The Independent entitled “The innovative chocolate company with a taste for ethical trading”. Students discuss attitudes to ethics in their own businesses and countries. The lesson also introduces a number of common phrasal verbs, which are studied and practised.

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 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 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.

In this lesson, students learn and practise vocabulary related to crime and punishment.

This lesson teaches useful expressions for learners who need to chair meetings in English. After studying vocabulary for describing the skills and roles of a chairperson, students listen to a dialogue in which the managers of a language training centre discuss their company’s advertising strategy. Key expressions used by the chairperson of the meeting are studied. At the end of the lesson, the students role-play a meeting, taking turns to chair the discussion.

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.

This lesson teaches the vocabulary and grammar necessary for taking meeting minutes in English. Students listen to a dialogue of a meeting and read an extract from the minutes. After studying the vocabulary and grammar used in the text, they practise reporting statements and taking minutes.

In this lesson, students listen to two friends discussing the cuisines of different countries and study the expressions that are used for sharing opinions, agreeing and disagreeing. Students then practise discussing different topics using the language from the lesson.

This lesson presents a variety of words and expressions used for talking about cooking. Through listening, writing and speaking, students learn how to describe a recipe in detail.

The theme of this lesson is weather changes and people’s health. Students read an article on how weather changes can cause headaches according to recent scientific studies. In the grammar exercises, modal verbs used for expressing possibility are reviewed and practised in their present and past forms. At the end of the lesson, students discuss the lesson topic further and its importance in their own countries. This worksheet would be particularly suitable for students from countries with changeable weather systems.

In this lesson, students learn and practise vocabulary for describing the weather.