Class Activity Cards

A four-level business English

course (A2 - C1)

ManagementDoing an MBA - DiscussionWrite on the board:

Is it a good idea to do an MBA?

To help stimulate the discussion, offer these advantages and disadvantages:

Advantages:

•highersalary

•accesstotopmanagementposts

Disadvantages:

•veryexpensive

•manysuccessfulentrepreneursdon’thaveone!

The Business 2.0 – For the next generation of business professionalsFor more class activities, teaching tips and resources, visit www.macmillanenglish.com/TheBusiness2.0

Class Activity Cards

Personal developmentGet that perfect job!Ask your students to evaluate their skills on a level from 1-5 in the following areas:

1You’relookingforanewcareerinthecurrent,difficulteconomicclimate.Selfevaluateyour skillsset.Giveyourselfalevelonascaleof1-5(1isnotverygood,5isverygood).

A four-level business English

course (A2 - C1)

The Business 2.0 – For the next generation of business professionalsFor more class activities, teaching tips and resources, visit www.macmillanenglish.com/TheBusiness2.0

E)flexibility F)self-awareness G)knowledgeoflanguages H)ITskills

A)financialmanagementskills B)customerserviceorientation C)leadershippotential D)analyticalthinkingskills

Discussion1)Getstudentstoswaptheirscoreswithapartner.Whatkindofjobwouldtheyeachrecommendfortheother?Why?

business management service accountancy teaching

computers fashion retail tourism finance

Class Activity Cards

ServicePrice vs qualityWrite the following words on the board.

A)price B)quality C)service D)design E)brand

Askthestudentstothinkaboutwhatmattersmosttothemwhenbuyingsomething.

Pairwork

Askstudentstodiscussinpairswhichmattersmostinthefollowingareas:

A)anewmobilephone B)apairofjeans C)amealinarestaurant D)aflighttoseeafriendabroad E)anewcomputer F)buyingonline

A four-level business English

course (A2 - C1)

The Business 2.0 – For the next generation of business professionalsFor more class activities, teaching tips and resources, visit www.macmillanenglish.com/TheBusiness2.0

Class Activity Cards

Enterprise90-second product pitchGivestudents5minutestothinkofanewproductthattheywillpresenttopotentialinvestors.

(Forlower-levelclassesthinkaboutlimitingthenewproducttoacertainareasuchas:anewkitchenutensil,aproductforapet,acaraccessory)

Givethemthepromptsbelowtohelpcovertheareasinvestorswillwanttoknowabout.

• Product/service(What?) • USP*(Whatisexcitingandnew?) • Loan(Howmuchdoyouneed?) • Break-evenpoint(When?) • ROI^(WhatcanyougivebacktotheInvestors?)*uniquesellingpoint^returnoninvestment

Askthestudentstopresenttheirproducttotheclassin90-seconds

A four-level business English

course (A2 - C1)

The Business 2.0 – For the next generation of business professionalsFor more class activities, teaching tips and resources, visit www.macmillanenglish.com/TheBusiness2.0

Class Activity Cards

MarketingSocial networking strategyPairwork

Askstudentswhichsocialnetworkingsitestheyuse?(e.g.Facebook)

Askiftheyfollowor‘like’anycommercialcompaniesandwhy?

Discussion

Isitagoodideaforcompaniestouseasocialnetworkingstrategyaspartofmarketing?Why?

Some viewpoints

Yes

•Goodforrelationshipbuildingwithcustomers

•Somecompanieshaveverygoodbloggers

No

•Socialnetworkingstrategiesarenotgoodforselling–lowROI

•Maintainingasocialnetworkingstrategywastesemployees’time,fornorealbenefit

A four-level business English

course (A2 - C1)

The Business 2.0 – For the next generation of business professionalsFor more class activities, teaching tips and resources, visit www.macmillanenglish.com/TheBusiness2.0

Class Activity CardsClass Activity Cards

FinanceBorrowing moneyPre-discussion

Tellstudentstheywanttostartanewcompany.Fellowdirectorshavethefollowingideasofhowtoraisecash.Thisiswhattheysay:

“Tryandlookforabusinessangel” “Applyforatraditionalbankloan” “Applyforaloanfromapeer-to-peer*scheme” “Investtime,notmoney;tryandsetupthecompanywithoutgoingintodebt”

Discussion

Studentsdecidewhichoptiontotakeandexplainwhy.

Some lower-level classes may benefit from the following prompts:

• “It’shardtofindabusinessangel” • “Bankloansareexpensive”

A four-level business English

course (A2 - C1)

The Business 2.0 – For the next generation of business professionalsFor more class activities, teaching tips and resources, visit www.macmillanenglish.com/TheBusiness2.0

• “Isn’tapeer-to-peerschemerisky?” • “Ijustdon’thavethefreetimetoinvest!”

*Peer-to-peerscheme:peoplewhohavesparemoneylendittopeoplewhowanttoborrow.Arecentdevelopmentinobtaininglow-costloans.

Class Activity CardsClass Activity Cards

Supply chainReverse logisticsReverselogisticsiswhenaproductgoesbackwardsthroughthesupplychainnetwork.Forexample,whenacustomerreturnsafaultyproducttothedistributor;orwhenadistributorreturnsittothemanufacturerinordertodestroyitorrecycleit.

Role-play

Acompanyhasreceivedahugeshipmentofdamagedgoods.Whatshouldtheydowiththem?

Returnthemtothemanufacturetodestroy SellthemasdamagedgoodsoneBay Donatethemtothedevelopingworld/toacharity Sendthemawayforrecycling

Askstudentstodiscusswithapartnerwhichoptiontochooseandwhy

A four-level business English

course (A2 - C1)

The Business 2.0 – For the next generation of business professionalsFor more class activities, teaching tips and resources, visit www.macmillanenglish.com/TheBusiness2.0

Class Activity CardsClass Activity Cards

International tradeCommunication across borders

“Peoplespendtoomuchtimeone-mailsandarelosingtheabilitytocommunicatefacetoface.”

“Wecannotdobusinesswiththem.Theyneveransweroure-mails!”

Discussion

1Howmanye-mailsdoyousendeveryday?Howmanydoyoureceive? 2Haveyoueverhadaproblemwithsomeonemisunderstandingane-mail?Whathappened? 3Inlightofthestatementsabovedoyouthinke-mailshelpbusinesspeoplecommunicatebetter?

A four-level business English

course (A2 - C1)

The Business 2.0 – For the next generation of business professionalsFor more class activities, teaching tips and resources, visit www.macmillanenglish.com/TheBusiness2.0