The Kids Were Right: Pokémon at 30
Grammar: Discourse markers and connectors for business narrative
A Business English English lesson exploring business.
What's in this lesson
A Business English ESL lesson on business, practising discourse markers and connectors for business narrative. The worksheet has a reading, target vocabulary and discussion questions.
From the reading: The Kids Were Right: Pokémon at 30
In February 1996, Nintendo released a pair of Game Boy titles in Japan under a name that roughly translated as Pocket Monsters. The games had been designed by Satoshi Tajiri, a self-taught game developer whose childhood obsession with collecting insects had given him an idea: what if players could capture, train and trade digital creatures? The games sold modestly at first. Then word spread through Japanese schoolyards, and within months Pokémon had become a national phenomenon. Nintendo, recognising what it had, expanded the property rapidly — a trading card game, an animated television series, merchandise — before exporting the franchise to North America and Australia in 1998. By the end of 1999, global revenues exceeded one billion dollars. Few product launches in entertainment history had moved faster.
Vocabulary
- disposable income
- intellectual property
- joint venture
- media franchise
- across
- after
- from
- in
- within
Discussion questions
- Have you ever paid more for something because it reminded you of your childhood?
- Should companies design products to require social interaction?
- What makes a brand survive for thirty years when most fade within five?
The Kids Were Right: Pokémon at 30
Grammar: Discourse markers and connectors for business narrative
What's in this lesson:
Full lesson plan with reading, grammar, vocabulary, and discussion.
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