What France Can Teach You About Work
Grammar: Discourse markers and contrast language
A Business English English lesson exploring business.
What's in this lesson
A Business English ESL lesson on business, practising discourse markers and contrast language. The worksheet has a reading, target vocabulary and discussion questions.
From the reading: What France Can Teach You About Work
Every year on 14 July, France celebrates Bastille Day — a national holiday marked by military parades on the Champs-Élysées, fireworks above the Eiffel Tower, and, perhaps most tellingly, the near-total shutdown of French offices for days on either side. For outsiders, this looks like an economy pressing pause. For the French, it is simply a society honouring its own priorities. And those priorities, it turns out, have quite a lot to teach professionals everywhere about how to present themselves at their best.
Vocabulary
- anxious
- authentic
- empty
- incompetent
- at arm's length
- circle back
- move the needle
- pass the buck
- set the bar
Discussion questions
- Do you think taking more holiday makes workers more or less productive?
- Is it ever appropriate to refuse to answer a work email outside office hours?
- What is the most important thing to show in a job interview?
What France Can Teach You About Work
Grammar: Discourse markers and contrast language
What's in this lesson:
Full lesson plan with reading, grammar, vocabulary, and discussion.
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