When the System Goes Down
Grammar: the language of incident management and professional updates
A Business English English lesson exploring business.
What's in this lesson
A Business English ESL lesson on business, practising the language of incident management and professional updates. The worksheet has a reading, target vocabulary and discussion questions.
From the reading: When the System Goes Down
At 7:43 on a Tuesday morning, the trading platform that serves eleven central banks across Europe went offline. Within four minutes, Laura Martínez, the platform's operations manager in Madrid, had opened a bridge call with her team in Paris and sent the first status update to her clients. "We are aware of the issue," she wrote. "Our team is investigating. We will update you every fifteen minutes." The message was short, professional, and calm — and it bought her team exactly the time they needed.
Vocabulary
- across
- into
- within
- bridge call
- in control
- root cause
- stand-up
- status update
Discussion questions
- Have you ever had to explain a technical problem to someone who is not technical?
- Do you think staying calm is a skill you can practise?
- How do you communicate differently with your team versus your manager?
When the System Goes Down
Grammar: the language of incident management and professional updates
What's in this lesson:
Full lesson plan with reading, grammar, vocabulary, and discussion.
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