The Lasso Method: Leading Across the Atlantic
Grammar: British vs American vernacular in professional contexts
A Business English English lesson exploring leadership.
What's in this lesson
A Business English ESL lesson on leadership, practising british vs american vernacular in professional contexts. The worksheet has a reading, target vocabulary, a grammar reference with practice and discussion questions.
From the reading: The Lasso Method: Leading Across the Atlantic
In 2020, Apple TV+ released a show about an American college football coach hired to manage an English Premier League club — despite knowing almost nothing about the game. Ted Lasso, played by Jason Sudeikis, should have failed within minutes. Instead, the character became one of the most analysed leadership figures in recent business culture, cited in Harvard Business Review articles, executive coaching programmes, and MBA seminars across four continents. The reason has less to do with football and more to do with language.
Vocabulary
- build trust
- code-switching
- disarm hostility
- high-trust signal
Grammar
- BR vs AM: key terms
- Send it by post (BR) / by mail (AM). — same object, different register
- Formal contexts
- Please liaise with the relevant departments. — British register dominates global formal writing
Discussion questions
- Have you ever felt like an outsider because of how you speak?
- Does a manager's accent affect how much you trust them?
- Which is more powerful at work: warmth or authority?
The Lasso Method: Leading Across the Atlantic
Grammar: British vs American vernacular in professional contexts
What's in this lesson:
Full lesson plan with reading, grammar, vocabulary, and discussion.
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