Would your business survive Dragons’ Den?
Lesson plan overview
This Business ESL lesson plan deals with the topic of business pitches and uses 2 videos from Dragons’ Den. Students will discuss new businesses, will learn essential vocabulary for pitching, will compare 2 videos, and will create their own business pitch. Other lessons you might like are: “Employee mindset vs entrepreneur mindset”, “Where are Europe’s innovative companies”, “Brand differentiation”, “Business models“, “Start and grow your side hustle”, “Idea generation techniques: brainstorming”, “Idioms: entrepreneurship”, “Idioms: innovation”, “Phrasal verbs: investing”, “Phrasal verbs. change and innovation“, and “Phrasal verbs: new ideas”.
The lesson starts with a few discussion questions about shows like Dragons’ Den and Shark Tank, and new businesses.
Vocabulary: Next, students learn useful vocabulary for Dragons’ Den and business pitches. First, they look at a few abbreviations (ROI, IP, CAC, USP), and then some typical words and expressions related to financials (gross profit, net profit, burn rate, valuation, pre-revenue, monetise, equity). To practice, students read a fictional pitch and complete it with a suitable word.
Listening: This lesson is focused on listening and features 2 videos, 5:30 min each. Students watch 2 Dragons’ Den fashion pitches. One of them received an investment and the other one didn’t. First, students watch a part of each video and try to guess which business received an investment, then they watch the rest of the videos and answer different comprehension questions.
After that, they engage in a post-listening discussion about the 2 business ideas, fashion, fast fashion and how the industry could be made more sustainable.
Functional language: Students look at useful language for business pitches, and put the correct title for each group of expressions. Finally, they prepare their pitch (working alone or in pairs – it could be given as homework) and present it in front of their classmates who will be the dragons. At the end of the worksheet, there are sample questions the Dragons might ask.
For more speaking practice, and to review key vocabulary form this lesson, you can use the conversation cards.
Unlock these resources with one of our subscription plans
Teacher’s lesson plan
Student’s worksheet
Student’s interactive PDF
Conversation cards PDF
Pre-class activities
All video-based ESL lesson plans include online pre-class activities, which are FREE and can be completed without registration. Perfect for teachers who wish to embrace the blended learning approach. By providing students with resources and engagement opportunities before the actual class session, educators can foster active participation, enhance comprehension, and optimise in-class discussions.
The pre-class activities are optional: if you choose not to assign them, or your students don’t complete them, it will not disturb the flow of the class. You can find and review the pre-class activities for this lesson plan here:
To send the pre-class activities to your students, copy the link below.
In-class activities
To download the PDF files for this lesson, you need to have an active Premium or Premium + subscription.
Browse FREE lesson plans here.
Additional resources
Each video-based lesson plan includes links to additional resources (videos and articles), which are FREE can be found online (in the pre-class activities page. These links aim to extend the learning experience, enabling students to connect classroom knowledge with real-world applications.
Unlock these resources with one of our subscription plans
Teacher’s lesson plan
Student’s worksheet
Student’s interactive PDF
Conversation cards PDF
Not sure yet?
Try one of our FREE lessons plans
Share this lesson plan with someone who will find it useful