Understanding the business life cycle
Lesson plan overview
This Business English lesson explores the business life cycle, helping students understand the different stages a company goes through, from startup to decline. Students will learn key business vocabulary, discuss examples, and practice language related to entrepreneurship, growth strategies, and business problems. Other lessons you might like are “Business models“, “Would your business survive Dragons’ Den?“, “Where are Europe’s innovative companies?“, “Idioms: entrepreneurship“, “Phrasal verbs: business expansion”
Speaking: The lesson starts with a dew discussion questions about successful and struggling businesses
Vocabulary: Business terms
Students match a set of verbs (e.g., to pivot, to nurture, to leverage, to burn through) to their definitions to prepare them for the listening activities. This is a focused vocabulary task designed to solidify key business terms that will be used throughout the lesson. To practice, students complete a multiple-choice task.
Listening: First, students match different business activities to the correct business life cycle stage. Then they watch the first part of the video called “How to prepare for the 4 stages of business life cycle” and check their answers. Next, they watch the first part of the video again and complete the notes given with the correct words. Finally, they watch the video until the end and answer 3 open-ended questions.
Speaking: Post-listening discussion: Reflection on Business Experiences
Students reflect on their own business experiences or experiences with businesses they know. They answer questions such as “What stage is your current workplace in?” or “How would you test a business idea?”
Speaking: Students are given a few scenarios and are asked to guess the business life cycle stage each business is in.
Speaking: Discuss Business Life Cycle Challenges
Students analyze and discuss specific business problems at different life cycle stages (e.g., a new bakery struggling to attract customers or a fashion brand receiving negative feedback). They will brainstorm possible solutions for each problem.
Speaking – Discuss Modern Business Challenges
Students reflect on why businesses today often don’t last as long as they used to. They discuss topics such as innovation, automation, and the impact of new technologies, considering questions like whether businesses need to innovate faster and how automation and AI might affect long-term survival. This activity encourages discussion of current business trends and their impact on the future.
Who Is This Lesson Suitable For?
- Upper-intermediate to advanced Business Professionals interested in entrepreneurship, company growth, investment, and business strategy.
- University students studying business, economics, or corporate strategy.
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Pre-class activities
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In-class activities
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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.
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Teacher’s lesson plan
Student’s worksheet
Student’s interactive PDF
Conversation cards PDF
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