Business models

This intermediate Business English lesson is dedicated to the topic of business models. Students will talk about different business models and which ones are the most successful ones, will learn useful business collocations, and will use the Business Model Canvas to describe their company or a company of their choice. Other interesting lessons are: “Seasonality in business“, “Seasonal businesses: Halloween edition“, “Would your business survive Dragons’ Den?“,  “Employee mindset vs entrepreneur mindset”, “Where are Europe’s innovative companies?“, “Business relationships”, “Competition”, “Brand differentiation”, “Start and grow your side hustle”, “Phrasal verbs: new ideas”, “Idioms: entrepreneurship”, and “Phrasal verbs: change and innovation”.

Speaking: The lesson starts with 9 discussion questions. Next, students take a look at 9 popular business models (e.g. subscription-based, e-commerce, dropshipping, affiliate marketing, franchise, marketplace) and explain in their own words how each one works. After that, they match them to the short explanations given.

Vocabulary: Students learn useful collocations, which they find in the explanations (e.g. generate revenue, acquire a user base, drive demand, profit margin, revenue stream, transaction fee). After that, they answer a few questions given.

Listening: Students watch a video called “Introduction to the Business Model Canvas” and complete the table given with information from the video.

Speaking and writing: Finally, students are asked to use the business model canvas to talk about their organization, a company they know well, or a business they want to create. There are also a few optional videos given with examples of how to use the business model canvas.

For more speaking practice, you can use the conversation cards.