Employee mindset vs entrepreneur mindset
Lesson plan overview
This intermediate Business English worksheet deals with the topic of entrepreneur mindset vs employee mindset. Students will discuss the pros and cons of being an employee and being an entrepreneur, as well as which mindset they possess. You can combine this lesson with the video-based lessons “Business models“, “Start and grow your side hustle”, “Quiet quitting”, “How to get promoted“, “Dealing with setbacks and failure“, and the worksheets “Idioms: entrepreneurship”. “Idioms: ambition” and “Idioms: burnout”.
The lesson starts with a couple of activities that will prompt students to talk about their attitudes towards work. First, they are asked to write the first 5 words that they think of when thinking of work. Then, they are given a set of words (e.g. fulfillment, achievement, success, growth, rewarding, stress, overwhelm, monotony, burnout), which they are asked to put into the correct category (positive/negative), and say which words most accurately describe how they feel about work and why.
Speaking: Next, students discuss a few questions about employees and entrepreneurs, and talk about the pros and cons of being an employee or an entrepreneur, discussing 7 different factors.
After that, students are given different sentences and are asked to decide whether the sentences refer to employees or entrepreneurs. Then they are asked to tick the sentences that are true for them and determine whether their mindset is more similar to an entrepreneur or an employee. This activity also introduces useful vocabulary and serves as a pre-listening activity.
Vocabulary: Students match the verbs from the previous activity (e.g. to thrive, to excel, to prioritize, to envision, to embrace, to seize (an opportunity), to be driven by) to their definitions. To practice, they complete 6 sentences so that they are true for them.
Listening: Students watch a video called “10 characteristics of successful entrepreneurs” and complete 2 listening comprehension activities.
Speaking: The lessons concludes with a few conversation questions related to entrepreneurship.
For more speaking practice, you can use the conversation cards.
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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:
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In-class activities
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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