Performance appraisals
Lesson plan overview
This ESL lesson is dedicated to performance appraisals, also known as performance reviews, annual reviews or employee appraisals. Students will learn vocabulary to talk about performance, phrases to give feedback, watch a short video and talk about the topic. You can combine this lesson with the following lessons: “How to get promoted“, “Changing careers”, “Quiet quitting and quiet firing”, “Micromanagement”, “Emotional intelligence at work”, as well as the worksheets “Phrasal verbs: Human Resources“, and “Phrasal verbs: Job performance“.
Speaking: The lesson starts with 2 speaking activities: first, students discuss 4 questions related to performance reviews and then they look at a few statements about employee appraisals and say whether or not they agree with them.
Vocabulary: students look at different things usually discussed during an annual review and learn important vocabulary (accomplishments, gaps in knowledge, career growth).
Video: Students watch a video “Appraisal Meeting Tips For Employees” and complete 2 tasks.
Reading: Students look at examples of different feedback and match the phrases to the situations.
Functional language: Students learn phrases used in performance reviews and decide whether they are used by the employee or the manager. Then they complete the phrases with their own ideas.
Speaking: Lastly, students look at different questions asked during a performance review and role play a performance review.
You can use the conversation cards for additional speaking practice!
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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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