Business Result A2 - Student Book

Lesson 1: Who is who?

A complete review of the verb "to be" across all three tenses: am/is/are, was/were, will be.

Grammar

am/is/are, was/were, will be / won't be

Vocabulary

Jobs, companies, nationalities

Communication

Introductions, hello/goodbye

Describe your team structure

6 exercises ahead: present tense - past tense - future tense - mixed practice - error correction - speaking. Let's go!

Phonetic Warm-up: Sounds

5-7 minutes. Let's tune your ear to key business English sounds.

1. Sound Check

Which word has the same vowel sound as the highlighted one?

/i:/ as in "team":

/ae/ as in "manager":

/e/ as in "present" (noun):

2. Word Stress

Tap the stressed syllable in each word.

3. Say It

Read the sentence aloud. Focus on the stressed words and correct sounds.

"The developer presents the sprint report to the team."

4. Quick Quiz

Which word has the stress on the SECOND syllable?

"Team" rhymes with:

How many syllables in "developer"?

Diagnostic: What do you know?

This is Lesson 1, so let's see what you already know. Tap each card to check your answer.

Think about these questions:

1. What are all the forms of "to be" in the present?

2. How do you talk about the past using "to be"?

3. How do you form questions with "to be"?

Меня зовут Анна.

Tap to see the answer

My name is Anna.

name + is (3rd person singular)

Я менеджер проекта.

Tap to see the answer

I am a project manager.

I + am (1st person singular)

Он был на встрече вчера.

Tap to see the answer

He was at the meeting yesterday.

was - past of "is" (he/she/it)

Мы будем готовы завтра.

Tap to see the answer

We will be ready tomorrow.

will be - future of "to be"

Она не была в офисе.

Tap to see the answer

She was not in the office.

was not (wasn't) - negative past

Вы готовы к встрече?

Tap to see the answer

Are you ready for the meeting?

Are you...? - question with "to be"

Self-Check: Before We Start

How confident are you right now? Be honest - we'll check again at the end!

Lead-in: About You

Let's start with some questions about your work and experience.

Discuss with your teacher:

1. What is your job title? What are your main responsibilities?

2. Where is your company's head office? How many people are in your team?

3. What was your first job? Was it in IT?

To Be - Present Simple

Read about Marcegaglia, then complete the exercises below.

Marcegaglia

Marcegaglia is an Italian company and one of its main products is steel pipes. The company's head office is in Italy, near Milan, but its customers aren't only Italian. They are in countries all over the world. Marcegaglia is a family company. Antonio Marcegaglia and his sister Emma are the Chief Executive Officers. For Emma, the family company isn't her only job. She is also the leader of the oil and gas company Eni.

Exercise 1: Choose the correct form

Listen to the interview about Marcegaglia and choose the correct word.

1.4

Interviewer: So, is Marcegaglia a family company?

Speaker: Yes, it is. The founder was Steno Marcegaglia. His children Antonio and Emma are the CEOs.

Interviewer: Are they from a big family?

Speaker: No, they're from a small family. Steno had only two children.

Interviewer: Marcegaglia isn't a small company.

Speaker: No, it's a multi-billion euro company. It's huge.

Interviewer: And are all the employees in Italy?

Speaker: No. They are in Italy and in many other countries. Over 7,500 employees in total.

Exercise 2: Complete with am / is / are / isn't / aren't

Fill in the gaps with the correct present form of "to be".

To Be - Past Simple

Listen to Janusz and Carlos talking about a presentation, then complete the conversation.

5.2

Exercise 3: Complete with was / wasn't / were / weren't

Choose the correct word for each gap in the conversation.

Janusz: Sorry I'm late. I was at the presentation on branding.

Carlos: Oh, was that this morning?

Janusz: Yes, at 7.30 in the Century Hotel.

Carlos: Oh. Was it good?

Janusz: Yes, the presentation was really interesting and there were lots of good questions at the end.

Carlos: Were there many people there?

Janusz: There weren't many people for the breakfast at the start, but there were lots for the presentation. It was too early for some people!

Carlos: Were you on time?

Janusz: Yes. But the breakfast wasn't very good.

Carlos: Anyway, why weren't you in the office yesterday?

Janusz: There were terrible problems with my flight back from Rome.

To Be - Future: will be / won't be

When we talk about the future state of things, we use will be and won't be.

Language Point: will be

We use will be to talk about future facts, predictions, and states: "The meeting will be at 3 pm."
Positive: I / you / he / she / it / we / they will be (short form: 'll be)
Negative: will not be (short form: won't be)
Questions: Will I / you / he / she / it / we / they be...?
Short answers: Yes, ... will. / No, ... won't.

Company Changes - Next Year

Our company will be very different next year. The new office will be in a bigger building near the city centre. It won't be far from the train station, so the commute will be easier for everyone.

The IT department will be on the third floor. The CEO says the open-plan layout will be better for teamwork. Some employees think it won't be quiet enough, but the company will be happy to provide noise-cancelling headphones.

Will the restaurant be in the new building too? Yes, it will. And it will be open from 7 am to 8 pm.

Exercise 4: Will be or won't be?

Complete the sentences about the future. Choose the correct form.

Grammar Reference: To Be

A complete summary of "to be" in present, past, and future.

TO BE - Present Simple

	Positive	Negative	Questions	Short answers
I	am / 'm	am not / 'm not	Am I...?	Yes, I am. / No, I'm not.
You / We / They	are / 're	are not / aren't	Are you/we/they...?	Yes, ... are. / No, ... aren't.
He / She / It	is / 's	is not / isn't	Is he/she/it...?	Yes, ... is. / No, ... isn't.

TO BE - Past Simple

	Positive	Negative	Questions	Short answers
I / He / She / It	was	was not / wasn't	Was I/he/she/it...?	Yes, ... was. / No, ... wasn't.
You / We / They	were	were not / weren't	Were you/we/they...?	Yes, ... were. / No, ... weren't.

TO BE - Future (will be)

	Positive	Negative	Questions	Short answers
I / You / He / She / It / We / They	will be / 'll be	will not be / won't be	Will ... be ...?	Yes, ... will. / No, ... won't.

Note: "will be" is the same for ALL persons - much simpler than present and past!

Tips:
- Short forms (present): I'm, you're, he's, she's, it's, we're, they're
- Short forms (past): wasn't, weren't - use in speaking. Use was not, were not in formal writing.
- Short forms (future): 'll be, won't be - "The meeting'll be short." / "It won't be a problem."

Exercise 5: Mixed Practice

Choose the correct form of "to be" - present, past, or future. All three tenses are mixed!

Exercise 6: Find and Fix the Mistake

Each sentence below has one error with the verb "to be". Type the corrected sentence.

Speaking Practice

Discuss these questions with your teacher. Use the verb "to be" in all three tenses.

Self-Check: After the Lesson

Answer the same questions again. Let's see your progress!

Lesson Complete!

Overall score

What I Learned

Ready to practise more?

The Workbook has extra exercises to reinforce what you learned.

Open Workbook

Lesson 2: What is where?

Your colleague from London is visiting your office. Can you describe your workspace, tools, and facilities in English?

Grammar

there is / there are, some / any, prepositions of place

Vocabulary

workspace, project board, meeting rooms, office facilities

Communication

Describing places, asking about facilities, explaining office layouts

Describe your workspace and tools

Office Vocabulary for this lesson:

project board to-do list task in progress done urgent workspace monitor server room meeting room break area whiteboard

Phonetic Warm-up: Word Stress

5-7 minutes. Business words often have tricky stress patterns. Let's practise.

1. Word Stress

Tap the stressed syllable in each word.

2. Sentence Stress

In English sentences, we stress the important words (nouns, verbs, adjectives). Listen and notice which words are louder:

"There is a MEETING ROOM on the SECOND FLOOR."

Content words (meeting, room, second, floor) are stressed. Function words (there, is, a, on, the) are unstressed.

3. Say It

Try this office tongue twister. Say it three times, getting faster each time!

"There are three free meeting rooms on the third floor."

4. Quick Quiz

Which word has stress on the FIRST syllable?

In the sentence "There is a printer in the office", which words are stressed?

How many syllables in "equipment"?

Review: Lesson 1 - To Be

Quick recall from last lesson. Tap each card to check your answer.

Quick Recall:

1. What are the three forms of "to be" in the present?

2. How do you make a negative sentence with "to be"?

3. How do you ask a question with "to be"?

Она менеджер проекта.

Tap to see the answer

She is a project manager.

she + is (3rd person singular)

Они были на совещании.

Tap to see the answer

They were at the meeting.

were - past of "are" (they/we/you)

Он будет свободен завтра.

Tap to see the answer

He will be free tomorrow.

will be - future of "to be"

Я не разработчик.

Tap to see the answer

I am not a developer.

am not - negative (I'm not)

Мы были заняты вчера.

Tap to see the answer

We were busy yesterday.

were - past (we/they/you)

Ты готов к презентации?

Tap to see the answer

Are you ready for the presentation?

Are you...? - question (inversion)

Self-Check: Before

How well can you do these things right now? Be honest - we will check again at the end.

Warm-up: Recycling from Lesson 1

Quick review - complete with the correct form of "to be" (am/is/are/was/were + negatives and questions).

There Is / There Are

Read about TechFlow's office, then complete the exercises below.

TechFlow's Office in Berlin

Welcome to TechFlow's office in Berlin. There is a large open-plan workspace on the second floor. There are about 50 desks, and there is a project board on the wall near each team. There aren't any private offices - everyone works in the same space.

There is a server room in the basement. There are three meeting rooms and there is a small kitchen on every floor. There isn't a gym, but there is a nice garden outside.

3.1

Guide: OK, so this is TechFlow's office in Berlin. There is a large open-plan workspace on the second floor. There are about 50 desks, and there is a project board on the wall near each team.

Visitor: Are there any private offices?

Guide: No, there aren't any private offices. Everyone works in the same space.

Visitor: Is there a kitchen?

Guide: Yes, there is a small kitchen on every floor. There are also three meeting rooms. There isn't a gym, but there is a nice garden outside.

Visitor: And is there a server room?

Guide: Yes, there is a server room in the basement.

Exercise 1: Choose the correct form

Based on the TechFlow reading, choose the correct option.

Exercise 2: Complete the questions and answers

Fill in the gaps about a tech office. Type Is, Are, is, are, or isn't.

Some and Any

Learn when to use some and any, then practise.

Language Point: some / any

some - use in positive sentences: "There are some tasks on the to-do list."
any - use in negatives: "There aren't any problems."
any - use in questions: "Are there any bugs?"
some - also in offers/requests: "Would you like some coffee?"

Exercise 3: Choose some or any

Select the correct word for each sentence.

Grammar Reference

A complete summary of there is/are, some/any, and prepositions of place.

There is / There are

	Singular	Plural
Positive	There is (There's) a printer.	There are two printers.
Negative	There isn't a printer.	There aren't any printers.
Question	Is there a printer?	Are there any printers?
Short answer	Yes, there is. / No, there isn't.	Yes, there are. / No, there aren't.

Some vs Any

Rule	Example
some = positive sentences	There are some tasks on the to-do list.
any = negatives	There aren't any bugs.
any = questions	Are there any meeting rooms?
some = offers/requests	Would you like some help?

Prepositions of Place

inin the office

onon the desk

atat work

next tonext to the door

nearnear the window

betweenbetween rooms

behindbehind the building

oppositeopposite the cafe

in front ofin front of the screen

Remember:
- There is + singular noun (There is a server room.)
- There are + plural noun (There are three meeting rooms.)
- Use some in positive, any in negative and questions.

Exercise 4: Mixed Practice

Choose the correct option. Mixing there is/are + some/any + prepositions.

Exercise 5: Error Fix

Each sentence has an error with there is/are or some/any. Type the corrected sentence.

Speaking Practice

Discuss these questions with your teacher. Use there is/are, some/any, and prepositions of place.

Self-Check: After

Now check again - how well can you do these things after the lesson?

Lesson Complete!

Overall score

What I learned

Back to Course

Ready to practise more?

The Workbook has extra exercises to reinforce what you learned.

Open Workbook

Lesson 3: How things work

Present Simple, adverbs of frequency, and Wh-questions in an IT context.

Grammar

Present Simple (+/-/?), adverbs of frequency, Wh-questions

Vocabulary

Job titles (accountant, HR manager, project manager, sales manager, executive assistant), daily routines, responsibilities

Communication

Describing routines, asking about work processes, talking about team responsibilities

Explain your daily processes

8 exercises ahead: warm-up - vocabulary (jobs) - present simple - questions - grammar reference - mixed practice - error fix - speaking. Let's go!

Phonetic Warm-up: Sounds

5-7 minutes. Third-person -s has three different pronunciations. Let's learn them.

1. Sound Check

The -s/-es ending in 3rd person has three sounds: /s/, /z/, and /ɪz/. Which sound do you hear?

"assigns" - the -s sounds like:

"deploys" - the -s sounds like:

"manages" - the -es sounds like:

2. Word Stress

Tap the stressed syllable in each adverb of frequency.

3. Say It

Read this sentence aloud. Pay attention to the /z/ sound in "assigns" and "reviews".

"She usually assigns tasks and reviews code before lunch."

4. Quick Quiz

"works" - the -s sounds like:

Which adverb has stress on the SECOND syllable?

"prioritizes" - how many syllables?

Review: Lesson 2 - There is / There are

Quick recall from last lesson. Tap each card to check your answer.

Quick Recall:

1. When do you use "there is" vs "there are"?

2. What is the difference between "some" and "any"?

3. How do you make a question with "there is/are"?

В офисе есть принтер.

Tap to see the answer

There is a printer in the office.

there is + singular noun

На столе нет ноутбука.

Tap to see the answer

There is no laptop on the desk.

there is no + singular (negative)

Есть ли свободные переговорные?

Tap to see the answer

Are there any free meeting rooms?

Are there any...? - question + plural

В здании есть кафе.

Tap to see the answer

There is a cafe in the building.

there is + a + singular countable

Рядом с офисом нет парковки.

Tap to see the answer

There is no parking near the office.

there is no + uncountable noun

На стене несколько мониторов.

Tap to see the answer

There are some monitors on the wall.

there are + some + plural

Warm-up: Recycling L1 + L2

Quick review of "to be" and "there is/are" from previous lessons.

Reading: A Day in the Life of a Scrum Team

Read this text about a typical day in a development team.

A Day in the Life of a Scrum Team

Every morning, the development team has a daily stand-up at 9:30. Each person answers three questions: What did I do yesterday? What am I doing today? Are there any blockers?

The stand-up usually takes 15 minutes. After the stand-up, developers review pull requests and write code. The QA engineer tests new features.

The Scrum Master doesn't write code - she removes blockers and helps the team. The Product Owner prioritizes the backlog and talks to stakeholders.

Every two weeks, the team deploys to production. They always run automated tests before deployment.

Vocabulary: Jobs in a Company

Learn different job titles and what these people do every day.

Job Titles

accountant - бухгалтер

HR manager - менеджер по персоналу

project manager - менеджер проекта

executive assistant - помощник руководителя

sales manager - менеджер по продажам

IT support specialist - специалист техподдержки

marketing coordinator - координатор маркетинга

office manager - офис-менеджер

Exercise: Match jobs to responsibilities

Click a job title on the left, then click the matching description on the right.

Exercise 1: Choose the correct Present Simple form

Select the correct option for each sentence.

Exercise 2: Adverbs of frequency

Type the correct adverb of frequency in each gap. Word bank: always, usually, sometimes, often, rarely, never

Word bank: always / usually / sometimes / often / rarely / never

Exercise 3: Complete Wh-questions

Type the missing question word or phrase to complete each question.

Grammar Reference: Present Simple

A complete summary of Present Simple: positive, negative, questions, and adverbs of frequency.

Present Simple - Positive

Subject	Verb	Example
I / You / We / They	base form	I deploy every two weeks.
He / She / It	verb + -s / -es	She reviews pull requests.

Present Simple - Negative

Subject	Negative	Example
I / You / We / They	don't + base form	We don't deploy on Fridays.
He / She / It	doesn't + base form	He doesn't write code.

Present Simple - Questions

Question word	Auxiliary	Subject	Verb
(What / Where / When...)	Do	I / you / we / they	base form?
(What / Where / When...)	Does	he / she / it	base form?
Short answers: Yes, I do. / No, she doesn't.

Adverbs of Frequency

Adverb	Frequency	Position
always	100%	Before the main verb: "I always check." After BE: "He is always late."
usually	~90%
often	~70%
sometimes	~50%
rarely	~10%
never	0%

Remember:
- After he/she/it: add -s (works, deploys, fixes)
- Special spelling: -es after -ch, -sh, -s, -x, -o (watches, goes)
- Consonant + y: change to -ies (studies, carries)
- In negatives and questions with do/does, the main verb stays in base form: "Does he deploy?" NOT "Does he deploys?"

Exercise 4: Mixed Practice

Choose the correct form. All types mixed: positive, negative, questions, adverbs!

Exercise 5: Error Fix

Each sentence has a grammar mistake. Rewrite the sentence correctly.

Speaking Practice

Discuss these questions with your teacher. Use Present Simple and adverbs of frequency.

Ready to practise more?

The Workbook has extra exercises to reinforce what you learned.

Open Workbook

Lesson 4: When things go wrong

Past Simple: regular and irregular verbs, negatives, questions, and time expressions.

Grammar

Past Simple (regular + irregular), negatives with didn't, questions with Did

Vocabulary

launch, release, deadline, milestone, bug, crash, rollback, retrospective, hotfix, incident, escalate, downtime

Communication

Telling stories about past events, describing incidents, running retrospectives

Tell the story of your project

7 exercises ahead: warm-up - regular verbs - irregular verbs - negatives and questions - mixed practice - error fix - speaking. Let's go!

Phonetic Warm-up: -ed Endings

5-7 minutes. Past tense -ed has three pronunciations: /t/, /d/, and /ɪd/. Let's practise.

1. Word Stress: -ed Endings

The -ed ending sounds different depending on the last consonant. Choose the correct pronunciation.

"launched" - the -ed sounds like:

"reported" - the -ed sounds like:

"fixed" - the -ed sounds like:

2. More -ed Practice

Sort these words by their -ed sound. Tap the correct pronunciation.

"decided":

"updated":

3. Sentence Stress

In past tense sentences, we stress the content words. Listen and repeat.

"We LAUNCHED the app, but it CRASHED on the FIRST DAY."

4. Say It

Try saying this aloud. Focus on the -ed endings.

"The team reported the bug, fixed the code, and deployed the hotfix."

5. Quick Quiz

Which word has an EXTRA syllable when you add -ed?

"rolled back" - the -ed in "rolled" sounds like:

Which pair has the same -ed sound?

Review: Lesson 3 - Present Simple

Quick recall from last lesson. Tap each card to check your answer.

Quick Recall:

1. How do you form the Present Simple for he/she/it?

2. How do you make a negative in the Present Simple?

3. Where do you put adverbs of frequency in a sentence?

Она работает каждый день.

Tap to see the answer

She works every day.

she + verb+s (3rd person)

Мы обычно начинаем в 9 часов.

Tap to see the answer

We usually start at 9 o'clock.

adverb before main verb

Он не проверяет код по пятницам.

Tap to see the answer

He doesn't review code on Fridays.

doesn't + base form (no -s!)

Как часто вы деплоите?

Tap to see the answer

How often do you deploy?

How often + do/does + subject + verb

Менеджер всегда приходит вовремя.

Tap to see the answer

The manager always arrives on time.

always before verb, arrives (3rd person +s)

Они иногда работают удаленно.

Tap to see the answer

They sometimes work remotely.

sometimes before verb (they = no -s)

Warm-up: Recycling L1 + L2 + L3

Quick review of grammar from previous lessons.

Reading: The Big Crash

Read this story about a real production incident.

The Big Crash

Last Friday, our team launched a new version of the app. Everything looked fine at first. But two hours later, the system crashed. Customers couldn't log in.

The monitoring system detected the problem and sent alerts to the DevOps team. Our lead developer checked the logs and found the bug - a database migration failed.

He rolled back to the previous version immediately. The Product Owner called the main client and apologized.

We fixed the bug on Saturday, tested everything on Sunday, and deployed the hotfix on Monday morning.

In the retrospective, we decided to add more automated tests. The whole incident lasted about 30 hours.

Exercise 1: Regular Past Simple (-ed)

Complete using the past simple of the verb in brackets.

Exercise 2: Irregular Past Simple

Choose the correct past simple form for each sentence.

Exercise 3: Negatives and Questions

Choose the correct word for each gap: did, didn't, was, wasn't, were, weren't

Grammar Reference: Past Simple

A complete summary of Past Simple: regular verbs, irregular verbs, negatives, and questions.

Past Simple - Regular Verbs (-ed)

Rule	Example	Past form
Most verbs: + -ed	launch, test, call	launched, tested, called
Verbs ending in -e: + -d	apologize, release	apologized, released
Consonant + y: y -> -ied	deploy (not C+y!), carry	deployed, carried
CVC (short vowel): double last letter + -ed	stop, plan	stopped, planned

Past Simple - Common Irregular Verbs (IT context)

Base form	Past Simple	Example
go	went	The system went down.
find	found	He found the bug.
send	sent	The system sent alerts.
have	had	We had a retrospective.
choose	chose	We chose a new framework.
know	knew	I knew about the issue.
write	wrote	She wrote the test cases.
run	ran	We ran automated tests.
is/are	was/were	The client was unhappy.
can	could	They couldn't log in.

Past Simple - Negatives and Questions

Type	Structure	Example
Negative	Subject + didn't + base form	We didn't notice the bug.
Question	Did + subject + base form?	Did you check the logs?
Short answer	Yes, ... did. / No, ... didn't.	Did you test it? Yes, I did.
Wh-question	Wh + did + subject + base form?	What did you deploy?

Time expressions for Past Simple:
yesterday, last week/month/Friday, ago (two days ago), on Monday, in 2023, at 3 pm (yesterday), this morning (if the day is over)

Important: After didn't and did, always use the base form of the verb (NOT the past form).
Wrong: Did you deployed? Right: Did you deploy?
Wrong: We didn't found. Right: We didn't find.

Exercise 4: Mixed Practice

Choose the correct form. Regular, irregular, negatives, and questions are all mixed!

Exercise 5: Error Fix

Each sentence has a grammar mistake. Rewrite the sentence correctly.

Speaking Practice

Discuss these questions with your teacher. Use Past Simple throughout.

Ready to practise more?

The Workbook has extra exercises to reinforce what you learned.

Open Workbook

Lesson 3: How things work

Present Simple, adverbs of frequency and Wh-questions - for talking about how your team works.

How this lesson runs. You start by speaking, before any grammar. You will notice what you cannot say yet - then we fix exactly that, drill it out loud, and you speak again at the end to see the difference.

By the end of this lesson you can say:

"We plan the sprint on Monday and we deploy on Wednesday."
"We never deploy on Fridays."
"How often does your team have retrospectives?"
"The Product Owner prioritises the backlog. She doesn't write code."

Grammar

Present Simple (+/-/?), adverbs of frequency, Wh-questions

Vocabulary

Jobs in a company, sprint and daily process verbs

Communication

Describing a process, asking about someone's routine

Output Check: Before

Speak first, learn second. Do not prepare and do not write anything down - just talk.

Why now, before the grammar? You know the words (sprint, deploy, backlog, review). The gap is in the forms that hold those words together. You have to hit that gap yourself before the rule means anything.

"A new developer joins your team on Monday.
Explain how your team works."

Speak for 60 seconds. Out loud. Keep going even when it comes out wrong.

0:60

Teacher: tick what you hear

Do not interrupt. Tick the slips, count them, and keep the number - we compare it at the end of the lesson.

Slips heard: 0

Student: what was hard?

Which idea did you want to express but could not? Write it in one line - in English or in Russian.

Self-Assessment: Before

You have just tried it for real. Now rate yourself honestly - this is the baseline we compare against.

Phonetic Warm-up: the -s ending

5-7 minutes. The third-person -s has three different sounds. Hearing it is step one; saying it is step two.

This is grammar, not decoration. If you cannot pronounce the -s, you will keep dropping it in speech, and nobody will correct you because the meaning survives without it. That is exactly how the mistake gets frozen in.

1. Sound Check

The -s/-es ending has three sounds: /s/, /z/ and /ɪz/. Which sound is in each word?

deploys

reviews

fixes

2. Word Stress

Tap the stressed syllable in each adverb of frequency.

3. Say It

Now produce the ending. Listen to the model, then say the whole sentence out loud and mark yourself.

Said out loud 0 / 6

Recall: Lessons 1 and 2

Say each sentence in English, out loud, before you look at anything.

Active retrieval, not recognition. Pulling a form out of memory with nothing on the screen to choose from is what makes it stick. Choosing the right option from three is much easier and teaches you much less. Use the hints only after you have tried - each one gives you a little more.

Attempted 0 / 6

Sentence Frames

Eight ready-made frames. The grammar is already built in - you only drop in your own words.

Your vocabulary is ahead of your grammar. So do not build sentences from rules - take a frame that is already correct and fill it with the words you use at work every day. The frame carries the grammar; your working memory stays free for the content.

Frames used 0 / 8

Vocabulary: Jobs in a Company

Eight roles and what each of them does - going straight into the frame from the last section.

Who does what

Job title	What this person does
accountant	manages the money and pays the invoices
HR manager	hires new people and organises the interviews
project manager	plans the work and checks the deadlines
executive assistant	organises the meetings and the travel
sales manager	talks to clients and closes the deals
IT support specialist	fixes the laptops and resets the passwords
marketing coordinator	prepares the campaigns and writes the content
office manager	orders the supplies and runs the office

Notice: every verb in that table ends in -s. One person = one -s. That is the whole rule, and it is the one that disappears first when you speak fast.

Said out loud 0 / 3

The three forms you just needed

Short and targeted. Each one answers a gap you hit earlier in this lesson.

This is why the speaking came first. A rule read before you need it is a fact to memorise. A rule read right after you have failed to produce the form is an answer to your own question.

1. He / She / It takes -s

The slip He deploy every day. → He deploys every day.

One person, one -s. I / you / we / they take the plain verb: we deploy. He / she / it add -s: he deploys. After -ch, -sh, -s, -x, -o it becomes -es: fixes, watches, goes.

2. Questions and negatives need do / does

The slip How you prioritise the backlog? → How do you prioritise the backlog?

Present Simple cannot ask a question on its own - it needs do (I/you/we/they) or does (he/she/it). And once does has taken the -s, the main verb loses it: Does he deploy? not Does he deploys? The same goes for don't / doesn't.

3. Adverbs of frequency sit before the verb

The slip I am always at the stand-up... we deploy never on Friday. → I am always at the stand-up. We never deploy on Friday.

Before the main verb: we never deploy, she usually checks. But after the verb be: he is always late. That one swap is the whole difference.

Full grammar reference: all tables, spelling rules and the frequency scale

Present Simple - Positive

Subject	Verb	Example
I / You / We / They	base form	I deploy every two weeks.
He / She / It	verb + -s / -es	She reviews pull requests.

Present Simple - Negative

Subject	Negative	Example
I / You / We / They	don't + base form	We don't deploy on Fridays.
He / She / It	doesn't + base form	He doesn't write code.

Present Simple - Questions

Question word	Auxiliary	Subject	Verb
(What / Where / When...)	Do	I / you / we / they	base form?
(What / Where / When...)	Does	he / she / it	base form?
Short answers: Yes, I do. / No, she doesn't.

Adverbs of Frequency

Adverb	Frequency	Position
always	100%	Before the main verb: "I always check." After BE: "He is always late."
usually	~90%
often	~70%
sometimes	~50%
rarely	~10%
never	0%

Transformation Drills

One sentence, one instruction, eight seconds. Say the new sentence out loud before the timer runs out.

The timer is the point. Eight seconds is not enough time to look the rule up in your head - and that is exactly what we want. Real speech runs at about 150 words a minute; a form you can only produce slowly is not yet usable. Getting it wrong at speed is more useful here than getting it right slowly.

Item 1 of 12

Written Practice: adverbs of frequency

Type the adverb in the gap. Six items only - the rest of the writing is in the Workbook.

Writing still earns its place - just less of it in class. Writing forces you to process the form deeply, but it does not build speed. So we keep a short written block here and move the bulk of it into daily homework, where 20-25 minutes a day beats one long session.

Word bank: always / usually / often / sometimes / rarely / never

Error Fix

Every sentence has one mistake. Rewrite it correctly - and you get no answer until you have tried.

You get a nudge, not the answer. Miss it once and you are told which part is wrong, not what to write. Miss it twice and the nudge gets more precise. The point is that you make the correction - a fix you produce yourself is worth far more than one you copy from a hint sitting next to the task.

Output Check: After

Same task, same 60 seconds. This is the only measurement of this lesson that actually counts.

Why repeat the same task? Because progress you cannot see is progress you stop believing in. Two runs of the identical task, forty minutes apart, make the difference visible - in the number of slips and in how much you manage to say.

"A new developer joins your team on Monday.
Explain how your team works."

Same task as at the start. Use the frames. Watch the -s.

0:60

Teacher: tick what you hear (second time)

The same list. Tick honestly - a flat result tells you what to put in the homework.

Slips heard: 0

Before the lesson

slips heard

After the lesson

slips heard

Student: what changed?

Read what you wrote at the start of the lesson, then answer: can you say it now?

What you wrote before:

(nothing written)

Self-Assessment: After

The same four questions as at the start. Has anything moved?

Lesson Complete

Two separate numbers, because they measure two different things.

Accuracy

Auto-checked written work: phonetics, gaps, error fix.

Practice

Said out loud. Counted as done, not as right - the teacher hears the accuracy.

What I learned

One or two lines. Writing it down is the last retrieval of the lesson.

Homework: 5 days, 20-25 minutes each

Spread over the week, not done in one sitting the night before the next lesson. That is not a rule of politeness - short daily practice simply produces more than one long session.

Open Workbook

Lesson 4+: When things go wrong

Past Simple, irregular verbs and time expressions - for telling the story of a project.

How this lesson runs. You start by telling your own story, before any grammar. Then you listen to a model incident story and try to rebuild it. Only after that do the rules and the drills come in - and you finish by telling your story again, to hear the difference.

By the end of this lesson you can say:

"We launched version 2.3 last Friday, but it crashed two hours later."
"Sasha found the bug and we rolled back the release."
"We didn't test that edge case before the deploy."
"Did you fix it before the retrospective?"

Grammar

Past Simple: regular (-ed), irregular, negatives, questions, time expressions

Vocabulary

launch, release, deadline, milestone, bug, crash, rollback, retrospective, hotfix, incident

Communication

Explaining what went wrong, apologising, telling the story of a past project

Output Check: Before

Speak first, learn second. Do not prepare and do not write anything down - just talk.

Why now, before the grammar? You already know the words (launch, bug, crash, deploy). The gap is in holding a whole story together in the past - the forms, the order, the connectors. You have to hit that gap yourself before the rule means anything.

"Tell me about a project that had problems.
What happened?"

Speak for 60 seconds. Out loud. Keep going even when it comes out wrong.

0:60

Teacher: tick what you hear

Do not interrupt. Tick the slips, count them, and keep the number - we compare it at the end of the lesson.

Slips heard: 0

Student: what was hard?

Which part of the story did you want to tell but could not? Write it in one line - in English or in Russian.

Self-Assessment: Before

You have just tried it for real. Now rate yourself honestly - this is the baseline we compare against.

Phonetic Warm-up: the -ed ending

5-7 minutes. The regular past -ed has three different sounds. Hearing it is step one; saying it is step two.

This is grammar, not decoration. If you cannot pronounce the -ed, you will keep dropping it in speech, and nobody will correct you because the meaning survives without it - until the listener loses track of when things happened.

1. Sound Check

The -ed ending has three sounds: /t/, /d/ and /ɪd/. Which sound is in each word?

launched

deployed

tested

2. Word Stress

Tap the stressed syllable in each word from this lesson's vocabulary.

3. Say It

Now produce the ending. Listen to the model, then say the whole sentence out loud and mark yourself.

Said out loud 0 / 6

Listen & Reconstruct

A short incident story, read twice. No transcript while you listen - just notes.

Why reconstruction, not translation. A single sentence recall drill will not train you to hold a whole story together. Here you listen for meaning, not for individual words, then rebuild the story in your own words - and only afterwards compare it to the original. The gap between your version and the model is exactly where the noticing happens.

Step 1: Listen

Take notes if you want - key words only, not full sentences.

Standard player - pause and rewind as much as you like. Listen at least twice before you write your reconstruction.

Step 2: Reconstruct

Write the story again, in your own words. It does not have to match exactly - it has to make sense.

The original story

The key past-tense verbs are marked. Read your own version again and check them off below.

Notice: seven of these eight verbs are irregular - looked is the only regular one in the story. That is normal for a story about the past: the most common verbs in English are almost all irregular.

Sentence Frames

Six ready-made frames for telling an incident story. Drop in your own project's details.

Your vocabulary is ahead of your grammar. Do not build sentences from rules - take a frame that is already correct and fill it with what actually happened at your work. The frame carries the grammar; your working memory stays free for the content.

Frames used 0 / 6

Connectors for telling a story: First... · Then... · After that... · Next... · But... · So... · In the end... · As a result...
Keep these for the Chain Drill later in this lesson and for the free-writing homework - a story without connectors is just a list of facts.

Vocabulary: When Things Go Wrong

Read the summary below first. The ten highlighted words are the ones you'll use in the frames from the last section.

Our team had a big incident last month. We had a deadline for a new feature, and version 3.1 was an important milestone for the project. We planned to launch it on Monday and release it to all customers by Friday. But on Tuesday, a customer found a bug on the checkout page. The app started to crash every time someone tried to pay. We needed a hotfix fast, so the team decided to do a rollback to version 3.0. Everything worked again by the evening. On Friday, we had a retrospective meeting to talk about what went wrong and how to stop it next time.

Incident vocabulary - check the meanings

Word	What it means
launch	to make a new product or version available for the first time
release	to publish a new version to users
deadline	the date by which something must be finished
milestone	an important point in a project's progress
bug	a mistake in the code that causes a problem
crash	to stop working suddenly and completely
rollback	going back to the previous, working version
retrospective	a meeting where the team looks back at what happened
hotfix	a quick, urgent fix for a serious bug
incident	an event where something went wrong and had to be handled

Said out loud 0 / 3

The three forms you just needed

Short and targeted. Each one answers a gap you hit earlier in this lesson.

This is why the speaking came first. A rule read before you need it is a fact to memorise. A rule read right after you have failed to produce the form is an answer to your own question.

1. Regular verbs take -ed

The slip We launch it last week. → We launched it last week.

Add -ed to the base form: launch → launched, test → tested, fix → fixed. Consonant + y becomes -ied: carry → carried. One vowel + one consonant at the end often doubles: stop → stopped.

2. Irregular verbs do not follow a rule

The slip We goed to production. → We went to production.

Many of the most common verbs simply have their own past form - go → went, find → found, write → wrote, give → gave. There is nothing to derive; they have to be learned as whole words. See the Irregular Verb Families section for a way to group them so they are easier to hold in memory.

3. did / didn't take the verb back to base form

The slip Did you launched it? · I didn't went. → Did you launch it? · I didn't go.

Once did or didn't appears, the main verb loses its past form - even an irregular one. Did he go? not Did he went? She didn't find it, not she didn't found it. The "past" is carried once, by did/didn't, not twice.

Full grammar reference: all tables and time expressions

Past Simple - Positive

Type	Form	Example
Regular	base + -ed	We launched the app.
Irregular	its own form - learn it	We found the bug.

Past Simple - Negative

Subject	Negative	Example
any subject	didn't + base form	We didn't test that case.

Past Simple - Questions

Question word	Auxiliary	Subject	Verb
(What / When / Why...)	Did	any subject	base form?
Short answers: Yes, we did. / No, they didn't.

Time Expressions

Expression	Position	Example
yesterday, last week/month/year	usually at the end	We deployed it yesterday.
two days/hours ago	usually at the end	The bug appeared two hours ago.
in 2019, on Monday	usually at the end	This started in 2019.
before that / after that	usually at the start, with a comma	Before that, everything was fine.

Remember:
- Spelling: -ed after most verbs (checked), -ied after consonant+y (carried), double letter after one stressed vowel (stopped)
- The main verb never takes -ed in a negative or a question with did/didn't
- Irregular verbs are learned as whole words, not built from a rule - grouping them into families helps

Irregular Verb Families

There is no rule - but there is a pattern. Most irregular verbs fall into a handful of families.

Why families, not a flat list. A list of thirty unrelated pairs is hard to hold in memory. The same thirty verbs sorted into three or four families - by how the sound changes - are much easier to keep, because you are only remembering the pattern, plus which family each verb belongs to.

Step 1: sort each verb into its family

Click a verb in the word bank, then click the column it belongs to.

Step 2: say each family out loud

Now that the groups are sorted, run through each family a few times until the pattern feels automatic.

Families said 0 / 3

Story Chain Drill

One connector, one instruction, eight seconds. This time, every sentence continues the last one.

The timer is still the point - but now so is the chain. Real project stories are not six unrelated sentences; they are one story with connectors holding it together. Producing the next link in eight seconds trains the speed and the habit of continuing a story instead of restarting it.

Item 1 of 6

The story builds here as you go...

Written Practice: build the sentence

Each line gives you the words to use, in order. Write the full sentence - six items only, the rest of the writing is in the Workbook.

Why prompts, not a gap in a finished sentence. A single blank in an otherwise complete sentence often has more than one plausible answer - the sentence alone does not tell you which one is meant. Giving every word, including the time expression, removes that ambiguity: the only thing left to get right is the grammar.

Incident Report Fix

One continuous report, one mistake per line. Rewrite each line correctly - you get no answer until you have tried.

Context matters here. This is not a list of unrelated sentences - it is one incident report, read top to bottom. Some mistakes only become obvious once you know what happened in the line before. Miss it once and you are told which part is wrong, not what to write. Miss it twice and the nudge gets more precise.

QA Incident Report - checkout page, read in order:

Output Check: After

Same task, same 60 seconds. This is the only measurement of this lesson that actually counts.

"Tell me about a project that had problems.
What happened?"

Same task as at the start. Use the frames and the connectors. Watch the -ed and the irregular forms.

0:60

Teacher: tick what you hear (second time)

The same list. Tick honestly - a flat result tells you what to put in the homework.

Slips heard: 0

Before the lesson

slips heard

After the lesson

slips heard

Student: what changed?

Read what you wrote at the start of the lesson, then answer: can you say it now?

What you wrote before:

(nothing written)

Self-Assessment: After

The same four questions as at the start. Has anything moved?

Lesson Complete

Two separate numbers, because they measure two different things.

Accuracy

Auto-checked: phonetics, irregular verb sort, written gaps, incident report fix.

Practice

Said out loud or written freely. Counted as done, not as right - the teacher hears the accuracy.

What I learned

One or two lines. Writing it down is the last retrieval of the lesson.

Homework: 5 days, 20-25 minutes each

Day 1: regular -ed. Day 2: irregular verbs. Day 3: questions with did. Day 4: incident report error-fix, with three items recycled from Lessons 1-2 (spaced repetition). Day 5: free writing - your own incident story using the frames and connectors.

Open Workbook

Language Skills 1: Present Simple & There is/are

A bonus lesson straight from the original Business Result textbook - real companies, real countries, not the IT story.

Why this lesson exists. Present Simple and there is/are are grammar you already know from earlier lessons. This lesson gives them a workout on new material - a Japanese company, a Korean company, Singapore - so the structures become automatic, not just "understood".

By the end of this lesson you can say:

"Kikkoman produces soy sauce and exports it all over the world."
"Does the company provide financial services? No, it doesn't."
"There are flights to 300 cities. There isn't a crime problem."

Grammar

Present Simple (+/-/?), there is/are, some/any

Vocabulary

product, service, export, employ, develop, headquarters

Communication

Talking about what a company does and where it is

Phonetic Warm-up: Sounds

5-7 minutes. The 3rd person -s ending changes sound depending on the verb.

1. Sound Check

Which ending does the verb have: /s/, /z/ or /ɪz/?

"exports" ends in:

"provides" ends in:

"produces" ends in:

2. Word Stress

Tap the stressed syllable in each word.

3. Say It

Read the sentence aloud. Focus on the three different -s sounds.

"The company produces cars, exports pharmaceuticals and provides financial services."

4. Quick Quiz

Which verb ends in an extra syllable, /ɪz/?

"headquarters" - how many syllables?

Stress in "develop" is on the:

Quick Recall

Before the new material - a quick check, not a guess. Three questions from earlier lessons.

Vocabulary: Products & Services

A company produces or sells a product. A company provides a service.

Exercise 1: What does each company produce or provide?

Exercise 2: Listen to a presentation about Kikkoman

Complete the presentation with the verbs from the list:

employ sell export provide buy develop

2.3

Language at Work: Present Simple

CJ is a Korean company with different business areas: Bio Pharma, Food and Food Service, Entertainment and Media, Home Shopping and Logistics.

Exercise 3: Choose the correct verb form

2.4

Exercise 4: Listen and complete the questions and answers about CJ

2.5

Language at Work: There is/are | Some/any

Read about Singapore. Why is it a good location for business?

Three reasons to choose Singapore for your business

Location. Singapore is a small island country in the centre of South-East Asia, and it is the perfect place to do business in the region. There are flights to about 300 cities around the world from its busy Changi Airport, and there is a harbour for the import and export of goods by sea.

Business. Thousands of international businesses choose Singapore for their regional headquarters. There are low taxes for businesses to pay and there aren't any problems with visas for foreign workers. Singapore is also a great place to have a conference because there are hundreds of hotels and large exhibition centres.

The city. Singapore is a great place to live and work. There are some excellent schools, hospitals and other public services. And there isn't a crime problem - it's a very safe city.

Exercise 5: Complete the table and check your reading

Use is, are, isn't and aren't to complete the grammar table, then answer the questions about Singapore.

Exercise 6: Mixed Review

Nordic Toys - complete the text with Present Simple and there is/are.

Speaking Practice

Discuss these questions with your teacher. Use Present Simple and there is/are throughout.

4 Companies

Describe each company to your teacher, one at a time. Use the words below and follow the plan.

🇸🇪IKEA

📦Producesfurniture & home goods

🏢HQSweden

👥Employeesabout 200,000

🌐Sells in60+ countries

🇯🇵Toyota

📦Producescars & trucks

🏢HQJapan

👥Employeesabout 370,000

🌐Exports to170+ countries

🇨🇭Nestlé

📦Producesfood & drinks

🏢HQSwitzerland

👥Employeesabout 270,000

🌐Sells inalmost 190 countries

🇸🇪Spotify

🔊Providesmusic & podcast streaming

🏢HQSweden

👥Employeesabout 9,000

🌐Available in180+ markets

produces provides has employs is based in sells in / exports to about / around

Your plan

1. Where is the company based (its headquarters)?
2. What does it produce or provide?
3. How many people does it employ?
4. Where does it sell or export to?

One Last Check

Same idea as the recall, now with everything you just practised.

Lesson Complete!

Overall score

What I learned

Write down the most important things you learned today.

Ready to practise more?

The Workbook has extra exercises to reinforce what you learned.

Open Workbook

Language Skills 2: Communication & Talking Points

More bonus material from the original textbook - phone calls, addresses, and two Talking Point discussions about real countries and cities.

Why this lesson exists. This lesson is lighter on grammar and heavier on vocabulary, fixed phrases and discussion. Two sections end with a live "Talking Point" task that you do out loud with your teacher, not on screen.

By the end of this lesson you can say:

"Hello, this is Anna Lillis. Is Peter Bawden there, please?" "Yes, I'll put you through."
"Can you tell me the product code?" "Can I have your delivery address?"
"My email is chris dot oakley at homenet dot co dot uk."

Vocabulary

work for/with/in, about/around, headquarters, public/private

Communication

Making phone calls, ordering by phone, saying addresses

Talking Points

Hungary: country profile - What is the best city for your conference?

Phonetic Warm-up: Word Stress

5-7 minutes. Words you need for phone calls and addresses.

1. Word Stress

Tap the stressed syllable in each word.

2. Say It

Read the sentence aloud. Focus on the stressed words.

"Good morning, can I have your postcode and your email address, please?"

3. Quick Quiz

Stress in "receptionist" is on which syllable?

"conference" - how many syllables?

Which word has the stress on the FIRST syllable?

Quick Recall

From Language Skills 1 - a quick check, not a guess.

Tip | work + preposition

work for (an employer/company): I work for BMW.

work with (people or another country): I work with colleagues.

work in (department or area of business): I work in Production.

Tip | about/around

about/around = approximately: The company has 847 employees = about/around 850 employees.

Tip | headquarters/HQ

Headquarters, HQ = head office: Samsung's headquarters is in Seoul.

Tip | public/private

public = for everyone (a public library, a public phone). private = not for everyone (a private office, a private plane).

Exercise 1: Choose the correct word

Business Communication: Making Phone Calls

Listen to two phone calls and choose the correct words.

2.7

Exercise 2: Choose the correct words

Exercise 3: Complete the two phone calls

These are the same two calls from the audio above (2.7) - use the Key Expressions below to complete them, then practise reading both parts with your teacher.

Key Expressions

Answering the phone: Hello, (company name). How can I help you?

Introducing yourself: This is (your name) from (your company).

Asking to speak to someone: Is (name) there, please? · Yes, I'll put you through.

Giving the reason for the call: I'm calling about …

Thanking & saying goodbye: Thanks for your help. · You're welcome. · See you (tomorrow). · Goodbye.

Business Communication: Ordering by Phone

A customer calls a supplier. Listen and note who asks for or about each thing.

3.5

Exercise 4: Customer or Supplier?

Who says or asks this - the customer or the supplier?

Exercise 5: Complete the questions

"Can I order some whiteboards, please?" (example) - now complete 2-7. Combine two words from the box for each gap.

I you tell me check have repeat confirm say

Practically Speaking: Saying Email and Postal Addresses

Listen to how these addresses are said aloud, then check you know the symbols in Exercise 6.

1. peter.tieng@forresters.ca - "peter, dot, tieng, at, forresters, dot, c a"

2. alina_dl@gmail.com - "alina, underscore, d l, at, gmail, dot, com"

3. jobs-info@topcommunications.co.uk - "jobs, hyphen, info, at, topcommunications, dot, co, dot, u k"

4. Accounts Dept, Blair & Browns, 99 Edward Street, Toronto, M5V 2MD - "Accounts Dept, Blair and Browns, 99 Edward Street, Toronto, M 5 V, 2 M D"

5. 21 Old School Rd, Glasgow, G21 4YU - "21 Old School Road, Glasgow, G 21, 4 Y U"

6. 742 Quaker St, Seattle, 98104 - "742 Quaker Street, Seattle, 9 8 1 0 4"

3.3

Exercise 6: What do the symbols mean?

Exercise 7: Listen and complete the addresses

3.4

TALKING POINT

Hungary: Country Profile

Hungary is a European country and it exports many of its products to other European countries. Important products are cars, textiles and pharmaceuticals. Audi and Suzuki have factories in Hungary and export many cars. Hungary also produces wheat and sunflower seeds. It imports products from Europe, Russia and China. Oil and gas are very important imports. Many people visit Hungary, and hotels, restaurants and tourist companies provide services for them.

Exercise 8: Check your reading

Discussion

Talk about these questions with your teacher, then write a few notes.

How is Hungary the same or different from your country? What types of business are important in your country? What does it export and import?

Country Profiles

Three more countries, in the same format as Hungary above.

🇭🇺Hungary

🌐Exportscars, textiles, pharmaceuticals

📦Importsoil and gas

🏭Key industrycars (Audi, Suzuki)

👥Populationabout 9.6 million

🇵🇱Poland

🌐Exportscars & parts, furniture, food

📦Importsoil, gas, machinery

🏭Key industrymanufacturing (e.g. Pesa - trains & trams)

👥Populationabout 38 million

🇻🇳Vietnam

🌐Exportselectronics, textiles, coffee

📦Importsmachinery, fuel

🏭Key industrymanufacturing (phones, computers)

👥Populationabout 100 million

Make the Questions

Use the word cues to write full Present Simple questions. Then answer each one for Hungary, Poland and Vietnam, using the profiles above.

what / export? what / import? which industry / important? how many people / live there?

Write your four questions, then answer them for all three countries.

TALKING POINT

What Is the Best City for Your Conference?

Before you choose the right hotel or conference centre for your event, it is important to choose the best city. Ask yourself these questions:

Getting there. Is it easy for people to arrive in the city by air, train or car? People don't want a difficult journey to get to your event.

Getting around. Is it easy to travel around the city after you arrive - for example, from the airport to the city, or from the train station to the conference location? Is there a good public transport system or taxi service?

Facilities. Is there a good choice of conference centres and hotels? Do these places have good facilities - car parking space, restaurants, meeting rooms, Internet access?

Cost. How much does it cost? Is transport and accommodation in the city cheap, or expensive?

The answers to these questions can help you find the perfect city for your conference.

Exercise 9: Check your reading

Discussion

Do you go to conferences? What is good or bad about the conference locations? Is your city a good location for a conference? Why/why not?

One Last Check

Same idea as the recall, now with everything you just practised.

Lesson Complete!

Overall score

What I learned

Write down the most important things you learned today.

Ready to practise more?

The Workbook has extra exercises to reinforce what you learned.

Open Workbook

Viewpoint 1: Places of Work

A bonus video lesson straight from the original textbook - real people, real offices, not the IT story.

Why this lesson exists. You've just finished four real lessons (L1-L4). Before Arc 2 gets harder, this lesson gives the grammar from all four a workout on brand-new video content - five real people, and a business owner choosing between two real offices. Same structures, new material, so they stay automatic.

By the end of this lesson you can say:

"It has three desks with phones. It's modern and there are good facilities."
"The office is quiet, but there isn't much parking."
"I think the barn conversion is beautiful, but the office in town is more convenient."

Grammar

Review: to be, there is/are, Present Simple, Past Simple

Vocabulary

office, furniture, equipment, facilities, location, appearance

Communication

Describing a workplace, comparing two options, making a decision

Phonetic Warm-up: The Schwa Sound

5-7 minutes. /ə/ is the most common sound in English - and it's hiding in your office vocabulary.

1. Schwa Check

Tap the syllable with the weak, unstressed schwa /ə/ sound.

2. Word Stress

Now tap the stressed syllable.

3. Say It

Read the sentence aloud.

"The office is modern, but it isn't very attractive."

Recall: Lessons 1-4

Quick check before we start - the grammar from your last four lessons.

Focus: Talking About Your Workplace

Work with your teacher. Practise this conversation, then swap roles and repeat it.

Student A: You are in your place of work. Welcome a new visitor and talk about your workplace.

Student B: You are the visitor. Ask Student A questions about their job, company and place of work.

Five People, Five Jobs

Watch five people talk about their job, company and place of work. Tap a piece of information below, then tap the cell where it belongs.

Video 1 - Nicole, Barry, Caroline, Henry and Mark talk about their jobs.

Tap one, then tap a cell in the table

	Job	Company	Place of work

Describing an Office

Read these groups of words for describing an office. Click the word that is NOT correct in each group.

Video 2 - A look inside several different offices.

Discuss with your teacher: Which of the words above describe the offices you just saw?

Your Office

Describe your own office or place of work, using the words from the last section.

Useful words

Furniture	desk, shelves, chair
Equipment	phone, printer, laptop
Age	modern, new, old
Facilities	kitchen, toilets, parking
Size	small, big, medium-sized
Appearance	attractive, beautiful, light

Example: "It has three desks with phones. It's modern and there are good facilities."

Looking at Offices: Tom's First Office

Tom Sutherland is a web designer. At the moment he works from home, but he needs an office. Read the questions first, then watch Part 1.

Video 3 - Tom visits an office in the centre of town.

Looking at Offices: Tom's Second Office

Read the questions first, then watch Part 2.

Video 4 - Tom visits a barn conversion in the countryside.

Positive & Negative

Watch the whole video again. For each sentence, choose which office it describes, and whether it's positive or negative.

Video 5 - The whole story, Office 1 and Office 2.

Choosing an Office

Work with your teacher. Which is the best office for Tom? Discuss:

• the location and facilities

• the furniture and equipment

• the age, size and appearance

Useful phrases

I think Tom should choose... · ...is better because... · the biggest advantage/disadvantage of... · on the other hand... · it's more/less convenient than...

One Last Check

Same idea as the recall, now with everything from today.

Lesson Complete!

Overall score

What I learned

Write down the most important things you learned today.

Ready to practise more?

The Workbook has extra exercises to reinforce what you learned.

Open Workbook

Review 1: Getting Started

Four lessons, four grammar points. Before we move on, let's make sure they all come out in real speech.

How today works. No new grammar - just a cheat-sheet and the key words from L1-L4, so you have everything on one page. Then close the laptop and work with your teacher out loud: the goal isn't a score here, it's hearing yourself use all four structures in one conversation.

Grammar

to be · there is/are · Present Simple · Past Simple

Vocabulary

team, Kanban board, deploy, retrospective - and everything else from L1-L4

Communication

Talking about your team, your workspace, your process, and a past project - in one conversation

Grammar Cheat-Sheet

One page, four structures. Keep this open while you speak.

1. To Be (L1)

	Present	Past	Future
I	am	was	will be
he/she/it	is	was	will be
you/we/they	are	were	will be

Negative: isn't/aren't · wasn't/weren't · won't be
"I am a developer. Yesterday I was in a meeting. Next week I will be on holiday."

2. There Is/Are (L2)

There is/isn't + singular · there are/aren't + plural
Is there...? / Are there...? - Yes, there is/are. No, there isn't/aren't.

"There's a kitchen on this floor. There aren't any meeting rooms free."

3. Present Simple (L3)

I/you/we/they + verb · he/she/it + verb-s
Negative: don't/doesn't + verb · Question: Do/Does + subject + verb?

"We deploy every Friday. He doesn't review code on Mondays. Do you attend the stand-up?"

4. Past Simple (L4)

Regular: verb-ed (worked, launched, decided) · Irregular: go→went, find→found, have→had, write→wrote
Negative: didn't + base verb · Question: Did + subject + base verb?

"We launched version 3.1 last Monday. We didn't test it enough. Did anything go wrong?"

Quick Pattern Check

One question per structure - just to warm up before you speak.

Key Vocabulary

Everything from L1-L4, in one place.

L1 - Who is who?

team, team lead, developer, QA, Scrum Master, Product Owner, sprint, department, remote, hybrid

L2 - What is where?

Kanban board, backlog, task, in progress, done, workspace, monitor, stand-up area, meeting room, server room

L3 - How things work

deploy, review (code), assign, prioritize, estimate, sprint planning, daily stand-up, check, test, fix

L4 - When things go wrong

launch, release, deadline, milestone, bug, crash, rollback, retrospective, hotfix, incident

Speaking Practice

Work with your teacher. Answer out loud - the notes are just for what came up, not for writing full sentences in advance.

Review Complete!

Quick Pattern Check score

Ready for the test?

The Workbook has a one-attempt test covering all four lessons.

Ready for the test?

The Workbook has a controlled test for L1-L4 - one attempt, new material.

Open Workbook

Block 3, Lesson 1: Reading the Signals

The words teams use to say where a project is: on track, at risk, behind schedule. No new grammar in this lesson - only words, and how they go together.

Why this lesson has no grammar. This is the first lesson of a new block, and it does one job: give you the words. The grammar for talking about right now (Present Continuous) comes in the next lesson, and it will use everything you learn here. If you feel "I know this word but I cannot use it" - that is exactly what this lesson is for.

By the end of this lesson you can say:

"The project is on track." / "We are two weeks behind schedule."
"There is one blocker: we are waiting for the client."
"We met the deadline, but the next milestone is bigger."

Vocabulary

on track, behind schedule, at risk, blocker, delay, progress, milestone, deadline, update, estimate, scope, workload

Reading

"Green, Amber, Red" - how a one-page status report works

Recycled

task, in progress, done (Lesson 2) - the board is where the status comes from

Phonetic Warm-up: Word Stress

5-7 minutes. These five words come back in every exercise today - say them right from the start.

1. Word Stress

Tap the stressed syllable in each word.

Notice: deadline and milestone are compound nouns - the stress is always on the first part. Delay is a verb and a noun, and both put the stress on -lay.

2. Say It

"We are slightly behind schedule, but the next milestone is still realistic."

3. Quick Quiz

Which word has the stress on the second syllable?

Which word has three syllables?

In "a two-day delay", which part of the phrase is stressed most?

Recall: three things from the first block

A quick look back before we start. These are not new - they came in Lessons 2, 3 and 4.

Reading: Green, Amber, Red

A one-page status report, and the twelve words that make it work. The highlighted words are the ones you need.

A team looking at laptops around a table

Green, Amber, Red

Every Friday, Maria writes a short report about her project. It is only one page. Her manager reads it in two minutes.

At the top of the page there is one word: green, amber or red. Green means the project is on track. Amber means something is at risk. Red means the team is behind schedule. The colour is the first thing her manager sees.

Under the colour, Maria writes four short parts.

The first part is progress. She lists what the team finished this week. She also looks at the team board. How many tasks are in progress? How many are done? She does not write "we worked on the website". She writes "the login page is ready and the client approved it". Good reports are specific.

The second part is the plan for next week. Maria gives a date for each task. She also gives an estimate of the time it needs. An estimate is not a promise, but it helps everybody.

The third part is problems. Here Maria writes about any blocker - something that stops the work. Last week the team had a delay of three days. Nobody from the client's side answered the email. A blocker in a report is not bad news. It is a request for help.

The fourth part is the next milestone - a big, important point in the project. The next one is the test release on 14 November. That is also the deadline for the payment page.

Maria never changes the scope of the project in a status report. New features are a different conversation. She also writes one line about the team's workload. Are people busy, very busy, or free?

Her manager likes the report, because it answers three questions. Where are we? What is difficult? What happens next?

Many teams send an update like this every week. Some teams send it every day. The length is not important. The honesty is.

Adapted for learners from guides to writing project status reports (thedigitalprojectmanager.com, teamwork.com, indeed.com).

Exercise 1: Did you get it?

Six questions about the text. Choose the right answer.

Exercise 2: The same words, new sentences

Complete each sentence with one word or phrase from the box. Each one is used once.

at risk behind schedule blocker deadline estimate milestone on track progress scope workload

A calendar with a deadline circled in red

1We finished three tasks this week, so the project is still .

2Nobody can start the design until the client replies. That is our main .

3The report must be ready by Friday. That is a hard .

4We are two weeks , so we need more people.

5My this month is very heavy - I have four projects.

6Can you give me an ? How many days do you need?

7The first is the test release in November.

8The client wants ten new features. That changes the of the project.

9One developer is ill, so the release is .

10We make good every week, but slowly.

Exercise 3: Which word goes with which?

English fixes these pairs. "Do progress" is not wrong grammar - it is simply not what people say. Choose the natural partner.

Exercise 4: Green, amber or red?

Twelve things people say in a stand-up. Click a phrase, then click the box it belongs to. When all twelve are placed, press Check.

Green - on track

Amber - at risk

Red - behind schedule

Say it in English

Say the English before you turn the card. Twelve words - the whole vocabulary of this lesson.

Speaking: your own project

Answer out loud first, then write a short note. Your teacher will ask you these in the lesson.

1Think about one project at work right now. Is it green, amber or red? Why?

2What is the next milestone in your team, and when is the deadline?

3Is there a blocker in your team this week? Who can remove it?

4How is your workload this month compared to last month?

One Last Check

Three questions on today's words. Not counted in your score - it only shows what to look at again.

Lesson Complete!

Overall score

What comes next

Lesson 2 of this block takes these same words and adds the grammar for "right now": We are waiting for the client against We usually wait two days. Nothing here is thrown away.

Ready to practise more?

The Workbook has five short days of practice for this lesson - about 20 minutes each.

Open Workbook

Grammar

Vocabulary

Communication

1. Sound Check

2. Word Stress

3. Say It

4. Quick Quiz

Language Point: will be

TO BE - Present Simple

TO BE - Past Simple

TO BE - Future (will be)

What I Learned

Ready to practise more?

Grammar

Vocabulary

Communication

1. Word Stress

2. Sentence Stress

3. Say It

4. Quick Quiz

Language Point: some / any

There is / There are

Some vs Any

Prepositions of Place

Ready to practise more?

Grammar

Vocabulary

Communication

1. Sound Check

2. Word Stress

3. Say It

4. Quick Quiz

Job Titles

Present Simple - Positive

Present Simple - Negative

Present Simple - Questions

Adverbs of Frequency

Your Error Patterns

Ready to practise more?

Grammar

Vocabulary

Communication

1. Word Stress: -ed Endings

2. More -ed Practice

3. Sentence Stress

4. Say It

5. Quick Quiz

Past Simple - Regular Verbs (-ed)

Past Simple - Common Irregular Verbs (IT context)

Past Simple - Negatives and Questions

Your Error Patterns

Ready to practise more?

Grammar

Vocabulary

Communication

1. Sound Check

2. Word Stress

3. Say It

Who does what

1. He / She / It takes -s

2. Questions and negatives need do / does

3. Adverbs of frequency sit before the verb

Present Simple - Positive

Present Simple - Negative

Present Simple - Questions

Adverbs of Frequency

Before the lesson

After the lesson

Homework: 5 days, 20-25 minutes each

Grammar

Vocabulary

Communication

1. Sound Check

2. Word Stress

3. Say It

Incident vocabulary - check the meanings

1. Regular verbs take -ed

2. Irregular verbs do not follow a rule

3. did / didn't take the verb back to base form

Past Simple - Positive