Summary
This C2-level ESL lesson plan delves into the complex topic of corporate whistleblowing. Designed for advanced English students, the material helps them explore the ethical dilemmas, professional risks, and specific language involved in reporting corporate misconduct.
This lesson equips students with the advanced vocabulary and grammatical structures needed to discuss nuanced subjects related to business ethics and corporate responsibility. Through a series of integrated activities, including listening comprehension, reading a case study, and in-depth discussion, learners will build confidence in articulating sophisticated arguments on this challenging subject.
Activities
- A warm-up discussion to introduce the concept of corporate whistleblowing and its real-world implications.
- A listening comprehension exercise where students fill in gaps in a text about the ethical challenges faced by whistleblowers.
- An interactive vocabulary matching task focusing on advanced terms such as malfeasance, reprisal, quandary, and egregious.
- A grammar practice section on passive reporting verbs (e.g., "It is alleged that...", "The CEO is believed to have..."), a key structure for formal reporting.
- A reading comprehension and vocabulary-in-context exercise where students apply their new knowledge to a fictional case study about a corporate scandal.
- A final speaking activity where students use the lesson's language and concepts to discuss corporate governance, transparency, and whistleblower protection laws.
Vocabulary focus
The vocabulary section introduces high-level terms essential for discussing corporate ethics and legal matters. Key vocabulary includes quandary, malfeasance, moral imperative, reprisal, egregious, irrefutable, onus, and concealment. Students learn these words through listening, matching, and contextual application exercises.
Grammar focus
This lesson focuses on the use of passive reporting verbs, a crucial grammatical structure for formal and impersonal communication in professional and journalistic contexts. Students practice forming sentences like "It is believed that the company manipulated its earnings" and "The CEO is alleged to have known about the fraud," mastering both the that-clause and to-infinitive structures.
