Career goals: using gerunds and infinitives

Summary

This 90-minute ESL lesson for B1 learners explores Career goals: using gerunds and infinitives through a real article. Across 10 interactive exercises, you'll develop reading comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, practical communication, speaking skills — all built around authentic English content.

What you'll practise:

• 5 key vocabulary items with definitions and usage notes
• Grammar focus: gerunds and infinitives with examples and practice
• Real-world phrases for discussing your professional development
• Gap-fill and cloze exercises to test vocabulary in context
• Matching exercise to connect terms with their meanings
• Error correction to sharpen grammar awareness

Lesson activities (10 exercises)

Each exercise builds on the previous one. Work through them in order for the best learning experience.

1. Warm-up — Discussion questions to activate what you already know about the topic.
2. Comprehension — Answer questions to check your understanding of the main ideas and supporting details.
3. Vocabulary — Learn key words and expressions from the article, with definitions and usage notes.
4. Matching — Connect words, phrases, or concepts to their correct counterparts.
5. Grammar — Study gerunds and infinitives — explanation, examples, and key rules.
6. Error correction — Find and fix the mistake in each sentence — a great grammar workout.
7. Practical English — Learn phrases for discussing your professional development — ready to use in real conversations.
8. Cloze passage — Fill in blanks within a connected text to practise vocabulary in context.
9. Discussion — Reflect on the topic and share your opinions using the language you've learned.

Vocabulary

This lesson introduces 5 key terms drawn directly from the article:

• Climb the career ladder — to get a series of promotions to higher and more important jobs.
• Take on (something) — to accept a new job or responsibility.
• Gain hands-on experience — to get practical knowledge and skills from doing a job, not just from studying.
• Long-term career path — the plan of jobs and promotions you might have during your working life.
• Brush up on (a skill) — to improve your knowledge or skill in something you have partly forgotten.

Grammar

This lesson focuses on gerunds and infinitives.

When one verb follows another, the second verb is often a gerund (-ing) or an infinitive (to + verb). The first verb determines which form to use. Knowing which verbs take which form is important for talking about your career plans and skills.

Examples from the lesson:

• I enjoy collaborating with my team on new projects. — Use the gerund (-ing) after verbs like 'enjoy', 'finish', 'suggest', and 'avoid'.
• She decided to specialize in digital marketing to advance her career. — Use the infinitive (to + verb) after verbs like 'decide', 'want', 'hope', and 'plan'.
• He started learning a new language to get a better job. — Some verbs like 'start', 'begin', and 'continue' can be followed by either a gerund or an infinitive with little change in meaning.

Key rules:

• Some verbs must be followed by a gerund (e.g., enjoy, finish, mind).
• Other verbs must be followed by an infinitive (e.g., want, decide, promise).
• To explain the purpose of an action, use the infinitive (e.g., 'I took a course to improve my skills,' not '...for improving...').

Practical English

discussing your professional development

Here are some practical phrases for a meeting with your manager about your career goals. This is often called a 'performance review' or a 'development talk'.

Phrases you'll learn:

• "I'd like to talk about my long-term goals at the company." — This phrase clearly and professionally opens the conversation.
• "I'm keen to develop my skills in..." — This shows you are enthusiastic about learning and growing.
• "I was wondering if there are any opportunities for training?" — This is a polite and indirect way to ask for company support.
• "Looking ahead, I'd like to work towards a role with more responsibility." — This expresses ambition without demanding a specific promotion.
• "I'm ready to take on new challenges." — This signals that you are proactive and willing to work hard.