Summary
This 90-minute ESL lesson for B1 learners explores Project updates: using the present perfect continuous through a real audio recording. Across 10 interactive exercises, you'll develop listening 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: Present perfect continuous with examples and practice
- Real-world phrases for giving a project update in a meeting
- Gap-fill and cloze exercises to test vocabulary in context
- Matching exercise to connect terms with their meanings
- Error correction to sharpen grammar awareness
- A reading passage to practise newly learned language
Lesson activities (10 exercises)
Each exercise builds on the previous one. Work through them in order for the best learning experience.
- Warm-up — Discussion questions to activate what you already know about the topic.
- Comprehension — Answer questions to check your understanding of the main ideas and supporting details.
- Vocabulary — Learn key words and expressions from the audio recording, with definitions and usage notes.
- Matching — Connect words, phrases, or concepts to their correct counterparts.
- Grammar — Study Present perfect continuous — explanation, examples, and key rules.
- Error correction — Find and fix the mistake in each sentence — a great grammar workout.
- Practical English — Learn phrases for giving a project update in a meeting — ready to use in real conversations.
- Cloze passage — Fill in blanks within a connected text to practise vocabulary in context.
- Reading — Read a short passage on the topic and answer comprehension questions.
- 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 audio recording:
- To be on track — to be progressing according to the plan or schedule.
- To run into an issue — to experience an unexpected problem or difficulty.
- To meet a deadline — to finish a task or project by the agreed time or date.
- The next step is... — a phrase used to introduce the next action in a process or plan.
- To get the green light — to receive official permission to start something.
Grammar
This lesson focuses on Present perfect continuous.
We use the present perfect continuous (have/has been + -ing) for actions that began in the past and are still in progress. When you give a project update, this tense helps you emphasize the duration of your work.
Examples from the lesson:
- I've been working on the client report all morning. — This emphasizes the duration of the activity ('all morning') which is still ongoing or has just finished.
- She has been documenting the process since last week. — Use 'for' to talk about a period of time (e.g., 'for two weeks') and 'since' to talk about a starting point (e.g., 'since Monday').
- They haven't been making much headway because the system is down. — The negative is formed with haven't/hasn't + been + -ing.
Key rules:
- Structure: have/has + been + verb-ing
- Focuses on the duration of an unfinished or recently finished action
- Avoid using it with stative verbs like 'know' or 'want'
Practical English
giving a project update in a meeting
When you're in a team meeting, you often need to report on your work. These phrases will help you give a clear and professional update on what you've been doing, how it's going, and what's next.
Phrases you'll learn:
- "So, to bring you up to speed..." — a phrase to start your update and give the latest information.
- "Lately, I've been focusing on..." — used to describe your main activities over the recent past.
- "We've made some good headway with..." — a way to report positive progress on a specific part of the project.
- "We're slightly held up by..." — a way to explain a minor delay or problem without sounding too negative.
- "Our main priority now is to..." — used to state the most important next action or goal.
