What do you do for work?

The main goals of this ESL lesson plan are to:

• – explore how professional status influences social perceptions and prejudices in workplace and social settings;
• – practice conversation completion, phrase creation, reading comprehension, and discussion abilities through workplace scenarios;
• – watch a video about status anxiety and engage in thought-provoking discussions about judging people by their job titles.

In this Upper-Intermediate lesson plan, students explore how professional status influences social perceptions and prejudices in the workplace and beyond. 

Warm-up 

Students analyze a situation and discuss the best course of action.

Video 

Students watch an informative video titled “Status Anxiety.” After viewing, they complete a quiz.

Exercises 

Students create responses using provided phrases, complete a conversation between a hiring manager and a junior recruiter, and fill in expressions about making quick judgments of others.

Reading 

Students read a text about judging people by their job titles and answer comprehension questions.

Discussion 

Students rearrange letters to create thought provoking questions and answer them.