Pro
Ultra
ESL lesson
The 80% Rule: Testing the Four-Day Workweek
This B1 Ultra lesson teaches Present Perfect and Past Simple through a real BBC report about the world’s biggest four-day workweek trial.
- Level
- B1 / Intermediate
- Time
- 90 min
- Format
- Video Lesson
Lesson materials
Choose the resource you want to use in class.
Lesson overview
This B1-level Ultra lesson teaches Present Perfect vs Past Simple through a real workplace case. Students begin by comparing different working styles, then build useful business vocabulary connected to productivity, burnout, revenue, and implementation. They watch a short BBC report about the UK's large four-day workweek trial for gist and key facts, then use the language of finished events and present results to interpret what happened.
The grammar stage goes beyond a normal tense worksheet. Students sort examples into finished trial events and results up to now, then complete a short grammar box that highlights both meaning and form. They continue with a management update, plan their own workplace trial idea, and finish with a speaking carousel in which they pitch a proposed company change to different “bosses”.
This makes the lesson especially suitable for adult learners who want grammar to feel useful, current, and connected to realistic workplace decision-making rather than abstract timeline drills.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the lesson, students can:
Build and use key workplace vocabulary related to productivity, burnout, revenue, and implementation.
Understand the gist and key facts of a short BBC report about the four-day workweek trial.
Distinguish between Past Simple for finished trial events and Present Perfect for results connected to now.
Plan and pitch a workplace change using evidence, business vocabulary, and the target grammar.
Teaching at a glance
The essentials for planning this lesson.
- Level
- B1 / Intermediate
- Teaching time
- 90 min
- Language
- Grammar
- Skills
- Listening · Speaking
- Topic
- Business
- Format
- Video Lesson
Lesson structure
A practical sequence from warm-up to final task.
-
A New Way of Working
Students compare working styles and discuss whether a four-day week looks productive and realistic.
-
The BBC Report
Students watch the report for gist and key data, then notice the language used to describe the trial and its results.
-
The Change Pitch Carousel
Students prepare and pitch a workplace change as if it has already been trialed, using Past Simple and Present Perfect to report outcomes.
Lesson materials
Everything is here when you are ready to teach.
You might also like
More lessons selected from the EasyESL library.
