Ultra
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
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