LESSON OVERVIEW

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

• discuss Research and Development and its various applications;
• watch and discuss a video about an R&D chef;
• analyze R&D case studies and ethical conundrums.

In this ESL lesson about innovation in business, students think about all things connected to Research and Development. They consider R&D practices in various industries and watch and discuss a video about an R&D chef. Students do a ‘this or that’ exercise about R&D tasks and share opinions on the topic. The worksheet also lets students discuss R&D case studies and analyze ethical conundrums. There is an optional vocabulary activity to revise relevant language. 

This is a Speaking Class worksheet. It includes a variety of tasks that let your students practise their speaking skills. This lesson format does not focus on grammar or vocabulary. Learn more about it here.

WARM-UP AND VIDEO

This ESL lesson about innovation in business starts with a warm-up. Students begin by reading the definition of Research and Development (R&D). Then, they look at different types of companies and give examples of R&D projects each company might run. At this point in the lesson, students can do an optional vocabulary activity to prepare them for the rest of the discussion. In the activity, they have to create adjectives from nouns and nouns from verbs (e.g. strategy – strategic; improve – improvement). Afterwards, students watch a video about an R&D chef in food innovation and discuss some questions.

DISCUSSION AND OTHER TASKS

Students continue the ESL lesson about innovation in business by doing a ‘this or that’ exercise. Next, look at some responsibilities connected to R&D in the food industry and explain what task they’d prefer to do. Then, students look at some statements and complete them with their ideas and opinions. After that, they read about some R&D case studies from real companies (i.e. Eli Lilly, Segway, Tesla) and discuss some questions about the projects. Lastly, students finish discussing innovation in business by reading about five ethical R&D conundrums. They imagine they are R&D professionals considering new positions, and they need to explain if the issues would prevent them from taking the job.