Week 21 – Work & jobs

Week 21 – Work & jobs (A2‑)

Theme: Talking about jobs, workplaces, and what people do at work.

Main grammar & functions:

• Present Simple for job descriptions and routines: I work in an office., She helps customers.
• Question forms for jobs and routines: What do you do?, Where do you work?, What does he do?
• Basic functional language for describing work: schedules, likes/dislikes.

CEFR link:

A2‑: Can describe simple aspects of his/her job, or what other people do; can ask and answer simple questions about work and workplace (CEFR: “Can describe his/her job in simple terms”, “Can ask and answer questions about occupation and working conditions.”)

1. Lesson objectives (for students)

By the end of the week, students can:

1. Use vocabulary for common jobs and workplaces.
2. Say where they work and what they do: I work in a hospital. I help patients.
3. Ask and answer questions about jobs and daily routines:
   • “What do you do?” / “Where do you work?” / “What time do you start?”
4. Describe another person’s job using Present Simple with he/she and correct -s endings.

2. Grammar focus (with Ukrainian‑speaker notes)

a) Present Simple – job descriptions & routines

Forms (review & extend):

• I/you/we/they: work, start, finish, help, sell, teach, drive
  • I work in a shop.
  • We start at 9 o’clock.
• He/she: works, starts, finishes, helps, sells, teaches, drives
  • She works in a hospital.
  • He drives a bus.

Useful job description patterns:

• I work as a … (teacher, nurse, driver…).
• I work in a … (shop, office, hospital, school, factory).
• I work for a company / bank / IT company.
• I start work at … / I finish work at …

Ukrainian issues:

• Dropping -s in 3rd person:
  • He work in a bank → He works in a bank.
• Word order:
  • In a shop I work (transfer from Ukrainian) → I work in a shop.

b) Questions about jobs & routines

Key questions:

• What do you do? (job)
• Where do you work?
• Do you like your job? Why/why not?
• What time do you start/finish work?
• What does he/she do?
• Where does he/she work?

Forms:

• What do you do? → I’m a nurse. / I work in a factory.
• What does he do? → He works in a bank.

Ukrainian issues:

• Using Present Continuous instead of Present Simple for permanent jobs:
  • I am working in a bank (OK in some contexts, but here teach I work in a bank as the default).
• Forgetting does in 3rd person questions:
  • Where he work? → Where does he work?

3. Vocabulary sets

Jobs (core list, can be expanded):

• teacher, doctor, nurse, dentist
• shop assistant, cashier, waiter / waitress
• driver (bus/taxi driver), engineer, mechanic
• office worker, secretary, manager
• police officer, firefighter
• student, homemaker

Workplaces/contexts:

• office, hospital, school, shop, restaurant, café, factory, garage, bank
• at home, in an office, in a hospital, in a shop

Typical job actions:

• teach children, help patients, sell clothes, answer the phone, drive a bus, cook food, repair cars, work on a computer, meet customers

4. Lesson skeleton (60–90 minutes)

1) Warm‑up – Jobs brainstorm (10–15 min)

• Show pictures of people in different jobs or write 4–5 as examples.
• Ask: "What jobs do you know?" and board them.
• Quick pair talk:
  • "What’s your job?" / "What job do you want?" (if students are not working yet).

2) Presentation – Jobs & workplaces (10–15 min)

1. Present a grid of job + workplace:
   • doctor → hospital
   • teacher → school
   • shop assistant → shop
   • driver → bus / taxi / truck
2. Drill with full sentences:
   • I’m a doctor. I work in a hospital.
   • She’s a teacher. She works in a school.
3. Matching activity:
   • Students match jobs to workplaces on a worksheet.

3) Present Simple – describing own job (15–20 min)

1. Write a short model text:

Example:

My name is Anna. I’m a nurse. I work in a hospital. I help sick people. I start work at 8 o’clock and finish at 4 o’clock. I usually like my job.

2. Underline pattern:
   • I’m a …
   • I work in …
   • I start / finish work at …
   • I (don’t) like my job.
3. Students answer simple comprehension questions.
4. Guided writing: students write 3–5 sentences about their own job or a future job using the same structure. If they don’t have a job, use:
   • "I want to be a …" and describe that job.

4) Questions & pair interview (15–20 min)

1. Board question set:
   • What do you do?
   • Where do you work?
   • What time do you start/finish work?
   • Do you like your job? Why/why not?
2. Model short Q&A with one student.
3. Students interview each other in pairs and take notes.
4. Report back:
   • "This is Oksana. She works in a bank. She starts work at 9 o’clock. She likes her job because …"

Emphasise he/she + -s in the reports.

5) Freer practice – Third person job profiles (10–15 min)

Students create a simple profile of a classmate or imaginary person.

1. Each student chooses a classmate (from the interview) or an imaginary person and writes 4–5 sentences in 3rd person:
   • "He is a driver. He works in a transport company. He drives a bus. He starts work at 6 o’clock. He doesn’t like working at night."
2. In groups, students read their profiles; others guess who it is (if it’s a real classmate).

5. Homework / revision ideas

Choose 1–2:

1. Writing – My job or dream job
   • Students write 6–8 sentences:
     • job title, workplace, main tasks;
     • start/finish times;
     • whether they like it and why.

2. Job cards
   • At home, students prepare one job card:
     • Side A: picture / word (job).
     • Side B: 2–3 sentences describing where the person works and what they do.
   • Next lesson: use cards for a guessing game.

3. Question practice
   • Students write 5 questions they can ask a new person about their work (using do/does).
   • Next lesson: mingle activity where they ask classmates their questions.