B1 — Intermediate

Project Management

B1 level  ·  40-minute interactive lesson

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Stage 1 — Warm-up
Managing projects at work
5 minutes · Discussion and context
Stock image of a team discussing a project around a table with laptops and notes
Lesson preview

Give updates, discuss risks, and manage deadlines clearly

This lesson helps learners practise project status updates, professional problem-solving language, and realistic deadline conversations. The page 1 preview gives the lesson a clearer, more modern business feel.

B1CEFR level
40 minInteractive lesson
6 stagesProject practice

Discuss with your partner:

1. What are the most common reasons projects fall behind schedule? Have you experienced any of these?

2. What is the difference between a project manager's job and a team member's job?

3. What do you do when you discover a problem mid-project? Who do you tell, and when?

Teacher note: At B1, students manage a realistic project scenario: giving and receiving status updates, escalating risks, negotiating scope changes, and handling a slipping deadline. Focus on present perfect for progress reports, second conditional for risk planning, and indirect questions for professional communication.

Today's project — Website Relaunch for Orbis Solutions:

Student A — Project Manager

You are managing a website relaunch. Deadline: end of month. The design team has finished. Dev is 2 weeks behind due to a key developer going on sick leave. You need to decide: request more resource, reduce scope, or push the deadline.

Student B — Developer

You have taken over from the sick developer. You have reviewed the work and estimate you need 3 more weeks — not 2. You are worried about quality if the deadline is kept. You need the PM to make a decision.

Website relaunchRisk escalationScope change
5 min
Stage 2 — Vocabulary
Project management vocabulary
10 minutes · Gap-fill exercise
Click a word from the box, then click a blank. Hover for definitions.

Complete the sentences with the correct word from the box.

10 min
Stage 3 — Functional language
Project management phrases
8 minutes · Study and practise
8 min
Stage 4 — Question forms
Project management grammar drill
10 minutes · Multiple choice
10 min
Stage 5 — Role play
The deadline crisis conversation
12 minutes · Pair work
How to use: Student A (PM) must get a clear picture of the problem and make a decision. Student B (developer) must explain the risk clearly and professionally. Together, reach a realistic plan.
12 min
Stage 6 — Summary
Lesson complete!
5 minutes · Review