Create A Company

Setup

Divide the class into groups of two or three.

Project

1. Elicit and write on the board the following information to include when describing a company: name, industry (e.g. retail, technology), product/service description, employees required (shop assistant, security guard, computer programmer etc.). With business students, include more in-depth information like a business plan, financial forecast etc.
2. Each group creates a company, covering each of the above points.
3. The students then present their company ideas to the class. With business students, this could be in the form of a Dragon’s Den/Shark Tank style pitch. Alternatively, the groups could make posters and do this as a trade show/jobs fair type event.

This project leads on well to a number of other activities. Students could advertise for the positions they created (see Job Adverts), and/or interview potential candidates (see Job Interviews). If you limit the companies to consumer product-based businesses, it could also form the basis of the Classroom City activity.

Target Language

The Create A Company ESL project is clearly a great fit for business English students or a business language topic. Students can practise using learned vocabulary appropriate to their level e.g. numbers for money, profit/loss, turnover etc.

You can also use it to practise jobs vocabulary and descriptions with high beginner or low intermediate students. In this case, students should focus on the employees and skills required for their company. Extending the project with Job Adverts and Job Interviews is recommended in this case.

For a similar project that is more focused on a single product than the organisation, try Invent A Product.