C2 Natural Approach (Krashen-Terrell) 45 min Young Adults (18–25) Virtual

Presenting the Company to Investors

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to present a company to potential investors using sophisticated rhetorical strategies — including inversion, hedging, cleft structures, and register-appropriate concession — in a fluent, persuasive, and well-structured pitch.

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Pedagogical approach

Why this lesson works

This lesson situates investor-pitch language within a rich comprehensible input text (a realistic pitch read-aloud script), honouring Krashen's i+1 principle by presenting C2-level rhetorical moves — inversion, fronting, sophisticated hedging — in a natural business narrative before students are asked to produce them. Consistent with Vygotsky's sociocultural theory, the production stage is a genuinely collaborative task: students co-construct a pitch together in breakout pairs, making their thinking visible through dialogue rather than performing individually under pressure. The affective filter is kept deliberately low in a virtual setting by removing any "right answer" from the case discussion and inviting students to take positions, hedge, and concede — moves that C2 business-English learners genuinely need for investor and board-room contexts. The case-brief dilemma, drawing on Skehan's (1998) task-design principles, sets real communicative stakes (a startup must persuade a sceptical investor), ensuring output is purposeful rather than display speech. The homework is a real-world observation task that asks students to watch and annotate a public pitch, operationalising Krashen's belief that acquisition continues beyond the classroom through meaningful exposure.

Methodology Natural Approach (Krashen-Terrell)▾ Comprehensible input slightly above current level (i+1); production allowed when learners feel ready.

Comprehensible input slightly above current level (i+1); production allowed when learners feel ready.

Best for: Beginners; learners who freeze under output pressure.

Source · Krashen & Terrell (1983).

Theory Sociocultural Theory (Vygotsky, Lantolf)▾ Language and cognition develop together inside cultural and social practice; tools (incl. language) mediate thought.

Language and cognition develop together inside cultural and social practice; tools (incl. language) mediate thought.

Best for: CLIL, lessons that surface students' cultural backgrounds.

Source · Vygotsky (1978); Lantolf (2006).

Lesson type Functional
Framework Natural Approach: Comprehensible Input → Comprehension Check → Low-Anxiety…▾ Click to read in full.

Framework: Natural Approach: Comprehensible Input → Comprehension Check → Low-Anxiety Production

Student profile Business English▾ Workplace English: meetings, emails, presentations, negotiation.

Workplace English: meetings, emails, presentations, negotiation.

Best for: Professional learners with workplace immediate needs.

Source · Ellis & Johnson (1994).

Modality Virtual
Skill emphasis
speaking listening reading writing
Pedagogical sources
Krashen & Terrell (1983). · Vygotsky (1978); Lantolf (2006).
Lesson objectives · Bloom-mapped

By the end, students will…

◆
Communicative
By the end of the lesson, students will be able to present a...
By the end of the lesson, students will be able to present a company to potential investors using sophisticated rhetorical strategies — including inversion, hedging, cleft structures, and register-appropriate concession — in a fluent, persuasive, and well-structured pitch.
apply
C2

Observable success — a teacher or peer can confidently tick "yes" against this, verified by behaviour, not self-report.

C2 · Mastery — can understand virtually everything heard or read; can summarise from different sources coherently.

▲
Grammatical
Students will use C2 rhetorical structures — negative...
Students will use C2 rhetorical structures — negative inversion, cleft sentences, fronting, and advanced modal hedging — productively in a simulated investor pitch.
apply
C2

Observable success — a teacher or peer can confidently tick "yes" against this, verified by behaviour, not self-report.

C2 · Mastery — can understand virtually everything heard or read; can summarise from different sources coherently.

●
Lexical
Students will consolidate and deploy high-register lexical...
Students will consolidate and deploy high-register lexical chunks used in investor-facing business presentations (e.g., "What sets us apart is…", "Not only do we offer…", "It is worth noting that…").
remember
C2

Observable success — a teacher or peer can confidently tick "yes" against this, verified by behaviour, not self-report.

C2 · Mastery — can understand virtually everything heard or read; can summarise from different sources coherently.

Bloom focus
Apply & above
Objectives operate at Bloom's "apply" or higher — learners use the language in novel contexts (Anderson & Krathwohl 2001).
Measured across
4 stages
Each objective is checked against the 5 criteria on the assessment slide.
Success target
≥ 70% criteria met
Observable across the assessment criteria; the 70% threshold passes the lesson.
Anticipated problems · severity-tagged

Things to watch for

Common error patterns. high blocks communication · medium causes confusion · low is local accuracy. Click any card for the planned solution.

medium Virtual breakout room time is lost to tech setup or students have connection issues. logistical +

Solution · Pre-assign breakout rooms before the lesson starts. Have a fallback: if breakouts fail, students collaborate in the main room's chat, typing their pitch outline before delivering it verbally. Severity inferred from error_type logistical.

medium C2 students may over-produce safe, formulaic B2 business language ('Our company provides innovative solutions…') rather than attempting the target C2 rhetorical structures. strategic competence gap +

Solution · During the breakout visit, prompt with a specific challenge: 'Can you rephrase that opening using a cleft sentence?' This nudges without correcting. Also ensure the board plan is visible throughout the production stage. Severity inferred from error_type strategic competence gap.

medium Students may struggle to distinguish strategic hedging (rigour) from anxious hedging (doubt) — a subtle C2-level distinction that can undermine the pitch. pragmatic / register confusion +

Solution · During the comprehension check, give a quick oral contrast: read 'we think maybe the market is ready' vs. 'It could be argued the market has never been more ready' — ask students to describe the listener's response. Make the pragmatic difference explicit before production. Severity inferred from error_type pragmatic / register confusion.

medium In a virtual setting, students may be reluctant to deliver their pitch voluntarily in front of peers (affective filter elevation). affective / motivational +

Solution · Keep voluntary delivery explicitly voluntary — never cold-call. Ask the pair to share just one sentence they are proud of if a full delivery feels too exposed. Affirm the linguistic choice specifically, not the courage generally. Severity inferred from error_type affective / motivational.

medium The reading passage is analytically dense; students may process its ideas but not notice its language (form-meaning disconnect). noticing deficit +

Solution · Direct students explicitly to task 4 (identify a cleft sentence in the passage) immediately after the silent reading to activate form-noticing before the critical discussion. This ensures the text functions as both content input and linguistic model. Severity inferred from error_type noticing deficit.

Assessment · Formative

How we'll measure success

Formative assessment — ongoing, low-stakes, used to inform teaching (Black & Wiliam 1998). 5 observable criteria.

Assessment type Formative ▾

Ongoing assessment during learning to inform teaching and learner action; low stakes.

Best for: Day-to-day classroom monitoring; feedback loops.

Source · Black & Wiliam (1998).

✓ Spontaneous and flexible deployment of at least two C2 rhetorical structures (inversion, cleft, fronting, or advanced hedging) in the pitch production stage. medium obs. ▾

Success looks like — a student demonstrates this spontaneously, without prompting from the teacher.

"medium observability" = how directly a non-expert observer could tick this off; observable verbs (use, produce, respond) score higher than internal-state verbs (understand, know).

✓ Ability to make a persuasive, logically structured argument for a company without relying on formulaic or generic business language. medium obs. ▾

Success looks like — a student demonstrates this spontaneously, without prompting from the teacher.

"medium observability" = how directly a non-expert observer could tick this off; observable verbs (use, produce, respond) score higher than internal-state verbs (understand, know).

✓ Effective use of concession-and-reframe to pre-empt investor objections — a key functional move at C2 level. high obs. ▾

Success looks like — a student demonstrates this spontaneously, without prompting from the teacher.

"high observability" = how directly a non-expert observer could tick this off; observable verbs (use, produce, respond) score higher than internal-state verbs (understand, know).

✓ Quality of collaborative negotiation during pair pitch preparation: students make thinking visible, argue for language choices, and reach a joint position. medium obs. ▾

Success looks like — a student demonstrates this spontaneously, without prompting from the teacher.

"medium observability" = how directly a non-expert observer could tick this off; observable verbs (use, produce, respond) score higher than internal-state verbs (understand, know).

✓ Accuracy of comprehension-check responses: gist, detail, inference, and register analysis of the pitch script and framework text. medium obs. ▾

Success looks like — a student demonstrates this spontaneously, without prompting from the teacher.

"medium observability" = how directly a non-expert observer could tick this off; observable verbs (use, produce, respond) score higher than internal-state verbs (understand, know).

Evidence to look for

The teacher observes pairs in breakout rooms and notes specific instances of target structures attempted (not just topic-correct language). Voluntary pitch delivery is assessed against the five criteria above, with teacher noting exact phrases used. Chat responses to comprehension tasks and the reflection exit ticket provide written evidence of both analytical understanding and metacognitive awareness of language choices. No grade or score is assigned — evidence is used to plan the next lesson's focus.

Lesson at a glance · 45 min

45-minute roadmap

4 stages, proportional. Click any block to jump straight to that stage.

45 MINUTES
Target language

Communicative functions & structures

Functions · click to expand
Describing A Company's Value Proposition

The 'Describing a company's value proposition' move — speakers use this to achieve a communicative goal within presenting the company to investors.

e.g. Negative inversion: 'Not only do we offer X, but we also Y'; 'Rarely has a company in this space achieved Z so quickly.'

Persuading And Convincing Investors

The 'Persuading and convincing investors' move — speakers use this to achieve a communicative goal within presenting the company to investors.

e.g. Negative inversion: 'Not only do we offer X, but we also Y'; 'Rarely has a company in this space achieved Z so quickly.'

Hedging And Qualifying Claims With Precision

The 'Hedging and qualifying claims with precision' move — speakers use this to achieve a communicative goal within presenting the company to investors.

e.g. Negative inversion: 'Not only do we offer X, but we also Y'; 'Rarely has a company in this space achieved Z so quickly.'

Conceding Objections And Reframing Them

The 'Conceding objections and reframing them' move — speakers use this to achieve a communicative goal within presenting the company to investors.

e.g. Negative inversion: 'Not only do we offer X, but we also Y'; 'Rarely has a company in this space achieved Z so quickly.'

Structuring An Argument With Sophisticated Cohesion

The 'Structuring an argument with sophisticated cohesion' move — speakers use this to achieve a communicative goal within presenting the company to investors.

e.g. Negative inversion: 'Not only do we offer X, but we also Y'; 'Rarely has a company in this space achieved Z so quickly.'

Key structures · click for use
Negative inversion: 'Not only do we offer X, but we also Y'; 'Rarely has a company in this space achieved Z so quickly.'

Drill the form first, then anchor in meaning — ask students when they would say this and to whom.

Cleft sentences: 'What sets us apart is our proprietary algorithm.'; 'It is the scalability that makes this model so attractive.'

Drill the form first, then anchor in meaning — ask students when they would say this and to whom.

Fronting for rhetorical effect: 'Central to our strategy is a data-first approach.'; 'Critical to investor confidence, therefore, is our proven traction.'

Drill the form first, then anchor in meaning — ask students when they would say this and to whom.

Advanced modal hedging: 'This would tend to suggest strong product-market fit.'; 'It could be argued that the timing has never been more favourable.'; 'Our projections may well exceed expectations in Q3.'

Drill the form first, then anchor in meaning — ask students when they would say this and to whom.

Concession and reframing: 'Granted that the market is competitive — that said, no current player addresses the B2B segment as we do.'; 'Be that as it may, our unit economics tell a different story.'

Drill the form first, then anchor in meaning — ask students when they would say this and to whom.

Vocabulary · 10 items · click any card

Key vocabulary

pitch B2
/pɪtʃ/ 2k

"She delivered a compelling pitch that won the investors over."

investor pitchelevator pitchpitch to investorsdeliver a pitch

Tip: model this in a quick T→S drill before pair work.

traction C1
/ˈtræk.ʃən/ 3k

"We have already gained significant traction with 10,000 active users."

gain tractionmarket tractionshow tractionearly traction

Tip: model this in a quick T→S drill before pair work.

scalable C1
/ˈskeɪ.lə.bəl/ off-list

"Our cloud-based model is inherently scalable across markets."

scalable modelhighly scalablescalable solutionscalable business

Tip: model this in a quick T→S drill before pair work.

runway C1
/ˈrʌn.weɪ/ 3k

"With this funding round, we project an 18-month runway."

18-month runwayextend the runwayburn rate and runway

Tip: model this in a quick T→S drill before pair work.

stake B2
/steɪk/ 2k

"We are offering a 10% equity stake in exchange for the investment."

equity stakeminority staketake a stakestake in the company

Tip: model this in a quick T→S drill before pair work.

disrupt B2
/dɪˈsrʌpt/ 3k

"Our platform stands to fundamentally disrupt the logistics sector."

disrupt the marketdisruptive technologydisrupt an industry

Tip: model this in a quick T→S drill before pair work.

compelling C1
/kəmˈpel.ɪŋ/ 3k

"There is a compelling case for early-stage investment in this space."

compelling casecompelling evidencemake a compelling argumentcompelling story

Tip: model this in a quick T→S drill before pair work.

upside C1
/ˈʌp.saɪd/ 3k

"The upside potential here is considerable, particularly after Series B."

significant upsidedownside riskupside potentiallimited upside

Tip: model this in a quick T→S drill before pair work.

differentiate C1
/ˌdɪf.əˈren.ʃi.eɪt/ 3k

"What differentiates us is our proprietary data pipeline."

differentiate from competitorsclearly differentiatedwhat differentiates us

Tip: model this in a quick T→S drill before pair work.

leverage C1
/ˈlev.ər.ɪdʒ/ 3k

"We intend to leverage our existing partnerships to accelerate growth."

leverage existing networksleverage dataleverage partnerships

Tip: model this in a quick T→S drill before pair work.

CEFR distribution10 items total
banded for C2
B2
3 · 30%
B2
C1
7 · 70%
C1
Concept network · tap a branch to expand

Investor Pitch

1 Key Vocabulary 8
  • pitch
  • traction
  • scalable
  • runway
  • upside
  • stake
  • disrupt
  • differentiate
2 Rhetorical Structures 5
  • negative inversion
  • cleft sentences
  • fronting
  • modal hedging
  • concession + reframe
3 Communicative Functions 5
  • describing value proposition
  • persuading investors
  • pre-empting objections
  • structuring an argument
  • qualifying claims
4 Cultural & Pragmatic Notes 5
  • investors back people as much as ideas
  • concession signals intellectual honesty
  • over-hedging reads as doubt
  • brevity and precision valued over volume
  • rhetorical structure varies by investor culture (VC vs. family office vs. corporate)
5 Pitch Architecture 5
  • problem → solution → traction
  • logical + emotional + rhetorical levels
  • the opening hook
  • handling hard questions
  • the ask
Case method · negotiate a real dilemma

The Eleventh-Hour Pitch

The dilemma

How do Zara and Marcus open their pitch in a way that immediately differentiates Verdant from the three competitors Ingrid has already heard — without overstating claims they cannot yet fully substantiate?

Background

Zara and Marcus co-founded Verdant, a B2B carbon-tracking software company. Their platform allows mid-size manufacturers to monitor and report Scope 3 emissions in real time — a regulatory requirement that comes into force across the EU in eight months. They have 200 paying pilot clients, €120,000 MRR, and a churn rate of only 4%. Tonight they have an unscheduled 10-minute slot with a sustainability-focused VC partner, Ingrid Hofer, who is known for asking hard questions about competitive moats. Ingrid has already seen three carbon-tracking pitches this week.

Discussion prompts · click for the pedagogical intent
    What would you say in the very first sentence to ensure Ingrid does not mentally file you alongside the other three pitches she has heard this week? ▾

    Pedagogical move: Rhetorical differentiation — opening hook using cleft or fronting structure

    Engaged-student signal: Opens with a cleft or fronted structure that names a specific, verifiable differentiator ('What no competitor offers is real-time Scope 3 tracking at SME price points.')

    Ingrid asks: 'Why hasn't a large consultancy simply built this already?' How would you concede the validity of her question while reframing it as evidence of your advantage? ▾

    Pedagogical move: Concession-and-reframe pragmatics; advanced modal hedging under pressure

    Engaged-student signal: Uses 'Granted… that said…' or 'Be that as it may…' to acknowledge the threat, then pivots to a specific structural reason (speed, data, cost) why the large-consultancy route hasn't happened.

    How would you present your 4% churn rate in a way that makes it feel like a strategic argument rather than a data point? ▾

    Pedagogical move: Integrating quantitative evidence into rhetorical structure (inversion or fronting)

    Engaged-student signal: Embeds the statistic inside an inversion or cleft ('Rarely does a B2B SaaS platform in a new regulatory category achieve a churn rate below 5% in its first year — ours stands at 4%.') rather than stating the number alone.

    If Ingrid says 'Your runway concerns me — eight months is very tight', what would you say, and which rhetorical structure would you deliberately choose to maintain authority in your response? ▾

    Pedagogical move: Crisis management under communicative pressure; conscious structure selection at C2

    Engaged-student signal: Names the structure they are using ('I'm going to use a concession here'), concedes the concern precisely, then reframes with a specific piece of evidence ('Central to our bridge-to-Series-A plan is the LOI already signed with two anchor clients.').

Target language to deploy
What sets us apart is [specific differentiator]. Granted, [investor concern] — that said, [counter-evidence with data]. Rarely has a company at this stage demonstrated [specific achievement]. It could be argued that [contextual claim supporting market timing]. Central to our [strategy / model / advantage] is [noun phrase]. This would tend to suggest [analytical conclusion, not boast].
Input we provide · read aloud or hand out — no recordings needed

Texts & scripts

READ ALOUD SCRIPT for: Comprehensible Input — Pitch Immersion

NovaTech's Series A Pitch — Read-Aloud Script

Good morning. What we have built at NovaTech is not simply another logistics app — it is a fundamentally different way of thinking about last-mile delivery. Central to our model is a real-time route-optimisation engine that, to date, no competitor has been able to replicate at scale.

Not only do we reduce delivery times by an average of 34%, but we also cut fuel costs by nearly a fifth — a figure that speaks directly to the sustainability mandates your portfolio companies are navigating. It could be argued that the timing has never been more favourable: consumer expectations around same-day delivery have shifted irreversibly, and the incumbents are struggling to adapt.

What sets us apart, however, is not the technology alone. It is the traction. In eighteen months we have grown from zero to 40,000 active business users across three markets. Our runway, following this funding round, would extend to twenty-two months — sufficient to reach cash-flow positive. Rarely has an early-stage logistics company demonstrated this combination of speed, unit-economics discipline, and market breadth so early in its lifecycle.

Granted, the competitive landscape is intense. That said, our proprietary data pipeline — built on 9 million anonymised delivery events — creates a moat that would take years for any new entrant to replicate. Be that as it may, we are not resting on that advantage: a Series B roadmap targeting Southeast Asia is already in development.

We are offering a 12% equity stake in exchange for €2 million, valuing the company at €16.7 million pre-money. The upside potential, we believe, is significant. We invite you to be part of that journey.

Comprehension
  1. Gist: In one sentence, what is NovaTech's core value proposition to investors?
  2. Detail: What two quantified performance gains does the speaker cite in the second paragraph?
  3. Inference: What does the speaker mean by 'a moat that would take years to replicate'? How does this word choice serve a persuasive purpose?
  4. Register: Identify two rhetorical structures (e.g. inversion, cleft, fronting) used in the script and explain their effect on the listener.
READING PASSAGE for: Comprehension Check — Framework Analysis

Investor Pitch Framework — Reading Passage

A strong investor pitch operates on three simultaneous levels: logical, emotional, and rhetorical. At the logical level, the speaker must establish a clear problem, a differentiated solution, and credible evidence of traction — numbers matter here. At the emotional level, the speaker must convey genuine conviction and create a sense of shared opportunity: investors back people as much as ideas. At the rhetorical level, sophisticated speakers deploy structural choices — inversion, clefting, fronting — to control emphasis, signal confidence, and pre-empt objections.

Novice presenters typically over-rely on hedging ('we hope to', 'we think maybe') in a way that signals uncertainty rather than measured caution. Expert presenters, by contrast, use hedges strategically: 'This would tend to suggest strong product-market fit' conveys analytical rigour, not doubt. Similarly, concession followed by reframing ('Granted, competition is fierce — that said, no incumbent addresses this segment') demonstrates intellectual honesty while strengthening the overall argument.

Research on investor behaviour consistently shows that clarity of structure and confidence of delivery predict funding decisions more reliably than the raw figures in a slide deck. What investors remember is rarely a number — it is a phrase, a moment, an image. The pitch, ultimately, is a piece of persuasive discourse as much as it is a financial document.

Comprehension
  1. Gist: What are the three levels on which a strong pitch operates, according to the text?
  2. Detail: How does the text distinguish between 'novice' and 'expert' use of hedging? Give one example of each.
  3. Critical response: Do you agree that rhetorical skill matters as much as data in an investor pitch? Draw on the text and your own experience.
  4. Language focus: Find one example in the text of a cleft sentence and explain its rhetorical effect.
1 Stage 1 of 4 Individual (listening) → Pairs (note comparison) · 12 min
Stage 1 · Live Listening With Note-Taking (Dictogloss-Style)

Comprehensible Input — Pitch Immersion

Live Listening With Note-Taking (Dictogloss-Style) ▾

Learners process audio (recorded or live) for a specific purpose: gist, detail, inference, or noticing target features.

Best for: Schema activation, Presentation (input stage), comprehension training.

Source: Brown & Yule 1983; Field 2008 (Listening in the Language Classroom).

12:00
Input for this stage — we provide it (read it aloud or hand it out; no recording needed):

Teacher checklist

  • 1Share your screen and display the lesson title slide only — do NOT share the script text. 2
  • 2Tell students: 'I'm going to read you a real investor pitch
  • 3Listen for the overall message and for any language that sounds particularly powerful or precise
  • 4You do not need to write everything — just key ideas and striking phrases.' 3
  • 5Read the 'NovaTech's Series A Pitch — Read-Aloud Script' (in Texts & scripts) aloud at a natural, measured pace — approximately 90 seconds
  • 6Use vocal emphasis on the rhetorical structures (inversion, cleft sentences). 4
  • 7Pause after the first three paragraphs, ask: 'What is the main claim so far?' (accept any response, do not correct). 5
  • 8Read the remaining two paragraphs. 6
  • 9After the full reading, instruct students to type their one-sentence gist answer in the chat. 7
  • 10Read the script a second time at the same pace; students may add notes. 8
  • 11Invite two or three students to share notes in the chat — affirm all contributions without correction
Teacher language
Listen for the main message and for language that feels powerful or precise. You don't need every word — just what strikes you. What is this company trying to convince us of?

Students do

Students listen to the teacher read the NovaTech pitch script aloud. On first hearing, they take minimal notes on key ideas and any language that stands out. On second hearing, they refine their notes. They type a one-sentence gist response in the chat and briefly compare notes with a partner in a breakout room (1 minute) before returning.

  • MNovaTech's Series A Pitch — Read-Aloud Script (Texts & scripts)
  • MVirtual breakout rooms (pairs, 1 minute)
Talk balanceIndividual (listening) → Pairs (note comparison)
Teacher Students Solo
Concept-checking questions 2
Does the speaker use 'Not only do we...' to add an extra point or to correct a mistake?

Expected: To add an extra point — and to add rhetorical emphasis, making the claim feel stronger.

Common mix-up: Students sometimes read negative inversion as a correction or contrast ('not only... but instead'), missing its additive, emphatic function.

Tip: Ask students to paraphrase the sentence without inversion ('We also cut fuel costs') and compare the effect.

When the speaker says 'It could be argued that the timing has never been more favourable', is this expressing doubt or careful confidence?

Expected: Careful confidence — the hedge signals analytical distance and intellectual rigour, not genuine uncertainty.

Common mix-up: C2 learners sometimes flatten all hedges to 'uncertainty'; they need to distinguish epistemic hedging-for-rigour from hedging-for-doubt.

Tip: Compare: 'We think maybe the timing is good' (doubt) vs. 'It could be argued...' (authority).

What if? · activity menu 3
rescue Transcript scaffold rescue

For students who struggle to follow at natural pace, display the first paragraph of the script on screen during the second reading only, highlighting the rhetorical structures in a different colour. Ask students to identify what effect each highlighted structure has.

Source: Nation & Newton 2009 on scaffolded listening

extension Rhetorical device annotation extension

Fast finishers annotate their notes with the specific rhetorical device they heard (inversion / cleft / fronting / hedging / concession), comparing labels with a partner before the class debrief.

Source: Skehan 1998 on task complexity and noticing

modality variant One-to-one modality variant

In a one-to-one virtual setting, after the second reading the student shares their screen showing their notes; teacher and student co-annotate in a shared doc, making the noticing process explicit and collaborative.

Source: Lantolf & Thorne 2006 on mediated learning tools

2 Stage 2 of 4 Individual reading → Whole class (teacher-facilitated dialogue) · 10 min
Stage 2 · Guided Reading + Analytical Discussion

Comprehension Check — Framework Analysis

Guided Reading + Analytical Discussion ▾

Open-ended group talk on a topic; minimal teacher intervention beyond opening prompt and topic-shift management. Practices fluency, turn-taking, and topic development.

Best for: Wrap-up, schema activation, B1+ where lexical inventory supports topic depth.

Source: Bygate 1987 (Speaking).

10:00
Input for this stage — we provide it (read it aloud or hand it out; no recording needed):

Teacher checklist

  • 1Share the 'Investor Pitch Framework — Reading Passage' (in Texts & scripts) on screen and give students 3 minutes to read it silently. 2
  • 2After reading, post the four comprehension tasks in the chat (they are listed under the reading passage). 3
  • 3Ask students to type brief answers to tasks 1 and 2 in the chat — gist and detail (allow 2 minutes). 4
  • 4Read back two or three student responses aloud and comment briefly: 'Notice how the text distinguishes hedging for doubt from hedging for rigour — that is a C-level distinction investors pick up immediately.' 5
  • 5Facilitate a short (3-minute) whole-class discussion on task 3 (critical response): 'Do you agree that rhetoric matters as much as data?' Invite disagreement
  • 6Do NOT correct opinions. 6
  • 7For task 4, ask one student to identify a cleft sentence from the passage — elicit the example ('What investors remember is rarely a number') and ask: 'What does the writer put in focus by using this structure?' 7
  • 8Connect explicitly: 'You just heard these same structures in the pitch
  • 9Now you are going to use them.'
Teacher language
What does the text say distinguishes expert hedging from novice hedging? Can you find the exact phrase that shows this? Now — do you personally agree that a well-crafted phrase matters as much as a revenue figure? I'd welcome a counterargument.

Students do

Students read the Investor Pitch Framework passage silently (3 minutes), then type answers to the gist and detail comprehension tasks in the chat. They contribute to the whole-class discussion on the critical response task, defending or qualifying their position using language from the text. One student identifies and explains a cleft sentence from the passage.

  • MInvestor Pitch Framework — Reading Passage (Texts & scripts)
  • MChat for written responses
Talk balanceIndividual reading → Whole class (teacher-facilitated dialogue)
Teacher Students Solo
Concept-checking questions 2
According to the text, when a speaker says 'Granted, competition is fierce — that said, no incumbent addresses this segment', are they weakening or strengthening their argument?

Expected: Strengthening it — the concession shows intellectual honesty, which makes the reframing that follows more credible.

Common mix-up: Students often read any concession as a sign of weakness; they conflate admitting a point with losing the argument.

Tip: Ask: 'Would you trust a speaker more or less if they never acknowledged a risk?' Use this to surface the pragmatic logic.

The text says 'What investors remember is rarely a number — it is a phrase, a moment, an image.' Is this a factual claim or a rhetorical device — or both?

Expected: Both — it makes a research-backed claim AND uses a cleft structure plus a tricolon to enact the very rhetorical power it describes.

Common mix-up: Students at C2 still sometimes treat analytical and rhetorical functions as separate; here the form is the argument.

Tip: Ask: 'How would the sentence land if it said simply: Investors remember phrases more than numbers?'

What if? · activity menu 3
rescue Jigsaw reading rescue

Split the passage into three sections (one per student in a trio breakout). Each student reads only their section and reports the key idea back to the group, reducing the reading load while maintaining collaborative meaning-making.

Source: Aronson 1978 Jigsaw; Vygotsky ZPD through peer mediation

extension Contrastive register extension

Students rewrite the final paragraph of the reading passage in informal spoken English, then discuss what is lost rhetorically. This activates stylistic register variation — a core C2 competence.

Source: Biber 1988 on register variation

modality variant Shared annotation modality variant

Paste the reading passage into a shared Google Doc (or virtual whiteboard). Students highlight and comment directly on the text using annotation tools, making their reading responses visible to peers before the whole-class discussion.

Source: Lantolf & Thorne 2006 on symbolic mediational tools

3 Stage 3 of 4 Pairs (breakout rooms) → Whole class (voluntary report) · 18 min
Stage 3 · Collaborative Role-Play Simulation (Case Brief)

Low-Anxiety Production — Co-Constructed Investor Pitch

Collaborative Role-Play Simulation (Case Brief) ▾

Learners take on roles in a simulated scenario (waiter / customer, applicant / interviewer). Forces register adaptation under pressure.

Best for: Production stage; transactional or socio-pragmatic competence.

Source: Littlewood 1981 (Communicative Language Teaching: An Introduction).

18:00

Teacher checklist

  • 1Display the case brief ('The Eleventh-Hour Pitch') on screen
  • 2Read it aloud so no one feels they missed anything written. 2
  • 3Tell students: 'You are co-founders
  • 4You have 10 minutes to prepare and deliver the opening two minutes of your pitch together
  • 5I am the investor
  • 6There is no single right answer — I want to hear you think out loud, negotiate language, and commit to a position.' 3
  • 7Send pairs to breakout rooms
  • 8During the breakout, visit each room briefly (30–45 seconds) — DO NOT correct; ask one open question ('What is your strongest claim?') and leave. 4
  • 9After 8 minutes, bring all students back. 5
  • 10Invite one pair to deliver their opening two minutes voluntarily
  • 11After they finish, ask the other pair(s): 'What rhetorical move did you notice?
  • 12What would you add or change?' 6
  • 13Finally, share the board plan (key C2 structures) on screen and ask: 'Which of these appeared in the pitches just now?
  • 14Which did you consciously choose?' 7
  • 15Close with affirming, specific praise — name specific language choices that were effective
Teacher language
Take a position — and if your partner disagrees with the phrasing, argue for it. That negotiation IS the learning. There is no script; there is only the claim you want the investor to believe. What is the one thing you most want me to remember when I leave this room?

Students do

In pairs (breakout rooms), students co-construct the opening two minutes of an investor pitch for the case-brief company, negotiating language choices and deciding which rhetorical structures to deploy. They are encouraged to argue about word choices, try phrases out loud, and refine them. One pair delivers their pitch voluntarily to the whole group; others listen and note one rhetorical move they observed. All students reflect briefly on which target structures they used.

  • MCase brief slide: 'The Eleventh-Hour Pitch' (displayed on screen)
  • MBoard plan with C2 structures (shared screen)
  • MVirtual breakout rooms (pairs)
Talk balancePairs (breakout rooms) → Whole class (voluntary report)
Teacher Students Solo
Concept-checking questions 2
If you begin your pitch with 'Not only do we reduce costs, but we also…', what effect are you deliberately creating on the investor?

Expected: You are building cumulative emphasis — each clause lands with increasing weight, signalling confidence and additive value.

Common mix-up: Students sometimes produce the inversion correctly but without understanding its rhetorical intent, making it sound rehearsed rather than strategic.

Tip: Ask: 'Could you say the same thing without the inversion? What changes?' Push them to name the pragmatic difference.

When you concede a risk to the investor ('Granted, our market is fragmented — that said…'), what are you communicating about yourself as a founder?

Expected: That you have thought critically about your own weaknesses — which paradoxically increases investor trust.

Common mix-up: Students fear that conceding any point loses the argument; they need to see concession as a credibility move, not a loss.

Tip: Ask: 'Would you invest in someone who denied all risks? What does acknowledging one tell you about the other?'

What if? · activity menu 3
rescue Sentence-stem scaffold rescue

Provide a cue card (displayed in the breakout room chat) with the five target structures as sentence starters: 'Not only do we… / What sets us apart is… / Central to our strategy is… / It could be argued that… / Granted, X — that said…'. Students fill in the content rather than generating the structure from scratch.

Source: Gibbons 2002 on scaffolding academic language production

extension Adversarial investor extension

After the pitch, the listening partner plays a sceptical investor and challenges one claim directly. The presenting partner must respond using concession-and-reframe in real time, without preparation.

Source: Skehan 1998 on task complexity; Willis 1996 TBL post-task pressure

modality variant Asynchronous recording modality variant

If live delivery is not possible (low bandwidth or student anxiety), each student records a 90-second video pitch alone using the breakout room's recording feature, then peers listen back and annotate one rhetorical move in the chat.

Source: Krashen 1985 on affective filter and voluntary output

4 Stage 4 of 4 Whole class · 5 min
Stage 4 · Structured Whole-Class Reflection

Reflection and Language Consolidation

Structured Whole-Class Reflection
5:00

Teacher checklist

  • 1Keep the board plan (key C2 structures) visible on screen. 2
  • 2Ask students to type in the chat: 'One structure you used today that you will take into your next real professional interaction.' 3
  • 3Read three or four responses aloud and briefly connect each to the rhetorical purpose it serves in an investor context. 4
  • 4Preview the homework: 'Before next class, observe one real pitch — a startup event, a TED talk, a recorded board meeting, or any professional presentation you encounter in your context
  • 5Note two rhetorical moves the speaker makes to persuade — and bring the exact words to class.' 5
  • 6Close the session warmly and without evaluative judgment: 'You produced some genuinely compelling language today
  • 7Trust that.'
Teacher language
What is the one structure from today — the exact words — that you would feel confident using in a real meeting next week? Type it in. And for homework: go find a real pitch. You are not studying it — you are noticing it. Bring two moments back to class.

Students do

Students type one language item they plan to use in a real professional context into the chat. They listen as the teacher connects their choices to rhetorical function. They note down the homework task: observing and annotating a real-world pitch for rhetorical moves.

  • MBoard plan with C2 structures (shared screen)
  • MChat for reflection responses
Talk balanceWhole class
Teacher Students Solo
Concept-checking questions 1
If you had to advise a colleague who was over-using the phrase 'I think maybe we could possibly…', what would you tell them?

Expected: Replace vague stacked hedges with one precise, analytical hedge ('This would tend to suggest…' or 'It could be argued…') to convey rigour rather than uncertainty.

Common mix-up: Some students conflate quantity of hedging with caution and credibility; C2 competence requires understanding that strategic, single hedges outperform anxious over-hedging.

Tip: Ask: 'Which sounds more confident to an investor — and which sounds more honest to you?'

What if? · activity menu 3
rescue Exit ticket via poll rescue

For students who struggle to articulate their reflection verbally, post a quick poll (Mentimeter or chat) with three sentence starters to complete: 'Today I used… / I want to practise… / In my next meeting I will try…'. Lower the meta-cognitive demand without removing the reflection.

Source: Black & Wiliam 1998 on formative assessment and self-regulation

extension Peer feedback letter extension

In the last 2 minutes, students type a two-sentence message to their pitch partner naming one specific rhetorical move the partner used well and one suggestion for refinement — a micro peer-review in authentic register.

Source: Lantolf 2000 on ZPD-mediated peer feedback

modality variant Asynchronous reflection modality variant

Students post their reflection in a shared class forum (Padlet, Teams channel) within 24 hours, writing 3–5 sentences on which C2 structures they consciously deployed and how they plan to use them outside class.

Source: Krashen 1985 on continued acquisition beyond classroom

Differentiation · concrete moves

Adapting on the fly

Pre-planned moves for both ends of the room. Scan for who needs which during monitoring.

If learners struggle
  1. Provide the sentence-stem cue card (rescue activity_menu item) pre-emptively to students who signal lower confidence
  2. Allow these students to read a single prepared sentence from the pitch rather than delivering a free 2-minute version
  3. During the comprehension check, accept paraphrase rather than exact quotation when identifying rhetorical devices
If learners need a challenge
  1. Challenge advanced students to produce a pitch opening that uses ALL five target structures in a natural, non-mechanical sequence
  2. Add the adversarial investor challenge (extension activity_menu item) immediately after their breakout delivery
  3. For the homework, ask them to not only note two rhetorical moves but to rewrite one in three different registers (formal pitch, casual angel meeting, written executive summary) and bring the comparison to class
Homework · Real World Observation

For next time

Before the next session, observe one real or recorded investor pitch or professional business presentation in any format you naturally encounter (a startup event, a professional keynote, a board meeting recording, a TED-style talk). Identify and note down the exact words of at least two rhetorical moves the speaker uses to persuade — specifically, moments of inversion, clefting, fronting, or strategic concession. Be prepared to share the exact phrases and explain the rhetorical effect you believe the speaker intended. There is no written submission — bring your notes and your analysis to the next class.
Next lesson · preview

In the following lesson, open with a 5-minute 'rhetorical move gallery': each student shares one phrase from their real-world observation and the group evaluates its effectiveness together, establishing a class corpus of investor-pitch language in the wild. This feeds into a longer-form individual pitch simulation (simulating a full 3-minute Series A opening) and introduces written pitch-deck language (executive summary register) as a new production mode.

Student Worksheet · Printable

Presenting the Company to Investors

By the end of this worksheet, students will be able to present a company to potential investors using sophisticated rhetorical strategies — including inversion, hedging, cleft structures, and register-appropriate concession — in a fluent, persuasive, and well-structured pitch.

C2 Young Adults (18–25) ~45 min 5 sections
matching exercise

Section 1 — Investor Lexicon: Matching Exercise

Match each term in Column A with its correct definition in Column B. Write the correct letter next to each number.

  • COLUMN A → COLUMN B
  • 1. pitch | A. The length of time a company can operate before running out of funding
  • 2. traction | B. To use something to maximum advantage in order to achieve a result
  • 3. scalable | C. A formal presentation made to investors to secure funding
  • 4. runway | D. Evidence that a product or service is gaining market acceptance
  • 5. stake | E. The potential for growth or profit beyond current expectations
  • 6. disrupt | F. Able to grow in size or volume without a proportional increase in cost
  • 7. compelling | G. An ownership share in a company
  • 8. upside | H. To radically change or overturn an established industry or market
  • 9. differentiate | I. Powerfully persuasive; difficult to ignore or resist
  • 10. leverage | J. To distinguish a product or company from its competitors
gap fill

Section 2 — Rhetorical Structures: Gap Fill

Complete each sentence using the correct word or phrase from the box below. Each item may only be used once. Pay attention to grammatical form and register.

  • WORD BOX: Not only | What sets us apart | It is the scalability | Rarely | Central to | Granted that | Be that as it may | would tend to suggest | may well | could be argued
  • ---
  • 1. ______________ do we offer a best-in-class product, but we also provide full post-sale integration support.
  • 2. ______________ has a company in this space achieved such rapid traction so early in its lifecycle.
  • 3. ______________ is our proprietary matching algorithm, which competitors have yet to replicate.
  • 4. ______________ that makes this model so attractive to institutional investors.
  • 5. ______________ our strategy is a data-first approach that informs every product decision.
  • 6. The current burn rate ______________ strong product-market fit across all key demographics.
  • 7. Our Q3 projections ______________ exceed initial forecasts, given the acceleration in enterprise sign-ups.
  • 8. It ______________ that the timing for this raise has never been more favourable.
  • 9. ______________ the market is competitive — that said, no current player addresses the B2B segment as we do.
  • 10. ______________, our unit economics tell a fundamentally different story from what the headline figures suggest.
cloze

Section 3 — Pitch Cloze: Discourse-Level Comprehension

Read the investor pitch extract below. Fill in each blank (1–12) with one appropriate word. The missing words have been selected to test your understanding of discourse cohesion, register, and the target structures from this lesson. There may be more than one acceptable answer for some blanks — be prepared to justify your choices.

  • Good afternoon. What we are presenting today is not simply a product — it is a category-defining opportunity.
  • Not only (1) ______ we operate in one of the fastest-growing verticals in enterprise SaaS, but we also hold three pending patents that no competitor can (2) ______. Rarely (3) ______ a seed-stage company in this space achieved the kind of traction we are now demonstrating: 40,000 active users, a 94% retention rate, and month-on-month revenue growth of 18%.
  • What (4) ______ us apart is our proprietary algorithm — built over four years of R&D — which allows us to deliver results that are both faster and more (5) ______ than anything currently on the market. It is the (6) ______ of this model that makes it so attractive: we can onboard enterprise clients at a marginal cost of near zero.
  • Central to our strategy (7) ______ a data-first culture embedded at every level of the organisation. This would (8) ______ to suggest that as we scale, our competitive moat only deepens.
  • Granted that the funding landscape is challenging — (9) ______ that said, our runway of 18 months, combined with three signed LOIs, means we are negotiating from a position of strength. Be that as it (10) ______, the numbers speak for themselves.
  • The upside here is (11) ______. We are not asking you to take a leap of faith — we are inviting you to (12) ______ a proven model at the precise moment it is ready to scale.
dialogue completion

Section 4 — Investor Q&A: Dialogue Completion

Below is an extract from a Q&A session following a startup pitch. Complete the FOUNDER's responses (marked ___) using the rhetorical strategies from the lesson: negative inversion, cleft structures, fronting, modal hedging, and/or concession + reframing. Write full, register-appropriate sentences. The first response has been done for you as a model.

  • INVESTOR A: Your market looks crowded. Why should we back you over the incumbents?
  • FOUNDER: [MODEL] Granted that the market is competitive — that said, what sets us apart is our proprietary algorithm and our exclusive focus on the underserved B2B segment, which no current player addresses at this depth.
  • ---
  • INVESTOR B: Your revenue figures are impressive, but your burn rate is quite high. Doesn't that concern you?
  • FOUNDER: [YOUR RESPONSE — use a concession + reframe structure] ___
  • ---
  • INVESTOR C: How confident are you in your Q3 projections? Markets can be unpredictable.
  • FOUNDER: [YOUR RESPONSE — use at least one modal hedging structure] ___
  • ---
  • INVESTOR D: What makes you think you can scale this model internationally within 18 months?
  • FOUNDER: [YOUR RESPONSE — use a cleft sentence and/or fronting] ___
  • ---
  • INVESTOR E: Several well-funded competitors entered this space last year. How do you differentiate?
  • FOUNDER: [YOUR RESPONSE — use negative inversion] ___
crossword

Section 5 — Pitch Vocabulary Crossword

Complete the crossword using the clues below. All answers come from the key vocabulary of this lesson.

  • ACROSS:
  • 2. To radically overturn the conventions of an established market or industry. (7 letters)
  • 5. Able to grow in output or reach without a proportional rise in costs. (8 letters)
  • 7. Powerfully convincing; evoking strong interest or admiration. (9 letters)
  • 9. The period of time a startup can survive on its current cash reserves. (6 letters)
  • 10. To make strategic use of a resource or advantage to maximise impact. (8 letters)
  • DOWN:
  • 1. An ownership share held by an investor in a company. (5 letters)
  • 3. Early evidence that a product is gaining real-world market acceptance. (8 letters)
  • 4. A concise, persuasive presentation delivered to potential investors. (5 letters)
  • 6. The potential gain or profit beyond current performance. (6 letters)
  • 8. To distinguish your offering clearly from that of competitors. (13 letters)
Answer key (teacher reference)
Section 1 — Matching
1-C | 2-D | 3-F | 4-A | 5-G | 6-H | 7-I | 8-E | 9-J | 10-B
Section 2 — Gap Fill — Item 1
Not only
Section 2 — Gap Fill — Item 2
Rarely
Section 2 — Gap Fill — Item 3
What sets us apart
Section 2 — Gap Fill — Item 4
It is the scalability
Section 2 — Gap Fill — Item 5
Central to
Section 2 — Gap Fill — Item 6
would tend to suggest
Section 2 — Gap Fill — Item 7
may well
Section 2 — Gap Fill — Item 8
could be argued
Section 2 — Gap Fill — Item 9
Granted that
Section 2 — Gap Fill — Item 10
Be that as it may
Section 3 — Cloze — Blank 1
do (auxiliary inversion after 'Not only')
Section 3 — Cloze — Blank 2
replicate / match / leverage
Section 3 — Cloze — Blank 3
has (auxiliary inversion after 'Rarely')
Section 3 — Cloze — Blank 4
sets (cleft: 'What sets us apart')
Section 3 — Cloze — Blank 5
compelling / scalable / differentiated
Section 3 — Cloze — Blank 6
scalability (cleft: 'It is the scalability')
Section 3 — Cloze — Blank 7
is (subject-complement inversion after fronted adjunct 'Central to our strategy')
Section 3 — Cloze — Blank 8
tend (modal hedging: 'would tend to suggest')
Section 3 — Cloze — Blank 9
— (dash retained; 'that said' follows as reframe marker)
Section 3 — Cloze — Blank 10
may ('Be that as it may')
Section 3 — Cloze — Blank 11
compelling / considerable / significant
Section 3 — Cloze — Blank 12
leverage / back / scale
Section 4 — Dialogue Completion — Note
Open-ended production task; assess for: (a) appropriate rhetorical structure as specified per prompt, (b) register consistency (formal/semi-formal pitch register), (c) accurate use of target grammar (inversion triggers auxiliary-subject flip; clefts require 'What/It is… that'; hedging requires modal + verb phrase), (d) logical coherence with investor question. Sample answers available in teacher's guide.
Section 4 — Sample: Investor B (Concession + Reframe)
Granted that our burn rate is elevated at this stage — that said, it is precisely this level of investment in engineering and customer acquisition that has driven the traction we are now able to demonstrate.
Section 4 — Sample: Investor C (Modal Hedging)
Our projections may well exceed initial targets in Q3; this would tend to suggest that the product-market fit we have established is both durable and scalable. It could be argued that conditions in the enterprise segment have rarely been more favourable.
Section 4 — Sample: Investor D (Cleft + Fronting)
What makes international expansion viable within this timeframe is our asset-light deployment model. Central to this strategy is a network of regional partners already operating in five target markets.
Section 4 — Sample: Investor E (Negative Inversion)
Not only do we offer a fundamentally different technical architecture, but we also hold the only certified integration with the three leading ERP platforms in Europe — a position no new entrant can replicate quickly.
Section 5 — Crossword — Across 2
DISRUPT
Section 5 — Crossword — Across 5
SCALABLE
Section 5 — Crossword — Across 7
COMPELLING
Section 5 — Crossword — Across 9
RUNWAY
Section 5 — Crossword — Across 10
LEVERAGE
Section 5 — Crossword — Down 1
STAKE
Section 5 — Crossword — Down 3
TRACTION
Section 5 — Crossword — Down 4
PITCH
Section 5 — Crossword — Down 6
UPSIDE
Section 5 — Crossword — Down 8
DIFFERENTIATE
End of lesson

Thank you

Presenting the Company to Investors · C2 · 45 min

Natural Approach (Krashen-Terrell) 4 stages 10 vocab items
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