A big project — Workbook
1. Vocabulary in context
Complete each sentence with ONE word or phrase from the box. Two items are extra.
- The drop was clear from day one: launch a satellite office in Barcelona, no additional markets.
- Our first drop was signing the lease in March — that's when the project became real on the ground.
- The final drop was a working office with four staff on payroll and IT integrated with Lisbon.
- The two most important drop were the CEO and the future local team — everybody else could wait a week.
- We were fully drop but not drop , and definitely not drop — we slipped by five weeks.
- The drop was a physical office. The drop was that Iberia went from one country to two on our client map.
- We drop the project formally in early February with an in-person kick-off meeting.
- The launch date drop from 4 September to 12 October — we announced the new date publicly, on the same day we decided.
Ask the teacher: Write down anything you want to remember from this section. Your notes are saved automatically.
2. Past simple + time markers
Write the correct verb form and, where marked, the correct time marker.
- The project ran ___ February ___ September — seven months in total.
- We ___ (open) the office ___ 12 October ___ 19:00 sharp.
- Two of our new hires ___ (resign) ___ eight days of each other.
- The lease ___ (be) signed two years ___ tomorrow — the anniversary is this week.
- ___ the end of May we ___ (already / integrate) IT with Lisbon.
- How long ___ the project ___ (take) in total? — ___ (about / seven months).
- 'The project lasted ___ seven months' — NOT 'during seven months'.
Ask the teacher: Write down anything you want to remember from this section. Your notes are saved automatically.
3. Stakeholder-update register
Choose the option that belongs in a written project update to a senior stakeholder.
First line of an announcement that the launch date has moved:
Which sentence best describes project success in an executive summary?
Which sentence commits you the LEAST — and is therefore the weakest in a status update?
Which framing is honest, not spin?
'The outcome' is different from 'the output' because:
Ask the teacher: Write down anything you want to remember from this section. Your notes are saved automatically.
4. Find and fix the mistake
Each sentence has ONE grammar or register mistake typical of A2+/B1 professionals. Rewrite it correctly.
- The project lasted during seven months.
- Ago two years we opened the Barcelona office.
- In 12 October we launched at 19:00 pm.
- We didn't hit the milestone but we learn a lot.
- The launch was slide from September to October.
- In two years ago the office is still profitable.
Ask the teacher: Write down anything you want to remember from this section. Your notes are saved automatically.
6. Listening — mid-project 'we're moving the date' voicemail
A project manager leaves a 60-second voicemail for the CEO. She has decided to move the launch date and wants him to hear it from her first. Listen (or read the transcript) and answer.
- What is the caller's overall tone — and why is that a good choice?
- By WHAT DATE has the caller decided to speak, relative to the original launch?
- What SPECIFIC three pieces of information does she give in the voicemail?
- What is her explicit ask of the CEO?
Show transcript
Amara (PM):Hi — voicemail because I want you to hear this from me before you see it in an email. Short update on the Barcelona office project.
Amara (PM):Original date: launch on 4 September. New proposed date: 12 October — five weeks later. Fully in-scope, roughly fifteen percent over on budget.
Amara (PM):Reason, in one sentence: two of our new local hires resigned in June, within eight days of each other, and the Barcelona recruitment market effectively closes in July and August. We can't rerun recruitment cleanly in that window, and I don't want to launch an office half-staffed.
Amara (PM):I'm flagging this six weeks before the original date, not two days. That's deliberate. It gives us time to tell clients and the local team properly, and it gives you time to react before the number leaves this building.
Amara (PM):Ask: fifteen minutes on your calendar tomorrow to walk you through the revised plan and get sign-off. If I have that by end of day tomorrow, I can communicate the new date externally by Friday. Talk soon.
Ask the teacher: Write down anything you want to remember from this section. Your notes are saved automatically.
7. Writing — Post-project wrap-up email (120–150 words)
Write a 120–150 word wrap-up email to a senior internal stakeholder about a real (or realistic) project you've completed. Include: (1) a one-sentence headline naming date, scope and budget honestly, (2) the timeline with at least two specific time markers, (3) the one thing you didn't see coming, (4) the outcome (not just the output), (5) one concrete process change you're proposing. Use AT LEAST four past-simple verbs and THREE different time markers. Do NOT use: 'everything went well', 'the team did an amazing job', 'lessons were learned'.
Ask the teacher: Write down anything you want to remember from this section. Your notes are saved automatically.
8. Case study preview
Look at this unit's Case Study. Answer briefly.
- What is the main challenge in the case for Unit 9, and which stakeholder would you brief first?
- If you were the project lead, what is the ONE process change you would carry forward from this case — the equivalent of the two-hour check-in? Name it, own it, date it.
Ask the teacher: Write down anything you want to remember from this section. Your notes are saved automatically.