Cambridge English Empower B1 Unit 1 Communication - Academic Skills Plus

Sep 28, 2026

Unit 1 Communication from Cambridge English Empower B1 focuses on academic presentation skills and topic management. Learners discuss and predict presentation topics from images, compare how different groups communicate, and reflect on how men/boys and women/girls may differ in topics, reasons, body language, speaking, listening, and vocabulary. Listening tasks cover defining a presentation, identifying its parts, and interpreting specific research claims, while study-skill activities teach starting with a “hook” and organizing phrases for introductions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages32

Reading Time1 h 21 min

AccessFree to download

1 SPEAKING

Look at the photos and answer the questions

Think about gender differences in communication

2 LISTENING

Critical thinking: thinking about aims

Listening and completing notes

STUDY SKILLS: STARTING A PRESENTATION

Hook ideas

PRONUNCIATION

d and t sounds

LANGUAGE FOCUS

Saying what you are going to talk about

Cambridge English Empower B1 Unit 1 Communication 1 SPEAKING a Look at the photos and answer the questions. 1 What topics do you think the people in photos a and b are talking about? 2 What topics do you think the people in photos c and d are talking about? a b ACADEMIC SKILLS PLUS Communication studies: Linguistics Listening skills: Outlining the content of a presentation Speaking skills: Saying what you are going to talk about c b Think about the way men or boys talk together and women or girls talk together. Do you think there are any differences? Think about: • topics • reasons for talking together • body language (gestures, eye contact, distance) • how they speak and how they listen • vocabulary and expressions 2 LISTENING a CRITICAL THINKING THINKING ABOUT AIMS In your studies, you may have to give presentations to other students. Discuss these questions. b 1 What is a presentation? 2 How many parts should there be in a presentation? 3 You usually start a presentation with an introduction. What is the aim of this? You will hear three students giving an introduction to a presentation. Which of these topics is each student going to talk about? Write A (Alex), J (Julie), L (Laura) or N (nobody) . 1 how people talk to each other at work 2 how boys and girls talk 3 how older people and younger people talk 4 differences in the way men and women talk 1.1 d c 1.1 Listen again to Alex and Julie and complete their notes with words from the box. | examples features gender status women workplace | men | | --- | --- | Alex Communication: differences between and 1 research – general features 2 : typical ways men and women communicate 3 language – grammar Julie Role relationships in the – effect on communication 1 higher – lower – boss/employee 2 equal status – colleagues 3 male colleagues, female colleagues Cambridge English Empower B1 © Cambridge University Press PHOTOCOPIABLE 1 Unit 1 d 1.1 Listen again to Laura. 1 How is her introduction different from the others? Do you think this is a good way to start a presentation? Why / Why not? 2 What ideas do the listeners suggest for …? a boys’ topics b girls’ topics 3 What does Deborah Tannen’s research show about boys and girls? Choose the correct answer (a, b or c) . a they talk about different topics but use similar language b they talk about similar topics but use different language c they talk about different topics and use different language STUDY SKILLS: STARTING A PRESENTATION Speakers often use a ‘hook’ – something interesting to get their audience’s attention at the start. Think of some different ways to do this and make a list of ideas. 3 PRONUNCIATION d and t sounds a 1.2 Listen to the sentences below (1–3) . What do you notice about the underlined words? Answer the questions. • Are they …? a clearly separated? b joined together? • What happens to the d or t sound? 1 How do men and women communicate and is there a difference? 2 I’m going to describe research that people have done in this area. 3 … people of equal status, colleagues at work for example. b Read the sentences. How do you think the underlined words are pronounced? Try saying them to yourself. 1 … we’re going to look at three different aspects of this. 2 And the third area is different genders. 3 … in the other part there’s a group of girls. 4 … hair and make-up or … which boys they like … yeah. c 1.3 Listen and check. Were they the same as you expected? 4 LANGUAGE FOCUS Saying what you are going to talk about a The three speakers started by saying what they are going to talk about. What do you think they said? Add one word to each gap. 1 Alex: I’m to describe research that people have done in this area. 2 Julie: My talk is role relationships in the [3](3 Laura: wI orkplace. to)[ Laura:](3 Laura: wI orkplace. to)[ wI ](3 Laura: wI orkplac

FAQs

What do learners need to do in the SPEAKING section with the photos?

Look at the photos and answer what topics the people in different pairs (a–d) are talking about, then consider possible gender-related differences.

What is the aim of starting a presentation with an introduction?

To explain what the presentation will be about, helping listeners understand the structure and topics that will follow.

How are “first topic” and “final discussion” phrases used in the language focus activities?

They provide clear ordering and transitions for presenting multiple topics, including how to introduce the first, second, third, and last parts of the talk.

Sep 28, 2026

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