4- Useful expressions – metaphorical language

20 mins. Go over the definition and significance of metaphorical language in business contexts with the students; they may already have noticed some examples in the talk. Set the double task of matching the metaphorical area from the list to each example, and then using the context to explain the meaning of the metaphor. You might want to demonstrate with the first one before students continue in pairs. There are only 7 metaphorical areas and 9 sentences, so some are repeated. After checking the answers as a class, encourage students to reflect on whether
their language has the same or similar metaphors and remind them to translate ideas, not word for word, when using metaphors. Finally, in pairs, students can tell one or more short anecdotes about their own experiences to activate the language. Monitor students while they do this and finish with some feedback or error correction.
VARIATION: students choose one of the topics to talk about but they do not include the metaphorical expression in their speaking. After they finish speaking, their partner must guess which metaphor applies to the situation. You could demonstrate this with an example of your own to begin with.

ANSWERS: 1 a red flag = a sign of danger (a red flag sometimes gives warning of wildfires); 2 trusting your gut = making a decision based on a strong inner feeling rather than over-analyzing it (the gut is part of the human body – the stomach and other digestive organs); 3 on the flip side = on the other hand (you flip a coin to show heads or tails); 4 are grating on you = are annoying you (as if you were a piece of cheese in a grater – kitchen item); 5 be a sponge = drink in new information (as if you were a sponge absorbing water – kitchen item); 6 shore up = reinforce something to make it stronger and resistant to collapse (you shore up buildings if they are about
to collapse); 7 a personal runway = enough money to support you after you leave your old job and while you are starting your new career (like an airplane uses a runway to build up speed before it takes off and flies); 8 burn bridges = leave no option for going back to an earlier position, here meaning resuming good relations with people in your old workplace (fire metaphor); 9 take stock = make a list of what you have or know (shop metaphor).