Reading: The Gig Economy
The gig economy is a B2 reading text on the labour-side of platform capitalism. The text covers what gig work is (short-term, project-based, contractor relationships), who does it (delivery riders, ride-share drivers, freelance designers, online tutors), the benefits (flexibility, low entry barriers, supplementary income), and the challenges (income instability, no benefits, algorithmic management, regulatory grey areas). Learners read for worker-experience analysis, structural-issue identification, and policy debate.
This worksheet builds B2 reading comprehension through a labour-economics text on gig work.
Worksheet preview
What’s inside:
- A B2 reading text (~550 words) on gig work and the gig economy
- Pre-reading vocabulary box with labour and platform-work terms
- Comprehension items: worker-experience identification, structural-problem finding, policy-debate recognition
- Vocabulary-in-context: gig-economy vocabulary
- Writing follow-up: argue for or against stronger gig-worker protections
- Full Answer Key plus Teacher Notes
Common challenges: Labour-classification vocabulary at B2 is technical — employee, contractor, freelancer, dependent contractor, false self-employment. Algorithmic management language: ratings, surge pricing, deactivation, app-based supervision. Distinguishing flexibility-as-feature from flexibility-as-bug requires careful reading.
For: Adult and teenage learners (14+) at CEFR B2, in upper-intermediate classes, 1:1 lessons, or self-study. Maps onto Cambridge B2 First (FCE) and C1 Advanced (CAE) Reading. Part of the Work & Career Readings collection — the natural next step is Robots in the Workplace, which extends labour reading into the automation-and-AI dimension.
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