Speakout Advanced p 26. Work. Extra Speaking . .

 

A. Have a conversation as natural as possible with a partner about the topic. Use the pictures above and the questions below to help you.

1. What dream jobs can you think of? What are their benefits and drawbacks? What do you find stimulating about them?

2. Do you think a job interview is easy? What is challenging about them?

3. Do you have team building days and professional development courses at your company? Do you think they are helpful?

4. Do you know anybody who has been made redundant? Why were they let go? Why are companies forced to make cutbacks? Can you think of any big lay-offs in your country because of the recession? Do you know anybody who has been unfairly dismissed from his job? Why are some people fired from their jobs sometimes?
5. What are the steps for people who are out of work and looking for one? Are jobcentres efficient? Do you know people who have been on the dole for a long time? For how long can people claim unemployment benefits in your country?
6. Do you think it's worth having a pension plan?
7. Can you think of some jobs in which people have a vested interest or an axe to grind?
8. Do any of your colleagues beat about the bush at meetings? Are there any who sit on the fence? Or any who speak their mind? What do you think about colleagues who have a tendency to play devil's advocate? Would you consider any of your colleagues detail-obsessed nit-pickers? Are there any last-minute deadline junkies? Do you fit in any of these categories?

B. MONOLOGUE

Student A
1. Would you refuse a certain job even though it was well-paid? What would be the reasons why you would hand in your resignation?

2. How did you find your current job? What do you find satisfying about it? Is it demanding? Do you have to do any gruelling tasks? Can it be hectic where you work at times? Are you painstaking about your work?

3. How do you strike a balance between your career and your family life?

                          
Student B

1. Do school and university prepare students for the world of work? Are these jobs better paid than menial jobs?

2. Would you volunteer to work overseas? Consider the positive and negative aspects of it.

3. Comment on this quote: “As sure as the spring will follow the winter, prosperity and economic growth will follow recession.” Bo Bennett

Pictures:
warehouse: 



a building where large quantities of goods are stored, especially before they are sent to shops/stores to be sold. E.g. The Amazon warehouses.
 


depot:  



/ˈdepəʊ/ /ˈdiːpoʊ/ a place where large amounts of food, goods or equipment are stored. E.g. an arms depot.
 


shop floor: 



 the area in a factory where the goods are made by the workers. E.g. to work on the shop floor. In the industrial sector, there are still relatively few women on the shop floor.
 


proportions: 



size. E.g. a building of vast/huge/massive proportions.
 


drone: 



an aircraft without a pilot, controlled from the ground. E.g. The Amazon drones will take off in about five years. They will revolutionise shopping as we know it.
 


interviewee: 



the person who answers the questions in an interview.
 


job-hunt: 



to try to find a job. E.g. At that time I had been job-hunting for six months.
 


position: 



a job. E.g. He held a senior position in a large company. I should like to apply for the position of Sales Director.
 


post: 



a job, especially an important one in a large organization. E.g. an academic/government post. To take up a post. To resign (from) a post.
 


Qualification: 


an exam that you have passed or a course of study that you have successfully completed. E.g. academic/educational/professional/vocational qualifications. A nursing/teaching, etc. qualification. He left school with no formal qualifications.
 


résumé: 



/ˈrezjumeɪ/ (British English curriculum vitae /kəˌrɪkjələm ˈviːtaɪ/ CV) a written record of your education and the jobs you have done, that you send when you are applying for a job.
 


vacancy: 



/ˈveɪkənsi/ a job that is available for somebody to do. E.g. job vacancies. A temporary vacancy. Vacancy (for somebody/something). Vacancies for bar staff. To fill a vacancy. There’s a vacancy in the accounts department.    

body language: 



the process of communicating what you are feeling or thinking by the way you place and move your body rather than by words. E.g. I could tell from her body language that she was angry.
 



slouch:  



/slaʊtʃ/ (+ adv./prep.) to stand, sit or move in a lazy way, often with your shoulders and head bent forward. E.g. Several students were slouching against the wall. Sit up straight. Don't slouch. He slouched across the room and collapsed in a chair.

 

 

fold your arms (also cross your arms)

 



to put one of your arms over the other one and hold them against your body. E.g. He stood watching her with his arms folded across his chest. He crossed his arms and stood in the doorway looking hostile.




mistrustful: 



feeling that you should not trust someone or something. E.g.  mistrustful (of somebody/something) Some people are very mistrustful of computers. Since the accident he has become withdrawn and mistrustful. He was becoming increasingly mistrustful of doctors.
 


distrustful: 



a distrustful person does not trust a particular person or thing or people in general. E.g.  They were profoundly distrustful of anything new.
 


trusting/ trustful: 



to believe that other people are good, honest, etc. If you're too trusting, other people will take advantage of you.

trusty:  



that you have had a long time and have always been able to rely on. E.g. a trusty friend. She spent years touring Europe with her trusty old camera.
 


trustworthy: 



that you can rely on to be good, honest, sincere, etc.  Reliable.
 


untrustworthy: 



that cannot be trusted

white lie: 



a harmless or small lie, especially one that you tell to avoid hurting somebody.
 


cluttered (up) (with somebody/something) 



covered with, or full of, a lot of things or people, in a way that is untidy. E.g. a cluttered room/desk.
 


crammed (with somebody/something)  



full of things or people. E.g. All the shelves were crammed with books. The room was crammed full of people.

be snowed under (with something)  



to have more things, especially work, than you feel able to deal with. E.g. I'd love to come but I'm completely snowed under at the moment.



 

be up to your ears in something

to have a lot of something to deal with. E.g. We're up to our ears in work. 

be up to your eyebrows in something

to have a lot of something to deal with. E.g. I’m absolutely up to my eyebrows in work. Stein is up to his eyebrows in debt.



be up to your eyes in sth​ 



to be very busy doing something. E.g. I'm up to my eyes in homework this week. 

be up to your eyeballs in something

to have a lot of something to deal with. E.g. They're up to their eyeballs in work.


multitask: 



/ˌmʌltiˈtɑːsk/ to do several things at the same time. E.g. Women seem to be able to multitask better than men.
 


workload: 



the amount of work that has to be done by a particular person or organization. E.g. a heavy workload. We have taken on extra staff to cope with the increased workload. Management is looking at ways of spreading the workload between departments.
Questions

team building: 



The action or process of causing a group of people to work together effectively as a team, especially by means of activities and events designed to increase motivation and promote cooperation. E.g. companies are starting to turn to arts-based training programmes as a way of team building and improving morale. For managerial roles important skills include leadership, team building, project management and problem solving. A weekend of team-building exercises.

professional development: 



 The development of competence or expertise in one's profession; the process of acquiring the skills needed to improve performance in a job. Teachers have professional development days before the academic year gets underway (begins).

to make sb redundant/ lay somebody off: 



if someone is made redundant/ laid off, they have been told they must leave their job because they are no longer needed. Without a job because there is no more work available for you in a company E.g. to be made redundant from your job.

let somebody go: 



to make somebody have to leave their job. E.g. They're having to let 100 employees go because of falling profits. 

cutback (in something) 


 a reduction in something. E.g. cutbacks in public spending. Staff cutbacks. Many hospitals face cutbacks in services. The company will be forced to make cutbacks in all departments.

lay-off: 



an act of making people unemployed because there is no more work left for them to do. E.g. lay-offs in the factory. The workforce is on strike over lay-offs. The most recent lay-off saw staff fall to 175 from 250.

dismiss somebody (from something) 



to officially remove somebody from their job. E:g. She claims she was unfairly dismissed from her post.

fire/ sack somebody 



to force somebody to leave their job. E.g. We had to fire him for dishonesty. She got fired from her first job. He was responsible for hiring and firing staff. 

be out on your ear

(informal) to be forced to leave (a job, etc.). E.g. You'll be out on your ear if you don't start doing some work around here.



jobcentre: 



 a government office where people can get advice in finding work and where jobs are advertised. The jobcentre is very good for searching job vacancies in your area 

dole: (also the dole) 



money paid by the state to unemployed people. E.g. He's been on the dole (= without a job) for a year. The government is changing the rules for claiming dole. Lengthening dole queues. We could all be in the dole queue on Monday (= have lost our jobs). 

benefit: 



money provided by the government to people who need financial help because they are unemployed, ill/sick, etc. E.g. The aim is to help people who are on benefits (= receiving benefits) to find jobs. You may be eligible to receive benefits. The number of people claiming unemployment benefit fell last month. 

vested interest (in something) 



a personal reason for wanting something to happen, especially because you get some advantage from it. Sp. interés particular. E.g. They have a vested interest in keeping the club as exclusive as possible. She thinks that lawyers have a vested interest in making the legal process move slowly. I've got a real vested interest in making sure that my patients think I am trustworthy.
 


have an axe to grind: 



to have private reasons for being involved in something or for arguing for a particular cause. E.g. She had no axe to grind and was only acting out of concern for their safety. These criticisms are commonly voiced by those who have some political axe to grind. University professors don't have an axe to grind. Their business is doing research and teaching. In good faith, they try and produce things that are of value to society in general.



agenda: 



the intention behind what somebody says or does, that is often secret The artist is letting his own agenda affect what was meant to be a community project. There are fears of a hidden agenda (=a secret intention) behind this new proposal. 



bias:  



/ˈbaɪəs/ a strong feeling in favour of or against one group of people, or one side in an argument, often not based on fair judgement. E.g.  accusations of political bias in news programmes (= that reports are unfair and show favour to one political party). Employers must consider all candidates impartially and without bias. Some institutions still have a strong bias against women.

beat about the bush  



(British English) (North American English beat around the bush) to talk about something for a long time without coming to the main point. E.g. Stop beating about the bush and tell me what you want. 

sit on the fence: 



to avoid becoming involved in deciding or influencing something. E.g. He tends to sit on the fence at meetings. If you have to make a decision, it's no use sitting on the fence. You must choose one or the other.

speak your mind: 



to say exactly what you think, in a very direct way. E.g. She's never hesitated about speaking her mind.

devil’s advocate   



One who argues against a cause or position either for the sake of argument or to help determine its validity. E.g. Often the interviewer will need to play devil's advocate in order to get a discussion going. My role in the campaign is to play devil's advocate to each new policy before it's introduced to the public. This term comes from the Roman Catholic Church, where advocatus diaboli (Latin for “devil's advocate”) signifies an official who is appointed to present arguments against a proposed canonization or beatification. It was transferred to wider use in the mid-1700s. 

detail-obsessed nit-pickers: 



 people who argue about small, unimportant details.

last-minute deadline junkies: 



 people who leave doing their work until the last minute before it needs to be finished.

demanding: 



needing a lot of skill, patience, effort, etc. E.g. The work is physically demanding. The most demanding challenge I have ever faced.

gruelling: 



/ˈɡruːəlɪŋ/ very difficult and tiring, needing great effort for a long time. E.g. a gruelling journey/schedule/task. I've had a gruelling day. 

hectic: 



very busy; full of activity. E.g. to lead a hectic life. A hectic schedule. Today was too hectic for me.

painstaking: 



/ˈpeɪnzteɪkɪŋ/needing a lot of care, effort and attention to detail. E.g. he's terribly painstaking about his work Sp. no escatima esfuerzos en su trabajo.  Painstaking research Sp. concienzudo. The event had been planned with painstaking attention to detail.

menial:  



/ˈmiːniəl/ (of work) not skilled or important, and often boring or badly paid. E.g. menial jobs/ work. Menial tasks like cleaning the floor.