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Splendid Speaking Course: Unit 3 CAE Speaking Success: Units 1-3 IELTS Speaking: Advanced: Units 1-3

Unit 10: The World of Work

Task: Role Play (3-4 minutes)
Topic vocabulary

1. Introduction: Work in pairs. One of you is being interviewed by a

representative from an international student magazine on the following subject:

To be stuck behind a desk A nine-to-five job A steady job To work (ir)regular hours A well-paid job A high-powered job To be motivated by money To have job satisfaction A demanding/fulfilling job A stimulating work environment A competitive salary Work life balance Vocational training To gain work experience Career prospects Promotion opportunities My long-term goal is to To develop professionally A good team player To show initiative To thrive on responsibility To be able to take charge To deal with people To work under pressure To meet deadlines To be highly motivated

Talk about the job youd like to do and explain what skills and abilities a person needs to work in this area.
Take it in turns to be the interviewer and the interviewee.

2. Planning: The interviewer should spend a minute or two making notes on

the kind of questions to ask. For example: The reason for the interviewees interest in the job. The training/qualifications appropriate for this area of work. Why the interviewee thinks they would be good at this job. What career opportunities this job offers. Focus on asking some open-ended questions which encourage the interviewee to give extended answers.

3. Task Focus: The interviewee should use the following technique to

showcase why they feel they would be good at the job they have chosen: 1) Describe a situation or task they once faced. 2) Explain the action they took to deal with the situation. 3) Explain the result of this action.

4. Language: Tick any of the vocabulary on the left you want to use in your
role play.

Task: Discussion (15 minutes)

As part of a student panel youve been asked to discuss these statements: In general people are required to work too many hours. School prepares young people adequately for the world of work. Absolute equality between men and women in terms of pay and career opportunities is achievable. People work to live rather than live to work. Ageist attitudes and discrimination against older people in the job market means that valuable skills are wasted. Before you start the discussion, look through the list first and think about any experiences you have had that serve as an example of one of the issues either for or against. Use this anecdote in your discussion to help you make your case effectively.

Listen to Eun-Kyung from South Korea using a S t a r S t o r y. S e e t h e January archives ( I n t e r vi e w 1 0 ) a t : s p l e n d i d- s p e a k i n g . c o m