Teamwork strong and weak recommendations
A LESSON PLAN FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS
Strong recommendations phrases, weak recommendations phrases and negative recommendations phrases practice through the topic of teamwork.
Lesson Plan Content:
Teamwork strong and weak recommendations
How do you feel about working as part of a team (instead of working on your own)?
Brainstorm good points and bad points of working as part of a team.
Classify these proverbs as positive about teamwork or negative about team work, and add them to the correct columns of your brainstorming.
Two heads are better than one./ Too many cooks spoil the broth./ Many hands make light work./ A problem shared is a problem halved./ If you want a thing done well, do it yourself
Do the same with these other aspects of teamwork:
some people are not natural team players/ personality clashes with teammates/ a change in team dynamics can make people look at things in a different way/ team building takes time/ team spirit can motivate people to perform/ choosing the best team leader is critical
What are the most important positive aspects of teamwork for you? What solutions could there be to the negative aspects?
Listen to people talking about a teamwork problem and possible solutions and make notes.
What do you think about their solutions? Can you think of any better ideas?
Underline useful language for giving advice in the transcript, rank it from strong to weak, then add similar language at each level and/ or between each level.
In groups, decide what level of (positive or negative) advice you think matches each suggestion connected to teamwork below.
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Useful phrases for doing the activity Totally agreeing/ Agreeing 100% about the strength or weakness of the statement I think that’s exactly right/ That’s exactly what I would say because… Slightly disagreeing/ Disagreeing only on how strong or weak the statement is/ Thinking the statement should be stronger or weaker (I agree but) I would go further and say… because… (I agree/ I more or less agree/ I basically agree but) I wouldn’t go so far. I would say that… because… Strongly disagreeing (I understand your opinion but) (I’m afraid) I totally disagree/ I have the opposite opinion because… |
Share some of your completed sentences with the class and see if they agree, then ask about any language you weren’t sure how to use, etc.
Do the brainstorming and/ or putting mixed phrases into order tasks below.
Use the mixed version to give more suggestions on teamwork. Each time discuss until you can agree or it’s clear you won’t agree, then do the same with other suggestions.
In order with ideas
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You have absolutely no choice but to/ You have no choice but to/ You really should/ You should/ You should probably/ You could/ I’m not sure that you should/ I don’t think that you should/ You shouldn’t/ You really shouldn’t/ On no account should you |
arrange a teambuilding weekend away together. |
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The only real option is to/ Perhaps the best option is to/ One option is to/ One thing that is not an option is to/ One thing that is not even an option is to |
ask someone to mediate between the two sides of the conflict. |
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You absolutely must/ You just have to/ You’ve got to/ You really ought to/ You ought to/ One possibility is to/ You oughtn’t/ You mustn’t/ You really mustn’t/ You absolutely mustn’t |
get drunk and then tell your boss how you really feel.
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Something I can’t recommend enough is/ I highly recommend/ I would probably recommend/ I wouldn’t necessarily recommend/ I don’t really recommend/ I can’t recommend/ I really can’t recommend |
putting together a team of people with different personalities.
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Whatever you do, make sure that you/ Make sure that you/ If at all possible, try to/ Try to/ Try not to/ Whatever you do, make sure that you don’t |
think about compatible personalities before you choose mentors for your staff. |
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Teambuilding through puzzle solving competitions |
works without fail./ tends to work./ has been known to work./ probably won’t work./ won’t work at all. |
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It’s well worth/ It’s worth/ It’s worth thinking about/ It’s not really worth/ It’s not worth/ It’s not even worth considering |
taking personality questionnaire results into account when you recruit new team members. |
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An absolutely wonderful idea is to/ It’s a great idea to/ It’s a good idea to/ It’s not such a good idea to/ It’s not a good idea to/ It’d be an awful idea to |
always make the most senior member the team leader.
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If I were you, I’d definitely/ If I was in your place, I’d almost certainly/ If I was in your position, I’d probably/ If I was in your shoes, I might/ If I was you, I’d be in no hurry to/ If I was in your place, I definitely wouldn’t |
let every team member take turns being team leader.
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It’d definitely be a good idea to/ It’d almost certainly be a good idea to/ It might be a good idea to/ It could possibly be a good idea to/ It could conceivably be a good idea to/ It almost certainly wouldn’t be a good idea to/ It definitely wouldn’t be a good idea to |
ask staff to report any relationships they have with each other. |
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It’s always worth/ It’s almost always worth/ It’s generally worth/ It’s often worth/ It’s sometimes worth/ It’s occasionally worth/ It’s rarely worth/ It’s almost never worth/ It’s never worth |
the company paying for regular staff social events.
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You’ll definitely regret not/ You won’t regret/ Don’t bother/ You’ll probably regret/ You’ll regret/ You’ll always regret |
publicly praising teams that perform particularly well (e.g. in the company newsletter). |
Brainstorming stage 1
First of all without any help, write as many phrases as you can in the gaps in order.
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You have absolutely no choice but to
On no account should you |
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The only real option is to
One thing that is not even an option is to |
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You absolutely must
You absolutely mustn’t |
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Something I can’t recommend enough is
I really can’t recommend |
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Whatever you do, make sure that you
Whatever you do, make sure that you don’t |
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works without fail.
won’t work at all. |
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It’s well worth
It’s not even worth considering |
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An absolutely wonderful idea is to
It’d be an awful idea to |
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If I were you, I’d definitely
If I was in your place, I definitely wouldn’t |
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It’d definitely be a good idea to
It definitely wouldn’t be a good idea to |
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It’s always worth
It’s never worth |
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You’ll definitely regret not
You’ll always regret |
Use the key words and/ or mixed answers below to help, then check above. Many other answers are possible, so please check if you wrote something different.
Use a blank version of the table above as you discuss ideas related to teamwork.
Key words for giving strong and weak advice
Use these words to help with the brainstorming and/ or as you are speaking about teamwork recommendations.
absolutely account
all almost
always awful
best bother
can certainly
conceivably considering
could definitely
enough even
fail generally
good got
great have
highly hurry
idea if
just known
make might
must -n’t
necessarily never
no not
occasionally often
one only
option ought
perhaps possible/ possibly/ possibility
probably rarely
really recommend
regret should
sometimes such
sure tends
think/ thinking to
try well
whatever wonderful
work(s) worth
would
Mixed phrases
Put the phrases in each section below into order from most positive to most negative.
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I don’t think that you should I’m not sure that you should On no account should you You could You have absolutely no choice but to You have no choice but to You really should You really shouldn’t You should You should probably You shouldn’t |
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One option is to One thing that is not an option is to One thing that is not even an option is to Perhaps the best option is to The only real option is to |
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One possibility is to You absolutely must You absolutely mustn’t You just have to You mustn’t You ought to You oughtn’t You really mustn’t You really ought to You’ve got to |
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I can’t recommend I don’t really recommend I highly recommend I really can’t recommend I would probably recommend I wouldn’t necessarily recommend Something I can’t recommend enough is |
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If at all possible, try to Make sure that you Try not to Try to Whatever you do, make sure that you Whatever you do, make sure that you don’t |
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has been known to work. probably won’t work. tends to work. won’t work at all. works without fail. |
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It’s not even worth considering It’s not really worth It’s not worth It’s well worth It’s worth It’s worth thinking about |
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An absolutely wonderful idea is to It’d be an awful idea to It’s a good idea to It’s a great idea to It’s not a good idea to It’s not such a good idea to |
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If I was in your place, I definitely wouldn’t If I was in your shoes, I might If I was you, I’d be in no hurry to If I were in your place, I’d almost certainly If I were in your position, I’d probably If I were you, I’d definitely |
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It almost certainly wouldn’t be a good idea to It could conceivably be a good idea to It could possibly be a good idea to It definitely wouldn’t be a good idea to It might be a good idea to It’d almost certainly be a good idea to It’d definitely be a good idea to |
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It’s almost always worth It’s almost never worth It’s always worth It’s generally worth It’s never worth It’s occasionally worth It’s often worth It’s rarely worth It’s sometimes worth |
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Don’t bother You won’t regret You’ll always regret You’ll definitely regret not You’ll probably regret You’ll regret |
Check with the first worksheet above.
Use the mixed phrases above as you discuss ideas related to teamwork, making sure you use phrases at the right level to match how positive or negative you feel about each idea.
Teamwork ideas to give advice on
Use similar language to give (strong and weak, positive or negative) recommendations based on these ideas. Ideas divided by a dash (–) are opposite ideas. Your teacher will tell you if you can use a worksheet from above to help make suitable phrases.
- Being graded on your teamwork in your annual appraisal
- Online training on how to be a good team member
- Online training on how to be a good team leader
- Quotas for how often team leaders should be women
- Quotas for how often team leaders should be from minorities/ underrepresented groups
- More cross-department teams
- Internal recruitment for team members
- Appointing a team leader then letting them choose their team members
- More time in the office/ Less working from home
- More temporary teams
- Asking people to volunteer to be team leaders
- Teams sitting together – Hotdesking
- End of year bonuses based partly on good teamwork
- (More) job sharing
- A special prize for team of the year
- Named roles for each person in the team
- Bringing in consultants to advise on better teamwork
- Adventure sports to help with teambuilding
- Survival weekends to help with teambuilding
- More democratic decision making in teams
- Investing in a new staff lounge/ time-out area/ chill-out area/ relaxation area
- Charity fundraising together to help with teambuilding
- Team sports to help with teambuilding
- Allowing people who prefer to work on their own to do so
- Daily team meetings
- Weekly team meetings
- Monthly team meetings
- Bigger teams
- Smaller teams
- Investing in a new company cafeteria
- (Temporary) job swapping
- Managers regularly changing department
Do the same with your own ideas for improving teamwork.
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