IELTS Speaking Part 2
Describe a team project for study or entertainment
You should say:
• When you did it
• Where you did it
• Who you did it with
• How you did it
• Why you liked it or disliked it
Answer
Well, when it comes to teamwork, I can only think of a bad memory. I remember when I was a first year student, my teacher asked me and some other students in my class to set up a team project. A girl was assigned to be the leader and we had to prepare a presentation about our university. My teacher thought it would make a great contribution to our friendship, and the whole thing done with the best of intentions. But it turned out to be the worst team project ever.
All of us were freshmen, so my team was essentially a bunch of strangers who I happened to be teamed up with. I didn’t know anything about the others, and they knew nothing about me. Moreover, it was obvious that the leader didn’t have any leadership skill. She didn’t know how to allocate work to individual team members. She always sat on the fence, I mean, she let every member raise their voice but she didn’t know which one would be the best. As a result, she wasn’t able to make any decisions. No one in our team showed any respect for her. They only did what they wanted to do. And I was no exception. I was too busy doing my own thing. In the end, no one did any work and nothing was done. Several weeks later, I was still kicking myself for taking part in such a team project.
Vocabulary:
– When it comes to: [expression] as for something; speaking about a particular topic
Example: When it comes to trouble, little boys know how to cause it.
– assign: [verb] to give a particular job or piece of work to someone
Example: The case has been assigned to our most senior officer.
– freshmen: [noun] first-year university or college students
Example: The dean of the university gave a speech of welcome to all the freshmen who had arrived there to study.
– A bunch of: [expression] a large group
Example: She gave me a bunch of flowers.
– allocate: [verb] to give something to someone as their share of a total amount, to use in a particular way
Example: The government is allocating £10 million for health education.
– Sit on the fence: [idiom] not to take sides in a dispute; not to make a clear choice between two possibilities in a dispute.
Example: My tutor told me to support one side of the argument or the other, and not to sit on the fence.
– Do one’s own thing: [expression] following one’s own interests and ideas, without considering other people
Example: On Sundays, I just enjoy doing my own thing without any regular commitments.
– To kick oneself for: [idiom] regret doing something
Example: I’m kicking myself for not buying that T-shirt.
