Job Satisfaction

© 2007/2008 Languages Out There and its licensors. Reproduction in whole or in part prohibited except as may be provided under the terms of a Licence Agreement. Lesson Plan Level 6 Topic Aim Language Focus Skills Lesson 5 Job satisfaction To enable students to expand business vocabulary Business English, intensifying adjectives Speaking, listening Out There – real world Out There – VoIP Take the class to a well-populated area of the town or city, somewhere where people are not in a rush and are easy to approach (i.e. sitting down). In this case, somewhere where business people have a rest, cigarette or a sandwich. Tell students to call conversation partners on VoIP client using the school’s computers or at home. # Details Task Sheet Minutes 1 2 3 4 5 To introduce the aim and task of the lesson, ask the students to think of five essential things for job satisfaction and three negative things. Discuss these in open class. Task Sheet 1. Ask the students to predict the percentage for each country. Write the predictions on the board. Discuss them in class. Ask why they think people think this way. Vocabulary – match the words to the definitions. Check the answers and the stress and pronunciation of the words. Task Sheet 2. Ask the students to read the text quickly (five minutes) to see how close their predictions were. Find out who was the closest. Read again for meaning and any other vocabulary. Discuss whether the students agree/disagree with the results. Task Sheet 3. Ask the students to read through the collocations of the intensifying adjectives. Then ask the students to discuss dream/nightmare jobs using intensifiers. Monitor for correct use and pronunciation. Explain the Out There task. Students write questions about jobs/job satisfaction. In pairs, discuss possible answers. 1 2 3 10 20 10 15 10 15 Out There Tasks 6 7 Real world Students ask members of the public their questions on job satisfaction. Feedback Ask how it went, what went wrong, and if there were any funny or interesting encounters. Check the students have completed the task. Students report answers from the questionnaire. Ask the students to list their favourite new expressions and words of the day. Ask the students if they feel confident with the language taught and get feedback. VoIP Students call conversation partners and ask them the questions they have written on job satisfaction. Feedback Same as for real world task. Also, why not ask students to record the conversations and send their most interesting one to everyone in the class then have a discussion. 45 40 © 2007/2008 Languages Out There and its licensors. Reproduction in whole or in part prohibited except as may be provided under the terms of a Licence Agreement. TD6.05 p1 Task Sheet 1 Job satisfaction You are going to read an article on job satisfaction. Guess what percentage from each country were happy with their jobs Nationality Your guess (%) Results UK Scandinavia France Spain Netherlands Belgium Discuss with your partner what your predictions are. Vocabulary Match these words to the definition. 1. discontent a. very slow 2. factors b. rewards 3. sluggish c. plan 4. empowered d. work for yourself 5. pursue e. follow 6. freelance f. parts 7. chart g. enabled to do something 8. incentives h. not satisfied Read the text to see how close your predictions are. Fill in the results in the table above. © 2007/2008 Languages Out There and its licensors. Reproduction in whole or in part prohibited except as may be provided under the terms of a Licence Agreement. TD6.05 p2 Task Sheet 2 UK workers ‘unhappiest in Europe’ Hilary Osborne Tuesday June 7, 2005 Guardian Unlimited Workers in the UK are among the unhappiest in Europe, and those who work with others are the least likely to express job satisfaction, according to a survey published today. Just 47% of UK employees said they were either happy or very happy with their current position, compared with 68% of Scandinavian workers and 61% of French employees. Only in Spain (46%), the Netherlands (45%) and Belgium (35%) did fewer employees express satisfaction with their work. The research was carried out by recruitment agency Kelly Services and based on interviews with more than 14,000 people across Europe between June 2004 and February 2005. In the UK, the workers who were most happy in their jobs were those who worked in research (59%) and engineering (53%). Those who were least happy at work were employed in sales and customer service (38%) and management (45%). The most unhappy position in the UK is in human resources (39%). The biggest barrier to job satisfaction among UK workers was their pay package. Just 36% said they were happy with the level of pay they received, and only 24% were pleased with the health benefits available to them. After salary, the biggest cause of discontent for UK employees was the lack of opportunity to expand skills and the lack of formal training provided. Work–life balance was not a problem for most, with 58% stating they were happy with the way their time was divided. The marketing director of Kelly Services UK, Steve Girdler, said the survey shows the importance of understanding the motivations of today’s workers, getting the right mix of people, and thinking differently about how to motivate for a high performing workplace. “Today’s workforce is changing due to many factors,” he said. “The economy, a sluggish retail sector and confusion about the future of European trade all contribute to people feeling uncertain and concerned. “These days people make career changes more than ever and more feel empowered to be a ‘free agent’ to pursue a freelance path. Understanding these motivations and helping employees chart their own course in the company with proper training and incentives is key. “Today’s society is more about instant gratification – people’s overall expectations are significantly higher than in the past. This carries over into what workers expect from employers.” © 2007/2008 Languages Out There and its licensors. Reproduction in whole or in part prohibited except as may be provided under the terms of a Licence Agreement. TD6.05 p3 Task Sheet 3 Intensifying adjectives When describing objects you can use lots of adjectives, such as ‘large’, ‘big’, ‘colossal’, ‘massive’, ‘minute’, etc. However, there is a problem with the more common words used to describe size, namely ‘big’, ‘great’ and ‘large’. ‘Big’ is not usually used with uncountable nouns and is often used to describe events or a type of person: a big mistake a big shock a big change a big effort a big step a big spender a big reader a big drinker (but a heavy smoker) a big eater a big gambler ‘Great’ usually describes abstract nouns which express qualities or feelings. in great detail at great length great strength a great success great fun great interest great enthusiasm great suffering great wealth great pride a great performance great sensitivity great courage great power great respect ‘Large’ is often used with nouns related to numbers and measurements. It is not normally used with uncountable nouns. a large number a large percentage a large majority a large part a large quantity a large salary However, when describing abstract nouns (e.g. surprise, madness, anger) the use of intensifying adjectives is more restricted and there are a number of fixed collocations. ‘absolute’, ‘total’, ‘utter’ and ‘complete’ are used when expressing strong emotions, for example. absolute agony complete astonishment total bliss utter dismay total ecstasy utter disbelief utter joy total inability Talk about your dream and nightmare jobs, using intensifiers. © 2007/2008 Languages Out There and its licensors. Reproduction in whole or in part prohibited except as may be provided under the terms of a Licence Agreement. TD6.05 p4 Out There Task In the real world say: “Excuse me, I am learning English. Can I ask you some questions please?” Create questions to ask the general public their views on jobs. VoIP users should do the same but then call some conversation partners online. 1 2 3 4 5 6