📙 Part 2: Describe a time when you worked in a group

This episode's vocabulary

Come to mind (phrasal verb) – to be remembered. → One time that does come to mind is when I was at this training session.

Leapfrog manner (noun phrase) – a way of progressing by taking turns to advance ahead of each other. → I had the idea to try throwing it from one person to another in a kind of leapfrog manner.

The fine details escape me (idiom) – I cannot remember the specific, small points about something. → It was so long ago that the fine details of who they were escape me now.

High-stakes (adjective) – involving serious risks if you fail and serious benefits if you succeed. → We were happy about winning, even though it wasn't exactly high-stakes stuff.

Coordinate movements (verb phrase) – to organize the way people move so they work together effectively. → We had some problems coordinating our movements at first.

Drop the ball (idiom) – to make a mistake or fail to do something you were supposed to do. → There were times we dropped the ball, or the stone in this case.

Insurmountable (adjective) – (of a problem) so great that it cannot be dealt with successfully. → It wasn't exactly insurmountable in terms of the scale of the problem.

Compulsory (adjective) – required by a rule; mandatory. → It was pretty much compulsory in order for the session to work.

By necessity (adverbial phrase) – because of conditions that cannot be changed. → Being made to do something by necessity is hardly the same thing.

All in good fun (idiom) – done as a joke, not intended to be serious or to offend anyone. → And it was all in good fun.

Dream team (noun phrase) – a group of people who are considered to be the best in their field and who are brought together to work on a particular project. → You can say it was a dream team.

Questions and Answers

Maria: Describe a time when you worked in a group. You should say what you did, who you worked with, what problems you faced, and explain why you worked in a group. Rory, give us your story.

Rory: Well, generally, I work by myself, but one time that does come to mind is when I was at this training session for teachers about a year ago. We had weekly sessions on Fridays and this one was particularly odd since it focused on creating tasks to get students to work together.

Speaking about this specific activity, we had to try and get a stone to travel the longest distance. In order to achieve that, most of the teams were dropping their rocks from different heights, which made sense since the building we were in was very tall.

However, I had the idea to try throwing it from one person to another in a kind of leapfrog manner, so we could theoretically just keep going for as long as we liked. I think we actually went from one side of the school grounds to the other. So I think we were the clear winners. That must have been over at least a couple of hundred meters probably.

If we consider who I worked with, it was just a group of teachers. Though it was so long ago that the fine details of who they are escapes me now. Doubtless they'll remind me when we meet up in a few weeks.

I do remember we had a lot of fun with the task though and obviously we were happy about winning too, even though it wasn't exactly high-stakes stuff. It was still nice to be the winners in a competition.

And when I think about the problems we had, well, there weren't many. It's a pretty easy idea to explain, but I think we had some problems coordinating our movements at first, and there were times we dropped the ball, or at least the stone in this case. But we made it work after about five minutes, so it wasn't exactly insurmountable in terms of the scale of the problem.

There might have been a time limit, but I don't really remember. As far as why we worked together is concerned, it was pretty much compulsory in order for the session to work. Normally, I'd have a problem with that since I don't like being forced to do anything, but being made to do something by necessity is hardly the same thing. And it was all in good fun. Hopefully, we'll get a chance to do something similar.