Wanted:
Team player By Daniel Vincent
26
A
t some point during their working lives, most of the teenagers we teach today will find themselves working with others towards a common goal. While collaboration itself is nothing new – from the construction of ancient monuments to the moon landings, humans have always worked together to achieve incredible things – its importance in our globalised society is only set to grow. In business, successful projects increasingly require dynamic teamwork not only between individuals with very specialised skills sets but also between people from different cultural backgrounds. In science, progress depends as much on the work of teams of researchers scattered around the world as it does on the global exchange of knowledge. Likewise, in the creative industries everything from TV series to rock concerts are brought to fruition only through the collaborative efforts of teams of individuals, often numbering in the hundreds and thousands, who each bring different strengths and experience to the table. Where then, as ELT teachers, do we come into this?
