Essays: turnkey solutions

Teamwork is the most useful classroom activity.
People tend to comment differently on whether working in a team is the most beneficial thing for students. Some say teambuilding is vital, others suppose that the importance of such an activity is overestimated.
I am personally inclined to support the point of view of the latter. Teamwork is an important skill but it can never be put in one line with basic educational process’s value. To start with, working in a team is just one of the advantages when getting a workplace but in order to apply for a job a person must be educated. Knowledge is the main key to building a respectable career. Ability to find a common language with people is never enough to become successful in life as it has to be supported with a solid educational basis.
Though, there is a fair share of those disagreeing with that. They say teambuilding is essential to increase the level of productivity by building a friendly bond between team members. Team-building promotes the idea that each voice in the team matters therefore teammates should learn to listen to each other.
I reckon that such reasoning is flawed. Teamwork may be a positive thing but there is a striking difference between being good and vital. When braying to a doctor to save one’s life, a patient hopes that that are intelligent and skillful enough to provide an effective treatment and very few care what physician’s relationships with their colleagues are.
To conclude, I am solidly convinced that teambuilding activities should remain optional while the main focus of the class time needs to be made onto teaching school disciplines and constantly expanding students’ knowledge base.

Teamwork is the most useful classroom activity.
Teamwork is a useful classroom activity.

Sth can prove useful we find sth useful
come in useful consider sth useful
Useful
a useful technique practically useful
a useful strategy socially useful

Teamwork is a [useful] [classroom activity].

a classroom activity:
students (pupils, learners)
teachers (educators)
a school

Useful?
helps you to do sth
serves a useful purpose
-> get rid of some problems
solve serious problems
find a solution to the problem of
-> is an effective solution to the problem of…
-> is a great way to…
-> is a fruitful strategy

Useful?
helps you to achieve sth
-> achieve better results
achieve great results in…
-> achieve a goal
-> achieve high standards
-> achieve excellence

Useful?
is of great use to you
offers a lot of benefits
brings real benefits for…
you can benefit from … (psychologically, academically)
develops …
contributes to the development of ->
academic performance
skills (social, interpersonal, negotiation skills)
the ability to (avoid/prevent conflict, settle down disputes, reach a win-win situation, reach an agreement)
character traits (patience, tolerance, … )
an understanding (of how to deal with people, …)

negotiation
problem-solving
interpersonal
creative
cognitive
social
collaboration

Useful?
offers a convenient way to do sth
is an effective solution to (the problem of)
an invaluable source of…
a productive strategy
a fruitful approach to sth
an excellent opportunity to do sth
a wise step to take
an important change in
significant contribution to…
a workable idea

Useful?
provides opportunities!
offers a golden opportunity to …
improves / increases the opportunity to do sth…
maximizes opportunities to do sth

Translation exercises to practice key vocabulary.
1. Работа в команде помогает развивать важные умения общения.
2. Участие в работе в команде помогает научиться взаимодействию с другими.

Teamwork is a useful classroom activity.
+ social skills: cooperation / collaboration skills
? Individuality?
+ communication skills
+ recent research shows
- academic performance
? express individuality ?
-
! not every one is interested
! competition

Teamwork is a useful classroom activity.
Teamwork is generally believed / thought by many (students) to be a very useful classroom activity. Some people / individuals (Most teachers), however, disagree. / do not share this belief. / doubt that it is so.
Personally, I agree (with those who think that) (believe) that teamwork activities offer students and teachers a lot of benefits / students and teachers benefit from teamwork activities a lot. To begin with, group work helps students to develop crucial social skills, such as the ability to cooperate with others. It is an essential benefit because collaboration skills mean better career prospects in the future. Another advantage, is that teamwork teaches important communication skills (,for example, active listening and effective speaking). When working as a team, students learn to respectfully (attentively) listen to one another and express their ideas clearly.

However, some people doubt that organizing group work in the classroom is really useful. They argue that teamwork activities do not improve students’ academic results , so there is no place for them in the classroom / , so when it comes to teaching and learning, teamwork is (mostly) a waste of time.
(Besides, according to some critics, teamwork places too much emphasis on the value of a group and does not offer students opportunities to express their individuality).
In my opinion, it is wrong to believe that teamwork is not useful for the classroom. On the contrary, it is a great (unique) opportunity to boost students’ academic performance: recent research shows that students learn best from tasks that involve interacting with others.
(… teamwork activities teach students that each of their voices is valued. So surprisingly / Therefore, group work is a great (excellent, unique) chance to improve students’ self-confidence and encourage them to express themselves.)

In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that (students benefit a lot from participating in group work activities) participation in teamwork activities gives students a lot of benefits, which makes it a really useful (valuable) component of school education. (Clearly, it makes group work …)
Teamwork is a useful classroom activity. ->
Teamwork is the most useful classroom activity.