I am an online ESL teacher. I am about to do the following worksheet with a B2/C1 student:

""Copyrights by ESL Brains. For use only with license.
Agree to disagree? Negotiating conflict
C1
1. Explain why conflict can occur between the people or entities in the boxes.
2. You are going to listen to part of a podcast about conflict resolution. First, predict why the words in
the box are going to be important.
3. Listen to the first part of the podcast [https://youtu.be/hfl89lUzF3c&t=461] (from to 07:41 to
09:03) and check your answer.
Possible answer: When in conflict, we rarely think about the fairness of our actions (‘I’) and we focus
on the unfairness of others (‘they’). In her classes, the speaker asks people to make a list of fair and
unfair behaviours. For both lists, they write ‘I’ beside behaviours if they feel they do it more than
others, and ‘they’ if they feel other people do it more than them. After counting them, people typically
have huge numbers of ‘I-fair’ and ‘they-unfair’, showing a personal bias. [08:19]
4. Discuss the questions.
• Do you agree that we tend to misjudge the fairness of our actions? Why/Why not?
• The speaker says that listening and empathy are important for conflict resolution. What else is
important for managing conflict?
5. Listen to the second part of the podcast (from 09:04 to 12:02) and choose the correct options to
complete the statements according to what the speaker says.
A. The study about conflict narratives showed that people are more likely to
downplay/misjudge/debate the blame of someone they know. [09:55]
B. If someone tells you a story about a conflict, you should clarify/question/accept what information
is being communicated and what is being excluded. [10:15]
C. When we want to talk about a conflict, we often go to people we know will support/explore/figure
out our point of view. [10:30]
D. The more empathy we receive, the more rational/connected/wronged we feel. [10:59]
E. Our personal prejudices/experiences/relationships play a huge role in how we narrate and handle
conflict. [11:13]
roommates
company
departments countries
‘They’ vs ‘I’
Copyrights by ESL Brains. For use only with license.
Agree to disagree? Negotiating conflict
C1
6. Complete the sentences with your opinion.
• When listening to somebody tell you about a conflict they experienced:
- it can be difficult to analyze it without taking sides because…
- the one thing you should pay attention to is…
- validating their belief is only beneficial if…
- empathizing with their perspective isn’t always the right attitude because…
• When experiencing conflict ourselves:
- our personal biases can sometimes be helpful because…
- it’s important to remain assertive if the other person becomes…
- some factors that worsen the situation are…
7. Choose the best verb to complete the sets of common collocations.
A. negotiate a price, a contract, conflict
B. address underlying issues, an audience, a question
C. remain impartial, silent, hopeful
D. embellish an outfit, a resumé, details
E. reach a goal, a destination, a compromise
F. control your reaction, the narrative, the speed
G. assign a task, blame, responsibility
H. leave out details, of a group, information
8. Read the statements and find the phrase that doesn’t make sense. Then, correct each statement by
choosing the phrase with the opposite meaning in the boxes and using its correct form.
address underlying issues assign blame
leave out information
control the narrative embellish details
negotiate conflict reach a compromise remain impartial
address assign control embellish leave out negotiate reach remain
Copyrights by ESL Brains. For use only with license.
Agree to disagree? Negotiating conflict
C1
EXAMPLE: While it’s not always a good idea when handling conflict, downplaying
elements can be a fun way to make a story or anecdote seem more dramatic.
embellishing details
A. By sharing responsibility, you enable someone to take ownership of their actions and prevent
future mistakes. assigning blame
B. An overly strict attempt to display favouritism can create an illusion of fairness while refusing to
acknowledge the nuances of a conflict. remain impartial
C. Ignoring root causes shouldn’t always be the priority when it comes to conflict resolution.
addressing underlying issues
D. It’s important not to provide every detail when describing a conflict because the little things are
crucial to understand the bigger picture. leave out information
E. Nowadays, it’s more difficult to embrace multiple viewpoints because social media allows many
people to share their perspectives. control the narrative
F. Not everybody needs to know how to intensify confrontation like a professional — it’s unrealistic.
negotiate conflict
G. Refusing to meet halfway isn’t a good solution if you’re only half-satisfied with the outcome.
reaching a compromise
9. Choose four of the statements in ex. 8 and explain to what extent you agree with them.
10.Read the text about the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict model and answer the questions.
The Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI) is an assessment tool
designed to identify and understand individuals’ preferred styles of
negotiating conflict, categorizing conflict resolution into five styles:
Competing: Involves being assertive and putting your concerns over
others’. Those with a competitive style make quick decisions and are
generally confident in their position. They tend to be more assertive and
less cooperative.
Collaborating: Emphasizes cooperation and problem-solving to find
mutually beneficial solutions. Those with a collaborative style practise
Copyrights by ESL Brains. For use only with license.
Agree to disagree? Negotiating conflict
C1
active listening, sharing and working together to achieve common goals.
They tend to be more assertive and more cooperative.
Avoiding: Involves purposefully staying away from conflict or withdrawing
from the situation completely. Those with an avoidant style tend to
disengage especially when the issue is trivial, tensions are high, or when
they feel that confrontation isn’t beneficial. They tend to be less assertive
and less cooperative.
Accommodating: Tries to prioritize the needs and concerns of others over
their own. Those with an accommodating style prioritize preserving
relationships or maintaining harmony over addressing their own issues.
They tend to be less assertive and more cooperative.
Compromising: This style is a balanced mixture of all other conflicthandling styles described above. Those with a compromising style seek to
find the middle ground by reaching a mutually acceptable solution. They
recognize an equal balance of power in a situation and aim to solve the
conflict, not worsen it.
Most conflict situations involve opposing styles, depending on the
circumstances, and many people possess traits of multiple styles. By
understanding their own conflict resolution tendencies and those of
others, individuals can effectively navigate various conflict situations.
Source: TKI
• What do you think is/are your conflict-handling style(s)? Why?
• Can you talk about an example of a successful conflict resolution (personally experienced or
observed) and say what styles were used?
• Do you believe there are situations where it’s more appropriate to prioritize assertiveness over
cooperation or vice versa? Why/Why not?
• Which style would be best to use when the conflict is about a trivial issue? What about a timesensitive issue?
• Do you think individuals can change their conflict resolution style over time? If so, what factors
might contribute to this change?
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Agree to disagree? Negotiating conflict
C1
11.Explain how you would negotiate conflict in the following situations.
This worksheet includes an additional task that you can use as homework or revision. It’s only
available in the teacher’s version of the worksheet. The task with the answer key is below, while the
students’ version is on the last page. Print it and hand it out to your students.
Give two pieces of advice for each conflict described. Use the phrases in brackets.
As a follow-up activity, you can ask students if they’ve ever been a part of similar conflicts and to
describe what happened.
EXAMPLE: Your boss has been taking credit for your colleague’s work for months and not
acknowledging it. Give your colleague two pieces of advice. (address underlying
issues, negotiate conflict)
Conflict A
You’re working with Jamal on an upcoming project and you think you’re going to miss the deadline. You
think he isn’t working hard enough and you know your shared failure will affect your position in the
company. You really want to maintain a good relationship with Jamal and you’re unsure how he would
react to such confrontation as he has an Avoiding style. You’re also aware that he is leaving the
company for a new job in a few months but nobody else knows.
Conflict C
You’ve been flatmates with Ingrid for four years and you are deciding to move to a new place together.
Ingrid wants to move to a city-centre apartment and is happy to pay more rent. You don’t earn as
much and this wouldn’t be manageable for you but you don’t want to live with anyone else or lose
your friendship. You’ve shown Ingrid some apartments in the suburbs but she doesn’t seem keen. She
has a strong Accommodating style.
Conflict B
You’re a doctor and you’re arguing with a fellow doctor, Sara, over the best treatment plan for a
patient. You have a good theoretical knowledge of the condition, but you know this case involves
Sara’s specialization. Similar conflicts have happened before and you’ve had equal levels of success in
your approaches in the past. Sara has a Competing style and neither of you care about being friends
outside of work.
T
T
Copyrights by ESL Brains. For use only with license.
Agree to disagree? Negotiating conflict
C1
You definitely need to address these underlying issues. Otherwise, you’ll end up
quitting your job and never knowing if the problem could have been solved.
Negotiating conflict with a superior can be difficult. Just keep calm and stick to
your point. There’s no need to go into unnecessary detail.
Possible answers:
A. Your aunt is arguing with a neighbour because he claims her party last week broke the local
guidelines on noise levels. Give your aunt two pieces of advice. (embellish details, reach a
compromise)
For the next party, it’s important that you reach a compromise about an acceptable noise level.
If he tries to embellish the details and make the situation sound worse than it was, just ignore him.
B. A teacher is fighting with a parent about their child misbehaving in class. Give the teacher two
pieces of advice. (control the narrative, leave out information)
Be careful not to let the parent control the narrative and make you seem overly strict. Some of the
overprotective ones do that!
Make sure you don’t leave out any relevant information, like the student also showing up late and
not doing homework.
C. Your HR Manager and two team leaders are arguing about an unequal distribution of resources, so
one of them comes to talk to you about it. Give the team leader two pieces of advice. (reach a
compromise, address underlying issues)
The best approach is to address these underlying issues and admit that the team has been
struggling without enough staff.
If you guys are unable to work it out amongst yourselves, you need to talk with the director and see
if he can help you reach a compromise.
D. Your friend is in disagreement with her flatmate about household chores and too many visitors.
Give your friend two pieces of advice. (negotiate conflict, assign blame)
Make sure you don’t assign blame unconsciously. Sometimes I get annoyed about dishes in the
sink and then I quickly realize I was the one who left them there!
You need to find a way to negotiate these conflicts a little more rationally. Maybe you can have
designated nights for visitors and no visitors?
Copyrights by ESL Brains. For use only with license.
Agree to disagree? Negotiating conflict
Give two pieces of advice for each conflict described. Use the phrases in brackets.
EXAMPLE: Your boss has been taking credit for your colleague’s work for months and not
acknowledging it. Give your colleague two pieces of advice. (address underlying
issues, negotiate conflict)
You definitely need to address these underlying issues. Otherwise, you’ll end up
quitting your job and never knowing if the problem could have been solved.
Negotiating conflict with a superior can be difficult. Just keep calm and stick to
your point. There’s no need to go into unnecessary detail.
A. Your aunt is arguing with a neighbour because he claims her party last week broke the local
guidelines on noise levels. Give your aunt two pieces of advice. (embellish details, reach a
compromise)
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
B. A teacher is fighting with a parent about their child misbehaving in class. Give the teacher two
pieces of advice. (control the narrative, leave out information)
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
C. Your HR Manager and two team leaders are arguing about an unequal distribution of resources, so
one of them comes to talk to you about it. Give the team leader two pieces of advice. (reach a
compromise, address underlying issues)
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
D. Your friend is in disagreement with her flatmate about household chores and too many visitors.
Give your friend two pieces of advice. (negotiate conflict, assign blame)
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________""